Page 9 of Crimson Kingdom
Ultimately, though, not only was an alliance with Elk better for my people, but I did care about Theo. There had been several reasons I wanted to marry him at one time, even if those reasons felt farther away than I would have liked.
Besides, I didn’t believe that Iiro was a constant, present danger. What he wanted was for me to marry his brother, and once he got that, he had no real reason to cause me harm.
I took a breath to tell them my decision when MacKinnon spoke up again.
“Didn’t we receive a bird from Bear this morning as well?”
Every molecule in my body froze, and I was certain I stopped breathing.
“That was for trade discussions,” Uncle Oli clarified. “Not marriage.”
Of course.
Of course, that’s what Evander wanted.
Evander, who had kissed me like the world was on fire, and I was the only one who could douse the flames.
Who had accused me of kissing all of my captors.
He had been right…and he had been wrong. Two months had given me ample time and perspective to dwell on both pieces of that equation, enough time to realize that whatever had happened with Evander had nothing to do with convenient proximity or the unbalanced scales of power in our relationship.
At least, it didn’t for me. Clearly, he felt differently.
Clearly, it doesn’t matter now.
Just like that, the frozen parts of me promptly shattered into tiny, unsalvageable pieces.
Avani put a subtle hand on my knee under the table, grounding me in the moment. I hadn’t told her—or anyone, really—much of anything, but she seemed to have guessed a great deal about what happened during my time there.
Probably because of Davin and his not-so-subtle remarks.
“They kidnap our princess and push our people to the verge of war, and now they want to discuss trade?” MacBay scoffed, slamming his water glass down on the table with a little too much force.
“From what the princess says,” Oli gently chided, “the Bear Lord is the reason she came back alive at all.”
I deliberately did not think about the truth of that statement. About Evander’s strong hands gripping the hilt of the sword he pressed into my fingers so I could defend myself against the Unclanned. About the way he had kept my body warm with his when the raging fever threatened to drag me under.
About the way he had let me go.
“And,” my mother continued in a pointed tone, “opening up trade with them would send a powerful message to the people that wedon’twant war.”
She exchanged a look with my father, who gave her a single, terse nod.
I was barely listening, though, over the sound of my rapidly thundering heart.
“May we see the letter?” my sister asked.
Uncle Oli furrowed his brow but got to his feet to retrieve the letter from the desk. He handed it to Avani, who promptly put it in front of me.
To Their Royal Majesties, King Logan and Queen Charlotte of Lochlann,
I request permission to send a delegation to Castle Chridhe to discuss resuming trade in a peaceful manner, led by Lord Taras and his wife, Lady Mila.
If you are amenable, they will arrive in five weeks’ time.
Sincerely,
Lord Evander Stenvall