Page 41 of Faeling
“The city is secure,” Eydis confirmed, but she wouldn’t say more, her gaze shifting back nervously to Vallek.
Stripped down to just his trou, Vallek stepped forward. “You and I have much to discuss.”
Well, that sounded ominous.
Perhaps she should have delighted in his careful tone. Maybe he’d reconsidered or was willing to see reason. Still, she couldn’t help the stone of dread weighing down her stomach as he gazed gravely down at her.
To Eydis he said, “Thank you for your counsel today. Please have dinner sent up, and my regards to Hilde.”
His sister nodded and looked more than a little relieved to beat a hasty retreat. Ravenna watched her go with a frown, which she turned on her suddenly taciturnazaias the doorclickedclosed behind Eydis.
Vallek raised his arm to usher her into the more comfortableden, but Ravenna stood her ground. She suspected she’d need to meet his news standing.
“What news?” she asked, wanting to get this over with.
He searched her stern face a moment longer before admitting, “Hrothgar of Innrinhom has come with his daughters and niece. He offers peace if I were to take one as my bride and queen.”
None of that should have been surprising—Ravenna was aware of the political game Vallek played throughout his new, fragile kingdom, as well as his desire to seek unification without violence. A marriage of alliance was certainly a tidy solution.
Still, the stark truth of it, that such a reality had come knocking that very day, sank like stones in her gut.
He’s been mine a day and already some orcesses are trying to steal him away?The thought sprang up from some primal part of her she’d denied these past years, and its vehemence unnerved her almost as much as knowing he stood on the precipice of taking a wife—who wasn’ther,his mate.
“I see,” she said through numb lips. She couldn’t think of anything else to say.
His thick brows descended into a forbidding frown. “I see?” he repeated. “That’s all you have to say?”
Ravenna could only shrug, meeting his frown with her own to hide how her eyes stung. “What else can I say? It’s been made abundantly clear that my opinion isn’t of any value.”
His nostrils flared in an exasperated huff. “I’ve said nothing of the sort. You put words in my mouth.”
She bit her lips together to keep from spitting something insulting at him. An angry fire ignited in her chest, and it was all she could do to keep from storming away.
“How else am I to feel when I’m kept prisoner here?”
Vallek sighed long and with feeling. “You are not a prisoner. This is only temporary.”
Ravenna bared her fangs in a harsh smile. “Until you take a wife, you mean? Which orcess will you choose?”
“It isn’t so simple,” he growled.
“It was two days ago.”
“Indeed it was,” he spat, “but two days ago, I didn’t know my own mate hid herself right under my nose.” Closing the distance between them, he loomed over her as he demanded, “Why hide yourself from me? We could’ve had three years to sort this out.”
“I didn’t mean to be so inconvenient to your political timetable. I meant to stay entirely out of the way.Youhave decided I must be an obstacle to overcome.”
“You’re not—” He shoved his hands through his mane in a gesture of utter frustration. “You put words in my mouth again.”
“I am an inconvenience,” she insisted. “We both know it. You hoped to marry one of these orcesses, even to find your mate amongst them. It would’ve been so simple, so easy. And now…”
His expression turned desolate, and Ravenna’s stomach flipped to realize just how true her accusation was. Being right about it didn’t feel good. It was awful, in fact.
“The beast decides the mate. All orcs know and respect this,” he said.
“None of that will win you an alliance with Hrothgar.”
Vallek didn’t immediately respond, his gaze turning pensive as he searched her face. One of his large hands rose to gently touch her cheek with his fingertips, sparking flutters of pleasure in her chest. Even now, amidst an argument, his touch so easily pleased and aroused her. That was perhaps the most frustratingthing of all.
