Page 4 of A Crown of Tears and Treason (The Curse of Silver Secrets and Cruel Shadows #1)

Chapter

Four

EVIE

I might’ve spent most of my life shielded from Clan violence, but, before I was whisked away, grandpa Constantine had taught me the most important skill of all.

Survive.

Slow enough that Fabrian wouldn’t notice, my hand rose. Shaky fingers slipped past the jewels weighing me down, right toward the small pocket in my corset. I knew how to patch my own clothes–and how to unravel them.

The loose thread came apart easily. The steady handle of my trusty switchblade, the one present I still had from grandpa Constantine, felt like freedom in my palm.

Like Fabrian, I’d sworn not to be armed today. We’d both lied.

I had blue, cold Protectorate blood in my veins and it roared for justice.

Before Fabrian drew another fetid breath, I flicked the switchblade open. Nothing but relief rushed through me as I stuck the blade straight through his meaty, miserable hand that had probably taken countless lives.

Fabrian staggered back with a pitiful cry, and fell to his knees. He cradled his mangled hand, one of his snakeskin lapels soaking up the blood.

The Dragon took a menacing step forward. Allie lurched toward me and grabbed my hand.

The biggest vase near us, made out of cerulean ceramic and adorned with white lilies, shattered.

Allie had been standing right there a mere breath ago. I only had a fragment of relief she’d moved just in time before the arrows began to rain down.

Dozens, maybe hundreds of them darkened the skies, flying faster than my eyes could track. The Blood Brotherhood had brought hidden attackers to my wedding?

No, they hadn’t. Because the arrows hissed at everyone, not caring which body they impaled.

Protectorate, Blood Brotherhood, Serpents.

All of us became targets.

The gorgeous, sacred garden turned into pure chaos. People cried, screamed, pleaded, prayed, tried to speak anything and everything that might save them. Some crumbled to the ground and didn’t rise again.

Allie ducked under the altar arch, pulling me along with her. Another vase splintered into a million shards. She gripped my shoulders, waking me from my stupor. Her green eyes were wild and afraid.

“Find the stone steps, go to the grotto, get on the boat,” she told me, her stern voice cracking in tune with my heart. Allegra, the woman who could make the entire continent quiver, was trembling. “You don’t stop until you reach the stronghold in Aquila. You do not look back–"

"I’m not leaving without you. These people are dyi–"

“You can’t help anyone. Someone has voided our magic, Evie!”

My protest died on my lips as my face and Allie’s were sprayed with blood from an arrow shot straight through the priest’s head, piercing his left eyeball.

His body fell between us.

"I need my arrows and knives,” Allie muttered, horrified. “Uncle Maksim must have hidden a crossbow somewhere on this forsaken island."

She gave my shoulder one last squeeze. “Leave!” she said, her tone now strong and not leaving any room for argument.

Before I could argue, she turned and disappeared in the flood of people. They clambered over the priest’s body, desperate for cover as the arrows hissed toward us, tearing through everyone and everything.

I couldn’t see any of my other cousins. They’d vanished in the sea of frantic bodies looking for refuge. The sweet, expensive scents that had wafted from the guests during the ceremony had now been replaced with the metallic tang of blood.

I’d survived too long to be killed by an attacker too cowardly to show his face. Who in their right mind would ambush three of the most powerful Clans in Malhaven? Most importantly, why ?

I didn’t have time to think about it now. I hiked up my ridiculous skirt, kicked off my shoes, and bolted from the bloody altar.

An arrow hissed past my ear. Blood pumped faster in my veins, urging me forward.

The stone steps. I had to find the–

The path leading toward them was overflowing with bodies. Whatever innocence I still had wouldn’t survive this wretched day.

You can’t help them. Run.

Panic rose, heating my face. Another arrow landed right next to my foot, startling me into a run again. There was no way off this island. Not right now.

Hide. I had to hide.

Instinct took over as my frantic gaze searched the garden.

The trees.

I was good at climbing.

I made a hard turn for the biggest sycamore I saw. A crunch resounded behind me. My heart leaped in my throat as I turned.

One of Fabrian’s biggest, ugliest guards thumped my way, angry to the point of spit dripping down his chin. He had a massive rod clutched in his veiny hand, with sharp metal prongs sticking out of one end. That was one way to bypass the no-weapon rule and it was terrifying . That thing could tear me apart with one blow.

Fabrian had gone through all that trouble to get me back, and now he’d sent his guard to kill me because of one measly stab wound? It hadn’t been a mortal injury, only a stab at his damn pride, for gods’ sake.

The guard swung the rod with all his might, just as a tall Serpent guest ran between us, her heels getting stuck in the ground. To hit me, the guard would strike her, too–and he looked like he didn’t care which other bodies he took down, as long as mine was one of them.

No other innocent life would be snuffed out because of me, not even a Serpent’s.

I didn’t have the time or strength to pull her to safety. I fell into a crouch and extended my right leg in a wide sweep that hit her knees.

She toppled to the ground face-first just as the guard swung. The metal prongs hit the tree right behind me, splintering it.

That would have been my head.

He growled and raised his weapon again. Before he swung once more, his face went slack. A breath later he crumpled, spiky rod and all, an arrow sticking out of his back.

I wondered if that one had been aimed for me, too, as I grabbed the woman’s hand to pull her up.

She yanked her arm back, sneering at me from behind the mud covering her face and making her fur lashes droop. “Don’t touch me, you hick.”

Well.

“Find cover,” I told her and rose, knees weak as my veins thrummed with fear. “And you’re welcome.”

More arrows fell, thinning the crowd blocking my path toward the trees.

Think, think, think.

The rows of chairs.

Before the thought had even fully formed, I dove on my elbows and knees, crawling forward in the tunnel created by the chairs’ legs. It was hard to pull my skirt through, but my body slipped underneath with ease.

Arrows thudded against the silver seats above me. Their heads pierced the wood, but not me.

I slithered forward, elbows raw, until the row ended, and jumped to my feet, running at a desperate pace.

I saw the tree. I was so–

Something jerked me back so suddenly, the air hissed out of my lungs. Or someone .

With my erratic heart in my throat, I turned to see the impossibly long train of my dress impaled by Fabrian’ dagger. He lay flat on the ground, holding onto the weapon for dear life with both his hands, rivulets of his blood splattering my hem.

His face was contorted with pain, but he wouldn’t let go. I yanked my skirt, desperate to get away, but the blasted Elekan silk held true.

The fabric wouldn’t rip.

The switchblade shook in my hand. One flick, aimed right between his pellet eyes, and he’d be gone. I’d dreamed about getting revenge in a million different ways, but now that I could actually kill him…

“You’re not going anywhere until I walk out of here alive,” he slurred, struggling to stand.

“Get your blasted assassins to save you,” I hissed.

“Those weren’t my assassins. I was just supposed to play my part, marry the stupid little Lost Daughter, and they promised me I’d live. You’re my leverage against them, you idi–”

Fabrian didn’t get to finish whatever heinous thing he was about to say–and never would.

The Dragon flashed behind him, sword raised. The narrow blade hissed through the air before it sliced clean through Fabrian. Skull and bones and muscles and joints, all halved. The two parts of Fabrian collapsed in a nauseating splatter, half on my wedding dress, spurting blood and a brown liquid I had no hope of identifying.

The blood in the sword’s hilt swirled around in its translucent casing, as if gleeful for another sacrifice.

Bile threatened to spill past my lips.

What in Xamor’s name had happened?

Your groom has just been assassinated, that's what . He deserved to suffer more.

The Dragon barely glanced at what used to be Fabrian before his piercing gaze narrowed on me. The moment our eyes met, my heart stuttered. He flicked his blade, splattering the blood onto the grass. Cleaning it for his next victim.

Me.

He stepped over the twin halves of Fabrian, prowling closer. His unflinching, elegant gait was so stark compared to the masses running for their lives. Whether on instinct or not, they ran around him, avoiding him at all costs.

Prey running away from a predator.

With all the force I had left, I tugged on my skirt. Without Fabrian’s full weight dragging it back, I dislodged it. I ignored the bits of my former groom that flicked into the air, and ran . Harder and faster than I ever had in my life.

My heavy dress tried to kneel me, but I righted myself.

I wouldn’t die today.

I gripped onto the sycamore’s flaky bark. My fingers searched every crevice, as my toes dug in for support with practiced ease.

I am not dying. Not here. Not now.

Just as my right hand rose to grasp the lowest branch, I was snatched away. Strong hands circled my waist. I kicked and screamed as my feet dangled from the ground and I was whirled around. A breath later, an arrow dug into the bark, right where I had been climbing.

As soon as my feet touched the ground again, I turned, gripping my switchblade for dear life. My eyes met menacing black leather and the feared Rohen golden pendant.

The Dragon had come to slay me, too.

I raised my switchblade as if it was a sacred sword and met the prince’s darkened gaze head on. I was slight and knew shit-all about combat, but I wouldn’t go down without a fight.

He had to earn my murder.

It was my last defiant act in a life that had been nothing but meek.

The prince didn’t look afraid. Of course he wouldn’t. His was the name people were too scared to utter.

But I wasn’t expecting him to roll his eyes. With a speed that didn’t seem human, he swatted the switchblade from my hands. It fell to the ground with a laughable clink.

Gods, he was tall. And menacing. His ice eyes roamed over my veil.

Then he grabbed me again, pulling me to his chest, and whirled around. A breath later, another arrow struck the tree. This one had been aimed at his head.

“Interesting,” he said, sparing a glance at the arrow. The deep rumble in his chest vibrated through me before he took a step back, the heat of him no longer enveloping me. “We need to make this quick. I regret you had to witness that.”

He nodded at where Fabrian’ remains still gushed. Another wave of nausea hit me, but I swallowed it down.

That's what he regretted? He’d threatened my family and Clan, had killed Fabrian, but he was sorry I’d witnessed it?

I tilted my chin as far as it would go. Vegheara blood was stubborn. “I won’t die as fast as he did.”

The prince sighed in irritation. I would’ve been offended if I hadn’t been terrified down to my quaking bones.

"I didn’t come here to kill you. Do you know who I am?" he asked, low and deep.

I nodded.

"Do you know why I'm here?" he asked.

If he wasn’t set on murdering me on my wedding day, then there was only one other option. A more terrifying one.

The Code had been broken, this much I knew. By my parents, when they'd dragged me away from the Protectorate and the prince who now loomed over me.

"For me," I said, hating that my words shook.

"Good.” He grabbed my waist again and spun us around once more, as another set of arrows scarred the sycamore. As if we were tangled in some deranged dance, not moving to save our lives. My back hit the bark again.

The prince tilted his head, and studied the arrows. A strange, green liquid seeped from their tips. Poison. One strong enough to darken the tree’s bark and make it fizzle.

“There are exactly two ways to handle this and you get to choose which one you prefer,” he went on, sounding unbothered that someone was trying very hard to kill either me or him. Or both. "You can either come with me and have my Clan’s protection for the remainder of your days or you can refuse me and hope whoever is attacking both of our Clans right now doesn’t get a direct hit on you. Come with me, and I can promise you safety. Stay and I cannot."

I gulped. Who was stupid or powerful enough to take on the biggest, strongest Clans in all of Malhaven?

A laugh spilled from my lips. Gods, it sounded like a sob. "I don’t have much of a choice, do I?"

"Evie!" my cousin Dax roared. He gripped a broken piece of wood. Blood trickled down his right temple. "Get the fuck away from that bastard!"

Dax looked ready to rip me away from the prince himself, but as he bolted in our direction, a Blood Brotherhood woman crouched down, sweeping Dax off his feet, just like I had with the Serpent woman. As his back hit the ground, she jumped onto his chest.

"Get off me, you she-demon!" he roared.

I jerked in his direction, but the prince leaned his hand against the tree, blocking my path.

"You head back into plain sight and you’ll be an even bigger arrow magnet. He’ll get distracted and you’ll both get killed,” he said. “Have no fear, she won’t hurt him.”

No fear ? I'd gotten rid of Fabrian, now I was trembling in front of his murderer.

My heart leaped as Dax shook her off and vanished between the shrubbery, with the woman on his heels.

He would live. He had to. And I couldn’t help him if I couldn’t see him.

The prince towered over me, caging me between him and the sycamore. Not quite touching, not quite far enough away that I could slip past him. "We’re wasting time. I have come here, claimed your hand in front of witnesses, and proven my skills in battle, as is tradition.”

Another poisoned arrow flew at us, another whirl where he held me tight to his chest. How could he even see these arrows? Did he hear them?

“Choose,” he said as soon as we stopped spinning, his unwavering gaze rooting me to the spot.

My throat throbbed with the scream I held back. Either I took my chances with the arrows, or I exchanged one arranged marriage for another.

I’d been better off in those bloody mountains I’d hated.

A sickening green fog slithered in the garden, from somewhere next to the rose bushes.

My insides shriveled. The fog was the same shade as the poison on the arrows. "My cousins. Promise me they’ll be safe."

"It depends on whether they survive today."

“Promise,” I said with a voice I didn’t recognize; this one was strong. This one would have made grandpa Constantine proud. “Promise me my cousins will also be protected if I say yes.”

A mean glint shined in the prince’s gaze. “I promise.”

“I can’t do magic,” I said quickly, before he’d even finished talking.

There, I’d said it. Out loud, for the first time in my life. My parents had forbidden any mention of it, I’d been too embarrassed to admit it to my cousins, and I hadn’t bothered telling Fabrian about it after he’d scoffed at women having powers. Now I’d revealed it to the prince, the stranger I’d been raised to fear, with nothing but a whisper, drowned out by the pounding in my ears.

Maybe he’d reconsider this whole arranged marriage promise if there was truly nothing to gain from it. The lack of magic made me practically useless on a Clan throne.

Surprise flashed in his eyes briefly, quickly engulfed by the endless sea of ice in his irises.

“I don’t care,” he said in a calm, cool voice that was nothing short of menacing. "Are you coming or not, Evelina?"

My name. He knew my real name, which had rolled off his tongue so easily.

The cries in the garden turned more desperate. The arrows rained down quicker. The mist glided over the fallen chairs and bodies.

Clan life, in all its miserable glory.

And I was powerless in a world ruled by the powerful.

But I didn’t have to be frail for the rest of my life.

I locked eyes with The Dragon once more. The man who’d crashed my wedding and assassinated Fabrian.

My parents’ nightmare.

My groom’s murderer.

My enemy.

For my family’s safety, I'd already promised to marry a man I hated today. Did it truly matter which man?

I couldn’t run away from Clan life. But I would survive it–at any cost.

I met his gaze with steel in mine. "Call me Evie."