Page 75 of Hollow Court

Somehow, I didn’t think evenheknew which of those things he meant.

Complicated, indeed.

I took a deep breath, raising my defenses back up before Davin could demolish them completely as he had an unsettling tendency to do.

“It hardly matters anymore,” I said as neutrally as I could manage. “Whatever happened in the past, we’re allies now, at least for the next six months.”

“Allies?” He peered at my face like it was a puzzle he couldn’t quite solve. “Well, I suppose that’s better than the alternative.”

Was the alternative in this scenario being his enemy? Or being his future wife?

Storms.Davin was the only person who could make me question everything this way. And honestly, I wasn’t sure being his ally was better than being his enemy.

At the very least, it wasn’t easier.

I pushed off from the railing, straightening to my full height. “On that note, I should get some sleep. We have a long day of allying ahead of us tomorrow. Goodnight, Davin.”

I was already halfway to the stairs when I heard his voice sound softly behind me. “Goodnight, Lina.”

That one, simple word—a name I hadn’t heard him use in ages—both twisted and released something inside me.

My steps faltered briefly before I continued down the staircase.

It wasn’t until I was safely ensconced in my blankets that I realized I hadn’t thought about Alexei or the assassin once on that rooftop.

The Breakening

GALINA

A Year and a Half Ago

When Rowan had burst into my life, effectively stealing the very satisfactory plan that was laid before me, I had been frustrated. Angry, even.

But I had never hated her like I hated the woman standing before me now.

“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you, My Lady,” Aino said, her voice filled with false niceties.

No, she wasn’t.

The maid hadn’t displayed a single ounce of contrition since she barged into my room with her fake sincerity and her I-just-thought-you-should-knows.

But the worst part—the absolute ugliest piece of the entire encounter—was that she was right.

I should have known.

Should have guessed. Should have prodded. Should have done anything but trust Davin with his stupid laughing eyes and dimpled smirk and surprising wit.

My mind raced with a thousand different memories. The casual way he referred to Princess Rowan. His expensive tastes. The cultured manner in which he spoke.

And what was it he had said that very first night on the roof?

The perils of being in a new court.

At the time, I had thought he meantkingdom. But he was halfway to a concussion, given to a rare display of transparency, only I had been too blind to see it.

Then there was the way Iiro treated him like a valued prisoner, the way Theodore respected him as an equal.

I wanted Aino to be lying, but the things she said added up.