Page 97 of Tarnished Crown
Kirill barked out a laugh, and the child’s shoulders seemed to relax. The next thing we knew, a few of the men were leaping from their horses and firing snowballs back at him.
Laughter rang out among all of the children and even the few adults who had joined them this time.
Suddenly, everywhere we looked, a snow war was being waged, with Kirill, Igor, Taras, and Yuriy taking the front lines.
Evander silently directed our horse around the fray and toward the stables.
“You have only been here a few short months and already you have my people rebelling against me,” he said dryly. “This is a crime punishable by death,Lemmikki.”
“Of course it is. That’s my specialty, after all.”
Evander slid off the horse in one fluid movement, before reaching up reflexively to help me down as well. It would have been more uncomfortable to refuse him, or, at least, that’s what I told myself as I put my hands on his shoulders and allowed him to assist me.
Even if my chest felt too tight and my heartbeat drummed far too loudly.
I was painfully conscious of the lack of space between his chest and mine. My mind raced back to his room at the cabin. His hands on my waist, on my thigh. The feel of his lips on mine. I took a stuttering breath in and held it, waiting.
But nothing happened.
Evander glanced back at his men, effectively breaking the tension, like a thundercloud that had finally burst open. The pressure was gone, but the danger remained.
CHAPTER63
The fourth day brought gusts of wind and drifting snow.
Even though I had donned my warmest clothes and let Evander know to do the same, the air still managed to creep its way beneath my cloak, freezing me from the inside out.
When I shivered yet again, Evander wrapped his arms more tightly around me. It was becoming increasingly difficult to remember all of the reasons why this was a terrible idea.
Even if I could have gotten past my own unwillingness to go down this road, Evander had made it clear he wouldn’t.
And even if neither of those things were true, we would have had a million obstacles standing between us, starting with Ava and spiraling in a maze of Socairan politics before lurching to a halt somewhere around my father, who would never let me stay here.
I only wished my traitorous body understood those things as well as my mind did.
It was almost a relief when the wind howled loud enough to drown out my thoughts, until it made Evander hold me tighter. I was about to suggest that we stop sooner if there was a farmhouse nearby when a rock came whizzing down off the hilltop above us.
Time slowed to a crawl as my eyes tried to track too many things at once.
The rock sailing through the air.
The horrified look on Dmitriy’s face.
The blood pooling from Igor’s temple as he slowly slid from his saddle to the ground.
“No!” The scream bubbled up from my throat just as Dmitriy leapt down to help him.
Evander’s grip around me tightened even more, and he growled for me to keep my head down, leaning protectively over me like a shield.
More rocks came flying down from the hilltop. Our horses reared back and whinnied in pain as several of the stones hit them instead of us.
Kirill lost his seat when his horse bucked, sailing to the ground as the beast fled.
“Over there!” It was Taras’ voice that called out over the whistling of the wind.
Evander spurred his horse forward, and we took off at a blinding speed to get away. We just weren’t nearly fast enough. A line of men with spears blocked our path ahead. Spinning around, we tried to flee in the opposite direction, but more waited for us there, too.
Evander cursed under his breath.