Page 34 of Obsidian Throne
Still, we walked in silence to our rooms, neither of us speaking until he carefully shut the door behind us. It wasn’t hard to see what an effort it was for him not to slam it, and his fury only further ignited my own.
“What exactly areyouupset about?” I demanded. “It’s not like you were just demeaned in front of the entire council.”
He shot me a look of disbelief. “Itislike that, as a matter of fact.”
A scoff escaped my lips. “Surely, you didn’t expect me to just sit there in silence while you--”
He interrupted me. “That’s exactly what I expected you to do.”
Rage burned through my veins, punctuated by each thunderous heartbeat echoing in my ears.
“Well, perhaps you can bestow a barbaric punishment upon me, as well.” I put a finger to my lips, pretending to think. “Let’s see, if fifteen lashes is standard for mischievous boys, whatever would a disobedient wife rate?”
Evander took a deep, furious breath through his nose, apparently too angry to respond to that comment.
“Why did you even invite me if you didn’t plan on listening to a damned word I said?” I demanded.
“Well, I confess,” he began sarcastically, “it didn’t actually occur to me when I asked you to go that you wouldn’t have the basic common sense to refrain from criticizing my decisions in front of the entire Council of Lords, regarding a law that you know exactly nothing about.”
My jaw dropped in fury. “Funny, because it didn’t actually occur tomethat you would be sadistic enough to subject someone else to the same form of torture that you’ve experienced yourself, that nearly killed your wife.”
That warning expression entered his eyes again.
“Lemmikki,” he growled. “Theseboysare twice your size. Fifteen lashes won’t kill them, especially when the whip isn’t being wielded by a man like Samu. It will, however, deter them and everyone watching from disobedience in the future that would get them or their fellow soldiers killed.”
“And this is the only way to accomplish that?” I demanded. “Scarring them for life?”
“It’s a known, effective way of accomplishing that,” he gritted out. “And again, this isnotwhat happened to you. One standard lashing isn’t likely to leave them mutilated.”
“Likely?” I echoed, blinking slowly. “Well then, what could I possibly have to be upset about, as long as the boys arelikelynot going to be mutilated?”
“We’re very possibly teetering on the brink of a war, and you want to argue with me about the way I discipline my soldiers?” Incredulity coated his tone. “A job that, by the way, I was doing back when your biggest concern in life was which tiara to wear that day.”
A whoosh of air escaped me.Aalio.
“No, of course not, My Lord,” I said in a simpering tone. “I wouldn’t dream of having an opinion about something so bold as politics or warfare. Perhaps you could find me something to knit instead.”
“Perhaps I should.” Evander was closer to yelling now than I usually heard him. “If the alternative is you making arses of both of us in front of the people we need to respect us most.”
A bitter huff of air escaped me. “Respectyou, you mean.”
He squeezed his eyes shut, his nostrils flaring.
“As much as I would love to stand here and debate every aspect of Socairan law and custom that you haven’t bothered to learn or understand, I have to get downstairs for lunch with the lords to smooth over the damageyoucaused in the Council meeting.” He gestured toward the door with a flourish. “But you are welcome to join me.”
“I’m sure I wouldn’t want to risk furtherdamagingthe fragile egos of any Socairan lords,” I said pointedly, ensuring he knew exactly whose ego I was referring to.
Evander clenched his teeth, and I couldn’t help but follow the line of the muscle that ticked in his jaw to the furious set of his mouth, the same mouth that had been on mine only a few hours ago.
He tracked the movement of my eyes, a different sort of heat entering his features.
My feet moved of their own accord until I was standing in front of him, my hands acting without my permission to shove him back against the wall as I stretched up on my tiptoes to crash my lips against his.
He didn’t resist, instead returning my kiss with a bruising impact.
His fingers came around my waist and then he was flipping us, lifting me up until I was eye level, his body pressing me solidly against the textured wall.
My anger hadn’t dissipated, by any means, but it morphed solidly into a different kind of passion. All of my body pulsed with awareness, my heart beating a frantic staccato that demanded to be satiated.