Page 109 of Hollow Court

Of course, every ball, just as I managed to convince myself how wildly content I would be in my new life, Davin would ask me to dance. It wasn’t his fault, necessarily. It would have looked suspicious if he hadn’t.

Still, I dreaded each spin and turn that would put me close enough to feel his body heat.

All in all, it was a relief when we finally headed back to Lithlinglau for a break.

Rather, it would have been, if there hadn’t been a letter waiting for me when I returned. My heart dropped into my stomach when I remembered that I still hadn’t heard from Alexei.

He had plenty of faults, but he wasn’t the type to stand by idly while someone else dealt with his problems.

When I turned the letter over, though, it was to find the familiar crimson ram’s head seal. I wasn’t sure if that was better or worse. Had Prince Oliver’s letter been that persuasive?

Alexei’s silence was almost more ominous than my uncle’s threats.

Almost. But not quite.

Galina,

My patience is running thin, and so is Lord Alexei’s. This will be your last warning. If you refuse to care about your honor or your clan or your family, then know that I have given Lord Alexei permission to see to your punishment in my stead if you continue to delay.

He didn’t botherto sign it. He didn’t need to.

My fingers trembled as I curled the letter back up. It was a small mercy that we had been gone when this letter came through, that it had been delivered directly to my rooms. At least Davin wouldn’t see it.

Shame pooled in my gut.

Delicate is not the first word I would use to describe you.

If only he knew how the mere whisper of a threat of being back in Alexei’s furious clutches could turn me into a quivering mess.

Though, fear wasn’t the only thing making the blood pound through my veins.

For all that I had seen my uncle’s ruthlessness with the people around him, some part of me had wanted to believe that he wouldn’t apply it to me. I had made excuse after excuse for him.

But he had known.

He had known how Alexei had treated me.

He must have, or he wouldn’t have realized that the threat of my future husband’s punishment was so much worse than the duke of my clan’s.

My conversation with Jocelyn came rushing back.

You can’t choose who you love, but you can choose who is deserving of your loyalty.

I couldn’t ignore the part of myself that loved my uncle, the man I remembered from my childhood who had been generous and funny, at least when it was only our family.

Loyalty, though…that, I could finally acknowledge he had never deserved.

Perhaps that’s why I felt no guilt at all when I threw his letter into the fire, watching the last vestiges of the obedient girl I had been go up in flames.

Not that it mattered how I felt.

If my uncle followed through on his threats, loyalty would not be a choice I was given.

I wasn’t sure it had ever really been a choice. Not for me.

The Cost of an Alliance

GALINA