Page 43 of The Cursed and the Broken
“We’ll take a small group of Wolfblood soldiers, of course,” he continued. “Rest assured, Lady Bárány, I will let no harm come to your daughter.”
“Swear it,” she said, her words rushing in a strangled tone.
Caitlin and Erika sucked in a breath and my heart jumped in my chest. She had overstepped. But I counted the seconds, waiting to hear Dante’s words.
Slowly, almost languidly, he rose from his seat, strolling around the table until he stood before my mother. Someone gasped as he bent the knee, his expression perhaps the sincerest I’d ever seen it. “I swear on my life, I will die before I allow any harm to befall your daughter. From now until the stars take me, I swear it.”
I choked back a laugh. ‘Before I allow it’.Arrogant bastard. A pleasant warmth spread in my belly all the same. And a warning bell. I couldn’t let my guard down around him. So far, he’d yet to prove he did anything that didn’t meet his own agendas.
Mama looked him hard in the eye before her eyes slid to mine. They were resigned, sad, but I saw a spark in them too. A kernel of something I hadn’t seen before. After an age, she nodded once.
“And what of our village?” Caitlin intervened impatiently, shattering the moment. “We were promised protection.”
“Which you shall have,” Dante said quietly as he rose. His voice brooked no room for argument as he appraised her from his towering height. That stare; he could level mountains with the slice of his eyes. “My father left this morning to make arrangements for our peoples and, tomorrow, Kitarni and I will leave for my home. My brother, Lukasz, shall remain with a contingent of guards to continue patrolling.” His gaze darted to Erika. “They are at your disposal.”
She dipped her head regally, her long braids tinkling as the gold beads threaded through her hair swished together. “We are grateful for your assistance.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “So, it’s decided then. Once we know more about these fanatics, we’ll plan our next moves. In the meantime,” I said with a crooked grin to Erika, “I think these witches need whipping into shape.”
She winked, dark eyes lined with kohl flashing mischievously. “My thoughts exactly. I will post a notice for volunteers.” She glanced at Caitlin pointedly. “Our sisters need to know what’s coming, and I have no doubt once word is out about the cultists, our lovely ladies will exchange needle and thread for swords and bows in no time.”
“Temporarily,” Caitlin grumbled.
“Oh, I don’t know, Caitlin, you might find a little melee will do you good,” I said sweetly. “Course, at your age it might be too hard on your bones. Perhaps it’d be best if you cheered the girls on instead.” Before she could utter a word, I rose from my chair, making sure to drown out her protests as I scraped the legs along the floor. “Well, duty calls. A lady never sleeps, you know.”
With a dismissive sweep of my skirts I left the temple with a lighter heart and a smile on my face. Knowing Caitlin wanted to rip it off only made my grin wider.
“What made you decide to play along?” I asked Dante warily as we strolled through the gardens. Sunlight dappled the grass through the canopy above, gilding the petals of flowers. Wisteria creeped in lavender and blues, winding over archways of wrought metal. White and pink roses bloomed from either side of us, their thorns shiny and glinting.
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the weather was warm. Pausing, I closed my eyes, basking in a patch of sunlight, embracing its kiss upon my brow. Tomorrow we’d be entering the woods, passing through the Sötét Erdo to get to Mistvellen. There would be no sun, no warmth where we were headed.
I cracked an eyelid to find him staring at me curiously and his eyes darkened as he answered my question. “I’ve met people like Caitlin before. Obnoxious, power hungry. Leaders like her are dangerous because they have the ears of the people. I saw it in her eyes. She fears for her position and of losing the witches’ devotion. She fearsyou.”
I scoffed, shaking my head at the idea. I was hardly a threat to her station. She could keep her council; I didn’t want it. Dante watched me impassively, but I had the sense he was still simmering over Caitlin’s behaviour. Could it have anything to do with the way she spoke tomespecifically?
No. That would mean he’d have to care, which he clearly didn’t. I pinned him under my stare. “Are we going to talk about the other surprise you dropped in there?”
“What surprise?” Dante replied innocently.
His dark hair tumbled over his forehead, the reddish hues gleaming as the light hit his crown. His olive skin shone like burnished gold and, as he moved his arms, I noted every muscle twitch, every vein.
He gave me a crooked smile and I realised I might have stared a little too long. Drawing my gaze back to his own, I frowned. “Don’t play coy. You just swore an oath to my mother. Why would you offer that? You don’t know me. You don’t owe me anything. This marriage of ours? It’s nothing more than a farce.”
His answering grin was devious. “Such wicked words from a lady. You’re to be my wife. Whether we like it or not, I am honour-bound to protect you. You’re stuck with me, Freckles. Might as well get used to it.”
“Go to hell,” I snapped, tiring of his games. I didn’t understand him at all. And I hated it. What did he want from me? Friendship? Sex? Something to amuse him until he found his next conquest?
“Perhaps someday, but I think I’m having too much fun to leave you just yet. I know you felt something when we kissed. Admit it, your body wants me, even if your mind does not. I wouldn’t blame you,” he purred.
Temper flaring, my dagger was drawn in less than a blink as I shoved him against a tree. I angled my blade to his throat, eyes fixed on his own as I reached up on tiptoes. “There is nothing between us,” I hissed. “Nothing. What happened in the woods was a momentary distraction. It willnothappen again.”
His arms swept around my waist, pulling me closer and my breath hitched as he drew my face to his own. Our lips were an inch apart and I felt his warmth, his hunger as he brushed his lip ever so softly against my own. Not a kiss, but a gentle teasing. “Keep telling yourself those lies, Freckles. We’ll see who’s the first to fall.”
Nostrils flaring, I pressed the tip of my blade down harder, drawing a single drop of scarlet.
“Ah, ah,” he tsked, waving a finger. “Truce, remember?”
I snarled in frustration. Somehow, our little arrangement made my anger at him rise even further. I lowered the blade just a little. “You are going to regret the day you were born, Dante Sándor.”
