Page 53 of Poisoned Kingdom (Secrets of Dagome #1)

Reynard

My Viper thought I’d recoiled. I was speechless, yes—who wouldn’t be, seeing his woman in danger?

But she’d mistook silence for judgement.

She’d thought I’d condemned her when I was merely holding onto the strings of sanity, the blood pumping through my veins like a raging inferno.

My berserker’s rage was so close to the surface that her one touch could unravel me.

The autumn breeze curled through her dishevelled hair, while her skin, pale as the moonlight, teased me with glimpses of the mark my teeth had left on her neck.

I walked away, unwilling to even look at her until I could control myself.

Still, all I could see was the Nightshade standing proud and undefeated, danger coiling in her hazel eyes—a true harbinger of death to her enemies.

Gods, she’s magnificent. A deadly queen fit for a war king—my equal. And she thinks I would let her go.

The thought shocked me with its simple truth, and a manic chuckle escaped, bouncing off the kitchen walls as I walked in. I grabbed a tankard from the table, uncaring who it belonged to, and gulped its contents in an attempt to quench my thirst for her.

Irsha and Tova ambled past the doorway, the Blade carrying two men thrown over his shoulders while the dwarf dragged another by the legs. The sound of a head bouncing off the floor interrupted my laughter.

‘What’s got into him?’ Irsha asked.

‘I think the king found out our girl’s not some wilting flower that needs rescuing,’ Tova said with a dismissive shrug, and I couldn’t even fault him for his opinion.

‘Where are you taking the bodies?’ I said, wiping my mouth and setting the tankard aside.

‘To the yard’s gate,’ Irsha replied. ‘I’ll arrange for someone to dispose of them later. On second thought, incinerating them here wasn’t a good idea.’

I nodded and joined them, helping Tova with his burden. Roksana appeared moments later, gripping Irsha’s arm with purpose.

‘Don’t worry about that,’ she said. ‘Go to the House of Lilies. I have a bad feeling about all of this. Bring Lily here, and if she resists, just throw her over your shoulder. I’ll deal with her wrath later.’

The massive assassin nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead. ‘Give me an hour, sweetheart. I can arrange for a wagon on the way back. Best to get rid of the bodies before sunrise,’ he responded before turning to me, his assessing stare telling me all I needed to know.

I nodded, offering a wry smile. ‘I’ll stay and ensure she’s safe— oof .’ I doubled over, scowling at Roksana for elbowing me in the gut. ‘What was that for? I’m helping you clean up your corpses, woman, why are you beating me?’

‘Exactly. My corpses, my house, my rules,’ she said. ‘And, if anything, I’ll ensure you’re safe, Your Majesty. But—’ she softened slightly ‘—if you help me clean up this mess, I promise to make you some tea.’

She turned then, waving at a departing Irsha. ‘Oh, and drag Riordan out of bed, too. His Majesty will need all the support he can get.’

I closed my eyes, adjusting the dead weight in my arms. I shouldn’t enjoy being ordered around. Half of the court would have fainted at seeing me covered in blood and cleaning up corpses—but one look at Sana’s face, and I readily agreed.

By the time we were done, the moon had crossed its zenith. Though a little more than an hour had passed, the house was mostly in order. I tugged at the damp linen of the shirt clinging to my chest, still soaked from scrubbing bloodstains, when a sudden racket outside made me stiffen.

For a moment, I thought we were under attack again, but it was only Liliana, masterfully draped over Irsha’s shoulder, swearing a blue streak while still looking beautiful. Riordan walked in behind them, confusion written all over his face.

‘Sana, I know you worry, but would you explain why this brute needed to kidnap me from the middle of the dance floor on my busiest night in months? I was working on a man with enough money to buy out my business!’

Roksana frowned, spearing Irsha with an accusatory glare. ‘I’m guessing you haven’t told her yet?’

‘No,’ Riordan chimed in. ‘No one told us anything. And judging by Reynard’s expression, “come quick, the king needs you” was a gross understatement.’

‘We have a problem—and I’m not talking about those nitwits rotting by the gates. So I thought we needed to talk . . . properly talk,’ Sana said, gesturing to the seat next to me while the assassin grabbed a chair before pulling Liliana onto his lap despite her protests.

‘There aren’t enough chairs,’ Irsha said, unfazed. ‘I carried you over my shoulder. What’s the issue with sitting on my knee for a moment?’

I applauded his sound reasoning. I turned to Sana to propose the same, but she shook her head, pulling away.

‘No, don’t you bloody dare. Riordan can sit on your lap.’

The mage scoffed, rolling his eyes at her proposal. ‘So when do I find out what in Veles’ pit is going on here?’

‘Nothing much,’ Tova said, grinning. ‘We had a bit of fun with our visitors.’

One look at Sana’s serious expression and he didn’t continue.

‘I needed you all here because I found this,’ she said, pulling a set of augurec manacles out of her pocket.

Riordan instinctively pulled away.

‘This wasn’t a random attack. Someone wanted me, and I think I know who . . . I’m sorry, Lily, but I was worried they’d go after you next.’

Liliana paled, whispering, ‘Why?’ while Irsha gently stroked her back.

‘Because,’ Roksana said, avoiding my eyes, ‘I think they were sent after me for killing Ignac Tivala.’ Interestingly, Irsha didn’t seem as surprised by this revelation as the rest of us.

‘Jagon knew about it,’ Sana added quietly.

‘He knew it was Lily who had discovered that the heir of the House of Tivala was murdering women. I guess he wasn’t as tight-lipped as he promised. ’

A few things clicked into place. I suddenly remembered the way she had questioned me—asking if I was sure the guard who had attacked me had had a choice. The way she had insisted she’d be condemning her family if she told me the full truth when she’d come to warn me.

Anger burned inside me, its fierce heat branding a hatred for Jagon in my heart. He thought to blackmail my Viper? Tivala’s son’s death was incidental; so, it was she who had cleaned out that trash from the streets of Truso. Good .

My eyes shifted to Liliana, perched tensely on Irsha’s knee like a terrified dove.

The assassin followed my gaze, and without a word, wrapped an arm firmly around her waist, tugging her closer.

His challenging glare made my earlier assumption laughable.

The Blade may have had a past with my Sana, but it wasn’t her he pressed to his chest.

‘As soon as we’re done here, I’ll drag him to my dungeons,’ I promised, ready to argue against Sana’s protests. Instead, it was Irsha who shook his head.

‘That’ll be rather difficult. Before our little duel, I was on my way to tell Sana that Jagon had disappeared.’

‘What?’ Sana asked. ‘Are you sure?’ Her eyes widened, knuckles whitening when she grabbed the table.

My instinct reacted faster than my logic, and I grasped her belt, pulling her onto my lap before I locked her in my embrace.

‘Reynard, I’m all right,’ she protested weakly, though she didn’t stand.

All eyes turned to us, but rather than permit them to question why Sana was allowing me to hold her, I gestured to Irsha to continue.

‘Boyan wanted to see him, but when I went to his workshop, the place was empty. Everything seemed to be in order, but his apprentice looked like a happy little rat, and when I pressed, he said he hadn’t seen Jagon for days. It looks like he never returned from one of his journeys.’

‘Why did Boyan want to see him?’ I asked, brow furrowing as Irsha hesitated—glancing towards Sana as if asking for permission.

‘The Brotherhood’s been in chaos since Sana’s arrival.

It looks like Boyan got a second wind. He caught a few troublemakers by the bollocks and started cleaning house.

Those who thought he was headed for the grave are now second-guessing themselves and pulling away from Jagon and his clique.

I think—though this is my own speculation—that Boyan wanted to call for a challenge. ’

Lily looked at Irsha with a baffled expression. ‘And who would challenge the master poisoner for his position? Only Sana is at his level— oh gods . . . Boyan wanted her for a chapter master?’

My gaze dropped to the woman in my arms. Her lips twitched into a sad smile just as Irsha gave a slow nod.

She’d known. Maybe it had even been her idea.

‘I told you I was busy,’ she said quietly, not looking at me. ‘And that some things would never be possible.’

Dread choked me when I realised the implications.

It was already hard enough—she was a commoner and a dark sister. But this . . .

Even if I forced the nobles of Dagome to accept a Brotherhood chapter mistress as my chosen, there’d be an uproar even I might not be able to contain, especially if Sana wanted to remain in her position.

I wanted her. Gods, I wanted her, but I didn’t want to see my country bleed again.

‘And now you can’t do it because without Jagon, there can’t be a challenge,’ Irsha said with a sigh. ‘So you’ll have to wait for the Solstice Assembly to get their votes.’

I sucked a breath into my lungs. I still had time to change her mind.

‘I . . . maybe it’s a coincidence,’ Liliana said cautiously, ‘but some men from the South were asking my girls odd questions last night.’

‘What kind of questions?’ I asked, knowing the answer wouldn’t be good.