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I nodded and handed the baby over, warning her to watch for wetness. Brentley gathered the blankets from the ground and shook them out before covering Anniston as Allera patted her back soothingly.
I nodded to my sister and watched her go, Brentley and Soren flanking her for security’s sake as half our guards left with them.
Then I curled my hands into fists and turned to the two remaining Far Shore men.
The one with the chest wound focused on my mark as he pushed unsteadily to his feet. Clutching his injury with one arm, he sneered, “Hell, from the way you came roaring up here, I thought you might actually be some tough shit. Except you’re noth
ing but a pansy High Cliff nanny, aren’t you?”
I said nothing as I picked my sword up from the ground and I killed his traitorous friend who’d led us here.
With a gulp, he watched the other man drop to the ground, and the snark seemed to drain right out of him.
“So you’re from Far Shore?” I asked, turning back to him.
His gaze darted to the Donnelly soldiers who circled us.
When he nodded uneasily, I shook my head. What the fuck? Why would Far Shore do any of this?
“Why did you make it look like a Lowden attack?”
He frowned, obviously confused, before insisting, “We didn’t.”
“But the carriage explosion…” I started, only to realize…fuck.
“What carriage explosion?” the man asked, clearly confused.
He had no idea about that carriage, meaning that had to be totally unrelated to this, meaning… Donnelly had more than one enemy banging at its door.
Shit.
“You didn’t send us a magic-filled carriage to kill some of our royals?” I asked, anyway, just to be certain.
The soldier snorted. “Shit. No, that wasn’t us. Promise. We’d have loved to take credit for such fine work, though.” A look of interest crossed his face. “Which royals did you lose? The king, I hope.”
“No lives lost, mate,” I told him pleasantly. “Sorry to disappoint you. But tell me, why the kidnapping? Why that child?”
He shrugged. “That’s the one we were told to take. Said it’d get the most attention. Cause the biggest stir.”
“But why cause a stir? I don’t understand.”
Beginning a slow, lewd grin, he cackled, “We needed to distract you, mate.”
I shook my head. “Distract us from what?”
He nodded. “I suppose it’s okay to reveal the big secret now, since it’s too late for you to do anything about it. Plus, I want to see the look on your face when you learn more are coming. While all you idiots were running around, crying over your lost baby, an army bigger than yours marched into Donnelly territory, right under your noses. And they’ll arrive at your pathetic Iron Castle any minute to kill you all.” He threw back his head, laughing maniacally.
I watched him passively before shaking my head. “You really do hate us, don’t you? Tell me something, soldier? What did Donnelly ever do to you?”
“Oh, so you claim Donnelly blood, do you, when you have one of those pussy-assed High Cliff marks? Or are all the Donnelleans getting them now, shoving it in the faces of the other realms how you’re all cozied up in bed together?”
“You resent the Donnelly, High Cliff alliance,” I realized.
“You’re fucking right we resent it,” he shouted, the veins in his neck and forehead popping as he roared out his anger. When he surged toward me, one of my soldiers caught him from behind, keeping him in place. “We were Donnelly’s closest neighbor. Not High Cliff.”
“You mean, aside from Blair, Lowden, and Near Shore,” I said, purposely picking at his temper.
But he ignored that, ranting on. “We should’ve been chosen. High Cliff is practically all the way across the Outer Realms from here. And if that wasn’t enough of a slap in the face, you Donnelly bastards jacked up our price for clear rock like we were some kind of enemy. You did this. Not us.”
