Adrenaline pulsed through my veins as we climbed the stairs to the king’s tower. I stepped over another fallen guard, its lifeless eyes staring back at me as we continued our ascent.
Even with my magic diluted from Keziq’s spell, I felt a rush through my body at the thrill of the death. For once, everything was going according to plan.
There was one final step.
The king was on his knees when I entered his bed chamber. His hands bound behind his back. He wore only a white dressing shirt, his onyx hair was askew, having been pulled from sleep.
“What is going on?” He looked around, eyes wide as more of my guards filed in. “Who are you?”
I clapped my hands together. “I’m so glad you asked, Your Majesty. I’m Adreona, the head of the Panateia.”
Arlo’s face paled. “And what do you want?”
“It’s not only about whatIwant. I want to rid this world of vampires, but to do that, we need your crown.” I moved until I was in front of Arlo, he had to tilt his head to look up at me. “You see, Lennox Adair went running her mouth about my plans and spilling my secrets to the entire continent. So, I needed a new plan. Abetterplan.”
The king’s gaze drifted behind me, relief washing over his features. “Lorenzo. You’re alive.”
“I am.” Lorenzo didn’t stop until he arrived by my side. Arlo’s gaze flitted between the two of us.
“What is this?” he demanded. “You’re still working with her? With the Panateia?” His face fell. “How could you do that after I told you not to? After what she did to Lennox?”
Lorenzo scoffed. “You’ve always thought so highly of yourself, but I never stopped supporting them. I’ve been assisting them right underneath your nose, using your coin, your resources.” Lorenzo smiled. “And I don’t regret a thing. You care more about Lennox, a female you just met, than you ever cared about me, your own fucking son.”
Alro flinched as Lorenzo continued, his voice rising an octave. “I wish I could have been there to see her tortured. I wish I could have seen the look on Luka’s face when his mate was taken from him. When he saw what was done to her.” Lorenzo’s hand went to his sword. “That stupid bastard kid took everything from me. As if I haven’t already suffered enough. First, you pick my sister over me,ME, for the crown. And then she dies, and you give the crown to a kid. A fucking kid! After my wife died and my daughter disappeared. You were a better grandfather to Luka than you ever were a father to me.” Lorenzo unsheathed his sword, the whine echoing through the bed chamber. “I’m taking back what should have been mine in the first place.”
All color leached from Arlo’s face, his eyes going wide as he realized what Lorenzo was going to do. “Lorenzo, please,” the king pleaded, pulling against his restraints. “I’myour father, I’ve always loved you, even if I don’t always show it. Please don’t do this, son.”
“DON’T CALL ME SON!” Lorenzo screamed, spit flying from his mouth. Arlo gasped, his mouth opening wide as his son’s sword pierced his chest. Lorenzo removed his sword, kicking his father in the chest. Arlo fell backward, his body spasming as his white shirt turned crimson.
Lorenzo’s entire body heaved as he lifted his sword over his head, holding it in both hands. “I should have done this years ago.”
His sword came down over the king’s neck. Over and over again, Lorenzo’s sword came down until the king, the former blood king’s head, severed from his body and rolled to the side.
Blood coated Lorenzo as he turned, his sword falling to the ground with a clang.
The sound of his heaving chest and the squeaking of his boots were the only sounds in the bedchamber as he made his way to the dresser perched in the corner.
With hands stained with his father’s blood, Lorenzo took the crown from the dresser, placing it on his own head.
24
LENNOX
“A package arrived for you, Your Majesty,” Gulia announced as she entered my study. We were all sitting around the small circular table, eating breakfast. We all had to squish to fit around it, but we had started eating in here since we returned to Alethens. None of us, well,Iwasn’t ready to go back to the dining room yet. According to Declan, it had been repaired after the disaster that was our wedding reception, but I wasn’t ready to be in there yet.
Besides, I liked this intimate setting.
“You can set it there.” I gestured to the end table next to the door. She nodded before setting down the large box next to a vase filled with fresh wildflowers Kara had picked yesterday afternoon from the garden she spelled to keep flowers growing year round. “Thank you.”
“Do you need anything else, Your Majesties?”
“No, thank you, Gulia,” Luka dismissed her.
“Who do you think it’s from?” Kara popped a piece of fruit in her mouth.
“I don’t know.” I ran my fingers over the black satin tied around the large square box as I searched for a card or anyindication of who the package was from. “There’s no card, perhaps it says inside.”
I untied the large bow, letting the ribbon fall to the table as I uncapped the box. A note lay on top of the black silk covering the contents of the box.
