Page 57 of A Crown of Tears and Treason
“And she might also be your personal bodyguard from now on,” Zandyr said. “Or until she decides to leave the Capital again. She hates our Clan about as much as your cousins.”
A dangerous mercenary who could vanish whenever she wanted to. Not exactly someone I could wholeheartedly trust. “You’d risk your life for me, a stranger who’s about to become queen to a Clan you despise?”
Adara nodded, the shaved sides of her head gleaming in the moonlight. None of thatYour Graceand bowing mess. I liked that. “The Dragon offered a fair price.”
Ah, riches. I trusted that more than the hollow promise of loyalty from a dangerous stranger. “Mightbe my bodyguard?”
“If she agrees,” Zandyr said. “She initially came here to be your fighting instructor.”
Adara’s eyes bore into mine. If I didn’t hurt so much, I probably would have squirmed under the weight of it. Finally, she nodded again. “I will protect her when you are not here. And train her.”
“Thank you.” I gave her the same solemn nod, before turning back to Zandyr. “And you.”
He frowned. “For what?”
“For…you know…” I let my gaze wander. A few small words.Thank you for not letting me die. That was it. My parents never thanked me for anything, but I did try to make an effort with others. Why was it so hard with Zandyr? My eyes snagged on the bedroom, the biggest in the house. The same one which I avoided. “This isn’t my room.”
“It should be. You were sleeping in a servant’s quarters.”
My lips tensed. “So?”
Zandyr tilted his head to the side. “Adara?”
“This room only has one entrance and two windows, one overlooking the walled garden, the other toward the path leading up to the house. It’s one floor up, so if an intruder manages to infiltrate unseen, and you’re alone, you can sneak out the other way. Its walls are thicker, harder for magic to pass through them. The stairway leading up to it is narrow, easier to defend,” Adara said. “I can go on.”
“I got the message,” I said. But I still felt exposed in this great, big space. “Where’s my switchblade?”
Zandyr rose. “It should be in the rubbish pile.”
“It’s saved me twice so far.”
Without a word, he dug into his black uniform. He pulled my switchblade out, followed by a silver bracelet wide enough to engulf my wrist. Deep engravings shone in the metal, with one big groove in the center, marked with a purple jewel.
“More efficient.” He slid the bone hilt of my weapon inside the groove. It glided in with a satisfying click. Then he pressed the jewel and the switchblade detached. “Or less. It’s up to you to decide.”
He set them both down on the mattress, right next to my hand.
“That’s—unusualy nice of you.” I snatched my switchblade, gliding my fingers over its comforting grooves. But a part of me wanted to run them over the bracelet’s engravings as well. “Adara, you’re an amazing fighter, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re officially my bodyguard, yes?”
“Yes.”
I looked straight into Zandyr’s eyes. “If the prince ever steals my weapon again, tackle him.”
A beat of silence passed between us. Then Zandyr threw his head back, laughing. The sound was sudden and rich, so different than his carefully composed royal fierceness. It filled the entire space so that the bedroom didn’t feel so big and empty anymore.
A corner of Adara’s lips quirked. “Funny.”
“Yes, she is,” Zandyr said. “What do you say, Adara? A tousle for old times’ sake.”
“I taught you better than going into battles you can’t win, Dragon” she said.
His deep chuckle reverberated down the stairs as he left. But it followed me as I drifted off into another dream filled with dark eyes.
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