Chapter 55: The Truth of the Amethyst
"Besides, where was I supposed to sleep? Outside in the blizzard?" Ralph pointed out bitterly. "Orion, I might not be a titled lord, but I thought you’d at least care for me enough to make sure I had a roof over my head."
"That roof contains my wife!"
"You don’t even care about her!" Ralph snapped back without hesitation. "With all due respect, old friend, you have tried to kill her on multiple occasions ever since our return from war. If we hadn’t shared a room last night, either of us would’ve frozen to death outside― or worse, both. Unless that’s what you hoped for?"
"That is not what I meant," Orion growled out through gritted teeth. He took a step forward, coming face to face, eye to eye with Ralph. Neither of the men backed down, not until Soleia herself came between them to push them apart.
"That’s enough!" she yelled.
With a palm on each of their chests, she shoved them back, using surprisingly less effort than she assumed she needed. She glared hotly at Orion, using her body to shield Ralph from Orion― or at least, as much as she could, considering she only came up to Ralph’s shoulders.
"You’ve selected an inn with no room to house us for the night. Sir Ralph and I merely did what we needed to in order to live past the night," Soleia cooly said. "Nothing happened between us, whether you wish to believe in it or not."
She glared at Elowyn from the corner of her eyes before turning her glare back to Orion.
"Unlike you, Your Grace, I acknowledge that I am still tied together in holy matrimony. I will not share my body with another while under the binds of marriage."