Crown of Iron (Book 1 of the Crown Trilogy)

Twenty-Five

I could have easily dwelled on my exchange with Kyron. Coming clean about who I am was not something I thought I'd have to do. I always pictured Micah dragging me home before it ever came to this, and I didn't expect Kyron to let me stay when he found out. And yet, General LeFur has surprised me again.

He isn't the only one who has reacted in a way I didn't expect; my best friend has kept secrets from me since we arrived here. Not one deep, dark secret remains between us. We've always been brutally honest with one another. Leif has tarnished what we've spent years building, and now it's time for him to feel my wrath.

I stomp my way through the officer's quarters, heading for the second floor and the last room down the corridor. With two firm pounds to the door, I turn the knob. "Leif Stone, I swear to the Statera I'm going to beat your ass," I bark, stepping inside.

"What the fuck, Elle?"

I scream and turn around, but it's too late. Seared in my brain is the image of Leif with his bare ass in the air and his head between Wel's tan thighs.

The steel bed creaks and blankets rustle as Leif says, "You could have knocked."

"I did!" I peek over my shoulder and release a grateful sigh.

The two men now sit at the head of the bed. Wel has the sheet pulled to his chin, and Leif rests the corner of the same fabric over the evidence of his excitement at sharing a bed with the drill sergeant. My best friend folds his arms over his chest and glares at me.

"Don't give me that look; you brought this on yourself," I say, sinking into the winged-back chair across from him.

"Pray tell, why do I deserve you barging in while I'm in the middle of a long, overdue intimate moment?"

"Maybe I should just go," Wel says, slipping a leg out for under the sheet.

"No," Leif says, curling his fingers around Wel's toned bicep.

I gift Wel with a tight smile. "That won't be necessary, Drill Sergeant. I'm sure anything I say won't come as a surprise."

Leif rubs the stubble on his jaw and looks at the breakfast table across the room like it's the most interesting thing he's ever seen. The rotten sneak knows exactly why I'm here. His lover, however, fidgets like he's waiting for me to order his head on a platter.

"I know you and Leif are betrothed, and it isn't right for me...for us to be...I thought you didn't mind..."

I burst into laughter, doubling over in the chair. It takes a couple of tries, but I finally calm myself to say, "By all means, do what you like with Leif. I've never seen him so happy before. That's not why I'm upset."

Leif shoots me a death glare and mumbles, "She knows the king swore me to secrecy."

"You should have said something to me," I say, smacking my hands on my thighs.

"If we were at home, I would have. The moment we entered this camp, it forced me to shift my loyalty. I tried to do what I could for you without defying orders. It wasn't just the wrath of Micah I feared, but I promised to follow the direction of my superior officers. It put me in a shitty position."

I push a rogue strand of hair from my forehead and sigh. He isn't telling me anything I don't already know. It's his unwavering loyalty to this army and to our king which helps shield our people from harm. Leif is dedicated to giving them a semblance of peace in a land which truly does not know it.

"I just wish there was a way you could have warned me," I say.

He bends his knee and props his arm on top. "Me too, but you were the first one out of the two of us to keep a secret. I had no idea you were going to follow me here."