Page 11 of Crown of Darkness
You don’t admit your weaknesses to an enemy.
I shut my mouth.
Curse it. He’s caught me at a bad moment.
“Mother blames me for what happened,” I say instead and lift my head to meet his gaze.
His lashes shield his merciless blue eyes. “She does, though she won’t speak of it. I wondered why she held you accountable.”
“How angry is she?” There’s no more strength left in me. I lean my head back against his thigh.
He laughs under his breath. “Angry enough to burn the fucking castle to the ground. I think you need to forget about your sister, Princess, and concentrate on keeping your own head. One daughter’s betrayal is enough. Two might tip her over the edge.”
“I thought you’d enjoy that. You’d be the one to reap the rewards. Perhaps she might even name you heir.”
He freezes, and his eyes are glacial as he looks at me. “You know nothing of what I wish for, but let me assure you—your mother would have my head if I even thought to place myself on a throne.”
“You’re ambitious. I know that. Perhaps she’ll give you a duchy. She’ll need a strong vassal without me at her side.”
“It sometimes amazes me that you’ve spent the past seventeen years living with me, and yet, you truly understand so little of me.”
I do?
My eyes narrow.
“I’ll save you the breath.” Slipping my arm beneath his shoulder, he helps me to my feet. “Time to stand, Andraste. You’ve had your moment of respite, and now you need to show the court some of thatfuck youattitude I always see in your eyes.”
“I’m being summoned before the court?”
Not like this.
Not with my hair tangled and blood still staining my clothes. I can’t reveal an inch of weakness.
“You’re being summoned before the court,” he says grimly. “Your mother has need of you.”
“Why?”
Edain heads for the door, leaving me wobbling behind him like a newborn foal. “Because we’re going to war, Andraste. Let us hope your sense of mercy has died a swift death in the oubliette. Because the enemy we face is your sister and her husband, and your mother has a trap planned.”
“Trap?”
There’s only one thing Mother can mean by that.
I have to stop her.
But do I dare?
I force myself to take a step toward the door, and I don’t fall flat on my face, which is an improvement.
“Yes.” Edain’s eyes glitter as he holds the door open for me. “And apparently you’re going to be the one to spring it.”
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Chapter Three
Iskvien
Word comes the following morning.
