Page 25 of Obsidian Throne

Iiro’s smile widened, and Evander’s fingers tightened on my waist.

Then the self-proclaimed king made a show of a polite farewell before turning to go. Inessa met my eyes with an inscrutable expression before dipping her head and following after her husband.

“Taxes?” I asked quietly, as we watched their carriage leave. “Will the gold be a problem for Bear?”

Logically, I knew the value in having them, but considering that each clan already had a system in place, adding more for Iiro’s new position felt…excessive.

“No.” Evander gently pressed his hand against my back, leading me back into the castle. “Money is no object for any of the clans, really, but least of all, Bear. He’s referring to food taxes.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “And I won’t starve my people just so he can better feed his new army.”

I thought of the food that my parents had sent as part of my dowry. Even Lochlann’s food stores were limited. Trade or not, they hardly had the resources to feed all of Socair.

How far would it go within Bear and our allies? And what would happen when that supply ran out?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

ROWAN

The next several days were a blur of Evander and me, interspersed with an occasional report from Taras, Kirill, or Yuriy.

There were likely a thousand things for us to do, for the clan, for the estate, to prepare ourselves for whatever Iiro had planned…still, I was grateful when Evander locked the door behind us, keeping the rest of the world at bay.

We spent our days losing ourselves in one another and making up for all of the time we had missed. There wasn’t a single part of me that stopped craving him. His nearness, his touch, the gentle sounds of his breathing as he slept.

I wanted it all. All of him.

After a week of mostly hiding in our rooms, though, Evander announced over breakfast that we would need to return to normal life, or the new normal of being married to the Clan Heir.

Which, in my case, seemed to consist of learning how to navigate the politics of my new clan and getting to know the people in my court.

I shot him a bitter look and consoled myself with another piece of the maple bacon that was so popular here. It had nearly been ruined for me in the days I had spent eating with Aleksander, but these past couple of days, I had come to truly appreciate it again.

“Lemmikki.” Evander’s voice was a mock warning as I dutifully ignored him, savoring the sweet and salty taste of the bacon, the heady flavor of the sticky maple syrup coating each piece, and the kick of pepper that added just the right amount of spice.

I groaned, licking my fingers as my eyes rolled to the back of my head.

A soft laugh escaped Evander’s lips as he crept across the bed and slowly kissed me, savoring me as much as I had the bacon.

“Did you know that you make that same face when…” He raised his eyebrows suggestively as I threw a pillow at him to shut him up.

“What can I say? Food is delicious, you’re delicious, the way you make me feel is del--” He interrupted me by pulling me further into his lap, and a giggle escaped my lips. “I appreciate delicious things.”

A low growl emanated from the back of his throat that solidified my desire to never leave this room again.

A desire that had nothing at all to do with the way I dreaded the idea of meeting with the other ladies for tea or lunch. Or the fact that it also meant Ava would be present.

Here was hoping that she neglected her responsibilities more than I intended to.

At least that wasn’t for several more hours. I had more appealing plans for the rest of my morning.

“Is there somewhere I can spar this morning?” I asked, turning to face him.

He finished taking his sip of coffee, setting the mug down on the breakfast tray beside him before assessing me.

“I’m sure that can be arranged.”

Boris leapt onto the bed with an irritable half-meow, settling his fluffy ginger mass on Evander’s pillow behind us, which elicited narrowed eyes from my husband.

With a low chuckle, I shared the last, precious morsel of bacon with the cat, who purred as he inhaled the delicious bite. Then I reluctantly pulled myself from bed to ready myself for the day.