Page 98 of Crown of Briars
“If I let go, the magic stops,” I said by way of explanation, hoping he wouldn’t press further.
I returned my gaze to the soldiers, who had begun runninglaps around the length of the yard. Their strides were lengthy; at least twice as fast as I could ever run.
And Warwick was in the lead.
I felt Varius’s gaze on me. I hoped he didn’t notice how my palm began to sweat.
To distract him, I asked, “What does it mean that Warwick is in charge? Will all the soldiers follow him now? If so, that would explain why he seems so confident he won’t go back to that prison cell.”
“There’s a captain for every squadron,” Varius explained. “Until I appoint Murvo’s replacement, Warwick would have been in charge of this one. The others are commanded by different fae.”
I nodded, chewing on my lip. Just becausethesesoldiers were loyal to Warwick didn’t necessarily mean they all were.
But was there a chance Warwick could persuade the entire regiment of soldiers to follow him instead of Varius?
No,I thought at once.Varius is their king. Surely he inspires more loyalty than some arrogant prick of a soldier.
Even so, doubt crept into my mind. I didn’t know anything about this court or its politics. For all I knew, the Necro Shadows looming nearby had caused the citizens to lose faith in their king.
And if Warwick claimed to know of a solution to the shadows, he could easily exacerbate the issue.
Varius and I remained silent as we watched the men run laps. It took them half an hour before Warwick stopped them. Panting, the men crowded together once more.
“Fallon is sleeping in the dungeons tonight,” shouted a soldier, and several others laughed.
“Shut up,” said the soldier who had to be Fallon.
“All right, all right,” Warwick said, raising his hands to silence everyone. That same cocky smirk was back on his face. I wanted to punch it right off.
I hadn’t noticed my fingers had clenched around Varius’s until he whispered, “Easy. He can’t hurt you here.”
“I’m not afraid. I’m furious. I want to claw out his eyeballs.”
Varius looked at me in surprise. Then, he chuckled. “You’re a violent little creature, aren’t you?”
I shot him a glare. “I’m not little.”
“To me, you are.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, by human standards—or rather,femalehuman standards—I’m taller and thicker than the ideal wife. Father always said it was a good thing I’d be married toyouinstead of a human prince or noble. Nobody else would want a body like mine to warm their bed.”
I wasn’t sure why I was saying this. But the more I spoke, the more my anger dissipated. The rambling had a strange way of calming me.
At least, until a low hiss expelled from Varius’s mouth, and his shadows started swelling again. At first, I thought Warwick had done something.
Then, I realized the king was looking at me with venom in his eyes.
“Your bastard father actually said that to you?” he said through clenched teeth.
My lips parted as I realized he was enraged onmybehalf. I snorted. “Don’t worry, I didn’t take it to heart. It’s not the worst thing my father’s said to me.”
“Well, he’s wrong,” Varius bit out.
I blinked up at him. “About what?”
“About your body being undesirable.”
My face flushed, and something hot coiled low in my belly at the intense way he held my gaze. “Is he?” My voice was slightly breathless.
