Page 96 of House of Darkness
“Oh my god,” Estrella’s eyes went wide with panic, her body stiffening beneath me.
“Ignore him,” I muttered, not stopping. I barely had the capacity to think, my strands of consciousness still tangled with hers, completely focused on how close I was to coming. I couldn’t think of anything else.
Pretty view. Might want to get your lady dressed.I flushed with mortification as I realized, in the chaos of my mind, I must have shown more than I intended when I spoke.
I growled in frustration, delicately untangling myself from Estrella’s threads of consciousness, trying to regain some semblance of rationale before responding.I’m definitely killing you now.
You’ll have to kill Raz too;he’s with me,Sorin chided back.
COME BACK IN TWO FUCKING MINUTES!
His laughter reverberated down the mental link like clanging metal.No. We’re coming up.
It took everything in me to care enough to stop, especially becauseEstrella seemed perfectly content to heed my advice about ignoring Sorin. Her teeth sank into the crook of my neck to stifle her moans, the soft pain nearly pushing me over the edge. I nearly allowed myself to, but I wouldn’t embarrass Estrella like that. I growled irritably as I heard the first creaking step on the planks.
“Give us a second!” I shouted. Estrella tugged back, her eyebrows furrowed and cheeks flushed.
“They’re coming up. Let me help you, doll,” I murmured.
Her eyes widened, and our fumbling fingers worked together to find the sash of her gown, tying it around her. I helped her to her feet and barely managed to button my trousers when Razvan and Sorin crested the ramp and stepped onto the ship. There was no hiding the evidence of what we had been doing. Not only had they heard us, but my shirt was half-buttoned and twisted, and her gown was barely pinned together in a messy knot. I tugged her to my side and glared at my two generals. Razvan’s expression was flat and unimpressed, which was almost worse than Sorin’s smirk.
“What the fuck is so important that you couldn’t wait two minutes?” I snapped.
“We need to discuss what Codran revealed. We’ve already gathered the others,” Razvan responded, crossing his arms.
“Catina must have told you, then,” I said, looking at Sorin.
Sorin ignored me completely, stepping forward and snatching Estrella’s left hand. He examined the ring with a critical eye. “So, you actually did it? I didn’t think you had the balls.”
I hadn’t told him I was planning to propose, but I wasn’t surprised he knew. He seemed to know my every move before I even realized them myself, just as I did with him. Estrella piped up before I could,her blush fading into a beaming smile that could melt away the darkness within me. “He did! Isn’t the ring lovely?”
She waved it to Razvan, who quickly lost his bemused expression and broke into a massive smile. “That is wonderful news, Es! You will make a wonderful tsarina!”
Her eyes widened with sheer mortification. “What do you mean, tsarina?”
Chapter 49
ESTRELLA
The bar room buzzed with conversation, but it was a cacophony that faded into white noise against the whirlwind of thoughts in my mind. I sat next to Roman at the head of our makeshift table, my fingers tangled with his, the weight of my new ring heavy against my skin. It was a seat of honor—the tsarina’s seat.
I was fairly certain that cheers and shouts of approval had erupted from the other generals as we entered and Roman pulled me into this position, but honestly, I didn’t hear them. The tsarina. I had been so consumed by what this ring signified for my relationship with Roman that I hadn’t stopped to consider what it meant for me. I didn’t deserve this seat, their cheers, or the ring on my finger. Placing me in the role of tsarina was just giving an acolyte whore prettier jewelry. I barely knew how to be a person, let alone how to rule.
Roman’s thumb brushed over the back of my hand, grounding me in reality. His expression was laced with concern, brows furrowed and lips pressed tight.Are you alright?
I don’t deserve to be the tsarina just because I’m sleeping with the tsar.
His lips formed a frown. Warm tendrils of darkness spiraled up my arm where our hands met.I’m only tsar because I killed my father, love. If anything, you deserve this more than I do. You’ve helped rebuildthis town, you have goals, and you want to fix this world. Our people will be fortunate to have you.
It took me a moment to digest his words. Regardless of how he came to power, he had been groomed his entire life to rule. He understood the economy and the intricacies of his people. I knew nothing.
Do you regret saying yes?The hurt in his tone sliced through my thoughts like a hot knife through butter.
Absolutely not.I responded without hesitation. No matter what lay ahead, I would not regret accepting his proposal. I wanted to be tied to him in every conceivable way. If we perished in this war, I wanted to do so knowing we belonged to each other.
His shoulders relaxed at my words, but I was pulled from our conversation by Sorin’s raspy voice. “Can you two stop talking like that? It’s rude.”
He smirked and winked at me, causing heat to rise in my cheeks. Things had shifted between us since the battle. He spoke to me with respect now, and his gaze no longer wandered. He was still strange, but I considered it progress. I looked around the table for the first time, truly taking in my surroundings. Roman’s makeshift war planning table was hastily set between us, a worn map pinned to its surface. Everyone was present, including Ylva. We had mostly patched up the walls, but little else had been done to permanently repair the house since Enso wanted it burned to the ground once we departed.
