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Chapter 47
Bree
The champions beganto arrive only a few days after Lord Dagen’s big announcement. The news had seemed to bring claimants out of the woodwork, which was probably precisely what Dagen had been hoping. Bree watched them from the window in her room, staring down at the fae that would soon be forced tofight.
To thedeath.
She had moved back into her original quarters after her fights with Taveon and with Rafe. Lord Dagen had come by several times, asking her if she was ready to leave. She was not. Despite every logical bone in her body telling her to flee, she couldn’t get her feet to move out the gates of thecastle.
She didn’t know what she was waiting for. She didn’t know why she stayed. She just knew that she wasn’t quite ready to go. Not yet. Maybe in a few moredays.
Bree’s door creaked open, and Ethne poked her head inside. “Ah, you have seen them arriving then. I was just coming here to warn you. If you want to leave this castle, you should do so soon. Once the Battle for the Crown begins, it will be too difficult to sneak you awayunseen.”
“Lord Dagen told you what Idid.”
“Yes.” She cast a glance behind her shoulder before sliding inside the room and shutting the door quietly behind her. “I want you to know that I did not take you to those portraits that day hoping that it would lead to some kind of revelation about Taveon. I truly did just want to walk with you. There were no ulterior motivesthere.”
“It’s fine,” Bree said. “You don’t need to explain yourself. I wouldn’t blame you if you’d been using the opportunity to get what youwant.”
“No, I was not using you. The truth is, I see a bit of a kindred spirit in you. I want to be your friend.” She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “I know that ever since your arrival here, you have been used and used and used. From all directions. Even I did so that night of the feast. But notsince.”
“Why are you telling me allthis?”
“It is goodbye, is it not?” Ethne asked. “You will be leaving the realm now. I wanted you to know I consider you a friend before our paths splitways.”
Bree turned and frowned out at the rolling hills of Underworld. Another claimant and his champion were striding up the long and winding path to the front gates of the castle. Bree had been so determined to leave all this time, but now that she held freedom in her hands, she wasn’t certain that she wanted it. Not likethis.
“All this time, I’ve held no loyalties to anyone here,” Bree began, trying to sort through her troubled thoughts. “Yes, I was spying for Dagen, but I wasn’tloyalto him. And I certainly wasn’t loyal to the Prince. It was easy for me to sneak around behind his back when I thought he was a monster. It was easy for me to tell Dagen everything I could when I’d never felt angrier in mylife.”
“What are you saying?” Ethne asked, crossing the room to stand next to Bree. “You are loyal to the Prince now? After everything he has done toyou?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Yes? I don’t know. All I can say for certain is that what happened that night was wrong. And I feel like I owe it to him to make itright.”
“If that is how you feel, then you know what you mustdo.”
Bree arched an eyebrow. “You aren’t going to try and stopme?”
“Why would I?” Ethne crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall. “It is your choice in the end. Is that not what you’ve always wanted? To be able to decide your ownfate.”
“Yes, but...” Bree frowned. “I thought you didn’t want Taveon to rule. I thought you were on Lord Dagen’sside.”
“I am on the side of the realm.” A pause. “I have doubts about Taveon’s rule because he has always seemed weak to me. We need someone with strength and power. Someone intimidating. He is not that, at least not that I can see. That does not make him a bad fae. It just means that I do not think he is fit to beKing.”
“But maybe Taveon is right,” Bree countered. “Maybe it’s time this realm was ruled by a different sort of King, one who doesn’t need to rely on fear to get his point across. One who can show kindness to the rest of the fae. One who tries to promote the good instead of thebad.”
Ethne’s lipsflickered.
“What?” Bree asked with afrown.
“You should hear the way you speak. Your words paint quite a different picture than they once did. Gone is the hatred. In fact, you almost seem fond of thePrince.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Bree made a face. “I still think he’s a total asshole. Just an asshole that might not do a terrible job at the whole Kingthing.”
“So, he is an ‘asshole’ as you like to call him, but he is also kind and good. Which one is it?” Ethne arched an eyebrow, a sly grin spreading across herface.
Bree flushed and glanced away. This was a ridiculous conversation. She wasn’tfondof the Prince. She was anything but. Couldn’t she think he could be good for the realm without actually liking the guy? But there was a strange niggling sensation in the pit of her stomach, a feeling she was trying desperately to pushdown.
Suddenly, Bree strode across the room and frowned out the window once again. “No. There’s no fondness. I just think he might not be as bad as I originally thought. That’s all. And he’d make a better King thanmost.”
