Page 41 of A Tongue so Sweet and Deadly

The group was quiet as they mounted their horses in the morning, the air filled with unspoken tension after last night. The gray light of dawn mirrored the dark ash mare Lessia had been given, and she stroked the horse’s warm neck before hoisting herself onto her back.

As Merrick gracefully swung his long leg over a massive black stallion beside her, she couldn’t stop herself from throwing a glare his way, even though he wouldn’t see it.

He’d insisted on escorting her when he stormed into her room this morning, making her nearly fall out of bed before she realized it was him.

Screaming at him to leave until she had time to dress, she’d started the day in a foul mood, and the cold snow that began falling as soon as they stepped outside did nothing to help it. Grateful for the horse’s warm body, she leaned forward to soak up whatever heat she could as they rode out of Asker toward the dark forest.

She stole a glance at the grave-looking nominees riding through the dimly lit streets.

None of them had spoken to her when she’d entered the courtyard in the morning.

Not that it surprised her. But thoughts of Stellia had kept her up last night, and she wondered if it had been the same for them.

Lessia couldn’t put her finger on it, but her gut told her Stellia had spoken the truth when she said she knew nothing of her soldiers’ actions.

But why would her soldiers act without orders?

She shook her head as they passed her home. The windows in the warehouse were still dark, and she swallowed against the lump in her throat, thinking about how the people in there would soon wake up to Ardow’s freshly baked bread and Amalise’s awful morning singing.

What she wouldn’t do to be back there.

Lessia wrapped her fingers in the mare’s mane.

She couldn’t think about them right now.

She would be back there.

She would be back thereandbe free.

She only needed to get through the next few weeks, and she’d be right back in that warm, welcoming kitchen, listening to her friends’ bickering and hearing the soft tapping of feet as the children disobeyed the rules and came up to grab whatever sweets they could find.

Tearing her eyes away from her home, she focused on the woods ahead.

Blackwoods, the people of Ellow called it, and the name definitely rang true in the winter.

No light broke through the thick branches of the pines, and only the snow on the ground provided a glimmer of light.

“You’re Lessia, aren’t you?”

She sliced her gaze to the side,finding the nominee she hadn’t met yet urging his brown horse to fall in step with hers.

A black hood covered his blond hair, the cloak falling softly over the horse’s back, but she could still make out his familiar features, and she slitted her eyes as his blue ones surveyed her.

“Do I know you?” she asked when his eyes lingered a bit too long.

The man smiled at her, a knowing, secretive smile that made a chill creep over her shoulders. “I’ve seen you around. But I mostly deal with Ardow, although I’ve come to understand you’re the one who orders the goods all the way from Vastala.”

Lessia’s eyes widened, and she cast a glance ahead to where Merrick and the rest of the group rode.

Her Fae guard kept his gaze on the horses before him, but his head was tilted slightly.

He could hear every word.

Stroking her horse to buy herself some time, Lessia swore quietly.

The man was Venko Alkhal, the owner of the largest shipping company in Havlands.

And the shadiest.

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