Page 70 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
Yet the Commander managed to seem larger than them all, steps thundering, stare so unnerving, even his warriors stood up straighter as he passed, each nodding in his direction.
It was a curious sensation to walk alongside someone who commanded such attention. I was used to everyone staring at me.
It was…a relief. A bitter one, that reminded me I was in an unknown, foreign land, with none of my powers or titles, but, damn, did it feel good to not have the compulsion to seem fierce and in control all the time, because I stood next to someone even more fearsome.
For once, I didn’t have to carry the weight of generations on my back.
The last time I’d felt this way, I’d been a child accompanying Grandpa Constantine on his formal trips. I’d never gotten the same sensation with my former fucking fiance, truly one of the biggest mistakes of my life.
This strange land was making me feel things I’d never realized I’d been missing.
“What is this place?” I asked, cursing the cold in the hallway once more, as we rounded a corner.
“My fortress,” the Commander rasped.
I rolled my eyes. The number of warriors had thinned, but those who noticed my gesture openly stared with wide, shocked eyes.
Yes, I rolled my eyes at their precious Commander.
“I gathered as much,” I said. “What’s it called?”
“Aren’t names important for Protectorate spells?” he asked, not looking at me.
They were–more important than we wanted our enemy Clan to know. “I didn’t ask for your given name.”
He didn’t reply.
“Fine.” I sighed in annoyance, drawing more surprised looks. “Whereis this place?”
This damn city in this damn valley cradled by a crater that shouldn’t have existed.
“Somewhere up North,” he replied as we neared the same set of imposing stairs I’d avoided in my own exploration.
They somehow looked even grander now.
“Oh, stop, that’s too much information to handle all at once,” I said, trying not to fret over just how big everything around me was–the building, the people, even the doorknobs.
The Commander finally looked at me. “I can’t trust you.”
Good. I didn’t trust him, either. “You let me roam inyourfortress.”
“And you can roam in my city as well, and the outskirts of the forest. But don’t go deeper, there are dangers too great to handle there, Huntress or not.”
Dangers–or a way out of this place.
“And the trolls aren’t to be trifled with,” he went on.
My eyes widened. “Did you saytrolls?”
Without replying, he went up the stairs, steps so slow, it was almost embarrassing me how much he tried to match my pace and not make a big deal out of it.
I must have been in worse shape than I realized.
With a gulp, I followed, holding onto the engraved banister.
Don’t wince, don’t wince, don’t–
I winced, the skin on my soles begging for relief, but I kept going.
