Page 59 of Billionaire Dragon King’s Rejected Mate

“No,” Chance agreed. “That’s definitely not his style.”

Silence settled over the room, the kind that came when everyone reached the same conclusion at the same time and didn’t particularly like it.

Sven led them to his meeting chamber where maps and markers were already laid out. “Jakob will be here soon. I asked Lucas to come from Crystafalls, but his wife is expecting a child any day. He will join when he can.”

“We could try to negotiate,” Chance offered for the lack of anything else to say. He was a CEO, not a military planner. Even as he said it, he knew how pointless it sounded.

Bryn’s lips twitched. “You already did as much as possible.”

Sven tilted his head slightly. “And you know how any negotiation ends,” he added. “At best, he stalls. At worst…” He didn’t finish the sentence.

He didn’t have to.

Chance looked down at the map, but he wasn’t really seeing it. He was seeing Noriveille and his father’s expression that he had already decided how this would end.

“We take him out,” Bryn said.

Chance waited to feel something as they talked about his father’s death as if it was just another day in the park. But nothing came. Not one little bit of guilt.

As if she read his mind, Randi rubbed him on the back in silent support. He wanted to lean into her, but instead, he took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

“Overthrow,” Sven corrected mildly, though there was no real disagreement in his tone. He stepped closer to the table and rested his hands against its edge. “Removing a king isn’t a single act. It’s a process. One that requires planning, allies, and precision.”

Randi leaned forward and studied the map with a focused look. “Then we figure it out because as it is now isn’t an option.”

Sven straightened. “We start with the court. Do you know anyone who would remain loyal to you? And do you know those who are only loyal to the crown?”

Bryn pushed off from her spot and moved closer to the table. “And more importantly, who’s dissatisfied enough to be persuaded. Power shifts make people reconsider their loyalties.”

Chance shook his head. “I’m so far removed that I don’t know anyone in Noriveille anymore. I wasn’t much more than a teenager when I left.”

Sven sighed. “Then we move carefully and build support before your father realizes how much of it you have.”

“And when he does realize?” Randi asked.

Bryn’s gaze flicked up. “Then it’s already too late for him to stop it.”

Chance let out a slow breath. If nothing else, he was extremely appreciative that he wasn’t walking into his father’s hell alone.

Chapter 24

Randi

Randi had never expected that the most useful thing she’d learned at TimeOff would be penmanship. Not the neat, cursive writing drilled into her in school, but the far more valuable power of persuasion and the ability of shaping words into an emotional plea.

She sat at the long wooden table in the guest wing of Sven’s palace with her sleeves rolled up and her fingers smudged with ink. She was surrounded by royal parchment while sunlight streamed through the tall windows. The edges of the wax seals had only just begun to harden and the room smelled of melted resin. Despite the quiet, there was a sense of urgency in the air.

Across from her, Bryn lounged back in her chair, one hand resting absently over her stomach as she watched with a mixture of curiosity and admiration.

“You’ve been at this for hours,” Bryn said at last and tilted her head at the growing stacks of letters. “How are your hands not completely useless by now?”

“Oh they are, but I’m almost done.” Randi flexed her fingers. “But if I stop, I lose the rhythm, and if I lose the rhythm, I start overthinking what I wrote.”

Bryn’s brow lifted slightly. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. I still say you could have just sent an email.”

Randi snorted. “This coming from the queen herself. Emails are okay, but handwritten letters are more personal and if I may say it, more royal. Besides, Sven said some provinces may not have reliable internet to get an email.”

“As many times as you started over because you changed a word, I would have given up and sent the email.”