Chapter 39
I t was unnaturally quiet in the tent.
It was hard to say how long I had been sleeping since I had finally dragged myself to bed, but I was wide awake now. There were no small sounds of breathing, no tossing and turning or small, contented sighs that usually accompanied Rowan as she slept.
Der’mo.
I swallowed hard, sitting up on my bedroll to get a better view of the empty cot on the other side of the tent. While her cousin was fast asleep, Rowan was nowhere to be found.
Fury guided my steps out into the freezing night air, and Kirill shot me a questioning look. His hand immediately went to the sword on his hip as he studied my expression.
But I held up a hand to stay his. It wasn’t likely that Rowan absconded with her precious Theodore in the night, not without her cousin, at least.
All the horses were still tethered together, and there were no signs of fresh tracks in the snow. The camp was also relatively quiet, undisturbed and unaware of this betrayal.
“Did anyone come out of the tent?” I growled.
Kirill’s expression turned tense. Not being an idiot, he had to realize my asking meant someone was ostensibly missing from said tent.
“Only the princess’s cousin. He went to relieve himself.”
Of course he had been an accomplice.
“Chatty, was he?” I asked.
Kirill swore, and I ran a hand over my face as I struggled to rein in my temper. This princess. This damned princess had upended an entire kingdom. She stumbled into Socair, broke our laws, became a captive, twice , and despite every single instance where I told her she was my prisoner, persisted in acting like that was the very last thing she was concerned about.
Would she prefer I keep her on an actual leash? Would she rather be in my father’s dungeons? Would that prove to her once and for all that she belonged to me?
The soft glow of a lantern lit up Korhonan’s tent, and shadows danced just behind the fabric. I let out a slow, furious breath, clenching and unclenching my fists.
Then I was marching straight to his tent. His soldiers didn’t even have time to react before Taras and Kirill stepped forward to stop them from intervening — which it was a testament to my fury that I didn’t even realize my cousin had joined me. I wasn’t even quiet as I ripped open the tent door, but they were too busy to notice me.
Korhonan was all over her, his body practically enveloping hers as he rocked his hips against hers.
She let out a sound that no one should ever make for someone as unendingly bland as Korhonan.
I hadn’t come to these negotiations with the intent on brutally ripping Theodore’s limbs from his body, but that desire was growing by the second.
“I love you, Rowan,” he whispered against her skin, his hands working their way up and down her hips.
“When you get to a natural stopping point, feel free to join me in our tent.” It was an effort to keep my tone neutral. I tucked my hands into my pockets to keep myself from strangling both of them as Korhonan quickly rolled away from her.
The air in the tent was hot and thick with their desire, but my words had effectively doused them both in cold water.
While Theodore refused to look away from Rowan, her eyes locked onto mine. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips swollen and her eyes brighter than I had ever seen them before.
Her chest rose and fell faster with each passing second as her anger grew. She sat up straight, squaring her shoulders before speaking.
“Well, we’re hours away from that, at least,” she said, jutting out her chin in a challenge.
Red lined my vision as I stared back at my prisoner—my lemmikki—while she openly defied me, yet again. There wasn’t even a trace of remorse on her delicate features after assuring me that she would be careful at these negotiations. After I had made it more than clear to her what was at stake.
“Storms, Rowan,” Korhonan said, looking slightly embarrassed by her implication.
I took a slow, even breath before carefully biting out my next words.
“Do not test my patience further tonight, Princess.”
Korhonan was on his feet at last, his face twisted in anger as he addressed me for the first time since I broke up their tryst. He looked almost as murderous as I felt, and I wished more than anything that he would make a move against me.
“Can you honestly blame her?” he demanded, stepping even closer. “What exactly did you think was going to happen when you took my betrothed?”
“She’s not your anything anymore,” I reminded him.
The word mine ripped through me, echoing through my very bones. She didn’t belong to him. She would never belong to him.
“She’s not yours, either,” Korhonan spat.
And that’s where he was wrong. I had claimed the blood debt, which meant she belonged to me and only me. If he wanted her so badly, he sure as hell could have done something about that before dragging her to the Summit. Before he allowed things to escalate to a point where the dukes were clamoring for her death.
“According to the Summit, she is,” I said, infusing my tone with a quiet lethality. “Unless you’d like to disagree with our illustrious leaders?”
Before he could respond, Rowan was between us. She pushed him backward, shaking her head as if in a silent plea for him to end this.
“ Der’mo ,” he said after a moment, before nodding. “I’ll escort her back to your tent.”
“You will stay here unless you want to derail our currently peaceful negotiations.” I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the hand he had on her lower back.
He looked like he wanted to argue, but Rowan spoke up instead.
“It’s fine,” she growled. “I’ll go.”
Yes, you will, Lemmikki. Even if I have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you out of this tent myself.
Korhonan didn’t argue, instead he stepped forward to kiss her forehead like he was marking his territory. “I’ll see you in the morning, Rowan.”
Fortunately, she didn’t draw out their goodbyes, and instead marched out of the tent on tiny, furious footsteps, like she was the one with a right to be mad.