Page 111 of Obsidian Throne
Something inside of me cracked a little more.
Again, I ignored him. Not unlike he had ignored me, when I said I thought I would have a voice here.
When my armor was finally off, I climbed into bed without bothering to bathe or clean off any of the lingering blood and death that coated my skin.
My soul.
Taisiya closed the canopy around me, and the last thing I heard before I succumbed to oblivion was Evander’s voice floating through the solid wood of the door.
* * *
My head was pounding when I awoke, and my mouth was dry enough to make me wonder just how long I had slept. Gentle shafts of light filtered through the slats in the velvet canopy, but that didn’t tell me much.
I felt hollow and sore and even emptier than I had before.
Motion next to me on the bed gave me pause.
Stars.
I was not ready to talk to Evander. To look at him. To think about him. To drown in his perfect storm-cloud eyes and forget all the reasons I couldn’t let this go.
I shifted around with a sigh, the movement pulling at the many bruises coating my body.
But it wasn’t Evander.
“Scarlet Princess.” Mila usually sounded excited when she greeted me that way, but this time, her voice was thick with emotion.
She was laying on top of the plush white blankets, facing me. I reached out until I felt her hand, taking it in my own.
How much did she know about what happened? I couldn’t quite bring myself to ask her, not when the answer would lead back to Evander. I couldn’t seem to say anything at all.
“So…” She saved me from my own awkward silence. “Do you want to tell me how you managed to raise an Unclanned army and slay your way across the battlefield like some goddess of lore and save all of our arses?”
I chuckled softly and mulled that over for a moment. “I’d rather hear about the tiny, unbearably gorgeous baby you’re growing.”
She gave a small laugh, but I wasn’t kidding. Taras was a beautiful man, and Mila was one of the most attractive people I had ever seen. Their child was going to be the cutest thing in the entire world.
“Well, I’m past the part where I vomit on people’s dresses without warning, which is nice.” She took my hand and moved it to her small, round bump. “And look, Baby Lehtinan is moving.”
Sure enough, something shifted under my hand.
“That’s amazing,” I said quietly. “I can’t believe how much has changed in just two months.”
“Well, nearly three now,” she amended.
My brow furrowed.
“No. That can’t be right.” I did some quick math in my head, staring at the ceiling. “It took us less than a week to get to the front. Then we were there for…” I realized I didn’t actually know.
Everything had blended together.
“When...Evander--” She said his name hesitantly, like she knew how much it would hurt me to hear it out loud. “—got here two weeks ago, you had already been gone over two months.”
Panic shot through my body, because if that was true…
“Mila?” My casual tone likely wasn’t fooling her.
It certainly wasn’t fooling me.