Gilded Serpent by Danielle Jensen (top 10 novels txt) 📕

taken from his own command tent, which meant it was pointless to hope it predated her capture by Cassius.

What did it say?

Nothing good. For what better way to earn the goodwill of a foreign power than to reveal a traitor in its midst.

What did you expect? a bitter voice whispered inside his head. She’s not here of her own volition. You know she wants you to fail, to be forced into a retreat to Celendor. You know you two are enemies.

Yet knowing all these things did nothing to ease the pain that replaced the hollowness in his stomach. Even if she’d sent this note when they’d first arrived in Arinoquia, before they’d become involved, she’d still never confessed to having done so. Had been content with allowing the move she’d put in motion to play out.

You can’t trust her.

“Do you have time to talk?”

Felix’s voice filled his ears, and Marcus lifted his head to find his second-in-command standing at the entrance to his tent.

“About what?” The words came out sharper than he intended, and Felix grimaced before moving farther inside.

“You need to get some sleep.”

“Noted. Is there something else you need?”

Silence stretched between them, the tension strange and unfamiliar. While he and Felix had fought many times over many things over the years, it had never been like this. Then again, no matter how hard they’d butted heads, he’d never had cause to question his best friend’s loyalty.

“Yeah, I…” Felix’s brow furrowed. “Are things all right with us?” Then he gave a violent shake of his head. “Don’t answer that. I know you’re angry at me for advising you to proceed with the battle rather than to negotiate with enemy demands.”

“You advised me to allow them to cut Teriana up and send me the pieces rather than to pursue a different strategy.”

“Yeah.” Felix rocked on his heels. The tips of his ears, just visible through hair that needed to be cut, were bright red. “I’m not going to lie and say that I think what you did was right. That false retreat nearly resulted in us being crushed between two armies, and while we still would’ve won, a lot of our brothers would’ve died. It was only luck that you got back in time, and you know what Wex says about luck.”

Wex was commandant of Campus Lescendor and Marcus’s mentor. He was also famous for saying that a good commander should never rely on luck, because luck always ran out when you needed it most.

“You chose Teriana over your own brothers, and everyone knows it, Marcus. They know you gambled with their lives to save a girl.”

It was the truth, though he hadn’t realized how high the stakes were when he’d thrown the dice. Yet even if he had, Marcus knew his decision would’ve been the same. “Your point?”

“The men are letting it slide because you pulled a victory out of your ass, the way you always do. But you can’t put her ahead of them again. You just … can’t.”

Marcus didn’t answer, only stared Felix down, refusing to bend. Are you a traitor?

“I don’t like her,” Felix continued, his gaze fixing on the table between them. “I think she’s a smart-ass who believes she can say and do whatever she wants because you have her back.”

True, except that Teriana would say and do whatever she wanted even if she stood alone.

“But that doesn’t mean I want anything bad to happen to her. I know she didn’t ask to be put in this position and is just doing what she needs to do to survive.”

Felix was trying to cover his tracks. What other purpose could he have for saying all of this? For trying to make it seem he wouldn’t have been delighted if Teriana had died at Ashok’s hands? And then trying to cast the blame on Marcus for the mercenary army nearly catching them unaware, despite his actions having put them in that position in the first place. Anger coiled in Marcus’s stomach, but he kept it in check, because he could not act without proof.

Felix sighed heavily. “It feels like you’ve forgotten that she’s fighting for the other side. I hope you keep in mind that having you wrapped around her little finger is to her advantage, not ours.”

Marcus’s hand tightened, and Teriana’s note crumbled where he gripped it. “Noted. Anything else?”

“No.” Felix’s jaw worked back and forth. “Everything you asked for has been done or is being done. We’re watching the clans to make sure they aren’t thinking of moving against us or one another, but thus far, it appears as though they’re content to wait for their payout.”

“Good. You may go.”

“Sir.” Felix saluted sharply, then turned to leave. But then he hesitated. “I can’t watch your back if you keep pushing me away.”

“Then it’s a good thing I can watch my own.”

Felix flinched, but said nothing else, only strode out of the tent, leaving Marcus alone.

You can’t trust anyone.

The thought settled heavily on his mind, weighing him down more than exhaustion. Amarin chose that moment to enter the tent, puttering about and putting things back in their places. Busywork, and having lived with him for eight years, Marcus knew his servant was about to start mothering him.

Sure enough, Amarin said, “Your armor needs repairs. I’ll have it done now so you’ll have it back when you need it.”

Teriana’s note still gripped in his fist, Marcus stood and allowed the older man to remove his armor, which was sporting several dents.

“There’s wash water in the back.” Amarin gathered up all the pieces, frowning at one of the dents. “When should I wake you?”

“Three hours,” Marcus answered, his own voice distant in his ears. He went into the rear tent, his eyes flicking to Teriana’s bedroll. Her stack of belongings.

Strained muscles moving stiffly, he pulled off his clothes, tossing them in a corner, and glanced down at his body. He was covered in livid purple bruises and his ribs throbbed, but it was his throat, which had been