Page 17 of Frost Bound

She doubted he’d ever been this desperate.

“I’m not playing with you. You want me to succeed and be obedient. I want my brother safe and out of the queen’s clutches. Dear Basil, I believe you’re the man who can make that happen.”

A little praise never went wrong.

He pursed his lips and cocked his head. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Do that.” Dahlia rose from the divan and strode toward the bedroom, thankful the skirt covered her shaking legs. “We havethree days until I’m collected. I want him out sooner rather than later. Tomorrow, even.”

“You’ll owe me,” Basil called softly. “And my prices can be steep.”

“You’re no worse than the Giver.”

She screeched to a halt as the monster himself grinned at her from the chair next to her bed. Just how much of their conversation had the Giver overheard?

“Hello, my sweet flower,” Adder crooned, snapping one of her books closed.

Dahlia glared at the halfling. How the devil did he find that? “Get out.”

“That’s no way to treat an old friend,” he crooned, rising from the chair. He tossed the book onto the seat and casually strolled toward the window as if he owned the place.

He was no friend of hers. Lia exhaled slowly, barely keeping her poisonous words to herself. The Giver never just showed up out of the goodness of his heart. He wanted something. She needed to keep her cool.

“It was my understanding thatfriendsdon’t lie and use each other,” she gritted out, not able to keep the anger out of her voice. She bustled to the chair and picked up the faded blue book, brushing her fingers over it tenderly. “But I admit I am curious as to why you’re in my room now.”

Hetsked, his onyx gaze flickering to her face. “Your room? How quickly you’ve settled into your new abode. They even put you in the royal suite, glass ceiling and all.”

Florrant was known for the spired glass ceilings in the center of its palace. Dahlia had seen them gleaming in the light from afar, but had never dreamed of experiencing them in person. The first night she had hardly slept. It was as if the black night sky was trying to swallow her whole.

Adder faced her fully and leaned a shoulder against the wall. “As for the lying and using bit, it happens all the time, dearest. You can only count on yourself.”

Despite her resentment for what he’d done, she felt a small flicker of pity for him. She placed the book on her side table and walked toward the door. She didn’t like the idea of being trapped in this room with him. “That’s a very bleak view of the world.”

His lips thinned for a moment before he covered it with a smile. She’d gotten to him. It was only there for a moment, but she’d seen the unhappiness in his eyes.

“It’s only the truth,” he said.

“As you see it,” she replied.

They stared at each other for a long moment. Today had been a deadly revelation—one that could lead to her destruction. She didn’t have the time or energy for his games.

Fatigue weighed down on Lia, and she rubbed at her eyes. “What do you want?”

“To offer you a deal.”

“One you’ll just break again?”

“Come now, you don’t really think I had a choice in the matter? Who am I to the king and queen of Astera?”

“Their son,” she said dryly.

The Giver shook his head and pushed away from the wall. “Hisson.”

He walked past her to the buffet and pulled the stopper out of a glass decanter. Her nose wrinkled as he took a swig straight from the bottle.

“And what does that mean?” she murmured.

“It means that there is an order for things. Everyone has someone above them pulling the strings. Everyone is leashed.”

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