Atlas’s eyes darted back and forth between his brother’s. “Ten years ago was when?—”
“When he sent me out to sea,” Draevyn finished for him, shrugging. “And now you know. The man truly hated me to my core, Atlas. I was willing to stay away. Willing to look the other way for your sake.” He paused, his jaw ticking. “But I wouldn’t for her.”
The pity settling in Atlas’s stomach quickly morphed back into anger. “Why? Why her? You would fight for her but not yourself or your kingdom?”
Draevyn’s spine straightened, and suddenly, Atlas’s little brother seemed to tower over him. “He tookeverythingfrom her. It was only right she took it back! I was trying to calm the situation so she wouldn’t hurt anyone else, but you wouldn’t listen. I let her take what she was due!”
A burning sensation ignited in Atlas’s chest—a feeling he’d never once felt toward his brother. “And you still believe she cares for you after that?” He let out a bitter laugh, stepping closer. “Esmyra told you herself… she doesn’t want you anymore. And yet youstillburn for her.”
Draevyn stiffened, flames dancing in his eyes.
Good. Let him feel the weight of it. Let him understand that no matter how much he tried to justify it, no matter how much he wanted to rewrite the truth,shewas their enemy now.Esmyra hadalwaysbeen their enemy.
The kingdom would demand retribution. The lords and nobleswould never bow to a king who let his father’s murderer go unpunished.
But more than that… Atlas had trusted his brother to no end. And now, that trust was shattered.
“I’m the king now,” he said, his voice low. “And I will not allow you to undermine me the way you did him. She could’ve killed Elowynne!”
The thought of harm coming to his soon-to-be wife set him into a fit of rage. Draevyn thought he would burn the world for that wretched sea witch, but Atlas would drown the world in darkness for his chosen bride.
Draevyn exhaled sharply through his nose, his body rigid. “Esmyra was defending herself against Elowynne’s magic! She had no fucking right to barge in there and attack her!”
Atlas narrowed his eyes. “You think that matters? You think the rest of the kingdom cares who threw the first strike? The only thing they saw wasEsmyrakilling our father and nearly taking the rest of us with him.”
“No harm would’ve come to Elowynne if she just stayed out of it,” his brother snapped, heat rolling off of him in waves. “Your wife, or soon-to-be one, forced Esmyra into a nightmare?—”
“She defendedme!” Atlas’s scream echoed through the chamber. “Elowynne defended her king.Something you should’ve done instead of running after your evil goddess like a lovesick fool.”
“You think I should’ve just stood by while Esmyra wasscreaming?” Draevyn looked like he’d been struck. “You don’t know her like I do. She never would’ve done that unless she was in some actual form of agony. Elowynne twisted her mind?—”
“Esmyra was going tokill me!” Atlas’s voice broke, the echo of it deafening. He couldn’t even believe this was a conversation they were having. “Drae, what are you not understanding about this?”
His brother fell silent. And for a moment, there was only the sound of their ragged breathing.
Then, Atlas’s voice dropped to something colder. “You chose a side. And you chosewrong.”
Draevyn’s fists clenched at his sides. “I chose to stop a war.”
“No.” Atlas exhaled slowly, shaking his head. “You choseher.You chose Esmyra. And in doing so, you started one.”
Draevyn didn’t answer.
Atlas took in a slow breath as the pieces started to fall into place.
Esmyra—Kaelypso, whatever the fuck her name was—wasn’t invincible. For all her godhood, all her power… shebled. The mark of it still stained their marble floors.
His bullet had proven that. The way she had faltered, the way she had fallen to her knees, and the way Draevyn had reacted to it. She had aweakness.
Atlas’s lips pressed into a thin line as the fury inside him twisted into something sharper.
“I should’ve known,” he muttered, pacing in a slow circle, ignoring his brother’s heated glare. “All that power, and yet she ran. You forced her to run because shehad to.”
Draevyn took a step forward. “Atlas, whatever you’re thinking of doing… just let it be. You don’t understand what she’s capable of.”
“No.” He exhaled through his nose, his mind already forming a plan. “I understandexactlywhat she’s capable of. And now I know how to stop it.”
Draevyn tensed, the flames at his fingers betraying his unease. “Don’t make me choose, Atlas. Don’t make me choose between you and her.”
