The doors to his study opened, and Andrei came in. She had to fight the joy in her chest, fight to keep from flying out of her chair and into his arms. That wasn’t the relationship that they had. They decided. It was for the best.
“It is done. He has agreed not to pursue any type of retaliation. I’ve made military alliances with him in exchange. And offered him technology.”
“You don’t have the authority to make those deals,” Onyx said.
Andrei looked at him, hard. “Would you like to make this more difficult than it needs to be?”
“You need to remember who you are,” Onyx said.
“I know who I am,” Andrei returned. “I know who I am, and I have taken steps to ensure that I will behave with honor either way. I am going to marry your sister. Whether we receive your blessing or not.”
“She and I just covered that. I do not extend my blessing, but I will not stop it from happening.”
She hated this. The feeling of the rift between them. He was a mess, and she knew that, but she shared the blame. She’d been a coward when he’d needed her to be brave. She had been resisting her feelings for Andrei to protect herself.
And now… All this had happened. It was such a huge mess that needed cleaning up.
But at least they had started. As for the issues between the two of them? She didn’t know that it would be so easy.
“How quickly do you suppose we can plan the wedding?”
“It should be easy enough,” she said.
“With my money?” Onyx asked.
Andrei turned to him sharply. “I will pay. It does not have to be a royal wedding. We can have it anywhere.”
“Don’t be a fool. I will pay for it. She’s my sister. It is a royal wedding. And it will be here. I may not be giving this union my blessing, but one thing I will not tolerate is you being an idiot.”
Andrei almost laughed. “Then you see it done how you wish, Your Highness.”
“I have moved your quarters,” Onyx said. “You will be in the same wing of the palace as Emerald. A suite of rooms is my gift to you.”
“We won’t be living here full-time,” Emerald said softly.
“Of course not,” said Onyx. “But still, that is my wedding gift to you. Not that you’ll be needing it.”
It was Onyx who stormed out of his own office, leaving her there with Andrei.
The tension stretched between them, her desire to close the gap between them increasing. But she couldn’t. She had made vows to him in Romania. About how this would be.
“I’m glad that you’re all right.”
“I’m quite relieved.”
“Onyx is going to be a little bit more difficult.”
“I’m not worried about him.”
She was. She hated this. Hated the distance between them. Hated the distance between herself and her brother.
“I hope so.”
“We have a mission, Emerald. And we are most of the way to completing it. Do not lose hope now.”
She shook her head. “I won’t.”
“Good. This is why we will succeed.”
