Page 106 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
What in the underworld was that for me now?
“Did I ever tell you about my first husband?” Mrs. Thornbrew drew me back into this new room of mine.
I shook my head. Of course she hadn’t, she was astranger. A kind stranger, but we’d been enemies by way of Clans only a few weeks ago.
“Gods, he was gorgeous.” She bit her lower lip, shaking her head. “Like Solkar himself left his place in the sky and walked among us mortals. Fierce warrior and a sharp mind to boot. Which is rare, they’re either big or brainy.”
I nodded, because I didn’t know what else to do with this unexpected story.
“But, see, he didn’t have to work hard for it,” she went on. “I don’t know why the gods had blessed him like that, but it was a curse in disguise. He always expected everything to fall from the sky. Not me, obviously. He had to work for my attention and love.”
Yes, Mrs. Thornbrew looked like she’d made her husbands work for her. I liked that.
“But he fumbled. Bad. No matter how well he treated me, I couldn’t ignore what his plans with the crater were. I would have benefited, but most wouldn’t have,” she said, beating the duvet with a vengeance. “So I had to turn him in. It was the worst thing I’d ever done in my life.”
“What did he want to do with the crater?”
Whatcouldone man do with this huge, menacing place.
Mrs. Thornbrew waved me off. “Something bad. You should have seen the way he looked at me when the warriors came to get him. Betrayed. Hateful. Broken-hearted. But I had to do it. He would have destroyed this place and him in the process.”
I furrowed my brows. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because, sometimes, we need to look deeper than love to see one’s true heart and judge them on that.”
My shoulders deflated. “He told you.”
Did my shame have no bounds? It was bad enough that the Commander knew I’d trusted the wrong man, but to have others hear how wrong I’d been–
“No, Ry keeps secrets close to him. Too close, if you ask me.” She jerked her chin at me. “I know that look in your eyes and I saw the bruises on your neck. Someone had to be very sly to get that close to a woman like you.”
Or I had been too foolish to realize. I lowered my gaze. I should have known better. How was still a mystery, but…I was disappointed in myself that I’d fallen into such an obvious trap.
“Trust is a fickle thing.” Mrs. Thornbrew came to stand in front of me, her closeness demanding my gaze, which lifted begrudgingly. “It needs to be built in weeks, months, years, and can shatter in a second.”
“You seem to trust me.”
She smiled warmly. “I’ve learned to see people’s hearts.”
Her coarse thumb touched the top of my right cheek and pulled on my lower eyelid, looking at my eye. Then did the same to my left side. And I let her.
Finally, she swiped her thumb over my forehead, muttering a prayer under her breath.
“And you will, too,” she said kindly. “Most hearts are vile. The ones who shine will be so easy to see once you know what you’re looking for.”
“I hope so,” I said, not really believing it.
“You’re young. Give it a few decades.” She winked at me and nodded at the ignored food tray on the table. “You done?”
I nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“He won’t be happy, I’ll tell you that much.” She picked up the tray and left the room with a final warm smile my way.
As soon as the door shut, I rose from the seat and scurried back to the bed. It felt wrong to disturb Mrs. Thornbrew’s expert folding, so I simply plopped onto the sheets, burying my face in them. They smelled of lavender and sunshine, even as snow once again darkened the sky outside.
I sighed into the scent, my body deflating; it was beyond relaxing now.
I hadn’t even gotten a chance to inhale once more when the door to my room banged open.
