Page 27 of Fragile Oath

Gallagher had crept on silent footfalls to stand between me and the carriage.

“Allow me the honor of escorting you, since I’ve hardly had a chance to greet you.” His tone was odd, as was the request. Even more so that instead of waiting for me to respond, he reached out to grasp the hand that was closest to him.

Alexei practically growled, his hand on my hip tensing. “I don’t know how things are in Lochlann, but in Socair, we do not touch another man’s wife so casually.”

“Apologies,” Gallagher said, but he held on a second longer before pulling away.

His hazel eyes were silver in the moonlight, but there was no mistaking the way he looked me up and down before he finally removed his hand. It wasn’t lewd, but rather…assessing. The scrutiny was uncomfortable, which must have been why I imagined his concerned stare lingering just a bit longer on my wrists, my arms, my ribs.

Each place where I was injured.

That was impossible, though. Surely. What I wasn’t imagining, however, was the flash of rage on his features before he turned to climb back into the carriage, or the consternation on Davin’s face as he watched the charged exchange.

Tendrils of dread crept along my spine like a warning. Whatever had just happened, I couldn’t help but think it had changed things.

ChapterFourteen

DAVIN

If I thoughtthe first part of the carriage ride was torture, then I didn’t have a word for the latter half. Galina spent most of the journey glued to the window, as if hoping the thick curtains would miraculously turn transparent and give her a glimpse of the stars to lose herself in.

Her utter arseworm of a husband sat dispassionately at her side, his ever-watchful gaze on her.

Those things weren’t unusual, in and of themselves. But for all I thought I wanted answers, as the pieces started to come together in my mind, it wasn’t bringing me any sort of peace.

As the night wore on, Galina’s façade slowly cracked at the edges, beginning with our conversation outside the carriage. From there, I started to notice other things. The lines under her eyes might have spoken to the hours we spent on the road, if it wasn’t for the wariness that crept into her expression.

Similarly, the hesitation when Lord Arseface touched her could be explained by her general indifference to him. Except that she didn’t just hesitate. Shefroze. A minuscule, almost imperceptible moment, a fraction of a second that could easily be dismissed if I hadn’t been watching so closely.

Once I saw it, it was impossible not to notice the trace of fear hidden behind her delayed smile, or the almost frantic way that her hand rested on his arm.

Just when I thought I might be imagining things, there was Gallagher. He had refused to meet my gaze since his odd behavior on the break. Well, behavior that would have been odd, had I not known exactly what he was capable of.

The mystery wasn’t what he was doing when he gracelessly stepped in to escort her to the carriage. It was why he felt the need.

We finally arrived at my chosen inn, putting a temporary pause on the endless questions. Though not the contention, of course, especially once I told Ewan how many rooms we needed, and it was one more than Alexei was expecting.

“My wife will stay with me.” He bit out the words as we waited inside the carriage.

For a long, stilted silence, he challenged me with his glare, his beady brown eyes alight with fury.

A muscle clenched in my jaw, and I reminded myself of all the reasons I had decided not to set him on fire and be done with it.

“In your kingdom, you’re free to do what you want,” I began, sitting forward, not bothering to hide the threat behind each word. “But in mine, the woman I announced as my betrothed only a few months ago will not be staying in a room with another man.”

It was a blunter approach than I might normally have taken, but it was late. We were all exhausted, and there was no way in hell I was letting him stay in the room with Galina when I still wasn’t sure what was going on.

I had the power here, and he knew it.

Galina shot me a warning look he couldn’t see, but I ignored her. I didn’t particularly trust anything she was trying to convey right now, not until I had more of the facts she refused to divulge for reasons only she knew.

Alexei's eyes burned with fury, and I met his gaze head-on. His anger was palpable when he turned to her, wearing an expression that was a curious mix of ownership and a challenge. There it was again. The barest widening of her eyes before she placed a soothing hand on his arm, leaning in to plant a chaste kiss on his cheek.

“It’s only another couple of days, My Lord.”

Nausea churned in my gut, and Gallagher’s fists clenched at his side. Alexei pulled away, his shoulders not quite as tense and his lips tilted up in victory.

“Very well,Radnaya,” he conceded. “For your sake, I will agree to these ridiculous terms. Of course, there will be a guard outside your door.”

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