Page 35 of Queen of War and Ruin

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Gerard replies with a cold smile I don’t trust at all.

Hells. I huff, square my shoulders, and walk out of the stables with as much dignity as I can muster.

The hunting lodge’s common room isn’t as full as it was last night, but still, it hums with activity. I try not to think about how I must look, coming in from the barn, covered with straw and dirt.

Elrick is standing at his desk when I push the door open, with Anura beside him and several of his men-at-arms sitting in chairs in a loose circle. He smiles at me when I come in.

“Lilias,” he says. “I hope this is a good time?”

I frown. He sent for me. How does he expect me to answer that?

The question hangs in the air until it becomes uncomfortable, and several of his men-at-arms come to their feet and shuffle out of the room, murmuring excuses. Great. I pick a few pieces of straw off my pants, then realize I have nowhere to put them and shove them into my pocket. Elrick leans against his desk as the last of his men leave the room.

“How are you?” he asks in a soft voice.

I almost laugh. How am I? My kingdom has fallen, my father is dead, my husband wants a divorce, and I’ve been wearing the same clothes for almost a week. I open my mouth, hesitate, and then smile.

“I’m fine,” I say.

It’s exactly what Zarek would say. The thought makes my chest ache.

Elrick and Anura glance at each other, and I feel like an entire conversation passes silently between them. Then Elrick clears his throat and turns back to me.

“You’re right,” he says.

I blink.

“About Ethiria,” he continues. “That’s our next move. We need to warn them about Vsenrog, at the very least. And they have more reason to stand with us than any of the other allied kingdoms.”

Only because you won’t marry a princess from Lisal, my mind hisses. I keep my mouth shut. Elrick looks at me like he’s about to apologize for something. I rock back on my heels, waiting for it.

“Did you want to marry Ethiria’s Prince Laurance?” he asks. “Before Zarek, I mean. Before all of this.”

I blink again. What in the hells does that have to do with anything?

“No,” I reply. “Not particularly. But I didn’t have a choice, did I?”

His face tightens at the word choice.

“Right,” he says. “But, if you had a choice? Would you choose Laurance? Does an alliance with Ethiria mean that much to you?”

I frown, trying to sense where he’s going with these absurd questions. He and Anura glance at each other again. He turns back to me, and she looks down at the table.

“There’s a temple in Detec,” he says, in that same apologetic tone. “I know the priest. He can cut the ribbon for you.”

“What?”

“He can annul your marriage,” Anura says.

“Yes, I know what cutting the ribbon means,” I snap.

“And then you could marry Prince Laurance,” my brother says. “If an alliance with Ethiria is that important to you⁠—”

Some of my sudden fury must show on my face, because his words cut off and he lifts his hands, palms out, like he’s surrendering.

“Or not,” he says. “You would have the option⁠—”

“No,” I snap, cutting him off.