Page 91 of Poisoned Kingdom
Roksana was many things—fierce, unrelenting, brilliant—but if she thought I’d be shocked by the darkness she’d unleashed to defend her home, she was wrong. I was grateful she’d killed them. So bloody grateful that she had spared me having to show her whatmydarkness looked like. If I’d gotten my hands on the bastards, they’d have been begging to reach the gates of Navia,1 praying the afterlife would take them just to escape the pain.
My Viper thought I’d recoiled. I was speechless, yes—who wouldn’t be, seeing his woman in danger? But she’d mistook silence for judgement. She’d thought I’d condemned her when I was merely holding onto the strings of sanity, the bloodpumping through my veins like a raging inferno. My berserker’s rage was so close to the surface that her one touch could unravel me.
The autumn breeze curled through her dishevelled hair, while her skin, pale as the moonlight, teased me with glimpses of the mark my teeth had left on her neck. I walked away, unwilling to even look at her until I could control myself. Still, all I could see was the Nightshade standing proud and undefeated, danger coiling in her hazel eyes—a true harbinger of death to her enemies.
Gods, she’s magnificent. A deadly queen fit for a war king—my equal. And she thinks I would let her go.
The thought shocked me with its simple truth, and a manic chuckle escaped, bouncing off the kitchen walls as I walked in. I grabbed a tankard from the table, uncaring who it belonged to, and gulped its contents in an attempt to quench my thirst for her.
Irsha and Tova ambled past the doorway, the Blade carrying two men thrown over his shoulders while the dwarf dragged another by the legs. The sound of a head bouncing off the floor interrupted my laughter.
‘What’s got into him?’ Irsha asked.
‘I think the king found out our girl’s not some wilting flower that needs rescuing,’ Tova said with a dismissive shrug, and I couldn’t even fault him for his opinion.
‘Where are you taking the bodies?’ I said, wiping my mouth and setting the tankard aside.
‘To the yard’s gate,’ Irsha replied. ‘I’ll arrange for someone to dispose of them later. On second thought, incinerating them here wasn’t a good idea.’
I nodded and joined them, helping Tova with his burden. Roksana appeared moments later, gripping Irsha’s arm with purpose.
‘Don’t worry about that,’ she said. ‘Go to the House of Lilies. I have a bad feeling about all of this. Bring Lily here, and if she resists, just throw her over your shoulder. I’ll deal with her wrath later.’
The massive assassin nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead. ‘Give me an hour, sweetheart. I can arrange for a wagon on the way back. Best to get rid of the bodies before sunrise,’ he responded before turning to me, his assessing stare telling me all I needed to know.
I nodded, offering a wry smile. ‘I’ll stay and ensure she’s safe—oof.’ I doubled over, scowling at Roksana for elbowing me in the gut. ‘What was that for? I’m helping you clean up your corpses, woman, why are you beating me?’
‘Exactly.Mycorpses, my house, my rules,’ she said. ‘And, if anything, I’ll ensureyou’resafe, Your Majesty. But—’ she softened slightly ‘—if you help me clean up this mess, I promise to make you some tea.’
She turned then, waving at a departing Irsha. ‘Oh, and drag Riordan out of bed, too. His Majesty will need all the support he can get.’
I closed my eyes, adjusting the dead weight in my arms. I shouldn’t enjoy being ordered around. Half of the court would have fainted at seeing me covered in blood and cleaning up corpses—but one look at Sana’s face, and I readily agreed.
By the time we were done, the moon had crossed its zenith. Though a little more than an hour had passed, the house was mostly in order. I tugged at the damp linen of the shirt clinging to my chest, still soaked from scrubbing bloodstains, when a sudden racket outside made me stiffen.
For a moment, I thought we were under attack again, but it was only Liliana, masterfully draped over Irsha’s shoulder, swearing a blue streak while still looking beautiful. Riordan walked in behind them, confusion written all over his face.
‘Sana, I know you worry, but would you explain why this brute needed to kidnap me from the middle of the dance floor on my busiest night in months? I was working on a man with enough money to buy out my business!’
Roksana frowned, spearing Irsha with an accusatory glare. ‘I’m guessing you haven’t told her yet?’
‘No,’ Riordan chimed in. ‘No one told us anything. And judging by Reynard’s expression, “come quick, the king needs you” was a gross understatement.’
‘We have a problem—and I’m not talking about those nitwits rotting by the gates. So I thought we needed to talk . . . properly talk,’ Sana said, gesturing to the seat next to me while the assassin grabbed a chair before pulling Liliana onto his lap despite her protests.
‘There aren’t enough chairs,’ Irsha said, unfazed. ‘I carried you over my shoulder. What’s the issue with sitting on my knee for a moment?’
I applauded his sound reasoning. I turned to Sana to propose the same, but she shook her head, pulling away.
‘No, don’t you bloody dare. Riordan can sit on your lap.’
The mage scoffed, rolling his eyes at her proposal. ‘So when do I find out what in Veles’ pit is going on here?’
‘Nothing much,’ Tova said, grinning. ‘We had a bit of fun with our visitors.’
One look at Sana’s serious expression and he didn’t continue.
‘I needed you all here because I found this,’ she said, pulling a set of augurec manacles out of her pocket.
