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“I see you’ve started without me.” My carefree tone is at odds with the frustration churning in my chest.
My father doesn’t bother looking up from where he’s repositioning pieces. “You’ve been hiding in a cave. I didn’t think you’d want to be involved.”
Maddox glances at me, eyebrows pulling together. He’s wearing armor. Zyla healed his broken ribs, but he has deep, burrowing lines on his forehead that weren’t there before I left. As second in command of the army, it seems he didn’t avoid the brunt of the king’s demands while I was away. Guilt creeps through me.
I shouldn’t have left him alone with my father.
Clearing my throat, I take the high road and say, “If I’m to be king, I should be involved.”
“You won’t be king for at least a month.” My father braces his hands on the table and glares at me. “Or have you decided to dethrone me today?”
“Weren’t you the one who wanted to give me the throne? Isn’t that why you put that law into place after the incident and desperately tried to find me a mate?”
“I was ensuring the succession was secure.”
“The succession was always secure,” I snap. “You only want to avoid responsibility. Tell me, Father, how many people have suffered because of you?”
“I’m still your king,” he bellows, and the echoes of the unspoken threat reverberate off the stone walls.
Scoffing, I shake my head. He’s being ridiculous. “If you want to keep the throne, change the law.”
My father’s lips press together, and he scowls at me. There. That look tells me all I need to know. He still wants to run away to avoid culpability, but to do so means leaving the lavish life he’s learned to love. It means giving up the power he’s wielded, and we both know more than the riches, it’s the power he struggles to relinquish.
“Right, then,” I say with a growl. “Tell me what you’re doing.”
The corners of his lips cut toward his ears in a vicious grin. “A show of power to put the vampires in their place.”
Dread slams into my gut as he begins to lay out his plan in three stages. The attacks won’t happen until after I’m crowned king, but the pieces on the board are already moving and I’m helpless to stop them.
“This is your idea?” I ask once he’s done explaining the morally reprehensible plan. He wants to attack the vampires during the day, when they’re at their weakest, and kill them all. I glance at Maddox and he grimaces but says nothing. It’s not his place to challenge the king.
“Yes.” My father gazes across the mock battlefield, chest swollen with pride. “They attacked my territory first.”
“Because you started something with the furies and now those goddesses won’t stop until we’re all dead! You need to apologize and send them an offering, beg them for forgiveness.” Zyla said that me becoming king would somehow save us, but it’s my father who needs to plead for their mercy.
Maddox winces but stays quiet. Clearly this revelation comes as no surprise to him. I guess in my absence my father shared what happened. Part of me wants to put my friend on the spot and ask him if he thinks this attack is truly smart, but I’d never put him in the position of choosing between our friendship and his sworn loyalty to my father.
The king’s features darken. “Are you truly stupid enough to think that an apology would’ve made this all go away?”
“No,” I say between gritted teeth, “but it would’ve avoided a lot of unnecessary bloodshed. You could have done everything in your power to make amends with the furies for YOUR mistake. You’re avoiding all responsibility.”
“You ran away from your people, hid in a cave for fuck’s sake.” His eyes drill into mine, full of anger and disappointment. “You’re no better than me,Son.”
Every word is like a slap in the face. He’s right. I ran away to avoid becoming a pawn. I ran away to save myself, but what about everyone else I left behind? What about those who died? I’m responsible for that.
“It’s too late to hope for a peaceful resolution. You’re at least smart enough to see that, aren’t you? The furies may have been toying with us, but the vampires killed our people. When is it enough to ease your conscience, Orcus? When will you sleep peacefully? Regardless of how it started, we are here,” he jams his finger onto the stone tabletop, “do you think I should try to make amends now? Do you think the furies would even listen?”
I don’t have an answer for him. I don’t know. More than anything he said, not knowing if the furies would even consider forgiving him has my mouth pressed shut.
He releases a soft breath of laughter that’s worse than any other insult he could add. “If you’re done questioning my morals, let’s go over the plan again.”
* * *
After hoursof pouring over various scenarios, I leave the war room with an angry line gouged across my forehead. My skin aches from the scowl that’s making itself at home on my face. No amount of forced relaxation gets rid of the line. I’m in a foul mood, and while Daisy’s mentioned being able to handle grumpy monsters, I don’t want her to see me this way.
Or maybe I don’t want to see her smiling face after I pointed out the flaws in my father’s plans and helped ensure the next moves were perfect. I all but signed the death warrants on countless vampires. I’m terrified if I go to Daisy now, she’ll see the truth and hate me for it.
Instead, I take a secret corridor to one of my favorite places. A hidden cave and pool of water. My skin grows damp from the humidity alone. Dropping onto the stone floor, I stick my feet into the water. I’m not in the mood for swimming. I’m not in the mood for much of anything but fighting, the problem is the only person I want to fight is the king. I may be the crown prince, but attacking the king would be treason, and despite my father’s insults, I’m not dumb enough to get myself thrown in jail.
