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He was the first to speak. “We’ll leave a few hours before dusk. If we ride hard, we should arrive at midnight, and if we win this war swiftly, we won’t have to fear the sunlight.”
It was exactly as I expected, but I was still disappointed. “So, we’re just going to pretend you didn’t fuck me over? That’s how you’re going to play this?”
“We’re on the verge of war, and this is your concern?”
“We could both die tomorrow. How is this not your concern?”
“Kingsnake—”
“It’s fine. Why did I expect an apology when you aren’t sorry? Let’s just get down to business and work on our strategy.” I turned away and approached the stairs, severing the conversation and any chance of reconciliation.
“Kingsnake.”
I stopped when I should have kept going.
“Son.”
Don’t turn around. Don’t turn around. Don’t fucking do it.
At the top of the palace steps, I saw Larisa emerge in a hurry, her frantic eyes searching for me.
Because she could feel my distress.
Her eyes eventually found mine, and she glanced at my father behind me, understanding the situation perfectly. Her eyes came back to me with sorrow before she turned away and entered the palace again.
Her face gave me the strength to turn back around.
“I prioritized my vengeance over your relationship—”
“Ourrelationship.”
“You should have known it was too big a secret to keep—”
“I should have known my father wouldn’t take my secrets to the grave. Fang disagreed with my decision vehemently. He’s as loyal to Larisa as he is to me. But he would never, ever do that to me. You’re my own father, and you exploited my weakness for your gain.”
“I knew she wouldn’t leave you—”
“You don’t know her. You don’t know our relationship. You have no idea what would have happened.”
“I see that she’s still your wife, Kingsnake. No harm was done—”
“No harm was done because my wife loves me more than you ever have. If Mother were alive, she would be ashamed of you. I’m sorry that you lost her. My only compassion for your behavior stems from my imagination. Because if I lost Larisa, I would be inconsolable—and not momentarily, but permanently. But I remember Mother’s spirit as well as you do, and she would want us to move on and find peace. She would not want this relentless need for bloodshed and vengeance. She wouldn’t want you to sacrifice the relationship with your son to kill innocent people, especially when their deaths won’t bring her back. You forfeited our relationship to get what you wanted—and now you can’t take that back.”
He stood in silence, still as a statue, and probably as empty as one.
“I’m not your son anymore. We’re allies—and nothing more.”
* * *
The three of us stood in the study, waiting for Cobra to join us.
Viper was quiet, like he didn’t want to compromise his loyalty to me by speaking to Father, which was unnecessary.
The door opened, and Larisa entered with Fang around her shoulders and came to stand by my side. Her eyes were down on the large map we possessed, ignoring my father as much as I did.
Fang stared at him across the table. “Hiiiiissssss.”
Fang.
