Laughing at Maris’s joke, Zarya felt a chill go down her spine. She sobered as the skin on the back of her neck crawled like a living creature.
When she turned her head to see Darling’s furious glower while he stalked toward them, she understood the uneasy knot in her stomach. This wasn’t the levelheaded politician who’d met with the gerents.
This was the feral soldier, Kere. And he was out for blood.
Maris rose at Darling’s approach. “What’s going on?”
Darling broke out into a furious rant in Phrixian… one day, she was going to have to learn that language. It was aggravating to have no clue what they were saying around her.
Maris attempted to calm him, but Darling was having none of it.
Ignoring Maris, he turned toward her. “Come, Z. We’re leaving.”
She hesitated before she stood up. “Aren’t you supposed to be with the gerents?”
“Yes,” Maris hissed, “he is. If he fails to attend dinner, it’ll be viewed as an affront to them.”
“And what is this,” Darling gestured angrily toward them and their table, “if not an affront to
me
?”
Maris scoffed. “It has nothing to do with you. This is a slap at me and you know it.”
“I totally disagree. But let’s say you’re right. It’s still a slap at both of us, and I won’t tolerate them treating the two of you like this. I won’t.”
Maris folded his arms over his chest. “Baby, you’re overreacting.”
Darling started to protest, but Zarya cupped his face in her hand and stood up on her tiptoes to nibble his jaw. Yeah, that made his thoughts scatter to the point he could barely remember his own name. His knees went weak and he lost all resistance to her.
Then she whispered in his ear. “You were magnificent tonight. Don’t ruin what you’ve achieved with something that’s as trivial as their pettiness. Besides, I like it here with Mari. He’s highly entertaining.”
At the moment, the only thing he wanted was to find a bed.
Or a closet.
But she wasn’t some crass prostitute selling her body for drugs. She was a high-born lady who was going to be his consort. He wouldn’t treat her that way. And by the gods, he wouldn’t let anyone else either. “They’ve insulted two of the people I value and love most in this universe. Would you really have me forgive that?”
“Yes, I would.” She gently pushed him back a step. “Go on in there and don’t worry about us.”
He debated what course of action he should take. On the one hand, he wanted to break someone’s ass. On the other, he knew Zarya and Maris were right. No one would remember why he left the meeting tonight. They’d only remember that he’d turned his back on his gerents and insulted them.
“We’re really fine,” Maris said, reiterating her stance. “They did us a favor with this. We’re having a great time out here.”
Darling ground his teeth as another wave of fury ripped through him. “I’m still pissed.”
Zarya winked at him. “Trust me. I know the feeling.”
“Yes, she does,” Maris concurred. “We all had to stop her from storming the session earlier.”
Darling’s frown deepened. “What do you mean?”
Zarya gave him a mischievous nose crinkle. “Syn hacked the security feed so that we could check up on you. I don’t know how you stayed so calm. I commend you for it. It was extremely impressive.”
Not really. It amazed him that they were all so stunned by his behavior. It wasn’t like he was Hauk, and prone to ripping people’s arms off whenever they upset him.
His ascension to power notwithstanding, he’d always been levelheaded and calm.
“Yeah, well, when you spend your entire life being insulted, you get desensitized to it. I don’t think Arturo ever used my real name. After a while, it gets boring and you learn not to pay attention to it. As for the gerents, I’d have to care about their opinions where I’m concerned in order for them to hurt me. Since I couldn’t care less… Let them make themselves giddy with their own stupidity. I’ve got better things to worry about.”
“I was still impressed by your demeanor and composure.” She gave him a very light push. “Now go, before you cause another scandal.”
He dipped his gaze down the cleft of her breasts that swelled over the top of her dress. Yeah, he’d much rather be naked with her in his bed than deal with a bunch of egotistical assholes.
“I wouldn’t mind causing one with you,” he whispered in her ear.
She kissed his cheek again. “Go on. Get out of here.”
He gave her a courtly bow before he took his leave.
Still seething, Darling went back into the main dining room.
Glancing at Caillen, Drake, and Nykyrian, an idea hit him. He approached the three of them with a wry twist to his lips. “Ready to start some shit?”
“Depends on the shit,” Drake said.
Caillen grinned evilly. “Point me to the toilet, and let me in.”
Nykyrian ignored that comment since it was vintage Caillen, who loved nothing more than messing with the heads of the aristocracy, and irritating everyone around him. “What’s the plan?”
Darling took a step back. “Follow me. I know a way to rectify the slap I’ve just been given, and deliver one right back.” He motioned one of the passing servants over.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” she said respectfully, bowing before him.
He put on his kindest, most regal tone. “It has come to my attention that we’re two places short at the table tonight. Princes Nykyrian and Caillen have graciously offered to make room by having their seats moved closer to their wives. Likewise, I am more than content to share my space with both the Grand Marleena and Lord Maris. I would deeply appreciate it, and would consider it a personal favor, if you would accommodate us.”
The woman beamed in joy at being able to help the governor. “Absolutely, Your Majesty. It would be my deepest honor.” She rushed to it.
Nykyrian gave a low laugh. “You are evil. I love it.”
Desideria and Kiara approached them with reservation.
Kiara scowled at her husband. “It positively scares me whenever you laugh in public. What did we miss and what has all of you huddled here?”
Nykyrian indicated Darling with a tilt of his head. “Our boy there just firebombed our hostess.”
Her eyes gleamed with satisfaction as she faced Darling. “Good. I hope you let her have it with all barrels.”
The moment the servant returned with two others to start moving seats and adding place settings, Nylan’s wife came running out to challenge them.
The lead servant pointed to Darling.
Fury flashed in her eyes at being thwarted, but Lady Nylan checked it before she walked over to them. “Your Majesty, I beg your indulgence and tolerance in this matter. But given Princess Kiara’s delicate condition, I don’t think it’s wise to—”
“I’m pregnant, my lady, not infectious,” Kiara said, interrupting her. “Since I count Lady Starska and Lord Maris among my closest friends, I don’t mind sharing my space with them.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Desideria chimed in. “Zarya is a true gem. But if it causes you distress, we would be most happy to join them in the hallway.”
Nykyrian nodded. “Feel free to move all of our settings there.”
The countess inclined her head respectfully. “That won’t be necessary, Your Highnesses. I’m sure we’ll be able to find them a suitable spot.”
Darling cleared his throat to get her attention. “One on either side of me.”
She stiffened in anger. “Excuse me?”
Darling made sure to keep his tone flat and even. “You heard me, my lady. I expect my senior adviser and fiancée to be seated with me.”
She went pale with the news. “Fiancée?”
“Yes. Lady Starska and I are to be married. And I am sure she will be moved by your graciousness toward her.”
Darling wouldn’t have thought it possible, but her face turned even whiter.
Lady Nylan grabbed a waiter. “I need the man and woman in the hallway moved in here immediately. Do not drag your feet.”
Kiara winked at Darling. “You are so incredibly sneaky. I love it.”
He glanced over to Nykyrian. “I learned from the best.”
In under three minutes, Maris and Zarya returned to the dining room.
Zarya gave him a suspicious stare as she neared them. “What did you do?”
Darling blinked innocently. “What makes you think
I
did anything?”
Maris snorted. “The way the waiter behaved—like he was afraid for his life.”
Darling shrugged. “No idea why. I merely made a request.”
“Sure, you did,” Maris said with a short laugh. “I’ve heard your requests. They’re positively wrong.”
Zarya wasn’t sure what to think as she was shown to a seat next to the head of the table. Maris was seated across from her.
Please tell me that seat belongs to Darling.
Or at least one of his friends. The last thing she wanted was to be beside one of the nasty gerents who glared at them.
“My lady?”
She looked up as an older gentleman stopped beside her. His face was so wrinkled that he reminded her of a suit someone had dug out of the back of their closet. His gray eyes were cold and he smelled like rotten camphor balls. “Yes, my lord?”
“I just had to meet the woman who could turn a gay man straight. I didn’t think it was possible, especially someone as licentious and effeminate as our governor. Believe me, I know how much he loves a good hard cock in his ass. Congratulations.”
His rudeness stunned her silent. She sat there, slack jawed, trying to think of an appropriate response that wasn’t crude or profane.
For once, nothing, absolutely nothing came to mind. She simply reeled from it.
“Hey, Nylan? We need you over here for a second.”
He left her side.
So that was…
Gaping like a fish, she looked at Maris for corroboration on the man’s identity.
“Yeah,” Maris said with a snarl, “he’s
that
bastard.”
Darling returned to her side immediately. “Are you all right?”
She started to tell him what had happened, but she didn’t want to upset him. Given the past, she wasn’t sure Darling wouldn’t kill him for saying that to her.
Forcing a smile to her lips, she nodded. “Where are you sitting?”
He indicated the chair between her and Maris.
Thank the gods for that favor.
She wanted out of here so badly that she could taste it. But what bothered her most was the knowledge that this would have been her life all along had her father’s titles not been stripped.
She would have been just like the other women who passed judging sneers at her and Maris. Those who wouldn’t even speak to them. Frigid. Callous.
Mean.
That thought made her blood run cold. For the first time in her life, she was grateful that she’d been raised outside this realm. She’d much rather have eaten bread sandwiches with her father for weeks on end than have been fed like this every day if putting up with them was the price for it.
It just wasn’t worth it.
Once Darling was seated and dinner began, it did get better. At least as long as she ignored the stares—most of which were hostile—that the gerents and their spouses directed at them.
And as she ate, she became acutely aware of how Darling and Maris interacted with each other. For some reason, she’d never noticed it before.
But tonight…
She saw them through the eyes of a stranger. While she had no doubt they’d never slept together and that Darling was completely straight, she finally understood why others didn’t believe it.
He and Maris were completely relaxed with each other, even in the midst of all the animosity around them. In fact, with his hand on Darling’s shoulder, Maris was leaning in to whisper intimately into Darling’s ear while Darling laughed at whatever it was Maris said to him. They were practically cheek to cheek. And the smile on Darling’s face whenever he looked at his best friend was tender and warm. Some might even say it was adoring.
And there was no mistaking the love in Maris’s gaze every time he looked at Darling, which was often. He hung on everything Darling said.
Likewise, Darling doted on Maris almost to the extent he did her. And while she knew it was because they were family, it would be easy to misconstrue their affection for each other if you didn’t know the truth of their relationship.
“Are you jealous?”
Zarya blinked as she realized the gerent beside her was talking to her. “Excuse me?”
He indicated Maris and Darling with his knife. “Are you getting jealous of them?”
She screwed her face up at him. “Not even a little.”
“Hmm… I commend you, then. I don’t think I could share my wife with another woman without it making me completely crazy.” He took a sip of his wine. “So I take it your upcoming marriage to the governor is politically motivated. Makes sense. You help him quell the Resistance, he reinstates your title and wealth. You both win.”
She was livid at his audacity. “That’s not why we’re getting married. I didn’t even know he was Darling Cruel when we were first engaged.”