“Oh no…”
Eiri’s groan had him on guard, searching the ballroom in an instant. “What is it?” He paused when he saw a man stalking across the dance floor and bit back a groan of his own. “Oh no.”
In their rush to get their plan into motion and get everything ready, Syrus realized far too late that they’d forgotten to let one very important person know what they were doing, and now it was too late.
“Eiri. I’d like to speak to you in private,” Kien C’Marlo snapped. “Now.”
Chapter 22
Eiri
Eiri stoodwith his back to the door, watching Kien pace the length of the tiny powder room. Syrus had balked at allowing them to go alone, but no matter how angry he was, Eiri knew he was safe with Kien. He just needed to get the older man to calm down and let him explain what was going on. Unfortunately, Kien didn’t seem to be slowing in his pacing. Every time he looked at Eiri, he muttered something under his breath and started all over again.
Finally, Eiri couldn’t take it anymore. He walked directly into Kien’s path, forcing him either to stop or to slam into him. For a moment, the latter seemed likely, but finally he paused, barely an inch from Eiri.
“Kien, I can?—”
“You can explain?” the older man cut in, dark eyes narrowed. “You can explain to me why you fell for that man’s lies, threw away your pride, and chose to forsake your people and your heritage? Can you truly explain that to me, Eiri?”
The venom in Kien’s words struck true, and Eiri cringed when they hit their mark, sinking into the fragile foundations ofthe trust he’d built with Syrus. He couldn’t let them destroy it, though. He’d promised Syrus he wouldn’t go back.
“It’s not like that. I swear it.”
“Then why are you out there desecrating our history?” He plucked at the sleeve of Eiri’s jacket, where the Canjiri designs stood out clearly. “You also promised me you’d never become one of them, yet I arrive tonight to see you wearing their clothing, on the arm of their prince, acting like his paid whore.”
“That’senough,” Eiri snapped, straightening to his full height, putting him a few inches above Kien. “I understand that you’re angry, but you have no right to say such things to me. You’re my mother’s friend, so I’ll give you some leniency, but you don’t know the full story. Even if you did, you know I’m loyal, and I am no one’s fucking whore.”
“That would be easier to believe if you weren’t wearing his marks on your neck,” Kien sneered and Eiri fought the urge to clap his hand over his throat. He distinctly remembered the feel of Syrus’ lips on his skin, the scratch of stubble against his throat. He’d hoped the high collar of the jacket would hide the tiny bruises, but clearly not.
“That has nothing to do with anything. I’m not an idiot. I’m working with him and trying to do whatever it takes to survive this fucking mess!”
“The council sent me here specifically to ensure that the alliance stands, so why didn’t you tell me this grand plan of yours?”
“There wasn’t time!”
“Naturally,” Kien said, his lip curled in disgust. “You are a fool, Eiri, and a disgrace to the C’Dari name. Your mother would disown you if she saw you like this, dressed like our greatest enemy and hanging on the arm of the man who made it his purpose in life to ensure our people suffer. You’ve betrayed every Canjiri who has suffered under his family’s rule.”
“Kien, I?—”
“Save your excuses. Go back to your prince and enjoy the party,Your Highness.”
The title landed like a blow, a blatant insult, and before Eiri could recover, Kien was gone, storming out the door and down the corridor, away from the party, leaving Eiri alone and reeling. The door swung shut behind him, cutting off the sounds of the party, for which he was grateful. He needed a moment to clear his head.
Kien was wrong… right? He and Syrus were equals, even if the people here didn’t want to believe it. They’d both thought through their options and decided to work together. The mutual attraction had come as a surprise, yes, but it was real. Wasn’t it? No one could fake the heat and blatant arousal Syrus had shown earlier, when he’d had Eiri pressed against the wall. They may have started out hating each other, but it wasn’t going to end that way.
Syrus changed his mind awfully quickly, though.
The thought washed into his head unbidden, taking root right in the heart of all his doubts and insecurities. He might have been able to dig it out if it weren’t true, but now he couldn’t help but wonder all over again. What had caused the abrupt change in Syrus? Was it really just a night spent contemplating the future and talking to his cousin? After all, Syrus had the least to lose in this. He could easily shove Eiri into a suite somewhere at the far end of the castle and go about his life exactly the same as he’d been doing before his marriage. They wouldn’t even have to interact beyond the occasional social function, if that.
That thought stopped him cold.
‘Beyond the occasional social function’. Functions like a royal birthday celebration. Like tonight. Tonight, when he’d arrived on the arm of his husband, a Vaetrean general andprince, wearing Vaetrean clothing and acting like one of them, something he’d sworn he’d never do. It was necessary, though, and they were showing some rebellion with the Canjiri embellishments on their clothing. He may be wearing their clothes, but he’d made sure to hold on to who he truly was.
And next time? When the queen forbids such things, will Syrus keep rebelling? Or will he suggest we comply with her just for a little while, until she calms down? How long before everything Canjiri is gone?
Eiri stumbled back, slumping down onto the small divan in the room, that thought hitting with the force of a tidal wave.
He’d known from the beginning that this little plan was a temporary solution, a compromise to get them through tonight and buy them some time. But what were they buying time for? How would it be possible to hold on to who he was in the face of the queen’s anger? He could keep doing as he’d been doing, wearing only his Canjiri clothing, fuck the consequences, but what would he do when she tired of his petty bravado? Would he be able to keep fighting? Would Syrus defend him?
