Page 53 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
Knowledge was always power.
I needed to know how much trouble I was in to find a way to claw myself out of it. Even if he was lying, the truth hid in what he tried the hardest to bury.
“Ask nicely,” his rumble filled the room.
I looked at him as ifhewas out of his mind. “Excuse me?”
“You don’t give orders here.”
A few beats of disbelieving silence passed.
“I’m going to burn that pride straight out of you,” I said, voice as low as his.
“I’m sure you will try.”
The silence stretched between us, pricking my curiosity.
I needed to know.
My survival instinct was stronger than my pride. At least for now.
“Please,” I hissed, letting the word linger.
He only nodded. No gloating, no smirk, no emotion.
“Our sources say Silas is telling everyone that you ran away. And that he took the crown to protect your Clan during these hard times,” the Commander went on, voice cold and methodical.
Filtering the truth beyond the lies was difficult. With my father dead and me gone, Silas could have been placed on the throne as a temporary precaution.
But nobody could drag my name through the mud like that in the Protectorate when I was the one rushing through the maze to protect them all, while nobody saw his slimy self during the massacre.The quickest way to ruin a Protectorate reputation was to hint that someone wanted to save their own skin instead of their Clan.
To protect is to endurehad been the Vegheara creed since Dria Vegheara’s time.
If the Commander told the truth, though, then Silas truly wanted to ruin me.
This plan seemed too complex for his negligent self, though.
But if he’d planned this.
No.
My Clan respected my sacrifices too much to believe such mistruths, if Silas truly spread them. They had to.
“The ones who could have defied him are either dead or missing,” he went on.
For the first time, I wobbled on the spot.
“I can return to Aquila and set things right,” I said stubbornly.
Lie or truth, that was the only option.
“Aquila is locked down. Nobody goes in or out without Silas knowing,” he said.
“Except your spies.”
“Our spies don’t need to penetrate Aquila to find secrets,” he said.
A smirk pulled the corner of his lip.
