Page 129 of Winter Gods & Serpents

I grabbed her wrist. “You did not tell him anything.” I prayed, more than asked. “Did you?”

Her eyes lowered in guilt. “I might have told him something.”

“Pen,” I groaned. “Pray father kills me for I will kill you, little mouthy vegetable.”

“He seems to want to know about you,” she argued, as if that justified her loose tongue.

“He is my enemy,” I almost yelled. “Lurking for weakness. What if he wished to use Murdoc against me?” Gods, had he been asking around about me? Diving onto my past, exploring my fears? I had willingly given them to him. What on seven hells was I doing letting him in closer to me?

Nia first struck at my sight, her mouth gaped like a dying fish and then she proceeded to laugh herself to death and tears. Her deep brown coils springing over her shoulders back and forth shaking along her in amusement. “You will not die today, you maniac.”

“I might,” I said, straightening myself. “Just wish to look fabulous doing it.”

Kilian on the other hand took the whole lot of me slowly and then stared lost into my eyes.

“Like what you see?” I teased.

“Anyone with working eyes would,” he admitted shamelessly, and Nia snorted covering her mouth.

Avoiding his eye rolling comment, I marched down the corridors proudly at the reactions.

Elias had halted before the dinning chamber doors and let out a low whistle at my sight. “A princess all right, you look like a queen, one good enough to eat,” he called in a shameless flirt.

“I am a queen, my dear, one to become very soon. Please move out of my way before you taint my good spirits, I am already in some shit,” I said, passing by him.

“I heard,” he murmured, entering after me. “Just be careful, he has been in a foul mood lately, he has had to call several meetings with Moregan, gods know why, and he was not pleased. I don’t want you on the receiving end of it. Go easy today, my raven.”

He was always on a foul mood when it came to me, nothing new. I smiled knowing I’d frustrated father. “Do you know something of Seraphim? Why has Isjord sent his troops there?”

His features leathered down as he looked around in panic, before throwing me a warning, “Don’t. Enough of it now. Let it go.”

“So there is something. And the Adriatians in Brisk, you of course know of those too.”

“Snowlin—”

I went past him. “Still not using that debt you owe me.”

The dining chambers were quiet when I had entered, bowed, and sat next to my father. Face his wrath all right, he was quiet as a starved mouse. Moreen and her half breeds on the other hand looked like they just swallowed a sour fruit, only uncle complimented me halfway through breakfast.

After the meal father dismissed the rest, leaving me alone with him, I knew what I had coming.

“Do I take this as an act of defiance, or have you truly gone crazed?” He asked in such a venomous tone, it pimpled my skin and sent a shudder all over me.

My heart was jumping all over the place, but I held my face solemn. I knew I had angered him beyond repair, but I liked it—this was thrilling. Now this would be the first time he would see tell in my plans, I had to be cautious.

“Come now father, the dress is not that bad.”

He shut his eyes, knuckles white when he banged his fist by the table loud enough to deafen a mouse. “Snowlin! I thought myself proud of you afront others, every city speaks highly of you, my court finally begins excepting you, and then you go and do this? You go and defy me? Again?” he shouted, loud enough my right ear had gone numb.

Pathetic lies and condescending words intended to goad or subdue me, I did not care but they enraged me more than anything and I had no desire to drag this further now.

“He was useless now to you, father, do not act all concerned about this. He had not paid a tax in years and his,” I stopped myself for a breath, “no, your people were left starved and abused by him. He had not left a single woman in the city, your city, unmarked both physically and mentally. He was abusing his power, ships, and ships of Isjordian goods were still found leaving his ports to Solarya, whilst you were getting rot insides by the dozen. He had knowledge about vandals raiding Isjordian villages, your villages, yet he had not disclosed a single word, is he not your subject? Is that not treason? Now, father, tell me exactly the reason of this anger; because I took matters on my hands or because I killed your beloved Solaryan Spy, along with his services?” I spat word after word with such hate and spite. My father would never miss an entire city dying off, he was who he was because he was ruthless to his subordinates. He had to have known what happened in Brogmere, but he chose not to do anything for only to obtain petty information and deals, one he was putting before his people.

He stood and struck me hard across my face. My jaw flew open, my head thumping at the drumming sound across my ears, my face tingling painfully. I drew my eyes shut as bile rose to my mouth at the remembrance of all the times he’d done it before, head echoing repeatedly in memory.

“Bow and abide to me child, you do not want to taste my worst,” he shouted in threat, his hand shook, eager to strike me again.

I wiped the blood seeping from the cut on my lip and straightened. “But I have. I have tasted your worst, it stands right before your eyes. I am your worst. Why do you refuse to face the consequences of your actions, your worst actions? This, all of this and me, are because of you. So bear or burn with it. But I bow to no one father, especially not to my enemy,” I countered, meeting the pace of his tone, my lungs flailing at the sharp cold air sizzling against my boiling blood.