Page 35 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
“Come off it, Evie only nicked his hand.” That passed as a tap on the shoulder around Clan members. “If that’s cause for a Clan dispute–”
“The Dragon killed him. Sliced him clean in half,” Clara deadpanned. “What’s left of Fabrian is currently fertilizing our garden.”
I stared at Clara as if she’d sprouted three more beautiful heads.
“Fabrian’s dead?”Good fucking riddance. Malhaven was a better place without him. But the louse could have had the good graces to get himself killed somewhere else. Now he’d dragged all of us into this mess. “Shit.”
“Yeah.” Clara gripped the shard harder as the arrows hissed louder. “If The Dragon would have let that waste of space just be impaled by an arrow, we would have all been better off. Butnooo, he needed to be self-righteous.”
“We’ll deal with that later.” I’d definitely have to join my father when negotiating with what would be left of the Serpentsafter today. Killing a Clan heir was the cause for most wars in Malhaven’s history.
The Protectorate might not have struck the final blade, but Clara was right. The assassination had happened on our sacred island and nobody would believe the Blood Brotherhood could have just waltzed here without triggering our protective wards.
“You need to come with us to the negotiating table,” I said. “Nobody knows that blasted Code better than you.”
Clara nodded grimly. “We won’t get out of this unscathed.”
“As long as we get off this island alive, I’ll consider all of us lucky.”
Today, we had to survive.
Tomorrow, we’ll worry about a Clan war.
The poison droplets slowed down.
They must have lost our scent.
“Head to the castle and look for our fathers,” I said. “I’ll keep looking for survivors–”
“I can’t leave you alone–”
Why did everyone in my family need to be self-sacrificing and have a big heart?
“Please, Clara. With Fabrian dead, the Serpent guards who have survived will be out for blood. You need to help my father settle the tension until we can get everyone off this island. The last thing we need right now is a fight.”
Clara opened her mouth to argue, but, finally, mercifully, she nodded.
I couldn’t be The Huntress I needed to be if I was scared I’d be leading her to danger behind me.
I jerked my chin at the other opening and raised three fingers. Clara nodded, gaze not leaving mine.
I dropped one finger.
“Be careful, Allie. We’ll need you most of all after today,” Clara said.
“You be careful, too.To protect is to endure.”
I dropped the second finger.
The poison had almost stopped raining down.
“To protect is to endure,” Clara echoed Grandpa Constantine’s favorite saying. “Grandpa would have been very proud of you, Allie.”
“He would have been proud of you, too, Clara. See you at the castle.”
The last finger joined my fist.
We shared a quick, warm smile, before we each darted in different directions, me delving deeper into the maze to find survivors and her rushing toward the castle to protect those who had survived. Whatever prayers had spilled from my lips left with Clara.
