Page 54 of Obsidian Throne

“I’m not going anywhere, even when things are difficult and complicated.” Rowan moved then, lying next to me, her hand once again going to run through my hair. “We’re in this together now, right?”

I brought my hand up to her face, tracing the outline of her rounded cheekbones to her pointed, stubborn chin. She kept saying we were in this together, but after a lifetime of handling things alone, I hadn’t really let myself believe her.

I was starting to now.

“Yes.” My voice came out a quiet rasp. “We’re in this together.”

“Promise me you’ll remember that.” Her face was close enough to mine that our breaths were mingling together, her eyes shining with rare sincerity instead of the cheeky mischief that was usually there.

And there was nothing I could have denied her in that moment.

“I promise,” I told her.

More than anything, I wanted that to be true.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

ROWAN

Evander had fallen asleep in my arms for a change last night.

After dinner, he had lain next to me while I trailed my fingers in soothing motions up and down his back, in his hair until he finally drifted off.

But by the next morning, I awoke cocooned in his arms, the way I always did. My head was on his muscular bicep, and his other arm was around me in a protective iron grip, like he could keep me safe from the many things that were trying to harm us through sheer force of his will.

And maybe he could, at that. Stars knew he was stubborn enough for it.

When we finally got out of bed, it was a flurry of packing and preparing to leave the next day. I was in my closet, adding a few things to my trunk, when my eyes once again landed on the box.

Every time I drew near it, my spine tingled with the threat of a particularly brutal storm. Awareness prickled all the way from the base of my neck down to the small of my back, intensifying as I picked up the wooden case.

Rayan had said I would know if I needed it, and though I couldn’t explain exactly why, that didn’t feel true yet. But he had also said to keep it close, so I carefully placed it among my dresses in the spacious trunk.

Evander eyed me from the doorway of my closet, storms brewing in his silvery gaze.

“Just in case,” I said quietly.

He nodded.

I could tell it was killing him not knowing what was in that box. He was a man who liked to plan for every eventuality, account for every resource, but he had thus far respected my decision.

The day passed quickly, and we had a goodbye dinner with Mila and Taras before heading to bed early.

I was in no way prepared to be dragged out of bed before dawn, but somehow, I managed to be functional all the way through getting dressed and walking to the carriage.

At which point, I promptly curled up with my head on Evander’s lap.

“Wake me if we get attacked.”

He chuckled softly, pulling his arm solidly over me to keep me from rolling off the bench.

At least we didn’t have to share a carriage with Aleksander and Ava. The duke insisted on traveling separately so that both he and the heir weren’t at risk at the same time, which I had to admit made sense.

But even if it hadn’t, I would have been grateful for it. I wasn’t sure I could refrain from stabbing either of them for an entire week in close quarters.

* * *

The first half of our journey was as uneventful as you could expect, considering we were likely walking into a trap and being forced to give up resources the people of Bear needed.