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My heart was erratic in my chest at what he was implying. “So King Umfray is dead.”
“In this time, yes. The red delirium took him to his grave.”
I squinted my eyes at him, trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together. “In this time.” It wasn’t a question. It was fucking shock. “How do you know all this?”
Half his mouth turned up in a smile. “This isn’t my first time here. I’ve seen it all, Cal.” He sat back in his chair. “Think of all this as a little preview of what could be.”
This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. I ran my hands down the front of my surcoat. It felt real. I leaned forward, bringing the pitcher of wine to my nose and inhaling. It smelled real. Could it be?
“But how did you know–” Then I realized. “The Bloodsinger.”
A knowing smile crossed his face. “The Bloodsinger,” he repeated back in confirmation. “I learned this with the help of Umbri. I just wanted you to see it firsthand.”
I collapsed back in the chair, my breaths coming in unsteady gasps. “I'm the King of Widoras.”
“You are. And you’re using your position for good.” I raised a brow at him. “Poverty in Widoras is the lowest it’s ever been. The citizens of Eserene are thrilled with your reign. Even the people of Inkwell have enough to eat. All thanks to you.”
My eyes squinted. I let myself entertain the hallucination for a moment. “Really?”
“See for yourself,” he offered as he spread the pages he’d been holding across the small table before us. There were ten sheets of parchment with numbers and figures that my brain couldn’t focus on before he pulled them away again. “Your people are fed, housed, and happy. The country’s economy is the best it’s ever been. The peopleloveyou.”
I sat back. I knew I looked like a fucking wide-eyed idiot, but I was trying to sort through how the hell this could all be real. Blood magic could show me the future? This was all because of a single drop of blood?
“You will have to follow my plan to get here,” he said suddenly. He leaned forward slightly in his chair as if he were trying to get a better look at my face, as if he could read my thoughts.
I stared at him. His expression was relaxed, like we were having a simple conversation on Aunt Berna’s porch. He was completely unconcerned.
“You need to kill the Daughter of Katia.”
My eyes flew wide as I stared at the man. “You want me tokillthe Savior of the Realm?”
“But that’s the thing. She won’t be the Savior of the Realm. She will burn the realm to the ground, and everyone along with it, including Inkwell and your Aunt Berna and you, Cal. I saw it myself with the help of Umbri.” His eyes fell distant. For a split second, I thought I saw a flash of fear cross his face. “One life for the good of many.”
“So the books are wrong? The prophecy is wrong?”
“I’m afraid so, your Highness.”
My mouth hung open as I tried to wrap my head around what he was saying. “How the hell are we supposed to find her?”
He smirked. “I already have. She’s here, living in Inkwell.”
I pursed my lips. I didn’t know what to think. He’dseenit. He’d sacrificed to the Bloodsinger and seen the world burn at the hands of the Daughter of Katia. And she was here.
“I truly believe that you and I can save the realmtogether,” he added quietly, his face thoughtful. “I want to see you on the throne, Cal. It’s your throne, and I want to see you as King Belin. You have the ability to keep the realm from burning, and lead the people of Widoras into a newer, brighter future as their ruler.”
A familiar uneasy feeling settled in my gut, the feeling I got when I first met Lord Castemont years ago. Like something was wrong, but I couldn’t place what it was. His eyes were on me. I could feel him watching me as I sorted through the reasons I had not to trust him.
But there were…none. That was the thing with Lord Castemont — everything was always just a bit too good to be true, but it always ended up coming to fruition.
“And how do you propose I kill her? Approach her in the street and slit her throat?”
He tipped his head back and laughed. “It’ll be a bit more complicated than that, I’m afraid, but you may be able to have some fun in the process.” I eyed him. His tone was too nonchalant. “She’s close to your age. Classic Inkwell trash, but not entirely unattractive from what my spies have seen from afar.” I clenched my fists at the disrespect, but kept quiet. “So you romance her. Show her a good time. She’ll be excited at the prospect of marrying the King, so you do everything you can to make her think that she could be your queen. Get close to her. Fuck her if you have to. Then kill her.”
I cringed at the crassness of his words. “I can’t do that, my Lord. You know I can’t.”
He leaned forward again. The look on his face was so intense I couldn’t break away from his stare. “You must. If you want to keep the world from burning, you must. I’ve always believed in you, haven’t I?” he breathed into the silence as he leaned in even closer to me. “The moment I met you, I knew you were destined to be great. The Royal Guard at eighteen, the youngest in the history of the entire continent of Astran. And now a king.” He gave a small smile. “I always knew you had it in you. And I know you can do this, too.”
The Lord reached for a wine goblet and drank deeply as he watched me. If I could become King, if I could make a difference…
