Page 5 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
Otherwise, we were all in danger.
“The line between madness and sanity is drawn by the observer,” my father, the great Alaric “Aric” Vegheara, said.
While I roamed aimlessly, a bundle of hectic energy, he stood as still as the bone-white cliffs surrounding us, gazing up at the birds flitting between the linden trees.
He was a composed man, my father. Always slow to anger, wise words at the ready, preferring books to battles.
The perfect qualities for a Clan leader during times of peace–even one who’d inherited the throne on a technicality. Falor Vegheara, his big brother, had taken Evie and his wife and vanished in the dead of night, leaving the Protectorate throne unclaimed.
My father had been forced to take Grandpa Constantine’s crown and I would wear it proudly when my time came.
I would also protect my Clan as fiercely as I’d been raised to.
“Serpents are swarming our island, led by their beast of an heir, who plans on marryingmycousin, and we’re not doinganything.” My voice rose higher than I’d wanted. “Sanity has sailed halfway across Marea Luminara by now.”
“Careful, my little ember.” My father looked at me from the corner of his eye, still not moving. “The Serpents are scoundrels, but they have very good spies.”
I clenched my jaw and flicked my fingers, my Protectorate power seeping out in blue tendrils that rushed around the garden, carried by the salty sea breeze. “Shield our tongues and hide our sounds.”
The murmurs from the main courtyard muffled. If I couldn’t hear the guests’ gossip and the Protectorate sentinels marching, nobody could hear us either.
“About time you made yourself useful, dear,” my only remainingofficialuncle, Silas, said from behind.
“You could have done it yourself, you know?” I said, turning just enough so I could narrow my eyes on him. There was only one bench in this whole garden and Silas had sat his indolent behind on it as soon as we’d arrived. “We’re all First Family, we all have power.”
As Grandpa Constantine’s Fourth Son and my father’s last living brother, Silas had a right to be here for this improvised council. But, as always, he added nothing to the discussion at hand except complaints. My heart sometimes ached for Clara at having such a waste of a father.
Silas shrugged, as he always did. “It’s not my voice that carries.”
“A true leader’s voice needs to. And she’s such a strong magic wielder. Getting better by the day.” Uncle Maksim shook his shaved head. “If I still had hair, it would’ve blown in the gust she generated.”
I sent a small smile his way. Uncle Maksim wasn’t my uncle at all. He was the last one of Grandpa Constantine’s siblings still standing, but great-uncle didn’t have the same ring to it. Plus, he’d been more of a parent to my cousins Dax and Dara than their own.
Uncle Maksim was rough around the edges and had a mean bite, especially when someone said something stupid about our family.
And Silas had a lot of stupid shit to say.
“She’s always been strong,” my father said with nothing but affection. “And strong-headed.”
“Thank you,” I said primly. I hadn’t earned the reputation of The Huntress and had my name cursed by a thousand souls across Malhaven by being a wallflower. “So how do we solve this?”
“It’s not really our place to do it, is it?” Silas said, oblivious to the way Uncle Maksim scowled at him. “Not our wedding.”
“Evie says she loves him,” my father said, ignoring his brother as best he could. “Can’t be talked out of it, I’ve tried.”
“When?” I asked, surprised.
Ever since Evie had appeared at our castle in Aquila in the dead of night, bloody and scared, I had only left her side when she visited Grandpa Constantine’s mausoleum. As a Vegheara, I knew showing weakness was almost criminal. So I let her mourn in solitude and pretended she didn’t come back with reddened eyes and a runny nose, like any good First Family cousin would.
“I hadn’t visited my father's grave in more months than I like to admit,” my father said.
I narrowed my eyes. “You knew she’d be there.”
He shrugged. “Maybe it was just a happy coincidence.”
“Grandpa Constantine taught my cousins and I that there are no coincidences.”
“Funny. He taught me and my brothers the same thing.”
