Page 84 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
A strange feeling of reprieve and gratitude overtook me, unlike any I’d ever felt.
This man was supposed to be my sworn enemy.
Yet he had defended me against a foe I’d never imagined–my own family.
Despite the strain of this conversation, the tightness in my shoulders loosened as the two of us stared straight at Silas, who could do nothing but sputter.
“Are you threatening me?” Silas finally asked when he found his voice.
The Commander’s brows furrowed. “Yes, I thought I’d made that clear. Do you want me to threaten you again so you can fully understand the absolute idiocy of you speaking to her like that?”
“You dare–”
“Yes,” The Commander said simply. “And I will do plenty more if needed. She is under my protection now and Iwillshow you what true safety means if needed.”
Two sides of me fought for supremacy.
One wanted to rejoice at his words.
The other wanted to rebel.
Neither won, caught in an endless clash.
“Lovely. Before I let you go back to whatever the Blood Brotherhood has in store for you–” A grim smirk cut Silas’ face as his eyes jumped between me and The Commander. “–tell me where you’ve hidden the crown.”
I stared at my usurper uncle.
Then I burst out laughing.
All the tension echoed in that unhinged sound. It cleansed my lungs and soothed my soul.
The idiot didn’t have the crown.
I had no clue where it was–it should have been in my father’s room, kept safely by ancient spells–and Idefinitelyneeded to find it, but it brought me unbridled joy to know Silas didn’t have it.
“That’s why you didn’t send the army. Apart from not wanting to,” I said once I quieted down. “You can’t.”
The Protectorate army, such as it was, could only be commanded by the one who held Grandpa Constantine’s crown–and the one which the crown itself accepted.
The crown had almost slipped from my father’s forehead at his coronation, barely clinging. But it had remained on his head.
No magic in this world could have kept the crown on Silas’ miserable head.
He remained silent.
“Do the soldiers know?” I asked.
A muscle twitched in Silas’ jaw.
No. The soldiers did not know he couldn’t command them–yet.
“You lied to them, too,” I said, almost gleeful, despite the pain drumming through me. “How long until they figure it out,Uncle?”
Silas sneered. “You and yourbetrotheddeserve each other in your arrogance.”
I chanced a look at The Commander, his harsh, sharp jaw so close to me, I could feel my breath ghosting over his skin, then a whiff of it bouncing back and skimming across my cheeks.
It felt personal.
