Page 21 of A Crown of Tears and Treason (The Curse of Silver Secrets and Cruel Shadows #1)

Chapter

Twenty-One

EVIE

“ Z andyr is going to kill me,” Kaya said. She’d been a blend of nerves and eagerness all morning. The shivers in her shoulders–elegantly put on display by her red, ethereal dress, precisely torn on one side–only got more obvious as we neared the main gates toward the Capital. “I can’t believe we’re doing this.”

“We have to keep calm if we actually hope to do this,” I whispered, holding onto my heavy basket. I hoped Goose’s clothes would camouflage me more than they had the first time.

Kaya and Vexa were the only ones not disguised as Blood Brotherhood civilians in our little group. To my right, Goose gave up on trying to grab my basket to carry it himself, and now cast furtive glances at Leesa, who’d had a confused frown on her face since we’d left the house.

“We should be able to pass through easily. Why do we need disguises?” she kept asking.

“The advisors have changed some rules since you’ve left for the Fair Isles,” Goose whispered.

“Too many of them,” Adara rumbled, carrying a large crate as if it weighed no more than an apple. She’d been offended when I’d suggested she carry the same basket as the rest of us; a mercenary had to show their strength even when nobody was looking, she’d said.

I’d also suggested we give the gifts I’d received. Goose had told me that would be a supreme insult if anyone found out.

Not a great start to this day, but I was hopeful.

I could give away all the food in my house, though. The rules were lax–I hadn’t gathered the berries or fished the pike myself, but I hadn’t been officially gifted them.

This Clan and its rules, honestly.

Kaya was the only one not weighed down by anything. Still, she struggled the most to keep walking.

She gave a shaky sigh. “I can do this.”

“If you’re really scared, you don’t have to. We can think of another plan,” I whispered. After all, I’d asked for her help because it was the quickest way, not the only way.

“I want to. It’s our little adventure. I’ve never been outside the gates.”

I almost missed a step. “Why?’

“It’s…complicated.”

I didn’t have time to dig deeper.

We turned a corner and neared the big gates, a dozen guards before it.

With a roll of her shoulders and Vexa’s constant vigilance not far behind, Kaya rushed forward. The rest of us stuck to the bushes.

“Help!” She waved around erratically.

The guards’ spiky helmets swiveled as one, menacing spears at the ready.

“A snake. Razorback! Out in the back gardens.” Kaya flailed her arms. If I hadn’t known better, I would have believed the terror in her eyes. I tensed, waiting.

Ten of the guards instantly dashed in that direction. The two that remained exchanged a concerned glance.

“The beast was huge, it almost tore through my dress. They need all the help they can get. Go!” Kaya commanded.

As their armors clinked away, we hurried forward. Vexa took out two gray cloaks, while Adara did a complex movement with her hand against the wall, in the shade of the flowering trees.

My veins drummed with excitement as the gates groaned open, and we filtered out from the calmness of Phoenix Peak and out into the Capital. The real one.

I turned as Adara closed the gates, no evidence of us sneaking out–besides the guards not finding a single yellow scale in those gardens.

I was out. In broad daylight. And I hadn’t even had to climb the massive walls.

“Are you sure they won’t snitch?” I asked as Kaya fussed with her hood, trying to stuff her intricate hairdo underneath the gray fabric.

“That’s the only good part about being the Jewel of the Blood Brotherhood.” Kaya shot me a smile that was anything but prim and proper. “Nobody doubts your intentions.”

“Yes, ignorance truly is bliss,” Adara said blankly, earning herself a mighty glare from Vexa. “Let’s move. We go to the docks, we leave the food, then we come back. No diversions.”

I nodded, even as my hungry gaze snagged on everything .

A different world waited outside the gates.

We wandered between tall buildings, secluded from the street by imposing front steps, swelling flower pots, and carved gates flanked on both sides by menacing statues. They looked like copies of the Citadel statues, but without the grandeur.

As our feet left the engraved cobblestone and roamed further onto the plain pavement, the stillness was replaced with shouting vendors and children running in the streets.

A thousand different smells and sizzles, all of them mouth-watering, engulfed me. I lifted my nose as we passed a small cart selling different cuts and sizes of meat glistening on top of the coals. That dripping red sauce would have surely stung my tongue, but, gods, did I want it. Then there was the little old woman, hunched at the waist, waving bags filled with flaky pastries at us.

“Maybe I’ll get one when we come back.” Kaya licked her lips, hands running down the sides of her impossibly thin waist. “But just one.”

“I’ll take a few dozen and we can munch them over some tea at my place. Nobody has to know,” I joked.

Kaya shook her head vehemently, and muttered, “Don’t tempt me. Just one.”

A group of children ran in front of us, chasing what looked to be a ball made out of twine, with bits of twigs and leaves sticking to it.

Adara and Vexa both reached for their weapons, and then narrowed their eyes at each other as they relaxed. Those two would’ve made great friends if they’d just stopped glowering every time they made eye contact.

The farther into the Capital we went, the houses became smaller and the crowds bigger. The sculpted wooden eaves lost some of their intricacy, turning thinner and less arched. The flower pots were tinier, painted in brighter, bleeding colors. The narrow paths clattered with laughter and life.

“We stick together,” Adara warned as we hurried through the labyrinth of houses and alleys in a single line.

“It’s not that–” The words died on my lips as we exited into the main street.

The salty breeze grew tangier, but I couldn’t see the port from the mass of people rushing in every direction. Large carts tugged by oxen with horns as thick as my waist did little to spear the swarm of people. There was a weird sense of order in the chaos. The crowds flowed seamlessly in a well-rehearsed dance, one that Adara seemed to know well.

She guided us through the mass with practiced ease.

My skin prickled as the crowd swallowed us. So many bodies, struggling to walk, pushing against me.

It reminded me too much of the wedding.

People running for their lives.

I held onto my basket for dear life, taking hurried, sharp breaths.

This wasn’t my wedding.

No acrid smell of fear wafted through the air.

Nobody ran for their lives.

They all had their own business to rush to. Some of them carried large satchels on their backs, looking around about as lost as I felt. Newcomers, same as me.

“The Capital is full,” Leesa said as we finally traversed the main road and neared a temple, much smaller than the main one in Phoenix Peak and lacking its sculpted golden dragons. “The prince must’ve called in more civilians.”

“Where are they all going to stay?” I asked. I had enough rooms to open to them, but not even the vast buildings in Phoenix Peak seemed enough to house them all.

“The prince will take care of it,” Leesa said with the utmost confidence.

“He always does,” Kaya said. She turned around, her eyes wider and more curious than the newcomers’.

“The crown prince will wed. If any of you know of a just cause why he should not be joined in sacred matrimony with the Protectorate Lost Daughter, you are obligated to declare it here and now,” a priest’s voice echoed from the open temple. The building had an opulent, gleaming roof, held upright by sturdy, carved columns that rose from an elevated stone platform adorned with golden symbols. “This is the twenty-seventh time of asking.”

I gulped. Where had twenty-seven days gone?

“I heard this Lost Daughter is a nasty piece of work,” one of the men smoking in front of the worn temple stairs said to his small group. Loudly. They all smelled like cheap alcohol and too many sleepless nights. “Always demanding, always commanding. She uses that servant boy of hers like she owns him.”

I huffed in indignation. First of all, Goose was my employee and he needed this job. And I wasn’t demanding…was I?

I chanced a look at Goose, who just shook his head. “Don’t listen to gossip, Your Grace,” he muttered. “This is the best job I’ve ever had.”

“I’m glad,” I said, distracted by the laughter from the group and the acrid smell of fish guts wafting from somewhere near.

“She can’t even handle a sword.” Another one laughed, a mean bite to his lisp. “Imagine, a Blood Brotherhood princess who’s useless in battle. Disgraceful.”

Now that hit a little too close to the truth. “Where are they getting this information from?”

“You’re Protectorate,” Adara said like it was the most obvious thing in all of Malhaven. “You could have beamed light out of your eyeballs and they wouldn’t have liked it. But minds can be changed.”

Which meant I had to change them. I rolled my shoulders back.

Step by step. Words were pretty, but actions mattered.

The rumor still stung. Because it wasn’t just gossip, was it? I couldn’t properly defend myself in a battle, at least not yet.

“And she keeps begging the prince for jewels,” another one said, just as loud, making sure everyone at this corner street heard. “On her knees.”

Now that was the most heinous, disgusting–

“Hey!”

My heart jumped in my throat as Leesa marched right up to them, small steps thundering.

She pointed her finger at the large group of men, silencing them, like the instructor she was. “The future princess is not a beggar.”

I took a step toward Leesa–she didn’t need to fight my battles. Adara placed a steady hand on my shoulder. If I wanted to move, I’d have to rip out my arm from her grip.

“Nobody can know you’re here,” she warned.

“She’s nice and kind,” Leesa went on, seeming to grow a few inches just through sheer determination. “And you’re all fools for believing rumors and spreading them.”

The biggest, ugliest of the bunch woke out of his stupor first. He gave a cruel chuckle. “That’s not what the guards said. Helpless like a lamb, that one.”

My throat suddenly felt dry. Because I wasn’t helpless–but nobody could call me dangerous . The Blood Brotherhood was a dangerous Clan who wanted dangerous rulers.

“You’ll all be sorry for saying that. Soon.” Leesa gave a stern, prim nod, and turned on her heels, coming back to our little team.

Keeping my face hidden underneath the hood, I gave the group of men one long look. A scar on a shoulder, a patch of hair that was combed too high up on a bald head, hairy fingers.

I’d remember them.

“Thanks,” I whispered to Leesa as we hurried to the docks. The guards would be returning to the gates soon with no snake in hand and no sign of a distressed Kaya.

It was strange to have someone on my side so fully, just because…because what? I didn’t even know. Maybe Leesa actually saw all those good traits in me. Perhaps, some day, I’d see them myself.

“You’re welcome, Your Grace. I hate liars.” She pursed her lips. She looked like a small, annoyed cat–the kind that clawed your eyes out if you angered her.

“Don’t worry, Evie,” Kaya said. “They’re just words.”

It was easy for her to say. She was the Jewel of the Brotherhood, while I was the powerless, traitorous lamb.

“At least now we know who’s starting the rumors.” I exchanged a pointed look with Adara.

No wonder Zandyr didn’t trust the guards. But the question still remained–why would they talk such nonsense about me? Frayden potentially bringing the snake into my house could be written off as a bribe, but to have more guards against me seemed…calculated.

As we neared the docks, the smell of sea and fish burned my nose hairs. The rustle of the crowd mixed in with the cawks of the seagulls flying above as waves sloshed against wood, leaving more salty marks.

Thick golden sails covered the sky. I could barely make out the turquoise ocean behind the dark ships. So many of them, all full. Rows upon rows of people walked onto the docks, shoulder to shoulder, disoriented and bewildered. I had the same wide gaze when I’d arrived in Phoenix Peak.

“There.” Leesa pointed excitedly at a stall, barely visible past the crowd gathered in front of it. “That’s where we can leave the donations.”

The basket suddenly felt too light. This wasn’t enough. It could never be enough. So many people, all of them with their hands in the air to get the day’s ration.

Nobody would go as hungry as I did.

“We’ll send more tomorrow,” I said, ignoring the harsh look Adara gave me. “And every day after that.”

Kaya clapped her hands; the ones that didn’t carry a basket. “Maybe we’ll come back to see the people.”

“Helping them is the goal,” I said, surveying the docks.

All these souls, displaced from their homes to be protected. Temporary, yes, but–

I sucked in a breath as my eyes wandered toward the nearest ship. Up on the deck, moving heavy crates and helping the civilians get off the ship was Zandyr.

A shirtless Zandyr.

Slick with sweat from the blistering sun that made me want to rip my own cloak off, he stood there in all his glory. He wore his tight, leather armor pants, his mighty sword resting in its sheath at his hip. His Blood Brotherhood medallion shined against his skin, winking when it caught the light. Zandyr had the body of a fighter, all sinewy, corded muscles, honed through training.

I licked my lips. The heat was getting to me, frying my thoughts.

Zandyr wiped his brow and turned.

My mouth went dry .

All the way from his left shoulder, snaking down the large expanse of his back, with its tail disappearing underneath the waist of his pants, was a large dragon tattoo. Its head snarled right between his shoulder blades and moved in sync with Zandyr’s muscles. The fanged mouth was open right around the back of his neck, as if ready to snap it.

Half the dragon’s body was flecked with black, the rest unfilled.

I squinted my eyes. No. Those were scales, with small dots in each; some scales were completely filled with black, while others only had a fleck or two.

The Dragon, in all his splendor.

“See those scales?” Adara asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I shook my head, willing my gaze away. But it betrayed me again, rushing back toward Zandyr.

“Each one is for a life he’s taken,” she said.

My chest tightened. There were already hundreds, maybe thousands of them. And the dragon was only half-filled.

“And the dots?” I asked, almost too afraid of the answer.

“One for each life he’s saved with that one scale.” Adara nodded at me. “Remember that when you start taking lives, too.”

I wanted to argue, I did. That I wasn’t a killer. That I couldn’t even kill Fabrian when he’d tried to use me as a human shield.

But then my mind went back to those three men.

The short one with the scar.

The one with the eagle tattoo.

The one with the mismatched eyes.

Maybe I could take a life. Or three. Because my blood still boiled with vengeance.

“Haven’t you heard?” I asked, a loathing little smile twisting my lips. “I’m a lamb.”

Adara snorted a laugh. “You’re a wolf playing dress-up. Or you will become one once I’m through with you.”

That had almost sounded like a compliment.

I watched Zandyr move effortlessly, hefting heavy loads like they were nothing one second, then holding an old woman’s hand as she caned her way down to the dock. A myriad of contradictions, this fearsome Dragon.

Beside him, another man moved just as fluidly. The blond shaved head. The impossible height. The presence of someone who could squash you like a bug.

The ghost from my wedding. The Commander. Allie’s betrothed.

“Ryker’s showing off again.” Kaya rolled her eyes. “Don’t get into a staring match with him, he never loses.”

Well, he’d have to get used to losing, because Allie always won.

“If you’re done staring,” Adara said. “We can–”

The change was instant.

One second, the flow of people moved at a steady pace, eager to get land underneath their feet. Then Zandyr stilled. His face shifted into that otherworldly stare. He nodded at Ryker as he reached for his sword.

In the next breath, roars erupted all through the crowd.

I barely had time to see dozens of weapons raised in the air. They all had jade hilts. Serpents.

Then one of those daggers gleamed right in front of me, heading straight for my throat.