Page 43 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
The kind of dangerous I didn’t want anywhere near me or my fortress.
The Huntress might just tear it from the inside out to prove she could.
“The Huntress does not miss.” Soryn’s dark gaze finally met mine. “But it’s a miracle the poisoned arrows didn’t take her down. The first one was aimed straight at her.”
I clenched my jaw.
He was right.
If the First Daughter hadn’t launched herself at her bothersome cousin, the poisoned tip would have pierced her, not the vase.
“She was the main target,” I said.
“If someone wanted to destabilize one of the most powerful Clans in Malhaven, taking out the heir to the throne would be a very good first step.” Soryn moved his all-seeing gaze to Zandyr. “Especially when theformerheir has suddenly reappeared after sixteen years.”
“Evie’s not involved,” Zandyr said with absolutely certainty.
Soryn and I exchanged a quick glance.
“She is too inexperienced and too scared for that,” Zandyr pressed on. “And the only thing she cared about was protecting her family,notthe Protectorate.”
A stunned silence settled over us.
Clan came before family.
Honor before heart.
This Lost Daughter might have been just as dangerous as her stubborn cousin.
“Then let the Protectorate protect them all. Isn’t that what they do?” I grumbled, but my voice lacked bite.
“Their Clan couldn’t protect them today,” Zandyr said, watching my every reaction with his unblinking Dragon eyes, sharp enough to notice the cracks forming.. “Especially not The Huntress.”
No.
They’d expectedher, a slip of a woman, to save them all.
Zandyr looked at the mighty cliffs rising in the background and the castle towers casting their shadow over us all. “This day will be remembered for centuries. This is the moment we choose which side of history we stand on.”
“It’s in the Blood Brotherhood’s best interest that a Vegheara remains on the Protectorate throne,” Soryn said. “They’re stubborn, but they’re not stupid or cruel. If there is a power struggle within that Clan, if someone else takes the crown, we might be heading into a Clan war. Especially with a stolen bride aboard our ship.”
Because no Blood Brotherhood member worth their sword ever went back on a promise or a contract, and Zandyr would not be the first to break that rule.
Honor had gotten us into this mess–it would have to get us out.
The reality beat against me–and the best instincts my mother had tried so very hard to instill in me in a frozen land where violence was the only teacher.
I could almost hear her sweet whispers in the wind.
Protect them, my son. Nobody else will.
Old vows and honor struggled inside me.
This was a bad idea.
The worst.
Horrible.
