He needed to know.
I rolled my shoulders back and took a deep breath. “They stole one of the Commander’s daggers.”
“He should take better care of them.” Dax hummed. “You find out why?”
“To frame him for a murder.”
“And we’re absolutely sure the Commander himself did not commit said murder?”
“Yes.”
“Whose murder, might I ask?”
My heart slammed against my ribs. “My father’s.”
Dax froze in the middle of the snowy path.
I swore under my breath and turned, only to see Dax watching me with thunder in his eyes.
“His dagger killed Uncle Alaric?” he asked in a deadly whisper.
I tilted my chin up, ready for battle. “Yes.”
His nostrils flared. “And after seeing him on Sanctua Sirena, after he froze half of the guests, and then vanished, you believe he isn’t the murderer because…?”
“Because I know he didn’t do it.”
How could I possibly explain to Dax that I felt when Ryker was lying, even when I didn’t understand it myself?
“Like how Evie knew she wasn’t going to become queen of the Blood Brotherhood?” He scoffed. “You can’t trust these men. They’ve more than proven that.”
“You’re right.” A hard truth, but one nonetheless. “But in this instance, it makes sense.”
“Why? Because he looks at you with big eyes and offers to put up your tent?” As soon as the words left his mouth, Dax’s eyes went wide. “I’m sorry–”
Too late.
I marched right up to his face, fury burning through me. “I held my father in my arms right after he died. I still have the dress with his blood splattered on it. I still feel the drops drying on my skin.Iwas there.”
He exhaled loudly, trying to calm himself. “I’m just pointing out that your feelings might have overtaken your logic.”
“Donotdiminish me, Daxon,” I said between gritted teeth. “And put aside your own fears and thinklogically–”
“Myfears?”
“Yes. Uncle Maksim has lived his life scared shitless that any sentiment other than anger, ambition, and perseverance would derail him and he’s imprinted that on you. Xamor, every single person in our family has put duty above everything else.To protect is to endure. That’s what’s in our blood.”
Dax’s jaw twitched.
A rumble ruptured from my chest. “So put aside those fears and your own dislikes andthink. You’ve seen how fast the Commander moves. He could have ki–killed my father right there in front of the altar before any of us could blink–”
“You stopped him from freezing us with a flick of your wrist,” he argued.
“I saw him in the maze,” I said, for the first time ever. “You know what he was doing? Protecting Serpent and Protectorate children. Not hunting down my father. And even if he had–” I gritted my teeth when Dax opened his mouth. I wasnotdone. “What kind of fool leaves behind a weapon that could be traced back to him andonlyhim? Nobody was there to stop him retrieving it. The dagger was left behind–inmyfather’s body–for a reason.”
Dax closed his mouth with a scowl.
“My father was murdered in the center ofourmaze, right underneathoursacred olive tree, where we conductedourrituals. By someone who wanted us to blame the Blood Brotherhood. By someone who counted on our feelings and Clan animosity overriding any tactical logic. So save me the grandiose speech about avenging our Clan. Nobody wants to find the killer more than me.Nobody.” My voice fractured. “But this heinous plan was weaved with threads we don’t even see. If we haveanychance of winning, we need to be better than them. Think clearer. Do not, for a moment, underestimate me. My enemies do it enough. I won’t have it from my allies.”
