Page 132 of Onyx Cage: Volume II

I wasn’t sure what he would do if he figured that out. But I had learned a long time ago when to show weakness in front of this woman, and now was not that time.

I let out a dark laugh. “By all means, pit your word against mine. After all, I’m only his son, his legacy, the next in line to his clan, while you’re the woman he was forced to marry after the wife he chose, the wife heloved, died.”

Fury flashed across her face, because she knew every word of it was true. Hell, it was why she hated me so much to begin with.

Her hand clenched at her side, and I wondered how much restraint it was taking for her not to slap me, though she had never dared to do anything quite so obvious.

Instead, her features twisted. “I may not be the wife he chose, but would he really choose you if he knew what a coward you were? Remember how you used to beg me not to punish you, even when you knew you deserved it?”

Had she ever possessed an actual soul? If Princess Isla’s reaction when she met me was anything to go by, the answer was no.

Times like this, I kept my composure by picturing the way her empty eyes would widen in surprise if I calmly severed her head from her body.

But sadly, it was not to be.

I forced a nonchalant sigh. “It still wouldn’t be enough to make him love you more. Or...at all, for that matter. In any event, I doubt you want to find yourself explaining to him how he managed to sign off on the leader of his enemy clan becoming king.”

“Like I had any control over that,” she spat. “As you know, women are not allowed in the Summit tent. We’re lucky he was feeling as lucid as he did then. At least they only believe he is as mad as he ever was.”

Hearing that woman refer to us in any sense of the word was galling, but she was right. We were lucky it hadn’t been worse.

Iiro convincing the lords there would be a war and taking advantage of my father’s never-ending bloodthirstiness toward Lochlann was, in reality, far from the worst thing that could have happened.

Ignoring her this time, I continued into my father’s study, shutting the door behind me before she could follow.

He was sitting at his desk, paperwork neatly piled in front of him. For a moment, he looked like he had when I was a child, back before I knew what a monster he was.

I sucked in a breath, and he looked up at last.

“Evander.” He said my name fondly, if not precisely warmly. “Did you take care of the issue with the soldiers?”

I mentally reviewed the first edict he had sent out this morning. It was harmless enough, just a stricter version of the laws on storing the clan flags.

“I did.” Now, I had to distract him before he remembered the half portions order he had sent along with it. The men’s rations were tight enough. They would starve on half.

“Sir Heikkenin arrived this morning from Eagle,” I told him.

As expected, my father let out an irritable breath. “I suppose I’ll need to take a break to greet him.”

Thank the storms for that.

“Speaking of arrivals today, where is your bride?” The silver glinted in his gray eyes, the only physical sign of how he felt about me marrying into Lochlann.

“We thought it prudent she arrive at the last minute. You know how the dukes can be,” I explained.

He nodded. “I’m proud you thought of it. You’re your father’s son.”

He smiled like he had complimented me rather than compared me to a man who had ordered countless innocents to be slaughtered in his lifetime, and I forced myself to give a semblance of it back.

“It was a good plan,” he went on. “Marrying the girl so it will be easier to attack her family from the inside.”

He repeated back the only rationale I had been able to give him when he looked dubious over his signature on this alliance.

“Thank you, sir,” I nodded, keeping my features carefully neutral, rather than let him see that hell itself would freeze over before I allowed my wife’s family to be harmed.

I hoped my mother at least had not been a sociopath, or there was really no hope for me.

“Very good.” He walked around his desk to clap me on the shoulder. “Take the rest of the day off, Son. It is your wedding, after all.”