Page 83 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
“Not what I heard,” Silas said with the petulance and giddiness of a five year-old. “Whatever witnesses you had are keeping very quiet.”
“Or are they beingkeptquiet?”
Silas shrugged. I was going to end his entire–
Orion’s hand flinched.
For the briefest moment, I feared he’d reach for Silas’ festering throat and rip it out.
But no.
Orion–may the gods bless him and Dria Vegheara herself welcome him with open arms when his time came–was moving his fingers rapidly to send a secret message, the same way I’d done at the wedding and how our ancestors had been doing for generations.
He’d strategically stepped behind Silas so the throne hid his hand from the stranger in the room as well.
Only I could see.
Only I needed to know.
“I will not be judged by you,” Silas droned, unaware of what was truly happening. “You are no longer here. You no longer have a claim to the throne. It is time for the Protectorate to reach new heights–”
Despite the whirlwind of emotions stretching my already frayed soul, panic still seared my veins.
The Commander was quickly approaching, murder in his eyes. Had he seen Orion’s movements?
No, impossible.
But if he reached my side, he would.
Perhaps not the whole message, but he’d know something was happening.
I tried desperately to keep the disgusted sneer on my face directed at Silas while I watched Orion’s hand from the corner of my eyes.
The Commander narrowed his eyes on me.
“A new dawn has come for our Clan and I will be its captain, raising the sails.” Silas’ voice rose with a grandiosity he’d done nothing to earn in his miserable life. Then he sighed. “Enjoy the rest of your life, Allegra. The Protectorate and Aquila are no longer your concern. Live your life, enjoy your marriage, and make enough babies to forget about crowns and wars.”
I pressed my lips to keep from shouting.
Orion was almost done.
The Commander’s steps were so close, I almost felt them vibrating against me.
My entire body almost vibrated from the adrenaline.
Orion finished and hid his hand just as The Commander came into view, a menacing shadow towering over me. He placed a protective hand on the back of my chair.
Relief flooded me just as his heat enveloped me as he leaned down, eye-level with the palaver and Silas. Not crowding my space, joining me in it.
“For some unspeakable reason, you might be the Protectorate leader now,” The Commander said, voice laced with a regal, poignant venom Silas would never master in his pitiful life. “But if you ever speak to my future wife like that again, that same day–not a week, not a month later, that very day–you will wake up in the middle of the night with me standing aboveyou. You’ll only see me for a moment, enough for fear to grip your entire being, before I will take my dagger and cut out your miserable tongue.”
He didn’t raise his voice.
He didn’t need to.
Every word sank into me, a vow I’d never imagined coming from his lips.
More silence followed, this time heavy and shocked.
