Page 17 of Obsidian Throne
“Lady Stenvall,” she greeted in response, and I couldn’t help the smile that tempted the corner of my mouth.
Lady Stenvall.
“I had begun to hope you would be Lady Korhonan one day,” she said quietly. Then she looked to where Evander stood several feet away, his eyes still fixated on me even as he moved around the floor. “But I see it was not to be.”
“No,” I shook my head. “Even if everything else hadn’t happened...my name would have been Rowan Korhonan.”
When said in the correct Socairan accent, with the silenthand the long O, the names most definitely rhymed.
Inessa let out a small, startled laugh before she covered her mouth. “I can see where that would have been...unfortunate.”
Then her face turned serious once more. “Regardless, I hope that you have found contentment.”
I gave her crown a pointed look. “And you as well.”
Before either of us could say more, Lord Luca walked over to where we stood, Mila at his side. Inessa glanced between the three of us before politely excusing herself.
“I was quite devastated when you turned down my proposal, you know,” Luca said by way of greeting, but his tone was teasing.
He certainly wouldn’t have been a bad consolation prize, had there been no Evander and no Theo. With Mila’s high cheekbones, tan skin, and chocolate-colored eyes, not to mention the same warmth and humor, he was definitely going to be a catch for someone else.
Mila subtly elbowed him. “Oh, you were not.”
He chuckled. “Perhaps I just believed Evander needed more incentive to pull his head out of his arse, then. Though, I’ll confess, I didn’t realize he would actually go all the way to Lochlann himself.”
I raised an eyebrow, and he gave me a knowing smile that was reminiscent of his father.
“You know,” he said in a conspiratorial tone, “I came to that cabin prepared to refuse his offer when he was unwilling to marry Mila himself, but it took me fewer than five minutes to realize why his hand wasn’t in the running.”
A flush rose to my cheeks.
“And what would you have done if I had accepted your proposal?” I demanded.
Mila covered her laugh with a light cough. “She’s got you there, Brother.”
But Luca only raised his eyebrows. “I think we both know there was never a danger of that. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one I wished to incentivize.”
“Why would you bother to do that?” My tone was curious.
He studied me over his drink before answering.
“Because I know what people think of Evander, but I also know what I’ve observed of him,” he said more quietly. “And I believe he’ll make a strong leader, one who helps effect necessary changes, not only in his own clan. My father thinks so, too. That’s why we decided to ally with him at all.”
He met my gaze solidly, as if he was weighing his next words more carefully. Whatever he saw in my features made him decide to go forward. “But before you came along, that strength was starting to harden into something else…and no one needs another Aleksander.”
Mila nodded so fervently that I wondered what exactly had transpired in my absence, but now hardly seemed the time to ask.
Instead, I took a moment to digest what Luca just told me about my husband, warmth surging through my veins.
“Thank you,” I said at last. “For telling me that.”
“Thankyou,” he said. “For not accepting my proposal.”
I suppressed a laugh, feeling a small stab of regret that Luca didn’t live here also. He reminded me of Davin, with his easy charm and clear lack of interest in settling down.
A smile spread across my lips. “Any time you need someone to ignore your overtures of marriage, Lord Luca, I’m happy to oblige.”
* * *