Page 19 of Hollow Court

But he had stayed and then came every night thereafter for reasons that confused me until they didn’t. Until I was stupid enough to believe it truly was my company he was seeking out, and not the things that I let slip when my guard was down.

“Galina,” a deep voice eventually startled me from my thoughts.

My fingers froze reflexively on my bracelet. For a brief, unreasonable moment, I was in a different carriage with a different man beside me, his fingers digging into my skin like claws poised to tear it from the bone.

A wave of humiliation washed over me when I realized those fingers belonged to me, and the man beside me wasn’t the one I was running away from.

I forced my hands to relax, schooling my features into something serene as I shot Davin a questioning look.

“Oh, can we acknowledge her presence now?” Gallagher asked with a trace of sarcasm.

His hazel eyes darted back and forth between Davin and me, and I had the sinking feeling that he saw more than I wanted him to.

If Davin noticed his cousin’s assessing gaze, he didn’t comment on it.

“In here, at least, but we should still save the rest,” he responded before turning his attention back to me. “As I was saying, Galina, we’re well past the Obsidian Territory.”

His shoulders had eased slightly, belying the tension he had been concealing behind his banter before now.

I wanted to join him in that relief, but this wasn’t the hardest part. I still had to get out of Socair, still had to talk my way into the tunnels and trust that Alexei hadn’t noticed me missing by then.

I nodded, acknowledging what Davin had said.

“We’ve got a solid day’s ride until we stop at the inn,” he went on. “There will be breaks, but I’ll keep things vague with the guards until tonight, like we talked about.”

“All right,” I said, my voice more clipped than I intended.

Things were still tense between us, made even more uncomfortable by the knowledge that we only had a handful of days before we had to start our very fake love story.

Though, that really wasn’t new for me.

If I could stand at Alexei’s side and pretend to like him, I could damned well do it with Davin. The man might have been a liar, but he wasn’t a monster. And at least I wasn’t stupid enough to let myself believe it was anything else this time.

“You’ll share a room with Gwyn,” Davin added, pulling me from my thoughts once again.

“Oh, will she?” Gwyndolyn challenged, not bothering to open her eyes from where she was leaning against the back of the carriage.

“Well, I’m certainly not sharing a room with you,” her twin responded. Then he turned to me, offering a tentative smile. “Don’t mind her. She’s always grouchy before breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner, really.”

The duchess let out a snort that might have been a denial or a confirmation. Either one.

After that dubious exchange, I settled into a cautious silence for the rest of the ride, wherein I tried not to think about everything I was leaving behind.

Or worse, the uncertainty I was hurtling toward.

EIGHT

Davin

It should have goneunsaid that this whole cloak and dagger routine with Galina meant that we were keeping her identity a secret. Still, I found myself reiterating the importance of that fact to the soldiers.

I mentally noted each man’s reaction. The impassive look in Scottie’s eyes, the anger in Arran’s. Others, like James, looked more apprehensive than upset, and a precious two were unfazed.

“Ye can’t be meaning for us to protect one ofthem?” Arran asked, his presumptuous tone grating on my nerves.

“That’s precisely what I mean.” My voice was even, but I fixed him with a pointed stare.

He shifted uneasily, looking away.