Page 16 of Obsidian Throne
He stared at her like he hardly recognized her, but that was because he had never understood her to begin with.
The woman with the scarlet lips and the backless dress was exactly who Rowan had always been. And though I had been appreciating that dress a moment ago, I was markedly less enamored with it when it allowed him to put his hand on her bare skin.
I felt Arès’ gaze, somewhere between amused and aggravated, and I took care to school my features. Just as I was contemplating the many ways I might interrupt this dance, Iiro sauntered up to us.
“Sir Iiro,” Arès intoned.
Iiro raised a single condescending eyebrow. “Don’t you meanYour Majesty?”
Arès met his eyes solidly. “Notmymajesty.”
The almost-king’s eyes flashed with murder, and I lifted my drink to my lips to hide my smirk.
“I’m certain that you’ll be…influenced to come around in no time,” Iiro said with a pointed glance in my direction.
So that’s how he’s going to play this.He wanted my help in turning the two remaining clans in his favor, which meant he believed he had some sort of leverage over me.
I made a noncommittal noise in the back of my throat, and Iiro left with an expression entirely too calculating for my liking. I turned back to Arès, a muscle clenching in my jaw.
“Yes,” I answered his first question again. “I will find a way to fix this.”
CHAPTER NINE
ROWAN
Ihad been worried that my dance with Theo would be uncomfortable, but his presence was as steady and calming as ever. I wondered if we would ever get to the point where we considered each other friends.
“How have you been?” I asked him.
He gave me a small smile. “You mean now that my brother has proven Evander right and upset half of Socair?”
“Only half?” I raised my eyebrows, and he let out a reluctant chuckle.
“It’s been…interesting.” Theo cast a sideways glance at his brother. “I would tell you to be careful, but I’m certain it would be pointless.”
His gaze roamed from the thick lines of kohl around my eyes to the dark color of my lips, then down to where my dress abruptly cut off at the shoulders. I got the sense he was seeing me in a way he hadn’t before, and possibly in a way that made him grateful things hadn’t gone differently with us.
Would he have died on the spot if I had shown up to our wedding this way? Would he have understood?
“Sometimes, bold moves are in order,” I told him.
He nodded hesitantly. “Sometimes. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”
That makes two of us.
When the music ended and the dance was over, Theo dipped his head in a respectful bow. I returned the gesture before excusing myself for a refreshment break while he moved to ask Lady Andreyev, Inessa’s mother, to dance.
My shoulders sagged in relief when the only person near the table full of food and a steaming bowl of medovukha was the servant in charge of the food. I enjoyed my break from the court while the man ladled the drink into an ornate chalice made of polished silver with what looked like the claws of a bear grasping the cup.
I shivered after the first sip, warmth flooding through me before I filled a small plate with more of the blinis that Mila had shared with me earlier. However, I staunchly avoided the caviar and raw beef on crisps that the other Socairans seemed to favor, remembering the joyous experience of nearly spitting one out at the Summit.
I was contentedly snacking and watching Evander dance flawlessly with Sir Nils’ wife when Inessa walked over to me.
“Your Majesty,” I said after swallowing the large mouthful of smoked salmon and cream, giving her a deep nod.
She seemed rather surprised at my acknowledgment of her new title, but I wasn’t about to refer to her as anything else. Evander had said we needed to play this game for now, so I planned to do just that.
Besides, I seriously doubted, given the nature of their relationship, that Inessa was in on whatever Iiro’s plans were.