Page 54 of Tarnished Crown

“The Summit where men were voting for me to die, you mean?” I hissed at him.

“Only two men there were stupid enough to vote against you until you insisted on insulting them.” Evander stepped closer, the weight of his fury nearly knocking me backwards.

“You were--” I began before he cut me off.

“Nevergoing to vote against you.” He enunciated each word. “Which you would have known if you had been paying even half the attention you needed to. Who do you think was reminding them all of the cost of war against us? If you had kept your mouth shut, this all--”

I crossed my arms and took a step closer to him.

“Would you honestly have sat there and listened to them insult your whole--”

“Yes!” he fired back. “If it meant keeping myself and the people I cared about safe, I absolutely would have sat there and listened to them insult myself and my family and my cat, for all I care. Even your precious Lord Theodore would have, and for once, it’s not because he’s a coward, but because we were raised to have a shred of self-discipline, something you could stand to learn.”

My limbs were trembling now with the force of my frustration at having everything I had ever done wrong hurled in my face yet again. I couldn’t bring myself to care about the biting air or that anyone in a five-mile radius could likely hear us at this point.

“Theo really was right,” I yelled. “You can never let anyone forget about their mistakes. Perhaps one day, we might all aspire to be as perfect as you are, kidnapping women who have done nothing to you and terrifying your own clansmen. Murder any children lately?”

I wanted to take the words back as soon as they left my lips, even before Evander took a step backwards as if I had physically slapped him.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but Evander shook his head, his expression going even more frigid than it had been in the tent. When he finally did speak, his voice was laced with acrimony.

“The onlychildI have ever had any desire to murder is you.” He disappeared on silent footfalls into the forest, and it was worse, somehow, than if he had stormed away.

CHAPTER37

Davin was asleep by the time I returned to the tent, and I had no desire to wake him and recount my joyous evening.

Even still, as hard as I tried, sleep eluded me. And was made even more impossible when Evander pulled his bedroll on the other side of mine and lay there wide awake like a beacon of fury.

The next morning was no better than the night before. Once again, he insisted I bring his food and sit next to him, all with barely a word or glance in my direction. Theo glared at Evander as he walked over to press a warm mug of coffee into my hands.

“Mmm,” I said, doing my best to ignore Evander’s glowering presence. “Thank you.”

Theo frowned. “You look unwell.”

“You really should work on your compliments, especially given the short amount of time you have with which to woo me these days.” I meant it as a joke, but if anything, his frown deepened.

With a wary glance at Evander, he sat next to me on the log, taking the seat Davin had occupied yesterday.

“Is that what’s bothering you? We still have a whole day of negotiations.” His hand went to my wrist, tracing the outline of my bracelet and sending warm shivers all the way to my spine.

I started to lean into him before Evander cleared his throat pointedly. It really was too bad I didn’t still have that sword.

Arès opened up the negotiations once more.

“From yesterday, we can surmise that Elk is willing to purchase the blood debt, which Bear finds inadequate. Bear is willing to release Princess Rowan only if there is no chance at a marriage, which Elk has informed me they will not agree to. Do we have counter-terms today?”

Theo huffed out a breath. “I could propose a thousand counteroffers and Evander would still say no because he doesn’t want to give her back as long as keeping her is punishing my clan.”

Evander’s eyes cut to me, then to Theo. “I can assure you, I’m quite keen to be rid of her. Keeping her is more of a punishment tomeat this point than it is you. But I won’t risk Bear.”

There was a strained silence where they glared at each other.

I tried not to react to what he had said, and the way it cemented something inside of me that said I was constantly more trouble than I was worth, to my family, to everyone. It shouldn’t matter that he felt that way, too. If anything, I should be grateful for it.

That thought gave me the push I needed to speak up. “I’d like to make a counteroffer.”

Arès deliberated for a moment, likely because it was unheard of for women to speak during clan business. Also, I had no clan here, but I was the closest thing to a representative for Lochlann.