Page 45 of The Call of Crimson
My hand drops at the same time as my jaw. I know I’m brash, but this male is just rude.
“Excuse me?” I nearly stutter, unsure how to respond.
“You heard me,” Darain says before turning to Ayden. “Is your bride deaf as well as inept?”
The fury I felt with the queen returns in a heartbeat. With a snarl, I wrap my shadows around his throat, lifting him into the air. The position should cut off air flow, but the bastard is grinning.
Before my eyes, he vanishes from my hold, only to reappear behind me in an instant, cold steel pressing against my throat.
“I know how I became General,” he murmurs, voice low against my ear. “I’m still trying to puzzle out how you did.”
A sly smile curves my lips as two swords are leveled at Darian. His hand goes limp against my throat in a tell-tale sign of Aurelius’ Gift seizing control of his body. Darian stiffens behind me, refusing to move as Ryder and Zion give him deadly looks for daring to threaten their princess.
“She earned it.” Aurelius’ voice is low and threatening as he approaches my side. “I suggest you remove your hands, General. I will not hesitate to end you if I feel she is in danger.”
Ryder and Zion grunt in agreement, just as Ayden finally decides to step in.
“Easy now.” Ayden shoots Darian a sharp look, commanding him to step down. “Darian wouldn’t hurt my fiancé. I trust him with my life. This is simply a lapse in judgment.”
Darian seems to battle with himself a moment longer before finally stepping back. Ryder and Zion reluctantly sheathe their swords.
Stepping away from Darian, I rub my neck where a drop of blood has run from where his dagger nicked me. “Call me inept one more time, General,” I bare my teeth at him, growling, “and it won’t be my bodyguards you’ll have to deal with.”
His jaw ticks, nostrils flaring, as he fights to keep his temper in check.
“Darian,” Ayden says flatly, “find somewhere else to be until you can figure out how to control your temper.”
“Gladly,” Darian responds, storming in the other direction.
When I’m sure he’s gone, I turn my anger on Ayden. “Seriously, Ayden? What the fuck. Is your entire kingdom this hospitable?”
He shrugs, a coy smile fighting the corners of his mouth. “No, those two are just the worst. I figured we might as well get it over with all at once.”
“Some warning might have been nice.” I level him with a glare.
“Where’s the fun in that?” he says, winking as he grabs my elbow lightly. “Come on, I’ll show you to your room. Aurelius knows where he’s going.”
He leads me out and toward the royal wing. I find that the surrounding halls are just as bright and welcoming as the rest of the castle to this point.
“What’s Darian’s problem with me?” I ask as we begin ascending a staircase in the west wing.
Ayden sighs. “Darian has his reasons. I’m not condoning his actions, but his story is his own. If you want to know, you’ll have to ask him yourself.”
“That’s all you’ve got to say?” I bark a humorless laugh. “The male held a dagger to my throat, and your explanation isask him? Unbelievable.”
“Everyone has a right to their story, Breyla,” he says without flinching. “And the right to choose who hears it.. Darian is one of my oldest friends, and I will not betray him. I’ll just say… you two have more in common than you might think, but he does have his reasons for disliking you.”
Seeing that I’m getting nowhere, I take a different approach. “How long has he been your general?”
“A little over a year,” he replies. “And while we’re on that topic—I ordered the attacks on your borders to stop before that.”
“You—what?” His confession is so nonchalant, I almost think I misheard him. The revelation throws my world off-kilter.
“I had no desire to fight a war with Rimor. That ended with my father. I simply want my people to live in peace.”
“How am I supposed to believe you, Ayden? I’ve been on the front. I’ve seen the attacks and the blood your soldiers spilled.”
“We keep a few units on the borders,” Ayden says carefully, “but only to maintain order. The soldiers you’ve been fighting? They aren’t mine.”
