Page 55 of Obsidian Throne
But, as Iiro’s letter reminded us, it was a privilege to do so.
Bastard.
In between our brief stops at estates of the lords, the only other people we encountered were theBesklanovvy.Though we saw far more than we usually did while traveling, they gave us a wider berth than they had in the past.
That was only slightly confusing considering how Ava despised me and how she had used the Unclanned in an attempt to kill me more than once.
So why would she give up now?
Was she being more careful since she was traveling only a few carriages behind ours?
Did she not have sway over these particular bands? Or did she just have something else planned?
Evander’s brow furrowed, and I didn’t have to wonder for long if he was thinking the same thing.
“She has to be up to something,” he muttered.
We passed another band of Unclanned, and my fists clenched around my skirts.
How many lives were lost in her failed attempts at killing me?
She had preyed on their basic needs and pitted them against one another, all because she was a coward who didn’t care whether or not they lived or died.
I scanned the faces of each group we passed, looking for Vasily or his wife, wondering if they had decided to join up with one of the bands.
Would they fall prey to Ava’s false promises? Would she have someone there to help her deliver the baby? Would they survive the harsh winter?
My stomach twisted with the weight of those questions, the churning realization that they were hardly the only people in those circumstances.
“Do you think she’s given up on the Unclanned doing her bidding?” I wondered aloud. “Or is she just biding her time?”
Evander’s answer came quickly enough that I knew he had considered it already. “She isn’t bold enough to make a move herself, so I wouldn’t count the Unclanned out yet. Regardless, we need to be on our guard at the palace. Ava is hardly our biggest concern at the moment.”
“Whatarewe going to do about Iiro?” I asked quietly. “And these taxes?”
“Arès and I are working on the problem in general, but as far as right now goes…” He ran a hand through his hair, looking out the window. “Honestly, Lemmikki…I don’t know yet.”
I knew what it had taken for him to admit that, and there was nothing else to be gained by discussing it to death, so I didn’t push him. Instead, I leaned over and pressed a kiss along his jawline.
“How long did you say until we stop again?” My tone was deceptively casual, even as I dragged my lips across to his ear.
“At least a few—” His breath caught in his throat when my teeth grazed his skin. “—hours,” he bit out.
“Well, I suppose that will have to do,” I whispered cheekily, reaching across him to pull the curtains closed.
And it turned out this was another thing Evander had been right about. Therewereadvantages to being trapped in a carriage with the curtains drawn.
* * *
On the fourth day, we arrived at Wolf Estate, where Sir Nils did a valiant job of pretending I didn’t exist for the entire evening. Which was just as well, considering the things he tended to say when he did acknowledge my presence.
The rest of his family seemed to share the same bitter feelings about me and my people, so I spent the majority of my mealtime making sure that I went above and beyond to prove to them that I wasn’t the Lochlannian barbarian that they thought I was.
Though, they were at least less hostile than before, which might have been due in part to the fact that their larders were fuller thanks to the supplies we had given them.
Still, it was almost a relief to leave the next morning, until I remembered where we were going and that Iiro was even worse than Nils.
To be fair, Iiro was worse than most people.