Page 42 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
Mission accomplished–barely and in a way none of us had wanted.
I watched the gold and red sails flutter in the distance, the sight that seared dread in the coldest of hearts, even those of the pirates mastering and tormenting the Nine Seas down South.
The Blood Brotherhood army was unbeatable.
But, today, we’d lost.
Not the confrontation, but too many souls.
And for what?
To uphold a dusty marriage contract signed by others.
We’d come, Zandyr had somehow convinced the bride to come with us, the Blood Brotherhood had retained its honor.
Fine.
But what Zandyr and Soryn were proposing was insanity.
“You saw what happened on this island. Such a thing has never been witnessed in the history of Malhaven. You’re inviting danger into our lives by aligning ourselves with the Vegheara family,” I said, my cold voice traveling with the wind, just like it did back home.
Home.
Where more problems awaited me.
Where the Northern Clans nipped at my heels and my fortress was the only thing standing between them and the rest of the Blood Brotherhood.
Where, despite all of that, I still felt most at peace in the entire world.
“I gave Evie my word her cousins would be safe,” Zandyr said. Like that meant everything. Because to him, it did.
“You and your blasted honor.” I exhaled sharply. “You promised her safety, you take her.”
“I can’t bring the heir to the Protectorate throne–the damnHuntress–into Phoenix Peak. Banu and Valuta will twist it as treason,” Zandyr said patiently.
“Then Soryn–”
“I have to leave straight for the Clan Council and mitigate this mess before we find ourselves in a Clan war,” Soryn said just as evenly. Like I was the unreasonable one here. “You’re the only one of the Blood Brotherhood Elite who can do it. Calyx is wounded and will need to recuperate. Elysia would poison The Huntress after the stunt she pulled in the garden.”
That part was gloriously, surprisingly true.
I huffed a laugh despite myself. Cutting The Viper’s hair from thirty yards away with nothing but an arrow and sheer determination was no small feat.
“She’s The Huntress, she can protect herself,” I said. “She almost killed me back in the maze.”
My thoughts rushed back to that little flicker on her stubborn face, when her bright eyes widened with apprehension for a fraction and I caught the barest glimpse ofher.
The woman behind the fearsome titles.
The fiery thing had faced me like a well-seasoned warrior hiding in the body of a goddess. Her wild hair looked like itcould never be tamed, her tattered dress revealing those sublime legs that didn’t move a fucking inch as she crouched in that impossible stance.
She’d kept me in her sights, arrow aimed straight at me, unwavering.
Her protective shield had almost mocked my powers at the wedding.
She’d survived an ambush which had felled more experienced Clan members.
She was dangerous.
