A Vow So Bold and Deadly (Cursebreakers, #3)(34)

Nolla Verin folds her arms and says, “Certainly,” just as I say, “My sister was just leaving.”

“Fine,” we both say simultaneously.

I fold my arms as well. The girl hesitates, then she must decide that this means my sister is staying, because she sets two rattling cups in their saucers. The sound of the sloshing liquid is loud in the tense space between us.

The girl lifts the saucer in one hand and moves toward me. Her eyes are downcast, and the way the dish vibrates makes me wonder if she’s been chastised by my mother in the past. She reminds me of the flinching barmaid in the tavern.

“Thank you,” I say gently, but I keep my eyes on my sister. I reach for the saucer.

The girl releases the dish and bobs another curtsy.

Then, without warning, her hand swings.

I’m so focused on Nolla Verin that I almost don’t see it coming, but my nerves are on edge today, and my body ducks to the side without my willing participation.

It doesn’t matter, anyway. Nolla Verin is a better fighter than I’ll ever be, and she already has a blade free. My sister’s dagger is in the girl’s chest and my cup of tea is shattered on the floor before I even realized what happened.

“Guards!” Nolla Verin is shouting, but my gaze is fixed on the girl on the floor. She’s gasping, choking on blood. Her hands flail limply at the blade embedded in her chest.

“You—you—” she’s gasping.

Nolla Verin kicks her in the ribs, and the girl’s eyes flare wide. She makes a loud choking sound as her lungs beg for air.

My sister spits at her. “You’re lucky you’ll be dead before I can give you what you truly deserve.”

I grab my sister’s arm. “Stop.” I stare down at the girl as guards swirl into my chambers, weapons drawn. “Me. Me what?”

Her eyelids flicker. Her hands grasp at the blade. “You ally us with monsters.”

Then her eyes stop moving and her hands stop struggling, and she just lies there, dead.



The attack causes so much uproar that I wonder if I’ll ever find a still moment again, but in a way, I don’t mind the chaos, the questions, the intense scrutiny from Grey and my sister when they interrogate the guards. Clanna Sun begs me to move into the queen’s chambers, but I don’t want to leave my room. I feel like it’s my last source of refuge. Servants took away the body and the velvet floor coverings, replacing them efficiently while I clung to the corner and tried not to watch for hidden weapons.

It takes hours before the last of my guards and advisors clear out, leaving only Nolla Verin and Grey to have a heated discussion just outside the door. Nolla Verin’s voice is low, but my sister already made her position clear. She probably wants to execute all my guards and start fresh. Maybe she’s already given an order to do so. Maybe people would obey.

The thought makes me angry. I don’t want to know.

That thought makes me frown. I should want to know.

Nolla Verin was right. I should be fighting for myself. The proof was quite literally left gasping for breath on my floor.

I shudder and move to the window, which has long since gone dark. The room is warm from the fire in the hearth, but a chill sneaks around the window joints anyway. I should pull the draperies to block the draft, but I already feel trapped. Frost glistens at the corners of the glass, and I know Iisak must be on the roof above.

You ally us with monsters.

Maybe I have, but right now it’s reassuring. I wouldn’t expect anyone to come in through a third-story window, but Grey once climbed a rope to get into these chambers, so I know it’s not impossible.

The door clicks softly, and I don’t know if I’m more panicked at the thought of being alone or being attacked, but I whirl before I can stop myself.

Nolla Verin is gone, and Grey stands alone beside the door. His dark eyes search my face, and I have no doubt he can read every worry in my expression.

“I have sent for a meal.” He pauses. “Your sister has selected the guards stationed in the hallway. I will join them once the food arrives. Jake will relieve me at midnight—”

“Please don’t.” The words come out as a whisper, and he stops, regarding me.

“Lia Mara. You have been attacked twice now.” He hesitates. “I would not feel comfortable returning to my chambers—”

“No. I meant—” My voice catches. “I meant I don’t want you to leave.”

His eyes narrow just the tiniest bit, and I wish he weren’t so good at concealing any emotion. A bloom of heat finds my cheeks, and I have to glance away. We’re so rarely alone together. Even when we are, it’s for moments at a time, with an open door and a guard stationed nearby. My people are so sensitive to the idea of me needing a man at my side that I’ve made every attempt to put them at ease, to demonstrate that my alliance with Grey will be about my people first.

But now he’s here, the door closed, the night pressing against the windowpanes.

He hasn’t said anything, and I have to turn to look out the window again. “Forgive me,” I say quickly. “I am being improper.” I pause. “I am being foolish as well.”

“You are being neither.” He speaks from beside me, and I nearly jump. He crossed the room so silently. He’s bound up in leather and blades as usual, but the spark of light on silver makes me think of what Nolla Verin said about weapons that could stand against his magic.