Page 32 of Siege of Blood and Betrayal

“I am sorry you didn’t succeed Bran, though. You deserved it, and I know you must be reeling.”

That’s the understatement of the millennium.

I want to ask him if Bran planned to fuck me over all along, but decide to stick with what’s in play and focus on what matters. “I’ll go to the compound, get the bodies of our dead, and see what I can find out. Are you going back there?”

“Not yet. Until we know who’s behind this, the residence holds too many unknowns. We don’t know how many of our people are involved in the coup.”

“Are you going into hiding?”

“You know me better than that. I’ve got industries to run. No. We’re just playing it smart. Did you recognize any of the faces I sent you?”

“Not the intruders. Just the asshole who betrayed us.”

“We need to find out who this woman is and take her down.”

“I’ve been thinking about that, Z. She’s turned. What if she isn’t behind it? What if she’s in charge of the strike force and it’s her maker we’re looking for?”

“That complicates things.”

“It does. I don’t want to go into this without considering all the angles. We need to consider who in our world would do this.”

“Fair point.”

I pause, considering whether I want to continue in that vein of thinking and whether he’ll be as receptive to my thoughts. But then… I don’t get paid for playing nice.

“Scotland isn’t trained to guard you properly, Z. She’s been gone for the better part of a decade and isn’t up to speed.These are dangerous times. You need someone more qualified watching your back.”

Zane exhales on the other end. “Bran wouldn’t have chosen her if he didn’t think she could do it.”

“We both know Bran had a huge blind-spot for his wee angel. In time, she might get there, but not now. That she dropped me and took you out into the world proves how skewed her judgment is.”

“That wasn’t personal. Scottie doesn’t trust anyone right now. She watched Bran die last night and was stabbed in an alley brawl while escaping. She was wholly unprepared for the power transfer, but thinks her father chose her because there’s a traitor in the royal guards.”

“And she thinks that’sme? That’s fucked up.”

“Look. She’s reeling. I’ll talk to her as things settle.”

Unbelievable.Even with how badly things ended between us when she left, she knows me better. “The fact that she has so much sway over the situation after I’ve dedicated over fifteen years of my life to guard you and the crown burns my balls.”

“I understand that, and yet, here we are. Bran chose her and we need to adjust for that. So, until things settle, secure the dead and weed out the traitors.”

“And what do I do with the ones I find?”

“Confine them if you can, slay them if you must. I’ll secure us a location and let you know where to bring them.”

“So you can have the privilege of killing them yourself?”

“Fucking right. I’m envisioning a bloody spectacle in the grand hall. A throat-ripping, head-cleaving, body-burning kind of horror show that will set the precedent so that onlookers what they can expect if they come for me.”

I chuckle. “Glad to see having your little playmate home isn’t taming the beast. Do you think she can handle meeting the real you?”

A growl fills the other end of the conversation. “Focus on your tasks and leave Scottie to me.”

“Fine. I’m on it.”

“And Huntley, if you get the chance to free their bodies and bring our fathers home…”

“I’ll make a point of it.”

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