Page 11 of A Shattered Kingdom of Steel

Savell dips his head to Asheros, and then I allow him and Ronan to haul me back to the camp. It’s fruitless to make demands, especially now that they know it’s highly probable that I’ll be the one responsible for their lord’s death. Instead, I make it my mission to cause their task to be as troublesome as possible, kicking and wriggling the whole way. Much to my satisfaction, the males on either side of me wince with annoyance while they try to wrangle my flailing limbs.

“This one’s more trouble than she’s worth,” Ronan grunts. “I can already tell.”

“You flatter me,” I retort, without relaxing my efforts to make their lives difficult.

Ronan just grumbles under his breath, and he and Savell throw me back into Asheros’s tent.

“Do us all a favor, and stay there,” Savell demands.

“Funny that you think I’ll be doing you any favors,” I counter.

Neither of them says anything, opting instead to let the tent flap fall.

I drop to my stomach, eyes peeled on the barely existent gap between the tent and the ground. Sure enough, I see a pair of feet at the front of the tent. I rise to a crouch and make my way to the back of the tent, lifting it just high enough to see the ground outside.

I curse.

They have this side under guard, too.

“Nice try.” Ronan laughs. “You’re staying here as long as Asheros says you are.”

My nostrils flare.

Like hell I am.

My body goes still at the sound of more footsteps outside the tent. I crawl back to the front and slow my breathing so I can listen.

“Theelia blessed the two of ya?” a gruff-sounding female voice asks.

A sigh. “Yes,” Asheros admits.

“Keeping her alive is risky,” a male says, his tone matter-of-fact. Savell.

“Extremely risky,” Ronan adds.

“We already run the risk of her running back to Keuron and telling the High King who we are,” another female voice says. This one is smoother than the first. “But now, she has the potential to be even more of a threat.” A pause. “It’s not too late to stop this. There has to be another way we can—”

“No,” Asheros says firmly. “Now that we have her, we need her alive. If any of you touch a single hair on her head, you will answer to me. Have I made myself clear?”

A chorus of grunts and grumbles echoes in response. They agree, but they don’t sound very happy about it.

Pushing myself back onto my rear, I move as far away from the tent’s flap as I can. I can’t—or rather, don’t want to—believe what I just heard. Asheros needs me alive for something. And I know that whatever that something is, it can’t be good.

Being fated to each other only complicates things.

My heart starts pounding when I realize that I don’t know how long it’s been since the ambush. I should be farther along on my journey to Illnamoor by now. I should have already sent a status report back to Viridian. He and Cryssa will be wondering what’s happened to me.

The political situation after Cryssa and Viridian’s rise to power is already delicate enough—it always is when a new leader takes the throne, but even more so in the wake of Vorr’s curse. The last thing we need is for more tension to arise when the rest of the kingdom learns I’ve gone missing.

Viridian trusted me to act on his behalf. I wrap my arms around my knees, pulling them to my chest, and rest my chin on my forearms. Guilt surges through me, winding itself into a knot in the pit of my stomach.

Remembering how hard he worked to convince me to accept the position, I press my lips together. A role in politics has never been something I wanted for myself, and it’s not an area I’m particularly strong in. As the second-born, I’ve always known I’ll never become Head of House, like my sister Vestella when our mother dies. Because of that, politics was never something I needed to concern myself with, let alone want.

“If you accept this assignment, then you will be solely responsible for choosing your successor. And we will appoint them without question. Deal?”

True to his word, Viridian had kept his end of the bargain. He’d let me choose my successor, Sura, and I remained at High Keep until she’d officially taken my place. Now, it’s time I follow through on my end. My High King—my friend—needs me.

At the very least, I have to try.

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