Page 132 of Obsidian Throne

“What brings you here?” Evander asked, taking his seat next to me.

“We needed to speak, in person,” Theo answered flatly.

Evander eyed him warily, but he gave a dip of his head for Theo to continue.

Now that I took a moment to really look at him, the lines of his face were drawn in exhaustion. His hazel eyes were bloodshot, and a rare bit of pale-blond stubble lined his jaw.

More than all of that, though, he looked...sad. Resigned.

“Things cannot continue as they are,” he said.

“If you’re here to tell me to bend the knee—” Evander began.

“That is not why I’m here,” Theo interrupted him. “I’m here because I know you are planning something, and I want in.”

I turned to look at Evander, but his eyes remained fixed on Theo, his features remaining completely neutral. Part of me couldn’t help but be suspicious, wondering if this was a test or a trap. But I knew Theo better than that.

His honor was the most important thing to him. He would never be so underhanded as to lie to us like this. Then my mind leapt to another, more exciting conclusion.

If Theo joined us, it would be the opening we needed.

Unreasonable hope flitted through me and was dashed just as quickly.

“I will never be able to convince my men to fight against their allies, nor their former Duke, now King.”

“You didn’t come all this way just to say that,” Evander stated plainly.

“No, I didn’t,” he agreed. “I can’t convince them to fight on your side...but they will stand down if I order it. They were not happy, being led into a slaughter.”

I winced at the term. If there had been a slaughter, Evander and I had been the butchers.

But then, they had attacked our people, on our land. Still, there were no real victors in war. Only those who suffered slightly fewer deaths.

“However,” Theo continued, “I have two conditions.”

His tone was enough to tell me that whatever they were, we weren’t going to like them. I gestured for him to continue.

“I want you to spare Inessa,” he said.

“Of course,” I responded quickly. “You have to know we would never intentionally hurt her when she’s been innocent in all of this.”

He nodded, then met Evander’s eyes solidly. “And I want you to spare my brother.”

My husband looked thoughtful, but my jaw dropped of its own accord.

We would never be safe if Iiro was alive. We would spend our entire lives looking over our shoulders waiting for the day he decided his pride couldn’t handle us being alive and out from under his thumb.

“You want us to spare Iiro after all of the people who died because of him?” I demanded.

Theo looked pointedly from Evander to me. “I’m quite certain there is no one in this room who doesn’t have blood on their hands.”

A flush rose into my cheeks. “Perhaps not, but there is also no one in this room who has started a war lately.”

“Though I seem to recall your actions coming perilously close,” he reminded me.

My lips parted in ire.

“Because of a situation the brother you so desperately want to live put us in,” I snapped.