Page 145 of Obsidian Throne

“How long have I been out?” he asked, his voice cracking.

Moving to get the glass of water next to me, I held it to his lips, making sure he drank as I answered.

“Nearly four days,” I told him.

He nodded, then winced with the movement. “Is Iiro…”

“Imprisoned,” I supplied. “He’s here until Theo takes him back to Elk.”

Evander gave another short dip of his chin. Even exhausted and in pain, his sharp eyes processed and analyzed the information as it came.

“And you, Lemmikki?” he asked in a softer tone.

“Now that you’re awake?” I answered. “I’m perfect.”

The corner of his mouth twitched up in the barest hint of a smirk. “Well, you were always perfect.” Then, he managed to raise one sardonic eyebrow. “And Lemmikki?”

I shot him a questioning look.

His gaze bored into mine, but there was a teasing glint in his eyes. “You made me feel things, too.”

CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN

EVANDER

Though I normally would have had no complaints about staying in bed with my gorgeous wife for days on end, this situation was decidedly less fun than it could have been.

Yuriy brought me reports, and Korhonan came by more than once to express his gratitude and see how I was faring. Arès stopped by as well, though Rowan’s furious countenance chased him from the room rather quickly.

But I couldn’t just sit here while the other dukes discussed the future of Socair. By the third day, I demanded to be brought to the council room, and Rowan, of course, adamantly insisted that I stay in bed.

Despite the healer’s many reassurances about my steady improvement, my wife remained convinced I might die at any moment.

I couldn’t blame her, not when I remembered what it was like to be on the other side of this. We hadn’t even really belonged to each other when the fever threatened to take her from me, and it had still been a few of the worst days of my life.

Still, I needed to get out of this room.

She finally relented, albeit reluctantly, so I slowly made my way downstairs, with a detour to Kirill’s room.

He looked even worse than I felt, but he still had a smile on his lips. My gaze lingered on the bandage over one of his eyes, or rather, where the eye used to be, according to Rowan.

I sank into a chair, the short walk tiring me more than I wanted to admit, and surveyed my friend with concern.

“Don’t give me that look, Van,” he said flippantly. “Though your wife clearly prefers pretty men, mine likes the rugged type, so she’ll be thrilled with this turn of events.”

I smiled, shaking my head, and Rowan chuckled softly next to me.

“Pretty?” I demanded.

“It’s the eyelashes,” she said drily.

Kirill shrugged smugly, and I pretended to take offense before forcing myself back to my feet. With a brief farewell, we continued our trek downstairs.

It was even slower going down the stairs to the council room. Each step jarred the wound in my chest, but I pushed the pain away before Rowan could see it on my face.

Finally, we made it to the room where the eight dukes were sitting, plus Yuriy, who had been acting in my stead as the next-highest-ranking member of Bear present.

Except for Rowan, of course, but even if the men would have allowed it, she refused to leave my side.