Page 68 of The Path of Blood and Betrayals

“Dumb? No.” I scoff, sidestepping his form. “Currently wishing I was deaf? Probably.”

He curses me out, lunging for the bowls. Hot stew sloshes over the sides, burning my cold hands.

“Watch it,” I bite out, my fingers staining red as the magic rises. “I’ve been on this raid since we first began. There was no argument over food then.”

“That’s because we had enough to go around.” His beefy hands plant on his hips. He’s thick like a tree. “Now we’re rationing. Food is for those who actually contribute something to this campaign.”

A blatant lie. With the casualties, there is enough food to last for some time.

“Are you saying I don’t contribute?” I ask, voice dry.

“I’m saying as a woman,” he says, leering at my chest, his rancid breath fanning over my face. “There are certain contributions you can make to this raid. Cleaning, sewing, cooking.” His eyes heat and my magic burns in my veins to hurt him. “Otherthings.”

I snort. “Not fucking likely.”

Turning away, he swipes the bowls from my hands, the precious stew mixing into the mud beneath my boots.

Snarling back at him, he hauls me close, crooked teeth pinning me with a dirty smile as I shake with rage. “You’ve got a smart mouth for an advisor. What else can it do?”

I don’t bother to look at the volunteers. No man will interfere. By now my fingers are a dark crimson and in my head, I focus on his heart. It’s full of corrosion and ill-care. I could sneeze and he’d drop.

“Beside make you cry?”

He laughs. “Feisty. But for food, I wonder what I could make you do?” He seems to weight the options and my fingers bend, ready to attack. “I bet I could force my cock down your throat, if it means eating for the night, huh?” He pulls me close and I hold my breath. “Would you be a good girl for me, advisor?”

“Try and see how good I can be,” I taunt, teeth bared. If he tries anything, consequences be damned, I’ll use my magic and end his life.

His men laugh at my fight and his smile turns wicked, edged with a viciousness that reminds me of Lord Ashton.

“Then let’s give everyone a show.” He shoves me away and I stumble, tripping over the bowls. He begins to unfasten his belt. “You just need someone to teach you how to speak to a man.”

OnCella’s crown, I will not be forced to doanythingby this man.

Raising my hands, I let them bend and crack, let my magic flood my system. His heart hammers into my ears, a war drum and I gladly listen to it. Soon, I’ll snap it in half.

A sword swings in front of me, stopping just shy of slicing the lord’s neck.

“What is the meaning?—”

“Count yourself lucky, my lord,” Kaden intervenes, voice hard. The amber of his eyes are darkened by his shadows, the thick wisps blowing off his shoulders like a cape. “Another word and you’d be dead.”

Disgusted, he glances to his half-done pants. “Cover yourself before I make you an eunuch.”

Kaden turns back to me, clamping a hand around my hovering wrist. “Don’t.”

“Are you serious?” I ask, incredulously. “He tried?—”

“I know,” he interrupts, never letting memove away. “And he deserves your wrath. But I don’t need to remind you of what will happen if they know what you are.”

“Last time I checked,” I growl, tugging free of him. “You threatened to tell them what I am. Why do you care if I stay hidden now?”

“Because,” he breathes, a hand falling to my stomach as if to ground me, “You are worth so much more than that pathetic excuse of a male. You will not forfeit your life for petty revenge.”

Glaring, my cheeks flush, his touch searing my soul.

“So, I just let him get away with it?”

He smirks, the black swirling inside his eyes, terrifying and beautiful all at once.