Page 80 of Obsidian Throne
I narrowed my eyes, and he gathered a snowball in response.
He pulled me toward him, making a movement like he was going to smash it in my face. But just as I braced myself for the freezing cold snow, he dropped it, pressing his mouth against mine instead.
How was he still this warm when it was so cold outside?
I leaned into him, our small snow battle forgotten for the moment. No sooner had I pressed my body against his than the carriage finally came ambling up the road.
Evander let out a low growl when I released him. Shivers of pleasure raked down my skin at the sound, but I still bounded off to greet my friend.
I had so many things to catch her up on with the court, which was an odd switch of our usual positions.
A footman stepped forward to open the carriage door, and Mila came tumbling out with decidedly less grace than she usually displayed. I moved forward to catch her, and she pitched toward me...promptly vomiting all over the hem of my dress.
“Are you unwell?” I asked as Taras hurried to put a protective arm around her.
“Sorry, Row,” she croaked, standing straighter. “And I’m fine. Just...well, carrying a little extra these days.”
Taras’ gaze softened, a frown tugging the corners of his mouth downward as he stared at Mila with concern.
My gaze flew to her stomach, and she nodded, giving a wan smile. I tried to gauge whether she was excited or terrified, but she seemed happy enough.
So I tried to be happy, too… Tried to ignore the way my mind told me this was just one more person we stood to lose if things went badly with Iiro.
Still, I wanted to be optimistic, for her sake. I leaned in and hugged her and congratulated her and pretended that I believed everything was going to work out for the best.
But Taras’ wary eyes met mine over her shoulder, and I knew he was thinking the same thing.
Worse still, it only took seven hours for us to be proven right.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
ROWAN
The bird came in the middle of the night, an urgent message from Crane scrawled in hurried, slanted script.
Forces from the Obsidian Palace had surprised them, overwhelming their contingent at the southeastern border.
And now Iiro’s men were marching on Bear.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
ROWAN
Evander had only said a single word when we received the letter, the lines of his face etched in a calm, detached fury.
Der’mo.
After that, it was a flurry of orders to the soldiers in our hallway, a rush for us to both get dressed, and then we were out the door.
He led us down an unfamiliar hallway to a room I had never been to.
The war room.
A map was etched into the rectangular table, and small, painted figurines were scattered across the top, each representing a different clan animal.
No wonder Evander had taken to Dominion so quickly. This was just a more realistic version of that board.
Several lords joined us, including Taras.