Page 85 of Hollow Court

I let out a disbelieving huff of air. “Yes, Lina. It would matter. It does matter. And we made that deal before you spent your day up to your elbows in other people’s blood, knowing the people who did that would have rather it happened to you.”

She blanched slightly but didn’t back down.

“You warned me about the rebels,” she reminded me.

“It isn’t the same,” I bit back.

Another pause.

“And what about your vote?” she asked quietly.

The vote that would give Tavish everything he needed to fund his pet rebels. The vote I had to win if I didn’t want the entire kingdom to go up in flames.

“I would find another way,” I told her, not entirely untruthfully.

Galina coming here had been a last-minute idea. It hadn’t even factored into my plans to win the vote originally. If she left, I still had as many options as I had before she showed up to my room that night, with the small added downside of having to explain away our failed betrothal.

So they weren’t good options, necessarily, but it wouldn’t be impossible.

“If you had another way, why did you force me into this charade to begin with?” She sounded more curious than angry.

Because the idea of you coming here and marrying someone else just as you’d come back into my life was unthinkable.

The thought barreled into me unbidden, surprising me with its veracity. I stumbled over my response.

“I didn’t say I had another way. Just that I would find one. If you’re miserable, that is.”

She looked out over the moonlit grounds, then back at me.

“No, Davin. I’m not miserable.” Her silvery blue gaze held mine. “But…thank you.”

“For not wanting you to be miserable?” I tried for a teasing tone again, but she didn’t smile.

Instead, she held my gaze seriously for several silent heartbeats.

“For not leaving me in Socair,” she finally said, returning her gaze to the stars and resting both of her arms on the balcony.

I could have told her she left me no choice, with the life debt, but we both knew that wasn’t strictly true. And I didn’t want to lie to her. Not again.

Not anymore.

“You’re welcome,” I said, studying her controlled expression. “Thank you for staying, when I offered you a way out.”

She wordlessly held her glass out for me to refill before she spoke.

“You’re welcome.”

Silence fell again after that, not tense, but not exactly comfortable either. We were both weighed down with everything that had happened today. Though somehow, it didn’t feel quite as heavy in our shared quietude.

For all she claimed tonothingme, Galina didn’t leave. I knew she would be here tomorrow, too.

We both would, because despite my very best efforts, I couldn’t seem tonothingher either.

TWENTY-NINE

Galina

Several days passedwithout another incident, without word from Tavish or the rebels that he was clearly conspiring with. But instead of being calming, it was as if everyone was holding their breath waiting for the other shoe to drop.