Page 110 of A Cruel Kindness

“I’m glad your father was so—” Elijah cut off in the middle of his sentence, his eyes floating over my shoulder. It was a rare moment of imperfection from him, so staggering that I turned to see what had done it.

At first, I just saw the open door of the pub, with a few horses playing outside and the hills beyond.

Then I realized Freya had just walked in, striding toward the bar with a bright smile. She really was strikingly beautiful and it seemed even Elijah wasn’t immune to it.

Soren and I shared a secret look, noticing the same thing. By the time we turned back to Elijah, he still hadn’t recovered.

It took him another slow, shocked blink to restart his sentence. “So amenable to the Prince’s offer.”

“It was more of a threat, no?” The Prince had all but promised a massacre.

Elijah laughed under his breath, but the sound was cut short by Freya’s arrival to the table.

Freya walked up with her same, dazzling smile, keeping it in place even though she knew that Elijah was sitting at this table. Though they’d never met, there was no mistaking the arrogant air of the man sitting across from me.

I watched as she approached, scanning the table, before her eyes landed on Elijah.

Her smile widened cruelly as she shook her head with a low laugh.

“What?” Elijah asked, voice hoarse as he cocked his head.

Freya only chuckled again. “You are exactly as I expected, that’s all.”

Elijah jerked forward, putting his forearms on the table. He’d moved so fast there was a slight wind in his wake.

Freya’s smile suddenly fell an inch. I couldn’t stand Elijah causing any more strife from his threats.

Forcefully, I shoved the envelope across the table, forcing his attention away from Freya.

Elijah picked it up, turning the envelope back and forth in his hands with a smile. “Thank you for this. I’m sure the Prince will be very pleased to review your offer.”

“My offer?” I snapped. “We accepted his offer.”

Elijah smirked, clearly amused by my ire. “Your father is crafty. It would be wise for the Prince to review his response before blindly accepting it. Consider this a conditional acceptance. I’ll take this back to him and should he accept, he’ll come meet you himself.”

Relief pressed down heavy on my shoulders. Even in the face of a potential meeting, I was just thankful I had more time.

Hearing that I had more time with Soren, even if it was a stunted, cold version of it, was so freeing I almost started crying.

I tried to school my features, not giving anything away. Even though my arms itched with the urge to throw them around Soren and beg him to give me as much of him as I could for as long as I could take it, I knew I had to be smart.

“Is it common practice on Muli to marry someone who is otherwise committed?” I asked Elijah carefully, trying to take in every little micro-expression in his notoriously stoic face.

He blinked slowly, taking more time than normal to choose his words. He settled on, “He recognizes that some things are bigger than the Bond.” His eyes slid to Soren, then to the arm he had slung across the back of my chair to emphasize his point.

“And what if his paranima pops up during the marriage? What then?” I was about to throw all of our plans to the fire, but I just couldn’t stop.

Elijah blinked, his movements slowing. “That won’t be a problem.”

“I don’t find that very encouraging,” Esme said, lazily leaning back in her chair. “You didn’t actually answer her question. So what is it? Does he have one who is okay with this?”

Elijah’s eyes slid slowly to Esme, clearly annoyed that she pushed the matter. “He does not have one. He won’t.”

Esme snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “I assume that’s the reason he’s okay with this little arrangement then? Fuck over a Soul Match just because he doesn’t have one?”

That was a great question actually. I turned to Elijah, waiting for a response. “The Prince,” he paused and nodded at me, “and your Princess here present a unique opportunity. He will not let anything interrupt that, especially if it can save his people.”

Elijah leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “In fact, he has been surprisingly trusting of your family, Bellamy. You lot have been historically uncooperative. How are we to know that your father isn’t planning a coup once he gets you inside the Palace?”