‘No.’ I shake my head. ‘No, not at first.’
‘Not at first!’ Another crack of thunder blasts through the air, and it’s terrifying enough for all the other patrons in the pub to suddenly remember they have an urgent appointment anywhere but here.
‘How long have you known, Rose?’ Kyor spits out once the stampede has stopped.
I lick my lips and tell him the truth. There are already too many lies between us. ‘I overheard him and Ruben talking together on the road.’
‘Ruben, too?’ There’s a flash of hurt there that I don’t miss. Despite himself, he’s grown to like Ruben.
‘No!’ I say hastily. ‘Ruben hasn’t done anything. They were justtalking. That’s all it was. Kyor, please. You have to listen to me.’
‘No,’ he says darkly. ‘I don’t. I’m going to kill Benaris. He has to pay for what he has done. To the king, to Zelle, tome.’
His static burns through the vines with such force that I feel the shock resonate through my bones. I gasp and stagger, but he doesn’t reach out to steady me. He has locked Benny in place with his earth static charge, and my stomach lurches.
Above us, thunder rumbles.
Benny’s head tips up to the roof, and only then does his gaze shift from Arle to us. His skin turns ashen, but his expression is calm. Accepting.
Sorry, he mouths to me, and genuine regret shines in his eyes.
A bolt of lightning sears down through the roof of the inn, scorching the air as it cracks the very stones beside Benny’s feet.
Arle lets out a shout and scrambles backward. His eyes dart to the door behind Kyor, as if he plans to flee, but Arle has barely taken twosteps when another bolt blasts down, and this time it hits straight into the top of his skull. A fern-like pattern spreads down his face and neck as he drops to the ground.
Dead instantly.
Fear fills me. Not for myself, but for Benny – one of the few friends I have left in this world. When I had nothing – when Iwasnothing – he stood by my side.
He may be accepting of his fate at Kyor’s hands.
But. I. Am. Not.
I step between Kyor and Benny, breaking their eye contact. With my arms outstretched, shielding Benny as best I can, I plead for my friend’s life.
‘Please, Kyor! Please don’t kill him. If you do this, we will never recover from it. I will never forgive you.’ My breaths come in gasps, and I realise I’m close to sobbing, but I cannot break. Not yet.
‘Forgiveme?’ he snarls. ‘You kept this from me!Youkept this fromme, Rose!’
‘To protect him, Kyor. Please. I know you’re angry and hurt, and grieving. I know you loved Zelle, but killing Benny won’t bring him back.’
‘No, but it’ll make me feel better,’ Kyor hisses, sparks igniting between his fingers.
‘It won’t.’ A sob does escape now. ‘And Zelle was never the intended target. It was the king.’
‘You think that makes it better?’ he spits. ‘He’s my father!’
It is my turn to snarl. ‘That man is anything but! He raised you with torture and pain, and how you can still follow him is beyond me! He is vile.’
He doesn’t deny it. Instead, he says, ‘He made me stronger.’
‘Stronger?’ Anger burns through me. ‘He’s a fuckingmonster.’ Tears threaten to glaze my eyes, but I blink them away. ‘You chose the crown over me, Kyor. That’s what you said. It wasn’t about your father – it was about the kingdom. Well, these people, the people the rebels are fighting for,areyour kingdom.Theyare the ones you should be fighting for.’
‘I’m fighting in ways you cannot imagine,’ he fires back at me.
‘Really? Because right now, it looks like you’re fighting exactly the same way your father would – by killing anyone whose opinion doesn’t match his own.’ My chest is heaving and I reach out a hand, softening my voice. ‘But you’re not your father, Kyor. You’re so much more than him. You will be the most amazing king, and you will do what is right. You’ll stop the wars and the mining.’
Kyor’s teeth grind. ‘The wars are necessary, and the mining is essential. There is more going on than you know.’
