Page 21 of A Crown of Tears and Treason
The carriage suddenly swerved to the right, shuddering up a hill. Still dizzy, my body tilted to the side, while the Commander remained perfectly still. His stone eyes glimmered as he blinked my way with a dissatisfied scoff.
He could go to Xamor’s merciless war hounds for all I cared.
I’d been right. On the main path we’d just exited, four other carriages barreled straight ahead, the third one glistening brighter than the others. From the barest glimpse I got of it, it looked like it had been carved out of bone, with huge spirals adorning its sides.
My chest tightened. “Where are we going?”
“To the Blood Brotherhood Capital,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in all of Malhaven. He shook his head then murmured, “I didn’t think you were slow, too.”
I bristled instantly, shoulders straightening.
I didn’t have much force in my emaciated limbs.
I couldn’t fight an assassin and didn’t know much about Clan life.
And I couldn’t do magic.
But I wasnotstupid.
“This doesn’t look or feel like a main road,” I said just as the carriage’s wheels jerked violently against the rocks. “The path’s more narrow, the bushes look wilder, and we’re going uphill. The Blood Brotherhood is one of the biggest and strongest Clans in Malhaven. You can afford proper streets and that grand Capital of yours would be too big to build on top of a mountain. I can smell the sea and we got here by boat. Sea means fish and people have to eat, especially in a big city, so you’d build close to the shore.”
The disdain vanished from the Commander’s face. Now he looked at me like he was sizing me up. “So youarea strategist.”
If only. “I don’t have your skills, but I can hold my own. We were the fourth carriage in the envoy. Not first or last, we were right behind the beautiful one that would attract all attention away from us. So where. Are. We. Going?”
I doubted The Dragon would go through all that trouble at my wedding to just take me out back and gut me, but I could never tell with Clans. Fabrian had risked so much to get me in front of that altar and he’d threatened to kill me the first chance he got.
With him gone, I had no lead into my parents’ murders. If Fabrian hadn’t sent those assassins…who had?
So many questions I had no answers for. So many Clan rules I had to learn.
The Commander leaned back against the red velvet seat, silently assessing.
“The Citadel, where the royal palace grounds are,” he said at last, reluctant even then. “They’re sealed off from the rest of the Capital. Few can get in, fewer can get out. The prince insists on keeping you safe, so we’re taking the service road. And that other carriage was a diversion.”
There was that word again.Safe. I almost laughed. “Is a furious crowd waiting to tear me apart?”
“No, but maybe an assassin or two. Not all Blood Brotherhood members are happy the prince came for you.”
Great.
All I had on me were my pendant, my switchblade, and my wedding dress, still stained with Fabrian’ blood. And the priest’s. I shuddered, ignoring my stained hem for now.
My parents would have probably scolded me. Fabric was precious, and every stain could be washed away. And if it couldn’t, well, vanity was a luxury and nobody could see you up in the mountains anyway.
I clenched my jaw.
I couldn’t think of my parents now. I had to be strong.
I had to survive.
But my traitorous heart pounded faster. I’d been so foolish. So ravenous for freedom, to exchange the misery of the cabin for the magnificence of the Clan.
I’d gotten my wish.
Here I was, witnessing Clan murders left and right.
How could I survive this world? I hadn’t been taught to scheme, guess intentions, and lie with a smile on my face and a glimmer in my eyes.
