Page 55 of Tarnished Crown

Besides, Mila was his daughter, and she was plenty outspoken, so I knew he wasn’t quite as strict on that as some of the other dukes.

He nodded slowly.

I dipped my chin in thanks before speaking. “I have offered to Lord Evander that though I will not allow him to dictate whom I marry, I am willing to delay a marriage to Lord Theodore until such time as an arrangement can be made with Lochlann to agree to non-retaliation and to maintain their current armistice.”

Theo looked over at me, a mixture of hope and concern warring in his eyes. I tried to convince myself that this would be the best solution. After all, a longer betrothal was not the same thing as being stuck in this perpetual limbo, so Iiro should be fine with it.

And if he was plotting something, this would effectively stand in his way.

“Four months isn’t so long,” I said softly to Theo and his expression softened. “Besides, this way, we can do things right and have my family there.”

Turning to face Evander once again, I studied his features for any sign as to what he was thinking. He had almost appeared to be considering this last night before the topic of Davin came up. This morning, he was completely unreadable, though, as his gaze flitted between me and Theo and even Davin.

Finally, he looked at Arès. “I will agree as long as Bear has a guarantee that Elk will neither involve Lochlann in their bid for the throne, nor make any move against Bear in same said bids for the throne.”

“You’re being paranoid, Evander,” Theo argued. “For the last time, Iiro isnotmaking a serious bid for the throne. You act as though he’s ready to rally the clans and storm your castle this very month.”

“I would never put anything past your brother,” Evander bit back.

Theo opened his mouth to argue again, but Arés stepped in. “If Iiro truly has no immediate designs on the throne, then where is the harm in promising?” His tone was so carefully neutral, I couldn’t be sure if it was an accusation or if he was merely advising Theo not to act rashly.

Theo looked thoughtful for a moment, his gaze traveling from Arès’ to mine.

“That seems reasonable,” I offered.

I didn’t doubt Theo’s intentions, but with this arrangement, Iiro’s motives would be all too clear. He chewed the inside of his lip thoughtfully.

Before he could respond, there was a commotion outside the tent.

The sound of voices drifted toward us, and I spun around to see what was going on. Arés was the first to leave and investigate, returning only seconds later to grab Evander.

The Bear lord looked back at me, his eyes narrowing.

“Stay here,” he demanded before leaving.

Theo rushed to the exit next and cursed under his breath at whatever he saw.

“Go,” I told him. “We’ll be fine.”

He debated for a few seconds before nodding and disappearing out into the forest.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears, and a million questions ran through my mind. Davin and I shot one another a pointed look before we rushed to peek out of the tent.

Was it more of the Unclanned? There were plenty of Lynx soldiers to protect us, but would it be enough? Where were the rest of the men from Bear? Would they even get here in time for a fight?

As soon as I saw the familiar black-and-white uniforms, the tightness in my chest eased.

It was just Evander’s men. Only a lot more of them than we had traveled with.

Evander’s shoulders were tense, and his hand twitched toward the hilt of his sword as he faced the soldiers. Kirill and Taras moved to stand on either side of him, both of them wary as well.

What in the stars-forsaken hell is going on?

CHAPTER38

The majority of the new soldiers stayed at the border of our camp. The men from Lynx had all lined up with their weapons drawn, effectively blocking them from coming any closer.

Only one of them was allowed through. He marched directly toward where Evander stood with his soldiers. Theo and Arés stood just behind him.