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It erupted in shuffling footsteps and fluttering papers. The advisors all but ran from the chamber, none willing to give the king an excuse to make them his next victim.
“Commander Maddox,” Cirian called, and I halted, halfway to the doorway and to safety.
I bit back a curse, whirling around. My nails dug into the flesh of my palms, no doubt hard enough to draw blood.
Lord Baridin’s body lay halfway on the table, his head face down. A growing pool of red spread across the polished surface, wetting some of the papers left behind. I lifted my eyes.
“Yes, my king?”
“A word, if you will. I have something very important to discuss with you. Something that might clear some things up. Ease your wayward thoughts.”
It was only us now in his war chambers, and being this close, this alone, with a man deemed bloodthirsty and heartless had a slick crown of sweat banding across my brow.
I might not fear the man, but his words still held consequences. And not simply for me.
“What is it, Sire?”
The king merely grinned, his canines poking into his full bottom lip. My fists clenched at the sight. Whatever he planned to ask would likely end with more blood on my hands.
I was his chosen weapon to quench his bloodlust.
“I’ve been given information claiming a girl has been added to your ranks, one hailing from the village of Cila?”
I nodded, my stomach churning. Instantly my mind held one image, a face I’d sworn to keep far from my thoughts. It had proven to be a useless feat.
“I want you to keep a very close eye on that one. Add her to your group, and bring her with you into the Mist. One of my little birds has deemed her rather important to the cause.”
“But, Sire—”
“Silence!” he bellowed, losing the playful edge that had lined his words. Carefully, he tilted his head to the lifeless Baridin, as if in warning. “I want her beside you at all times. She might very well help us in our endeavors. Find what we have searched decades for. I am sure that is what you want as well, for our kingdom to be free of the night?” He stepped another inch closer, his breath hot on my cheek.
My brows furrowed. “How would one girl be of any significance?” I tried desperately to sound bored, unaffected by the decree, but the thought of Cirian knowing about Kiara, hoping to somehowuseher, sent my hackles rising. I loathed how protective I felt.
“That’s not for you to worry about, Maddox. But when her use reveals itself to you, I need you to follow through.” When I opened my mouth to ask what he meant, Cirian merely shoved a folded piece of parchment into my hands.
“Read it, then burn it,” he instructed, tapping a lean finger on my chest. “If everything happens as it should, then you will be rewarded. Richly.”
As if I cared at all for riches, for station or promotion. What I desired was the impossible. A dream I’d long ago placed away, nearly forgotten, until that day in Cila’s square when Kiara had awakened what I’d believed dead.
“The girl is not qualified,” I lied. “She can hardly keep up with the rest of the recruits, and I refuse to send in someone who might hold us back.”
King Cirian paused, an eerie calm settling in the too-small room.
My heart was pounding, louder and stronger than during any fight I’d yet to encounter. Never had I spoken so brazenly to the king. I expected him to scold me, to raise his voice and deem me a fool. But instead, he snapped his fingers, his lips curled in sinful triumph.
Seconds later, the double doors to the council room burst open, and three burly bastards, each the size of two men, came barreling in, sick smiles brightening their rugged faces.
“Help remind our beloved commander of his duties,” Cirian ordered, nodding to the men at my back. “And do not stop until he has fully…remembered.”
And with that, the king sauntered from the room, two guards closing the doors behind him. I assessed the men before me, who began to circle me like vultures. I saw two options—
Fight back.
Or take it and live another day.
I shut my eyes just as the first punch landed.
Chapter Seventeen
