Page 17 of A Crown of Tears and Treason
I clenched my jaw.Lost Daughterdidn’t suit the woman I’d met. The one I’d held in my arms as the arrows had hissed through the air and who’d gripped that useless little weapon of hers, ready to attack me. Saying I needed to earn her murder. Adorable.
“What about her?” I asked, voice more cutting than I’d intended.
Ryker raised his brows, a flicker of power sparking in his curious gaze.
"Maybe we were misinformed," Soryn went on. "She could have been trained while in hiding. Assassin. Master thief. Xamor, maybe she’s The Phantom. That would explain why we haven’t found him."
My jaw ticked. “She doesn’t seem like the type.”
Evie hadn’t struck me as violent or cunning.
Yet she had agreed to marry me, with only the slightest hesitation. Behind her small frame, Evie must have hid enormous power. Though she had said she couldn’t do magic. Preposterous. She was the lost jewel in the Protectorate’s thorny crown, a descendant of Dria Vegheara herself. Of course she had power.
“She might be used to death and mayhem.” Elysia sipped from her dainty teacup. Her cat, Lord Purrlock, kneaded innocently in her lap, as if it hadn't just tried to tear through Soryn's pants and had stared hungrily at Calyx’s wound. Nothing, not even a Blood Brotherhood meeting, interrupted Elysia’s tea time.
“She mightbringdeath and mayhem. She could have a plan.” Ryker said, followed by a sudden stillness. When he talked, people listened. "Perhaps she’spartof a plan."
I wouldn’t put it past the Protectorate to use their own to try their hand at destroying my Clan. Alaric, may the gods take pity on his bones, had been a smart man. Perhaps too smart–and he’d gotten a dagger to the heart at his niece’s wedding for it.
“I alone will deal with her,” I said. “You already need to sacrifice so much.”
“I still can’t believe we have to fucking marry those Protectorate brats,” Calyx growled.
I couldn’t either. When I’d promised Evie her cousins were safe, I’d meant none of my Brothers or Sisters would kill them, which was beyond reasonable given the animosity between our Clans.
But Alaric had died. The Protectorate had broken the Code.
We either married the Protectorate First Family cousins or we risked a Clan war and the Council’s vengeance.
The rest of the marriage contracts were already being written by the Council’s most esteemed scribes. No contract had been signed between Evie and Fabrian, though. Curious.
Another piece of the puzzle I had to unravel.
Later.
All that mattered now was saving our hides. So the Blood Brotherhood Elite and the Protectorate’s First Family would marry.
“We’ve all bled for our Clan.” Elysia gestured dramatically, her rings clinking. “A marriage alliance, even with the Protectorate, is nothing compared to being tortured in a grimy basement in the North Isles.”
“We also have to think of the benefits.” Soryn splayed his hands on the table. “An alliance between the most powerful Clans in Malhaven could make us stronger.”
“Or our fiancees could kill us in our sleep,” Calyx said.
“Or that. But we might finally have peace between our Clans.”
“Clans despise peace,” Ryker said. “They were built on chaos.”
“We’ve survived worse. For the good of the Blood Brotherhood,” I said with finality. Nobody argued. “Soryn’s right. Marriage could mean power.Bloodpower.”
The four of them grinned viciously, looking like the feared Brotherhood Elite that haunted Malhaven’s nightmares. That was another piece of information nobody outside the Clan needed to know about.
“Blood power is great, but…” Calyx began, gaze sweeping over all of us.
An expectant silence fell, brimming with possibilities.
“Is nobody going to say it?” Calyx asked. No reply came, only curious glances. “I can’t believe I have to be the voice of reason.”
I raised my eyebrows as Calyx looked my way.
