Page 198 of Onyx Cage: Volume II

That was true enough. Though I prided myself on both the size and training of Bear’s army, Nils was relentless with his men as well. While there were mandatory periods of service for Bear, Wolf required every able-bodied man in the kingdom to report for yearly training and maintain an affiliation with the military, regardless of their trade.

Their forces were fearsome, and they stood directly between us and the Obsidian Palace—or Elk, for that matter.

Crane also responded, letting me know in no uncertain terms that they would not stand for a king who killed one of hisown dukes. They were close to the Ram border, which would be beneficial for keeping Mikhail from joining any potential conflict.

He wouldn’t decimate his clan for the sake of a war he couldn’t win, and he wouldn’t send forces out with enemies on all sides.

I already knew where Arès stood. Though his clan was the richest in resources, his focus on fishing and farming had detracted somewhat from his military. Still, he had a large enough army, and the placement of his soldiers was advantageous, spanning the entire western border of the Obsidian territory.

Iiro was an arseling, but he was a strategic arseling. He, too, would not start a war he couldn’t win, which gave me an iota of hope that he would not start this war at all. As it stood, there was no way he could plan to defeat the entire north. At best, he would set us into a decades-long conflict like the one Lochlann had been engaged in before their treaty.

And that was assuming that the Lochlannians didn’t join the fray, which was unlikely, given how well Rowan’s family would take to a threat against their daughter.

Even Iiro’s own dukes wouldn’t stand for those odds, with resources stretched as thin as they were and armies that would outnumber them by the thousands.

Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something, as seemed to be the case where the false-king was concerned as of late. Iiro was far too quiet, the territory around his palace locked completely down. So I continued with my preparations, along with the daily running of the clan, unraveling the tangled mess of my father’s reign and shoring up my armies.

At least I was distracted from the suspicious glances my people still cast my way, as they wondered whether I had killed their precious, murderous duke or their sadist of a Clan Wife.

Distracted from the visions of my father in life and in death that followed me around the castle where he had raised me.

And distracted from the pale pink scar along my wife’s neck that reminded me every day how I had failed her.

Though I hadn’t realized quite how much I had been avoiding the latter until she slipped into my study in the dead of night, well after I assumed she was sleeping.

She walked in on her usual light footsteps, the soft padding sound accompanied by a whisper of silk from her dressing gown sliding against her skin with the movement.

I was nearly finished with this letter, so I quickly penned out the rest of the sentence, signing the bottom. Instead of waiting in the armchair like she normally did when I was in the middle of a task, she crossed the distance to where I sat, bringing her hands to massage the tight muscles in my neck.

I hadn’t realized how long I had spent hunched over my work until she deftly worked through the knots that had built up over the long hours and even longer days.

I set my quill down, raising my head at last.

“What time is it, Lemmikki?” My voice was rough with disuse. It must have been later than I thought.

“Late,” she answered in her usual vague way. But I hardly minded since she leaned down to murmur the word against my skin.

How long had it been since I had felt her body against mine? Since I had reminded her that she was the single most important thing in the world to me?

Heat spread from her lips, wrapping tendrils of desire around every part of my body.

Too long. It had been far too long.

I put my hand on hers, pulling her around to stand in front of me. Her black robe clung to the sides of her body, but she had just barely bothered to belt it. It was completely open in the middle, reminding me that my wife preferred to sleep in nothing at all.

Pale skin contrasted with the black fabric, too tempting for me to keep from tasting, even if I hadn’t already realized how fiercely I had missed her. Heat sparked in her eyes, desire pebbling her skin and making her lean ever so slightly toward me.

Der’mo.

It was intoxicating, the way she was responsive to the smallest look, how the molten need that coursed through my soul found its twin in hers, time after time.

Holding her stare, I untied her robe slowly, letting my fingers slide along her skin while I watched her plump lips part on a gasp. I pushed the fabric out of the way, claiming her with my gaze the way I was about to do with my body.

I didn’t shy away from the scar on her neck this time, raking it in along with the rest of her. She was still here, and she was still mine. I would not take that for granted for another second, let alone wallow in the kind of regret that accomplished nothing.

Resolved, I grazed my lips along the smooth skin of her stomach, relishing the hitch in her breath.

“I’m afraid I’ve been neglecting you in truth this time,” I said as she arched further against me.