He thought her stupid.
Beautiful, but stupid.
“Who will be here to protect you if I should fall on the battlefield in Arlund?” he asked. “If your people should turn on you and try to put that pretty head of yours on a pike?”Harder—more vicious—he hissed, “You do not even trust your own Queensguard these days. Do not think I have not noticed.”
A humorless smile quirked her lips.Pretty head. She knew she should offer a retort to that. That she should make some biting comment about how skilled he was at complimenting and insulting her all in the same breath.
But she was not in the mood to verbally spar with her betrothed. Her mind was like a maelstrom—a tangled snarl of doubts and fears. She wished Oracle Tsukiko were here to advise her.
She wished the Lord would just tell her what He wanted her to do instead of speaking in visions that made no sense.Please, she prayed.Whatever you want of me, I will do it. I simply wish to know.
Clutching the windowsill, she waited with bated breath, hoping beyond hope that her God would answer her. But He gave hernothing. No sign. No clue.
There was only the feel of Aldric’s body heat thrumming at her side, the chill breeze bathing her face, the sight of the palace grounds sprawling past the open window. A landscape that should have been filled with all the warm hues of autumn but was merely drab.
Gray.
Please, she prayed again, more desperately now.What am I supposed to do?
She thought she had known what to do that day in the throne room—the day she had begged Aldric to stay. The vision had shown her that she needed him to win this war. To save Elmoria. Perhaps even to save all of Avirel.
But that was all she knew.
And it simply wasn’t enough.
“My decision is final,” she whispered without glancing his way. She simply couldn’t afford to meet his gaze right now.
Not when she was on the verge of breaking.
“You must be the one to lead the march on Arlund,” she softly insisted, “not Sir Easome.” After a beat, she added, “Let me worry about my own safety.”
His reaction was far more visceral than she would have ever expected.
She flinched as he retreated from her side with a bestial snarl and made for the exit again. It was painfully easy to track his progress across the sitting room by the stamp of his booted feet against the floor alone. By the sound of him ripping open the door.
Rather than immediately depart, though, he took the time to shout at her, “In Drakmor, we prefer chess to that childish card game of yours. And in a game of chess, I wouldneversacrifice my queen for the sake of a few pawns.”
Before she could respond, he punctuated his words by slamming the door behind him, leaving her truly alone at last. Alone with her thoughts. Her fears.
And the tears she could no longer hold at bay.
Chapter five
Aldric
He burst out of the sitting room, ignoring the startled stares from his kirei’s Queensguard, and set off down the corridor. Leaving her there to stew in her own stupidity.
He didn’t know where he was going.
He had no destination in mind. No purpose.
What purpose did he serve here anyway?
None. None at all. He was but her pet bogeyman. A blade she wished to brandish at her enemies. A tool for her to use and toss aside once their transaction was concluded.
Ridiculous woman. Prideful woman.
If she wanted to die needlessly, he most certainly wasn’tabout to stop her.
