Page 86 of Winter Gods & Serpents

“I understand your anger, but not your actions.”

“I don’t need you to understand anything, just watch.”

“Have you forgotten to be human, just how are you so twisted?” I spat, our gazes clashing. My eyes dug into her hypnotizing one’s. I held the dagger, yet she had already pierced me with their stare. My knuckles had gone white gripping the dagger, holding myself back from digging it through her flesh.

“Surprised? To suffer the consequences of your own doing, to crawl through the claws of the monster of your own creation. But why?” she asked breathlessly huffing a delicate laugh. “I find all of this so very poetic.”

“Whatever you do to this family it will not bring them back, these people were not the ones to kill your family, they do not deserve this reaction, this cruelty,” I said, pressing closer to her, the dagger almost digging her flesh.

“Kilian, let her go,” Mal interfered.

Her features dropped to stern lines and she rolled her cold gold gaze up to meet mine once again. “Yes, I do understand,” her eyes wavered for a moment. I’d never seen them affected before. “But you see, when you break law it is only correct to enforce its repercussions, isn’t it? How I do that is entirely up to me.”

She moved closer, the dagger dug in her flesh drawing blood from her neck, and I flinched back from her. I had hurt her.

“Go ahead, enjoy making me your evil like your kind has always done. I will give it to them the monster that they thought they were hunting.”

In a flashing moment she grabbed my hand and drove the dagger I was holding through her shoulder. My eyes widened aghast, my body paralyzed, only my heartbeat loud in my ears. No one moved, only silently watched us, afraid of the princess, not afraid for her.

Blood gushed down her wound yet she didn’t even blink.

“See, how much pleasure that gave you, to hurt me, to release your own thoughts, your own anger. Did it not carve your insides to be so close to the one you hate and not do that, huh? Can we all kindly agree that our methods are different, and you have no right to judge or interfere with mine.”

Wrapping both her hands around mine, she pulled the dagger out, causing her to wince and twist in a cringe. Gasping, she clutched her wound and then straightened as if pain was fleeting.

She had gone mad. I could see it in her face how she was losing herself to her anger, there was nothing left there, empty just like her shadows. Why did her words appear so heavy at times? I could not understand her, not a bit.

“How many?” she asked half breathlessly, walking towards the family. “How many Adriatians have gone through here to our borders? How many did you offer respite and help? I bet a good cheek you keep ledgers and detail.”

It was them.

“We…we did not such thing,” the father lied.

She blew an exasperated breath and turned to me, a scalding look etched on her bloodless face. “Did he lie?”

She was doing it on purpose. I glanced at the silently pleading father and then her before I said, “Yes. But you knew that already.”

“I did, what I don’t know on the other hand is whether this bunch will continue to test my kindness.”

“My children,” said the mother, stepping forward, “I want them to live, whatever happens to us.” Lowering her head, she stepped forward. “I will tell you what you want to know.”

The princess sighed. “Well, this was not as difficult as I had hoped it to be, I expected a bit more oomph of resistance.”

The mother brought down five large ledgers from under the floorboard and handed them to her. Again, she had been right.

She flicked through the boasting ledgers almost with relish. “You keep quite the trail, Ester. Meticulous you Adriatians.”

The mother cast a cautious glance at all of us, then turned to her. “I think you know why…Your Highness.”

“Clever.”

“Has he sent you? Was he not pleased?”

Who was he?

The princess giggled, leaning back on her chair. “Oh he is pleased. I intend to make him displeased. You might have another answer for me. Has anyone been selected or sent to Myrdur?”

The mother pursed her lips in thought and shook her head slowly. “No, not Myrdur.”