Page 51 of Tarnished Crown

I thought about the rolling hills of home, the family I missed every single day, and I couldn't entirely deny the truth in his words.

But, leave Theo? Never see him again? Just sit back while he married someone else? The thought made my food churn violently in my gut.

“I need to talk to Theo,” I breathed.

Davin made a disbelieving face. “Talkto?”

I swatted at him. “Yes, talk to. And even if it weren’t, remind me how many women I have helped you sneak out to see?”

“Well...” He trailed off, like he was about to try to explain how those two things were different and realized he had no actual reason for that. “Fine. Fair point.”

I smirked victoriously. Now all we had to do was wait for Evander to fall asleep.

CHAPTER35

It felt like an eternity before Evander finally fell asleep.

Davin, true to his word, took a trip to the latrines to distract the guards while I eased out of the back of the tent. With his bedroll being positioned between mine and Evander’s, we hoped my absence wouldn’t be noted.

I darted between the trees and behind a couple of tents until I finally found the one Theo had pointed out to me earlier.

Theo was relaxing back on his bedroll next to a low burning lamp when I slipped into the tent. A slow grin spread over his mouth, and I practically hurled myself into his waiting arms, burying my face in his chest once more.

“I missed you, Rowan,” he whispered into my hair, squeezing me tighter and suffusing me with his warmth and goodness. “I was afraid something would happen to you before I could come. That I might never hear you say something inappropriate again.”

A laugh escaped me in a huff of air.

“And I was beginning to think I would never again see your scandalized blush, but here we are.” I smirked, looking up at him.

Then the smile died from my lips, remembering part of why I had come here.

“What is it?” he asked.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself. I couldn’t ask him outright about Iiro, not when he had just told me that he couldn’t keep anything from his brother and Davin was going right back to live under Iiro’s thumb, but maybe I could get some answers.

“Why were you patrolling the tunnels that day?” I started with something relatively innocuous.

He furrowed his brow, but answered. “Because smuggling activity had increased lately. Why?”

“Why not wait outside the tunnel, where it was easier to waylay them?” My tone was conversational, but I wasn’t sure it was fooling him.

He peered down at my features, as if trying to decipher where I was going with this. “Iiro thought it would be better if we made sure they weren’t stashing the goods somewhere inside.”

Once again, all roads lead back to Iiro.

“Did you know, when we left for the Summit, that marriage was an option to save me?”

“Where is this coming from?” he finally asked me outright.

“Just the things that Evander said--”

“Evander,” Theo scoffed under his breath.

“I know you hate him, but was he wrong?” I asked quietly.

“I told you before, he just likes to needle at people, Rowan.” There was a trace of exasperation in his tone. “He practically admitted that Bear would have attacked if we hadn’t called the Summit.”

I stared up into his golden-green eyes. “But did you know?”