Page 156 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
The only thing I wasn’t sure about was why.
Perhaps the Northern Clans had sensed danger in the air. Maybe they’d heard of the upcoming war and decided to try their luck when the Blood Brotherhood was already stretched thin.
But that answer, as predictable as it was, didn’t satisfy me.
“Perhaps you can ask those Protectorate members who traipsed all over your realm not long ago,” Beren said.
Fuck.
They were keeping a closer watch on me than I’d imagined–or an outsider was feeding them information.
The Northern Clans didn’t have enough well-trained spies to best mine.
“The Protectorate has no need for what Solkar’s Reach has to offer,” I said.
“Are you sure?” Beren’s brows rose. “I heard different.”
“You hear a lot of things.”
He inclined his head. “Not information I believe enough to pass on. Rumors are a terrible thing, aren’t they?”
“You should know, someone has been spreading so many about me and my people in your Clans. How many children have I supposedly killed and devoured this month? Eighteen?”
Beren chuckled. “I can’t control whatsomemad people do in their spare time.”
“Of course. Luckily, I can.” I squared my shoulders. I’d had enough of them to last me an entire lifetime. “I’ll make this simple. If you spill another drop of blood near Solkar’s Reach, the deal is void.”
A ripple passed through the three of them. Lioran and Edrin shared a surprised glance.
But Beren’s gaze didn’t stray away from me as it steeled.
“Miharel would have never allowed this,” Lioran said. “He cared about his history and liaisons.”
From the tales people still whispered back in Solkar’s Reach, he’d liked liaisons enough to break my mother’s heart mere weeks before he’d died. “My father was only a Starhollow through marriage. I inherited my mother’s claim on Solkar’s Reach, not his.”
“Such disrespect for your elder.” Lioran curled his top lip.
“He was Beren’s brother for more years than he ever was my father.”
The man had only left behind a name, not a legacy, and certainly no warm memories.
“Careful,Commander.” Beren’s voice lowered, even as his smile widened; it shook at the edges, though, the anger seeping out. “Don’t spit on your past. It has a way of taking revenge when you least expect it.”
There it was.
Beren’s true face was starting to show.
That’s what he did.
Threatened with a smile and then rejoiced when you backed away from him.
“Now who’s throwing around threats?” I asked.
“We do what we must when we’re forced to.” Beren shrugged; the mountains trembled. “We had a deal. A deal which you aren’t fulfilling.”
“I am.” Every single day, no matter how much I hated it.
Or hated myself for having to resort to it.
