Page 137 of Master of Storms
“And my suggestion stands. If we kill her before she can activate the key, then this war will be over before it begins.”
“If you’re so sure this is the answer, then why are you down here drinking by yourself? Where are all your friends? Your allies? Your brother and sister?” Marduk paused, sharpening the edge of his words. “Your mate?”
Draco scowled.
“Let me guess….” Marduk leaned back in his chair. “Your queen is not receptive to your plans of killing the girl and saving the world. She wants to remove the dagger from your brother’s chest and use it to save Elin instead.”
Oh, that scored a mark.
“You shouldn’t have pursued Solveig,” he mused. “I don’t think your ploy to make Andromeda jealous worked. I think you just pissed her off.”
“And you shouldn’t speak of something you know nothing about.”
“I think I’m starting to understand. I’ve been talking to some of your guards, some of the maids—” He caught a glimpse of Draco’s startled expression. “Oh, relax. Not a single one of them has betrayed your confidences. But they don’t have to. I’ve learned a little bit here and there. One can put the pieces together.”
Marduk leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Two years ago, your father poisoned prominent members of Andromeda’s clan. And then he offered them the cure in exchange for her hand—and the key as dowry. But he offered her to his heir, didn’t he? And you were not the heir.”
Draco’s eyelids hooded dangerously.
“You took one look at her and wanted her. It’s always been that way, hasn’t it? You and Scorpius, jostling for position all these years. Desperate to outscore each other. Determined to win at any cost.” Marduk sipped his wine. “And you won. You killed your father. You put a spell-forged knife through your brother’s heart and trapped his soul in the jewel within the hilt. And you claimed your queen.
“But your queen had other ideas.” He shrugged. “I don’t know whether she had a preference for your brother or whether she was infuriated by your tactics, but for whatever reason, she slammed the bedroom door in your face and won’t let you through it. Andromeda strikes me as someone who likes to play by the rules. She is proud, and loyal and honest. And you just proved that you’re not.
“Your queen wants to return home. But you don’t want to let her go. And then Solveig comes along, and she’s strong and powerful—a threat to any woman. So you make her an offer you know she won’t accept, because you’re trying to push your queen back into your arms. Would I have the right of it?”
There was a long tense silence as the king decided which route to take.
“Ours is a political match,” Draco finally said.
“Bullshit.” He laughed as he drank his wine. “It may have started that way, but you want her.”
Murder flashed in the king’s eyes. “I’m not going to listen to this.” He pushed his chair back. “Out of respect for your brother, I won’t bother to paint your teeth over the floor.”
Marduk cradled his goblet in both hands, thoroughly enjoying the moment. This was where he baited his hook. “I can tell you how to win her back.”
Draco took two steps.
And then he froze.
But his head was half-turned, his fingers twitching.
Caught on the end of the hook, and aware of it.
“Why would I listen to you?” The king turned, all fury and menace. “You can barely keep your own mate satisfied.”
“You’ve tried everything else. Why not try this one last thing?”
Draco sank back into his chair. His merciless eyes glittered. “Go ahead then. Amuse me. It’s not as though I have a war to plan.”
“You have to wait until your scouts return anyway. And my suggestion is simple,” he replied, refilling the king’s cup. “It also solves our little Elin problem….”
“Ah.” Draco gave a bitter laugh. “Let me guess? I remove the blade from Scorpius’s chest. I give you the dagger in order to rescue your beloved drekling handmaid. Andromeda falls to her knees in gratitude at my mercy.” He rolled his eyes. “And then I have to fucking deal with my twin again. If you think I’m going to be so foolish as to fall for this, then you don’t know me very well. I have everything I want. I don’t need her heart.”
“But you still want it.” Marduk clinked goblets of wine with him. “And I know how you feel. Because I see the same look in your eyes that I see in the mirror. We can’t help but want what we can’t have. A woman’s heart, given freely and without restraint. But only one of us has managed to overcome the hatred that comes with that woman. To take and to hold. It’s theZilittuway. But if you continue to take your current path then you will lose Andromeda. For good.”
“She’s already lost to me.”
It was the first hint of a concession Draco had made.
