“Actually, it was his idea.”
“You’re lying.” I whirl around to face him.
“I’m not. I believe his exact words were ‘She’s the key to everything, Artemus.’”
I don’t know what to say to that, so I don’t say anything. It’s clear that the Ryder I thought I knew was only scratching the surface. Somewhere underneath it all there’s another version of him I have yet to meet.
Maybe tonight I’ll get the chance to.
Chapter 21
Ryder
The war room seems to be the only place I can get a little bit of peace and quiet these days. I prefer the way it was back when my only priority was creating order within the Shadow Lands. Now, everyone needs something from me. An order, an answer, an opinion.
Ruling is more exhausting than I thought it would be. I can understand now why every king has a queen by his side. Unfortunately, the witch who cursed me and my father made sure to take that from me as well as my mother and brother. It makes ruling a kingdom a lonely job. Even with the council to lean on for support, it’s not the same.
A knock at the door marks the end of my time of solitude.
“Come in,” I order with a tone that seeps of annoyance.
Her deep crimson hair peeks around the door before the rest of her slips into the room. Even seeing her upright, my mind can’t fully wrap itself around the fact that she was nothing but a pile of ash. I watched her be consumed by Kane’s molten dragon fire. It wasn’t some story I had heard like everyone else. I witnessed her death and rebirth with my own eyes.
“How did you—” I don’t even ask the full question before dropping my head. “Artemus. I’m going to kill him.”
“He wouldn’t have had to give away your hiding place if you weren’t avoiding me.”
She’s not wrong. She rarely is. I have been avoiding her. The thought of facing her after stupidly telling her what effect her death had on me has kept me away the last couple of days. I don’t even know why I said all of those things.
“I’ve been busy,” I offer simply.
“Artemus told me that seat is for me,” she says, nodding to the chair to my right.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “What hasn’t he told you?”
“He didn’t tell me what your next move is against your father.” She moves around the table, trailing her hand across the top of every chair she passes. The movement is smooth like she’s running her hand along the surface of water, trying to not cause ripples.
“That’s because I don’t have one.” Before she can argue with me about waiting, I continue. “Both sides took losses the day of the attack. We had the advantage of surprise on our side, but the next one he’ll see coming and he’ll be ready. There’s no doubt he’s already preparing the armies and coming up with his own tricks to use against us. It’s not just about bodies now. He has the Mystic Treasury and multiple arsenals on his side. His forces not only outnumber ours, but they also out-power us.”
“So what? We just give up and roll over?” The space between her brows is pinched with irritation. It almost makes me want to laugh, but she’d probably throw a fist my way if I do, so I bite it back.
“I have no intentions of giving up, but if we’re going to stand a chance, then we need allies.”
“I take it you have some in mind.”
“I do, and we’re working on it. But these things take time. Wars don’t end overnight.” The look she gives me tells me she doesn’t appreciate my condescension, so I add, “If you were me, where would you start?”
She takes a moment to think it over, but then pulls out the chair I deemed as hers and takes a seat.
“I’d start with the Infinite Sea Territories. Your father has been after them for years. I can’t imagine a better group of people to align with. Having a common enemy seems like a pretty good place to start.”
I try to pull back the smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. “My sentiments exactly. I've set up a meeting with them two weeks from now. You should come with.”
Finally, there’s the light in her eyes I’m so used to seeing.
“You really mean it?”
“I do.”
