Page 29 of Of Blood and Banes
“Cyrus,” I breathe.
CHAPTER 10
IN LINEAGE AND PACTS
I’m the granddaughter of the rebels’ previous leader?The realization steals my breath.
Sethan lifts his chin, looking at me through lowered lashes. “Yes. Your father and grandfather fought on our side. Do you really think so little of them, that they’d be on the wrong half of this war?”
“No,” I admit, setting the letter down on his desk and staring at the wax seal. Despite never having met them…it still feels like an insult to not trust them. Where my allegiancesshouldlie has been a continuous, flickering thought at the back of my mind. Especially after I began reading my father’s journal back in Arterias. Andespeciallyas I became more and more intertwined with Daeja.
“We need your help, Katerina,” Sethan says softly. “We need you.”
I tear my gaze away from him to glance at Daeja, who watches me with a twitching tail.“What do you think?”
“I’ll follow you wherever you go. And I’ll stand behind you in whichever decision you make.”
I turn to Sethan as thoughts race through my head, increasing in speed and weight. When I lock gazes with him, the thoughts quiet as I murmur, “Alright.”
He takes a few steps in my direction, his boots clicking on the stone-tile floor. “Will you swear secrecy for anything you find out about the Dragon Lands, kingdom, and magic?”
I lift my chin with a sigh. “Yes. I suppose.”
“Great. And you and your squad will not leave the Dragon Lands unless I grant you permission.”
I scoff. “How do you expect me to keep an entire squad under command? I’m not even their captain?—”
“You’ll find a way. You just need to try.”
I grumble, “Can you guarantee your people won’t hurt mine?”
He crosses his arms over his chest. “Not entirely.”
“Seriously? How am I supposed to agree if you can’t even guarantee our safety?”
“There are always those who don’t believe in and won’t follow the commands of their leaders. I’m in an elected position, and it wasn’t necessarily a unanimous vote. Everyone is aware I was born and raised as Arterian, so not everyone trusts me. In fact, there was a bit of an upheaval at my appointment. But…I can agree my immediate comrades would be bound by our deal, as they’re already sealed to me by their own blood pacts.”
I cross my arms over my chest, mirroring his stance. “Fine. But you also agree to allow us our own separate quarters outside of what is currently provided.”
“Granted, but you all have a curfew.”
“Excuse me?” I scoff. “What are we, children?”
“That’s my requirement.”
I glare at him. “What for?”
“I don’t need to express the reasons for my request, do you accept it or not?”
Tapping a finger against my arm in thought, I grumble, “Okay. But you also stop torturing Darian.”
He blows out a breath. “Not likely?—”
“Or the deal isoff.”
His jaw flexes, and he runs a hand over his nose and mouth, down his short gray beard. “If…you agree you’ll do what is necessary to save this kingdom.”
It’s vague enough of a request that it doesn’t scare me. “Great. You’ll also release Darian to me.”
