“It was, but it isn’t anymore. You’ve pissed alotof people off over the years, Dickie. I told you you should’ve learned to smile more.”
I stare at her, trying to unravel all the new information. I shake my head. “The coup isn’t an issue. Only a fool would try anything before the elections.” Why risk their lives when they can vote me out?
“It’s a huge issue! Do you know how long the queue is going to be?”
“What queue?”
“The queue of people lining up to kill you once you’re not protected by the Royal Guard!”
“I thought you’d be pleased if someone killed me.”
“No.Iwant to kill you. No one else. Do you know how much work it’ll be for me to keep you safe until I have time to kill you myself? No, best to lure them all out before then”
I look at her dryly. “You could kill me now.” Even with one crushed hand, she can still bend magic with her other. And I know her well enough to suspect she’s learned to speak it too. It’s something only insane people do, and she’s the poster card for the insane.
She bares her teeth, the first flash of genuine emotion pushing through. There’s no coy teasing. No ‘this is a game’. It’s brutal coldness in her eyes. “I don’t have time right now because whenI come for you, Dickie, you willsuffer. For days or weeks, that’s up to you. But you will give me the answers I want.”
About what happened to Aurelia.
“I will tell you,” I say softly to her, truly meaning it, “if you keep my wife safe until she’s no longer queen.”
She blinks, and a slow smile curls my lips – not because I give a shit about this damn game of hers. But because I know that it’ll hurt her more than her broken hand, and gods, do I want to hurt more than her fucking hand. “That’s the second time you have been caught off-guard tonight, Evangeline. Looks like I’ve won this round.”
“Only because you cheated!”
As if you ever play by the rules.
I walk away though, refusing to engage. As I pass her prosthetic leg, I grab it off the floor.
“Hey!” she protests.
“Winner’s trophy.”
“Ofoneround. But I’m going to win it back.”
Not a fucking chance.
“Figure out which Court members are trying to kill me, Evangeline. Or I’m going to kill them all myself.”
“Including Petre?” she asks sweetly.
I don’t answer, knowing she’ll take that as a fucking win.
Twenty-Eight
Princess Aurelia died on 12 Kao 6483.
I refuse to let history repeat itself.
- King Richard
I glance at one of the Echos as I step into the hall. “You okay?” I ask her. I don’t know how much of a toll visiting Purgatory has on her, but we outlawed this practice for a reason. Her soul is fractured into too many pieces already. How many more times can it splinter before she goes as mad as her sisters did all those years ago?
Ignoring me, the eight of them walk into the room with Evangeline and close the door.
A few minutes later, it opens again. There’s only one of them now, and my ex is gone. She starts walking down the hall, and I follow.
“There was an issue at dinner,” she says, “but your wife handled it well.”
