Page 138 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
Yes. Myself. “You went to the Capital today?”
He worked his jaw for a few moments before nodding gravely.
“Glad to see you’re back,” I said, tone clipped, back straight, chin pointed up.
Like my old self. Like the girl who could command the room with nothing but her chin and the storm in her eyes.
A slow smile crept on his face. “Right back at you.”
I crossed my hands in front of my chest, as if that could make me unblush at how low his voice was.
But I had no time for embarrassment right now.
Answers. I needed answers.
“How?” I speared him with my gaze and didn’t let go. “How can you move so fast? How can you hear so well? Why did they call you into the Capital? Where–”
He held up his open palm.
I saw red.
“You do not get toshushme–”
“I am simply asking you to slow down the flood of questions so I can answer all of them.”
I pursed my lips. “I’m listening.”
“Very well.” His hand retreated to his side as the Commander squared his shoulders, like he was getting ready to face some great opponent, not a tired barefoot woman. “What I tell you cannot leave these rooms. Deal?”
I took the peace offering for what it was and nodded. Trust went both ways.
“I went through a very painful, very secret ritual to gain the ability to move faster than sound,” he said.
“I’ve never heard of such a ritual.”
“Because you weren’t born here.”
How many more secrets did this crater have hidden under its icy surface?
The next words tumbled slower from his lips. “As for why I was called today…we fear the Serpents are truly readying for a war against the Blood Brotherhood.”
I leaned onto the door to keep from falling. It might’ve been my imagination, but I could swear his hand had twitched as I’d swayed, as if ready to catch me. No,eagerto. “A Clan war?”
He nodded, the angles of his face turning harsher.
“How can you be sure?” My voice had turned softer, almost pleading. Not with him–gods help me, I hadn’t fallen that low or hard–but with the entire world itself.
“The Serpents already attacked us at the border a week ago,” he said.
“You made me believe it was only a negotiation talk.”
“We didn’t know what we’d face. They’re gathering more troops. They’ve also raised their monstrous Serpents back from the dead.”
I closed my eyes. I’d only read stories of those beasts, from the few witnesses who had survived them. A single one could coil around an entire village and crush it in a twitch.
“Impossible.” I shook my head, eyes popping open. “The Clan Council–”
“Is looking the other way. Nobody raises magicked creatures if they don’t have vile plans.”
