Page 21 of Crimson Kingdom
He led me around the floor with the barest pressure of his fingertips on my waist.
“There’s nothingmereabout the benefits of trading for my people, as you well know.” His words were a chastisement, delivered in his favorite condescending tone. “So yes, I came myself. Why else would I be here?”
That stung more than I wanted to admit, so I pasted a polite smile onto my face before responding. “I thought perhaps you had come to offer congratulations on my upcoming betrothal.”
Something dark flashed in his eyes, and a muscle ticked in his jaw. “Well, that would be wholly unnecessary as you can’t possibly hope to finalize a marriage in Socair without my permission.” He paused, his tone a low, dangerous growl. “Or did you forget that I own you, Lemmikki?”
I told myself the feeling that shot through me at his words was anger.
Because what right did he have to sound possessive now?
It was just like Arès had said at the negotiations. He really was nothing more than a child with a toy. It didn’t matter how bored he had grown with that particular toy or if he even liked it, stars forbid someone else pick it up.
“Not here, you don’t,” I corrected, a bite to my tone. “You can’t stop me from marrying in my own kingdom.”
“Of course not.” He sounded far too pleasant as he paused to spin me away from him for the next step of the dance. “If Korhonan is willing to live out the rest of his life here, then you hardly need to worry about it.”
I cursed under my breath, fury overtaking me in truth this time.
“Theo has already said he’s willing to agree to the terms we reached at negotiations,” I reminded him through clenched teeth. “You haven’t given a single damn about me or our blood debt since I returned, and now you want to step in and be difficult because I’m--”
“Doing the very thing I took you to avoid in the first place?” he supplied in a deceptively neutral tone.
“With the caveats you agreed to!” I hissed.
“I would have agreed to anything to get rid of you that day.” He shrugged. “Circumstances are different now.”
Get rid of me?
“Fine,” I spat. “Then name your terms tomorrow at the council, but don’t drag this out, Evander.”
My people could very well start a war if he did, but there was no point in letting him know about that particular chink in our armor unless it became necessary.
“In a hurry to marry Korhonan?” His tone was patronizing. “Did you decide that two weeks was enough time to fall madly in love after all?”
Hearing Evander talk mockingly about me falling in love was enough to do me in. My stomach twisted and red lined my vision.
“Oh, we’ve had much longer than that now. Plenty of time to get to know one another, intimately.” I gave him another savage grin that I was sure didn’t reach my eyes.
At that exact, precarious moment, a familiar throat cleared behind me.
My father’s throat, to be exact.
Stars. Damned. Hell.
I tried and failed to keep a blush from blossoming in my neck and cheeks. Evander’s eyes, which had been darkening with my words, now sparkled with a trace of mirth as they tracked my reddening skin.
Aalio.
“I’ll dance with my daughter now.” Da’ stepped to the side of us, his face like a thundercloud.
Evander was taller than Theo, and nearly as broad. But even without taking into account the several inches his crown added, my father topped them both. More than that, he exuded the essence of a king.
So regardless of whatever claim Evander had asserted to ask me for this dance, I wasn’t surprised when he agreed without argument.
“Of course, Your Majesty.” He gave another shallow bow, and I curtseyed, both of us pretending for all the world as though we hadn’t just been quarreling like children in the middle of the dance floor.
And a child was exactly what I felt like as Da’ scooped me into his arms, moving me seamlessly around the dance floor. It took me a full turn around the room to finally risk lifting my eyes to his.