Page 21 of Fragile Oath

If it was possible for a hole to open up in the ground and swallow me and this entire storms-damned situation, I would have welcomed it. Hell, I would have welcomed literally anything that kept me from the shattered, shocked expression on Davin’s face when Alexei called me his wife.

My newhusbandmay have sounded nonchalant, but I had, by necessity, learned to decipher the emotions that just barely churned in his gaze. Fury that Davin was here. Betrayal that I might have welcomed his presence, called for him, even.

And triumph, so similar to the kind he had displayed when he had pressed his lips against mine to seal the promise he knew I had no desire to make.

But there was no sinkhole. No salvation. I had less than a handful of seconds to realize I would actually have preferred to spend a wedding night with Alexei than to be the cause of Davin’s pain this way, and even less time than that to figure out how to keep Alexei from punishing my family for what he perceived as my disloyalty.

So I crossed the room to him in three quick strides, pointedly avoiding Davin’s accusatory gaze and Gallagher’s hurt one. My booted footsteps echoed against the old wooden floor like the poignant beat of a drum, each step a stark reminder of the irreversible choices I had made.

“He only came because he heard rumors of rebels after us,” I said in a placating voice, resting my hand on Alexei’s taut arm. He was practically vibrating with rage, but he softened incrementally under my touch.

“Is that why he killed my men?” Alexei demanded, staring daggers at Davin.

“They aren’t dead,” Davin said, his tone implying that Alexei was being overly dramatic.

“At least, not unless Gwynnie got carried away,” Gallagher added with a shrug.

In the brief time I had known him, Davin’s cousin had never looked more than lightly irritated, but there was something darker behind his eyes when he looked at Alexei.

“Can’t blame us for being too careful, since we had no way of knowing you were here, Lord Alexei.” Davin said his name like a curse. “Had you sent word, Lithlinglau could have welcomed you properly. Or did I miss your letter?”

Alexei narrowed his eyes at the reminder that he was here illegally, and Davin was one of the few men in the kingdom with the power to punish him for it. Gallagher moved to his cousin’s side in a show of support.

“Surely you are not here to speak to me of propriety when you ran away with my bride in the night like a coward.” Alexei’s voice was deadly calm. “Perhaps I missed your letter announcing that.”

Davin’s nostrils flared, and even Gallagher’s hand twitched toward his sword.

“Lady Galina is her own person,” Davin said in a voice like ice. I couldn’t tell if he was defending himself or me.

Alexei raised a challenging eyebrow. “No, she is not. As of this morning, she is officially mine.”

Davin shook his head, more in disbelief than any real denial. He looked from my unwanted husband to me, his cobalt eyes scrutinizing me in a way that was achingly familiar.

“This is what you want?” His tone was so even, I couldn’t be sure if the question was an accusation or if he was giving me one last opportunity to tell him this had all been one giant misunderstanding.

Storms, how I wanted to do just that.

I had to remind myself of how hard I had worked to make him believe my deception, how hard I still needed to work.

“As I said,” I lied smoothly.

Alexei donned a satisfied smirk, and Davin clenched his jaw. There was a long, stifling silence before he apparently came to some conclusion. Crossing his arms in front of him, he leaned back against the wall, putting up his casual façade like a shield between us.

“Well, asIsaid, you need an escort to the border, for your safety.”

“She already has an escort to see to her safety.” Alexei was quick with his reply. “Your people have targeted her since she arrived, or I would not have been forced to come as I have and with so few men to keep us both unharmed.”

Guilt flickered behind Davin’s ocean eyes before it disappeared behind his mask of nonchalance.

“I am unconvinced of your adequacy in any department, let alone where the peace of our kingdoms is concerned,” he said dismissively. “Besides, you can only skulk around for so long since you didn’t announce your presence here, unless, of course, you’d like me to do that for you.”

Alexei’s face turned purple, but he didn’t respond. He couldn’t when Davin had so neatly boxed him into a corner. He was outnumbered here, in Davin’s kingdom, with the Lochlannian army at Davin’s disposal and Alexei on the wrong side of the law. It hadn’t been part of his plan to get caught, obviously.

Alexei may have been a brute, but he wasn’t an idiot, and he hadn’t come back alive from war by starting fights he couldn't win.

That didn’t mean he wouldn’t find a way to retaliate.

“Very well,” he relented. “We will take your men.”

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