Page 24 of Fragile Oath

I ran a hand through my hair and shifted on my feet. This conversation was nearly as enjoyable as the one where I had discovered Galina was married to Alexei, except that no one was ripping my heart out of my chest and setting it on fire.

“Whatever else happened, how the hell did Alexei get here without us knowing?” I sighed. “Don’t you think that’s worth looking into?”

A muscle tensed in her jaw. “Maybe, but I don’t think it’s worth what it’s going to cost you. You and I both know that leaving like we did, being gone this long… It’s not going to be pretty when we go back.”

I rolled my eyes, forcing a nonchalance into my tone. “If you’re so worried about it, you can go back and stall for time.”

She narrowed her eyes. Gwyn may not have been subtle, but she wasn’t stupid.

“You were always getting to that, weren’t you?”

I shrugged, giving her a smirk I didn’t quite feel. “In fairness, I also need you to look into the missing driver and whoever married the happy new couple.”

She let out a slow breath, shaking her head once more.

“I don’t like leaving you with this,” my cousin said softly. “With them. I don’t trust either of them.”

“I don’t either, Gwynnie,” I said honestly. “But we need to know what’s going on. You know what’s at stake for our people right now.”

She looked away. Neither of us liked being reminded that we were closer than we had been in decades to an outright rebellion. And all of these things, our relationship with Socair, our reputation as royals, were feeding directly into their fire.

“It’s important, and I know that,” she acknowledged. “But you’re important too, Dav, and all of these things that keep happening…you’re right at the center of them. Don’t you see that someone is trying to hurt you by any means necessary?”

I couldn’t deny her words, not after the last few months. Still…

“They might be starting with me, but they’ll be moving on to all of us. If we have a chance to head that off, to deliver them a blow, or hell, to at least stop them from delivering one to us, we need to find out all we can. I know you don’t trust them, but can you trust me? Please? Or at least trust that I wouldn’t be volunteering to spend the week across from my almost-fiancée and her new husband.”

Gwyn hesitated for a long moment, her arms dropping to her side, before she finally relented. Whether it was because she was done arguing, or because she finally understood, I couldn’t be sure.

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll trust you, Dav. But I sure as stars hope you know what you’re doing.”

I didn’t respond. I wouldn't repay her trust with a lie, and we both knew Ididn’tknow what I was doing.

All I could do now was hope that this time around, my instincts were leading me in the right direction. But that was a flimsy hope where Galina was concerned.

* * *

That hope was,indeed, in vain.

Each hour spent facing the newlyweds was like subjecting myself to a never-ending torture chamber. Slowly carving away at my skin with an apple peeler would have been preferable to watching Alexei and Galina practically cuddle under their shared blanket.

He made sure it was tucked around her completely before taking her hand in his possessively, and it took everything I had to keep my features casual.

Gallagher was also tense at my side. Whether that was because he was thinking about all the crow he would have to eat with Gwyn when we returned or merely stewing in his own sense of betrayal, I wasn’t sure.

Galina pulled the blanket tighter around her, and Alexei tracked the motion in the low light of the carriage lantern. He produced a flask from his coat, uncorking the top and holding it out to her.

“Drink some vodka.” It was as much an order as it was an offer.

“Or would you prefer whiskey?” I asked lightly, fingers drumming on my own flask.

Truthfully, I knew she would prefer neither, since the whiskey I brought was woodsy and strong, nothing at all like the one I had offered her in my rooms. But where she didn’t love whiskey, she despised vodka.

Mostly, I just wanted to know how she would react.

“No, thank you, Laird Pendragon.” She shuffled closer to her precious new husband, resting one hand lightly on his thigh while she reached for the flask with the other.

He smirked in satisfaction, and I shot him a cold smile. Did he honestly not know that she was lying, or did he just not care? Was it all the same to him?

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