Page 187 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
I knew the Blood Brotherhood wanted Starhollow to join, but I didn’t know if they would go to war to protect us. Burned by my own relatives, I couldn’t trust strangers which had been declared enemies most of my life.
Now I had to pay the consequences for that decision–in more ways than one.
Allie still hadn’t said anything.
She didn’t even look at me, gaze jumping around the floor as she took it all in.
What would she say when she’d stop nibbling at her lips?
Would there be disappointment in her eyes when she finally met mine again? Disgust at how weak I’d been?
My fingers dug into the doorframe hard enough to crack the wood.
“Let me get this straight,” she began after what felt like the longest silence.
I didn’t relax. It wasn’t a curse, but not a great start, either.
“You promised to give them access to the fallen star’s magic so they wouldn’t kill your people,” she said.
“Yes,” I hissed at myself.
“And the Blood Brotherhood doesn’t know that–”
“No.”
“Nor anybody else from Solkar’s Reach.”
“No.”
“Just me,” she said.
“Yes.” She’d been the only other soul I’d shared this secret with. The only one who’d known where to dig for it.
“And now those rotten Northern Clans are saying they’re not getting as much magic as they did and want more, yes?”
“With thinly veiled threats, yes.”
The quiet stretched and stretched as her brows furrowed more and more. I braced myself for whatever disdain remarks that beautiful and courageous mind of hers could concoct.
She was brave.
The Huntress would not stand a weak man.
“Those fucking hypocrites,” she exploded. “Did they ever give a grain of frozen sand toanyoneelse to demandanythingin return? The Northern Clans are more stingy than the goddamn Fair Isles. And those profiting bootlickers would sell their own eyes if they could replace them with golden coins–”
“Wait.” I blinked at her, confused.
“For what? It’s true, they have the absolute worst reputation in Malhaven,” she said with that same Vegheara fire, tilting her pointy chin up as if she was fighting the Northern Clans right now. “Not even the Borderline Bands are that wretched–”
“You’re upset about the Northern Clans,” I said, still disbelieving.
“Yes! Threatening innocent people because you want more access to magic you don’t own or sacrificed for is absolutely revolting. I don’t know how they can look at themselves in the mirror in the morning without retching right then and there. I’d be ashamed to even think of cheating power.”
This woman would drive me mad one day if she kept shocking me like this.
“What about me?” I asked.
Her brows furrowed. “What about you? It’s disgusting that your own family threatened you, but we both know uncles can be absolutely horrendous–"
