Isla's face expanded a little as her eyes and mouth opened wide. It was something like watching a flower of fury bloom, if fury flowers existed. Hey, it was Gaia. All things were possible.
I forced a very proper smile at her. "Good evening, Lady Isla. It's good to see you again." And it was. About as good as catching the bubonic plague.
Fury disabled her from responding, but I gave her the time she needed. No doubt she'd known of Lord Commodus Pontefract's intent for me to marry his son, Danton. At last, she cleared her throat and curtsied, as was proper. "Your grace," she managed in a small voice that trembled a little.
What was Isla to him? A lover? Or was she more than that? I remembered that she was Lord Vega's niece. Maybe Lord Vega had jumped on the "Let's side against Valdon" bandwagon after my outright refusal. I hadn't considered that alternative, and if that were the case, I might have a problem on my hands. A very big problem. But I kept my emotions masked.
I looked back at Danton. In contrast to Lady Giggles, he didn't have a single hair out of sorts. A professional Casanova. After a long and somewhat awkward silence, I said, "I see this isn't a good time. Maybe I could speak with you in the morning? In private? I only ask that you tell me where I should go in the interim."
Isla fumed beside Danton, and the fog swirled around her as if she were steaming. Danton, however, kept his expression perfectly neutral, which, according to my diplomacy lessons with Master Jaren of the guild, was a mark of Danton's upbringing in the aristocracy. He studied me like one studies a complicated math problem.
I waited, fighting to retain my calm and composure because I couldn't let Danton see how desperate I really was.
At last, Danton spoke. "That won't be necessary, your highness."
I wasn't sure which part wasn't necessary, so I waited for him to explain further.
"We can talk now," he said.
So he expected me to say whatever it was I had to say in front of Isla. That meant my chances of succeeding with him were about as high as the floor of the Mariana Trench. Just as my spirits began sinking, he dropped his arms to his sides, thus disengaging Isla from his grasp, and he inclined his head a fraction toward her. "Lady Isla, please excuse us. Her highness and I have important matters to discuss."
I could've sighed with relief. I almost did.
"Ah…of course…my lord." Isla blinked, nonplussed. "And where shall I wait for you?"
"Don't wait for me," he replied, his tone dismissive. "You know the way back."
Her lips parted ever so slightly, while her gaze dropped to the ground. "I do, my lord."
Danton took her hand and brought it to his lips, practically releasing it before his lips had even touched her skin. "Good night, my lady."
There was an infinitesimal piece of me that felt a prick of sympathy for the tricky fire ant girl. No one deserved to be discarded like that, and he'd tossed her aside like a piece of gum that'd lost its flavor. It was easy to see Isla was embarrassed, but when she looked back at me, that embarrassment was incinerated by cold fury.
"Highness." Her eyes narrowed as she curtsied, and in a whirl of fabric, she disappeared into the fog. Leaving me with Danton. Alone.
I looked back at Danton, who watched me with that same inscrutability. He was so good at it, despite the strong mixture of emotions churning inside of him, and within that tumultuous swirl, I felt a twinge of hope. It was all I needed, and I held on to it like a lifeline.
He raised a pale brow. "I never knew silence to be one of your…qualities."
"Sorry, I'm just…I'm not sure where to start. My lord."
"Danton," he corrected. "I think you and I are beyond titles—at least in private. Assuming that's all right with you."
"Yes, I just didn't want to assume, after…" Breathe. "Last time I saw you, I punched you in the face."
A grin quirked at his mouth. "Ah, yes, well, no damage done." He gestured to his face.
"Not on the outside, at least," I said.
He just looked at me, his grin still in place.
I wrung my hands together. "I guess I'm not sure how these things work."
"What things?"
"Marriages." The word felt awkward in my mouth. "Proposals. Arrangements."
His eyes moved around my face, and his little flame of hope burned brighter. "So, you came all the way here—in the middle of the night—to ask me how marriages work?"
I stopped wringing my hands, squeezed my eyes shut, and let out a frustrated and very unladylike groan. "No, this is all coming out all wrong…" I opened my eyes again and looked straight at him. "I came here because I understand that your father would like to ally himself with Valdon through a union between you and me, and if that proposition is still valid, I came here to tell you that I accept."
My words hung in the spaces between us, and Danton stood there staring at them. And staring and staring, and then he walked forward, right through my words, step after slow step, to where he finally stopped just a few close feet before me.
"I don't want a union, Daria." His voice was too intimate. "I want a marriage. Can you give me a marriage?"
"Marriages are built on trust, Danton, and considering my experiences with you, I'd say calling it a union is more than generous." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. I covered my mouth with my hand. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean…"
Danton shook his head as if shaking off my apology. "Now, there is the young woman I remember from the rooftops." Warmth glinted in his cold blue eyes, making him look less aristocratic and more…human. "No, I know I deserve that, just as I deserved that impressive right hook you delivered, and I probably deserve much more still. But for a moment there, I thought maybe the regency had…changed you."
"Oh, it has," I said. "Believe me, it has."
He studied me a moment, and then said, "And by that I assume you're referring to your being here now."
I opened my mouth and shut it again. This was not at all going how I'd planned. I was supposed to come here and tell him that I would marry him. Not remind him why I didn't want to.
"Look," I said. "You and I both know what our respective titles demand of us, and you know this better than I do. You even said it that night on the roof. Since then, I've accepted it. I won't pretend it's been easy. I didn't grow up knowing my life would be arranged for me, like you did, but I really have accepted it, Danton, and that's why I'm here. Willingly."
"But you still don't trust me," he said.
"I'm not sure why that's relevant."
He took a small step closer. "I want you to trust me."
"Well, you've never given me a reason to." My words landed harder than I'd intended, but he didn't look offended.
"I know I haven't, Daria," he said, "and I am sorry for that. I hope…I hope that in time I can help you see why I've done what I've done, but I want you to know that I would choose you. Never mind what the kingdom expects from us, as powers in this world. I would choose you, for you." The intensity in his gaze made me uncomfortable, and I shifted. "You are as smart as you are beautiful, and I believe we have a lot to learn from each other. If I am to be married to one woman the rest of my life, I thank the spirits the one chosen for me is someone who has the mental faculties to contribute her own ideas."
"Once you hear my ideas, you might not think that anymore," I said, wanting to lighten his words. Wanting to ease the intensity of his eyes. Wanting so desperately to push him back.
"I don't know," he said. "I can appreciate a good challenge, and I definitely value new insight, when the point is valid, and I know your points usually are."
"Usually," I teased. "You've been paying attention."
"Daria, what I mean to say is…" He took a half step closer, and I started feeling claustrophobic. So much for pushing him away with humor. "Even if it was my right to choose, I would choose you and I would love you."
"Danton, you don't even know me."
He stood so close that his gaze shifted as he looked betwe
en my eyes, and I resisted the urge to take a huge step back. "I know enough."
I wanted to bring up the games and his duplicity, and how when it'd come right down to it, he hadn't chosen me. He'd chosen the unity stone. But I couldn't say any of that; I'd said more than enough already. He reached out and grabbed my hand in his, holding them between us. His hands were soft and delicate. Not at all like Alex's hands.
"I won't pretend you're here because you feel the same," Danton continued. "I know your heart belongs…elsewhere, and had our circumstances not been what they are, you would never be standing here accepting my father's offer." He lifted his gaze from our hands and looked back into my eyes. "But I will be good to you, Daria. I will love you and maybe, someday, convince you to love me."
All kinds of alarms were going off inside of me. Blaring, obnoxious, bright red and flashing alarms. Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. This was all wrong. The wrong man was holding my hand. The wrong man was looking at me and talking about love. Why was he bothering with feelings, anyway? He knew he had me. He knew I had no choice. Couldn't he just leave "love" out of it? "Love" certainly hadn't been a consideration when his father and my grandfather had drawn up the marriage contract.
I inhaled deeply, more to give myself a few moments to collect my thoughts so that I could say what needed to be said without being simultaneously offensive, as was the norm for me. "As long as you follow through with your promise, and Orindor does everything in its power to help Valdon"—I stared straight into his eyes—"then I will…I will try my hardest to give you a marriage."
I could see this wasn't exactly the response he wanted, but he was satisfied enough. There was a desire deep inside of him that trumped his pride, fortunately for me. Though it did make the alarms blare a little louder.
"I'll talk with my father first thing in the morning," he said. "I'd speak with him now, but it's late and Father has been in a bad temper lately."
"And you think telling him I agree to marry you will make it worse?"
An imperceptible smile cracked upon his thin lips, and his whole demeanor lightened. I, however, felt better and worse at the same time.
"No," he continued, "but I'd rather tell him the news when he's able to set things in motion. Nothing will get done at this hour. Plus, I'll need to inform Lord Alistaire of the…change in situation."
"That sounds ominous," I said. "Who is Lord Alistaire?"
"Lord Alistaire Justine is Lady Isla's father. They've been staying with us for the past few weeks, but I can't send them home quite yet—not with how things are across the kingdom. It's too dangerous for them to travel all the way back to Campagna."
"Ah." And this was the question I'd had earlier. "So should I assume there is some sort of…arrangement between you and Lady Isla?"
"Was," Danton corrected, squeezing my hand between both of his very un-callused ones. "Lord Vega is Lord Justine's brother-in-law, and they've been very eager to unite our territories."
My suspicions were confirmed: Lord Vega had moved in during my absence. "And how do you think Lady Isla will react to this news?" Not that I cared much about her feelings, but I might have to be on high alert for retaliation. If Danton's mere attention had wrought fire ants upon my head, no telling what an engagement would inspire.
"She'll be very upset, I imagine," he said, looking down at our hands. "I don't deny that I've given her good reason to be angry."
I didn't really want to know what this "good reason" was, or which boundaries they may or may not have crossed, so I changed the focus. "You do realize all of that anger will be redirected toward me."
Danton looked up at me again. "She won't bother you while they're here. I'll handle her."
"And just how will you handle her?"
He looked amused. "If you think I plan to sneak her outside like this, you will be sadly disappointed. I'll admit: I've been no saint when it comes to women, but I do respect the sanctity of marriage."
"Respect and application are two different things, my lord," I said.
This time, he smiled. "Marrying you will force me to do both. You, your highness, are more than enough woman for any man to handle. I expect I'll have my hands full."
I let myself smile back. "That's a reasonable expectation."
In that moment I realized that even though I could never love Danton, he and I might get along all right. By his expression, I could tell he thought so, too. A stiff breeze moved through the grounds and I shivered.
Danton noticed. "How thoughtless of me. Shall we continue this conversation inside where it's warm?"
I didn't want to continue anything with him where it was warm. "I would like to continue this conversation, and you already know there's a lot we need to discuss, but it's been a really long day for me and if I'm to make my points valid," I teased, "I'll need all my faculties working well." Which was true, but that wasn't the half of it. In all of a few hours, I'd said goodbye to the man I loved, traveled across the globe via amulet, and accepted a marriage proposal from a man I didn't love or trust. What I wanted now was to shut my eyes on the world and be left alone.
His disappointment was immediate, but it didn't show on his face. Instead, he smiled. "Far be it from me to keep you from having every verbal assault weapon within quick reach…starting, I gather, with certain opinions of me you may hold that I must rectify."
"That sounds like a great place to start, in the morning," I emphasized. "I tend to lose my filter when I'm tired."
"Hm, I didn't know you had a filter."
"I do, it just has really large holes."
His smile widened. "Come, I'll take you to your rooms. But first, I need you to show me something."
I studied him with sudden skepticism. "Show you what?"
He pulled me so close our faces were a handbreadth apart, and I could smell traces of cloves on his breath. "I need you to show me that you really will try, Daria."
I stood still as stone, watching him, and the alarms in my head were suddenly deafening.
"Kiss me," he whispered.
My breath lodged in my chest. Kiss him? Danton wanted me to kiss him? I didn't want to kiss him. It was too soon. I'd left Alex just a few hours ago, and I could still taste him on my lips, and I wanted to savor that taste for as long as I could. Forever, if possible, even though I knew it wasn't, but I certainly wasn't ready to part with it right now.
My eyes trailed down to Danton's mouth. His lips were thinner than Alex's, shapeless and pale, and his face was as smooth as a baby's. No dark stubble. No strong, square chin with a soft indent that I wanted to press my lips against, again and again.
Danton trailed a cold finger along my jaw. "Kiss me, Daria. Just once."
3
ALEXANDER
I reached the doors to the grand hall and hesitated. What I was about to do would change everything, assuming I survived. I knew Daria was no longer on the other side of those doors. No, she was far away from here—from me—in a place I couldn't let my mind wander, because when it wandered there, my insides felt as if they might burn up with rage.
All my life I'd known she'd been intended for another. I thought I'd accepted that. I'd even believed I'd be all right, fool that I was, that the knowledge of her safety would be enough for me. But when she'd stood up in that meeting and decided to go to him, a piece deep inside of me had snapped. All I could think was that I wanted kill something. Him, preferably. It was all I could do to slip out of the hall before that fury bested me in front of everyone—including Daria. Her decision had been difficult enough without me shattering her brittle resolve.
But my resolve…it had solidified the moment she'd announced what she was going to do. I couldn't tell her my plans then. Not even when she found me on the balcony, fervently formulating my strategy, because odds were I'd fail. I couldn't bear giving her false hope and disappointing her. But Gaia help me if I stood complacent one more second while she slipped through my fingers again.
"Del Can't…?"
Thaddeus stood a little behind me. He was still afraid of me, and I preferred it that way. Daria had decided to give him a second chance, but I was still making up my mind on the issue of Thaddeus's loyalty. I glanced over my shoulder. How had he managed to find another blasted blade of grass to chew on?
"Are you gonna go inside or just stand there gawking at the doors?" he asked. "Not that I blame you. They're pretty doors." The grass lolled around between his teeth. I resisted the urge to yank it out. "You still haven't told me what your plan is."
"Get used to being disappointed." I pushed the door in and Thaddeus mumbled something behind me.
The hall wasn't full as it had been a few hours earlier. A handful of guards lingered near the walls, but the large table sat mostly empty, save Sir Torren, Karth's steward; Master Durus of the guild; the great wizard, Arioch Prime; and my mother, an aegis of the crown. No one looked up immediately as I slipped into the room. I noticed Vera seated off to the side, sitting in the shadow of a corner. I'd made it halfway toward the table when my mother, sensing me, stopped talking to Master Durus and glanced up.
"Alexander." Her chair squeaked as she stood. Everyone else seated at the table looked up. Vera peered over at me from her corner. When she spotted Thaddeus, she frowned.
"I hope I haven't interrupted anything." I stopped before my mother.
"Not at all, dear boy," Arioch said from his seat at the table. He touched his grey beard, his sharp blue eyes darting between my mother and me. "We've just been discussing a few last arrangements, but I believe we've discussed quite enough for one evening." His eyes settled on Sir Torren with a look that suggested Sir Torren might want to agree.
"Yes, you are quite right…" Sir Torren stood up from his chair, placed his hands on his lower back and stretched. "Twenty ships can't very well depart tonight. We can finish discussing the details in the morning. Aegis Sonya, Master Durus"—he nodded to each in turn—"thank you for your invaluable input. Arioch." Another nod. "If there is an emergency, you know where to find me." Sir Torren nodded to Thaddeus and me. He waved in his guards and they all followed him swiftly out the doors, their armor clattering in the hall.
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