Page 217 of Spring Guardians & Songbirds

Her soul almost flinched out of her body when lightning struck very close outside.

“Don’t touch her,” the half breed called hoarsely, trying to sit himself up. “She is with child. You will hurt the child.”

Ugh. I pulled away. Was it contagious? Why was everyone left and right pregnant these days?

Tilting my head between the two, I asked, “What will it be?”

Reuben shared a look with his lover and lowered his head. “Pledge…pledge to her. Do what she asks.”

Gara shook her head, breathing steam out of her flared nostrils and backing away from me. “You might be heir,” she said to her betrothed, “but your father is my king. Never. I’ll never pledge to you.” She spat at my feet and made to turn around had I not fisted her hair and dragged her back to me.

She struggled in my hold as I backed her to the wall, pushing her face to the cold surface. “You misunderstand me,” I hissed in her ear. “Bringing you here was kindness. Resisting the urge to rip out his heart, the heart of the creature you carry and then yours is truly, truly tempting, my dear. It was my original plan. But I am out of time. So, I will rip his heart first and then my friend by the door will portal right at your sister’s doorstep in Grasmere, your family house is lovely by the way, and he’ll rip her heart too and her children’s. And if that doesn’t convince you,” I said, tugging on her hair and bumping her head hard against the wall. “I will send a letter to my father detailing how your father has been trading with Solarya even after the ban and that his ships send and retrieve Magnus’s spies back and forth for dirty coin.”

Her eyes grew wide with horror. “That is not true. That is not true!”

How funny, wasn’t it? They still feared my father more than I despite what I could do. They still feared more for their pride. I supposed it worked in my favour that shame for an Isjordian was worse than death. “I could have easily ended you, Gara, I just chose not to.” I pulled back and let her go, heading to Reuben. “Brother, I’ll send Eren your regards.” Ice crawled over my fingers and I plunged my hand in his flesh.

“Wait!” Gara screamed, clutching on my arm right before breaking the flesh of her betrothed. “Wait…wait.”

And that is what I called diplomacy.

She swallowed. “Don’t tell the king. Don’t tell your father.”

“I expect we have a bargain?” I asked, extending a hand to her.

And like that, a twelfth band of bargain wrapped around my arm, marking me with pain, a black mark, a promise to tear my soul and another victory.

The cold air was assaulting when I stepped outside. But it had stopped snowing and there was a clear night sky above us. So very odd.

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” Sebastian said, looking heavenward. “The first day of spring yet it is cold as if it is the first day of winter.”

“First day of spring?” I asked, spinning to him.

He nodded. “It’s the twenty-first of March.”

Kilian was still sat on his desk when I arrived in Amaris. His head hung low over a massive binder as he flipped and made notes all through it. We were gearing up for war and we didn’t only have numbers to count, but also losses. He was making sure the second remained low.

“Hello, love,” he said, without removing his attention from the numbers and letters. “How was your day?”

“Boring.” Untying my robe and setting it on the sofa, I walked to him and sat myself on his lap. I lifted a violet anemone up to his face. “For you.”

He took the little flower, confused.

“Happy birthday,” I said, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

He gave me that smile he had only ever given me and rested his forehead on mine. “This is the best gift I’ve ever received.”

“The flower?” Even I had received better.

“You, the flower. Mostly you. Though I do love the flower.”

I leaned in and left a small kiss on his neck and then another until I heard those little breathy moans and whimpers of his.

His hand on my thigh began moving higher up till it grazed the lacy edges of my nightgown. “Do you need me?” he asked, eyes dark with want, staring at me as if he was starved.

We’d not had a single moment to ourselves since that night in the Islines. I didn’t need him—I was desperate for him. “I need you.”

He lifted me onto his table and reached to pull the thin red underwear off of me. When he took note of the colour, his lip tilted up. “Did you wear them for me?”