Page 113 of The Ice Prince's Fated Mate
She reached up and removed my hand, holding it in her own. “If we hadn’t met like this, we wouldn’t have each other,” she said, pulling me down closer. “And, Dirk, there’s nothing more I want than to have you.”
I lowered my mouth to hers, letting the press of our lips do the talking for the moment.
Fifty-Five
Dirk
The mood inthe room was somber and distant when Ella and I walked in, hand in hand. Glances were given our way, heads nodded in acknowledgment, and even a soft ghost of a smile on Anna’s face from where she sat at the front. Ella back on her feet, albeit moving slowly, was a victory, but a hollow one. There was no celebration. Not yet.
I clapped Kolar on the shoulder, stopping next to him. He looked up. I didn’t bother with contrite words or other metaphors that the man did not want to hear at the moment. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to discover your best friend was a traitor. But I wouldn’t want platitudes if it were me, so I didn’t give them.
We met stares and nodded. That was all. He knew I was there for him, if, and hopefully when, he wanted to talk. Or drink. Or whatever he felt was necessary to address the pain.
I knew what it was like to feel failure and to be unsure of how to undo a mistake that isn’t necessarily my own. When he was ready, I would be too.
On the other side of him, Milly sat in a chair, frowning to herself.
“Everyone’s here,” Caz said as Ella and I took seats. “Good. Um …”
Even the Ice Tyrant himself was stunned by the reversal.
Next to him, Anna slid a hand over his leg, finding his and locking grips. Caz glanced at his mate, who squeezed tightly and nodded, gently urging him on.
“We’re going to get it out in the open,” Caz said. “We got our teeth kicked in. Durion was a traitor. Mirko and Andrik escaped our grasp.”
Silence followed, as cold and unyielding as the ice in our veins.
“I want to make two things very clear on that front,” Casimir Dvorak IV, Tyrant of the Ice Kingdom growled, leaning forward with all the gravitas he possessed. “We will have our revenge, in the form of ice justice. No more courts. No more procedures and laws. They will be found, and I will break their necks myself.”
A growl from everywhere and nowhere at once filled the room as the anger in all of us found a home, a place to roost and breed.
“Secondly,” Caz said, leaning back, his voice softening slightly, “is that we will do so with our brainsfirst. We will not give in to that anger you just showed. We will not let our feelings dictate what we do. If any of you is too close to the issue to be able to accept that, I understand. But you will not be allowed to participate in what is to come.”
There was silence.
“Whatisto come?” I asked dutifully, though I already suspected the answer.
“War,” Florian answered, confirming my thoughts.
“We tracked them to the northern border.” The warlord’s knuckles cracked as he clenched a fist. “There they were met by Akio, and who we believe to be Volkan himself.”
I sat up straight. That was news. “Are you certain of this?”
“Not completely,” Florian admitted. “The scouts who caught sight of the meeting were driven off quickly, and the Reds worked hard to hide who was in their midst, but we think so.”
“If the Red Prince met them in person, it’s obvious Mirko has been in contact with them the entire time. This whole scheme was sanctioned by them,” Caz said, putting into words what we were all thinking. “There can only be one response. Whether any of us want it or not, the Eliteswilldemand we retaliate. War is the only outcome.”
The mood in the room grew darker, if at all possible.
“War is useless,” I growled, finding Ella’s hand. “But if they won’t turn over our traitors, I see no way around it either. The Reds have been messing with us, trying to find a way to remove Caz from the throne. They must be taught a lesson, or they’ll just keep trying until they succeed.”
“I agree,” Caz said, looking troubled. “I don’t want war, but I see no other option that will dissuade them from poking around so fully in our business. I have sent a message via Lord Elissen, the Fae whose territory borders us both. It is addressed to King Pyrrhus III himself, demanding that the traitors be turned over to answer for their actions. I expect him to say no or to outright ignore it, but I will not declare war without trying diplomacy first.”
We were all nodded in agreement.
“The full tally of their treason is still being discovered,” Florian said. “But so far we have reports of over thirty palace guards who enacted some form of sabotage before fleeing as word spread. Most of it is merely cosmetic, or the loss of files, which, while irritating, is not devastating. However, one groupbroke into the dungeons and freed Bryna from her cell, taking her with them as they fled over the border.”
Beside Kolar, Milly hissed in fury. I couldn’t blame her, not after the suffering she’d endured at the hands of Mirko’s mate. Knowing that her torturer had escaped justice as well would be infuriating.
