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“And I won’t.” Lilliana lets out a sigh. “If you’re not going to tell Nikolai—then what? You’re going to go through with it?”
I nod. “Don’t you think I should?”
Lilliana stares at me for a long moment. “Maybe,” she says softly. “If you’re not going to be honest with Nikolai—and again, I’m not judging you, just stating the situation as it is—then it’s better this than someone else. It will all be over before you know it. And then you can decide what to do about Adrik.”
“He’s not going to be happy about it.”
“Probably not,” Lilliana agrees. “But he’s the least of your worries, right now.”
She isn’t wrong, and I know it, as much as I’d like to argue otherwise. For all that, I feel sure that Adrik will be upset to learn that I’m going to marry Theo; his emotions are far outside the realm of what I really need to be worried about.
Nikolai has asked me to do something dangerous. Dangerous enough that I need to be careful of what distracts me. And Adrik, as much as I hate to think of him like that, is a distraction right now.
I’m going to have to tell him eventually what’s happening. But right now, I don’t want to think about it.
Lilliana pats my hand. “We could go shopping,” she says teasingly. “That was your solution when I was staring down my marriage, wasn’t it?”
“Did it help?” I smile faintly at her, and she laughs.
“A little. Why don’t I come back the day after tomorrow, and we’ll go shopping. I’ll make a couple appointments at a bridal salon for you, and you can try on some dresses and have something to look forward to. I know it’s not a perfect solution, but maybe it will cheer you up a little.”
“Okay.” Shopping is the last thing I want to do right now—surprising for me—but I know Lilliana is doing her best to help. “Day after tomorrow.”
And then the day after that, I’ll meet Theo. I have no idea how I’m going to avoid Adrik, but I want to know what’s going to happen for sure, before I tell him.
It all feels like it’s happening so quickly, like a roller coaster I can’t escape. And I only see one way out.
I’m going to have to marry Theo McNeil.
Theo
Iarrange to meet Nikolai in a neutral setting, at a private supper club in town. It’s a place that requires a certain amount of status to get entrance, and also a place where violence won’t be tolerated, which makes it a common meeting spot for business like this, among men like us. Neither of us would have agreed to meet on the other’s turf, so instead, I sit in a leather booth in a dim corner that smells faintly of tobacco, with a glass of whiskey, and wait for Nikolai Vasilev to show up.
He’s on time, which I’m pleased about—that he hasn’t kept me waiting. He slides into the seat opposite mine, motioning to the pretty blonde waitress who is hovering a little ways away, and orders a vodka for himself.
“I should have guessed.” I nod at his drink. “I thought of ordering for you, but I wasn’t sure if you had more unique tastes.”
“I don’t object to a good whiskey.” Nikolai nods to my glass. “But I find in situations like this, sticking to what I know is preferable.”
The tension could be cut with a knife. I don’t doubt that we’re both armed—everyone in the establishment likely is; the gentleman’s agreement that no one does violence to anyone else is the only thing preventing a bloodbath. Most of the men in this place probably have a grudge against each other of one sort or another, and most of them would be happy to pay it out in blood.
“Why are you offering me your sister?” I ask bluntly, and Nikolai laughs.
“Straight to the point, aren’t you, McNeil? Blunt to a fault. I can’t say I didn’t expect that from you.”
“I find that dissembling is a waste of time.” I tilt my glass, looking at the light from the lamp above reflected in the amber. “Idorespect you enough, Vasilev, not to waste yours.”
“That’s a large word from a man whose stock comes from potato farmers.” Nikolai raises an eyebrow, and I know he’s expecting to get a reaction from me. He’s testing me, to see if I’m the sort of violent, intemperate man that rumor likes to suggest. It’s not at all the case.
“The things my enemies like to say about me are far from the truth.” I hold his gaze evenly. “It’s true, my ancestors dug in the dirt and lived in hovels. Now, I have my food delivered, and I live in a penthouse. I keep in mind the heights to which other men have aspired before me and the responsibility on my shoulders. Which is why we’re having this discussion right now, Vasilev, rather than me telling you to go fuck yourselfandyour sister, and going ahead with the plan that at least half the Kings preferred, which was to move in on your territory.”
Nikolai’s lips thin. “You should be careful how you speak about Marika.”
“And you should be careful how you speak to the man you plan to give her to in marriage.” I take another sip of the whiskey. “You’re putting her in danger, Vasilev, if you believe the things my rivals say about me. So either you think that saying my ancestors were potato farmers will really cause me to flout the conventions of this place and shoot you where you sit, or you’re just being an asshole.”
A small smile tilts the corners of Nikolai’s mouth. “I’m glad to see that you are a temperate, if cold, man. I don’t expect you to be a warm husband to Marika—most men like us are not. But I do expect you not to harm her.”
“I have no intention of doing so.” I finish my whiskey and motion to the waitress to refill both of our drinks. “But you still haven’t answered my question. Why are you offering her to me at all?”
