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“Y-yes,” he said faintly, rigid in his seat.
I picked up my spoon. “Enjoy.”
He didn’t move, hands clenched on his lap. As I took my first mouthful, he blurted, “Bres has lost his mind. He can no longer hear any of us, but he still hears other sounds. He hardly leaves his room anymore. He just sits in there and gets drunk. I can hear him shouting to himself through the wall.”
“I’m aware,” I said calmly, eating my porridge.
Cethlen’s milky eyes darted as he desperately tried to think of a way to become useful to me. To protect his own skin. “Balor spends all his time in the forest. He stopped speaking to Mother, stopped speaking to any of us. She… she suspected he was trying to find a way to get rid of her.”
“Perhaps he was,” I said lightly.
“She tried using his name to keep him here,” he said quickly. “But it didn’t work. He must have found Ogma.”
“Yes, it would appear he did.”
“That was partly why she has kept her guards in the forest,” he blurted. “Searching for you, in case you ever left seelie, but also for him.”
“Ah.”
Cethlen’s mouth trembled. He took a quick breath. “I—I would give you my true name, Lonan.”
I froze, spoon raised halfway to my mouth. Lowering it, I sat back and watched him. “Why would you do that?”
“To prove that I am as loyal to you as I was to Mother,” he rushed out. “That I am willing to do what is needed for the family. For the court. I can be your ears, Lonan. I can help you navigate court politics and keep the unseelie in line, just as I did for Mother.”
I said nothing at first, still watching him. In some ways, I pitied him. We were all victims of the Carlin’s treatment of us. The other three weren’t abused in the same way I was, but they were still controlled completely by her and raised to believe that they were only of value as her sons if they were useful. We had all been conditioned to believe that was normal.
“I don’t want your true name, Cethlen.”
“Then… then let me prove it some other way. I can… I can go out and listen to what the Folk say when they find out that you are king. I can give you the names of those who speak badly of you. We can weed out the turncoats.”
“Ah. You mean kill anyone who dares to speak ill of me, like Mother did? I’m afraid I’m no longer in a position to fulfil the role of assassin for the court, Cethlen.”
He seemed to realise this wasn’t going the way he wanted, so he quickly changed tack. “Lonan, I understand there may be some… lingering resentment. Your childhood was… difficult, and Balor and Bres played a large part in that—”
“And you.”
“We are the two youngest,” he continued smoothly. “I was subjected to some brotherly teasing, just like you—”
“You consider what the three of you did to me teasing?” I asked, making sure to keep my voice calm as cold anger rose inside me.
“Balor and Bres were cruel.” He was still desperately trying to worm his way out of whatever punishment he thought was coming. Trying to convince me that he hadn’t been just as bad as them. “They took things too far—”
“Your porridge is getting cold, Cethlen.” I started eating again, no longer wanting to listen to him.
His face was damp with sweat, hand trembling as he finally felt for his spoon and picked it up. “Lonan—”
“After breakfast, I am going to escort you back to your room,” I interrupted. “I’m afraid you will be locked in there for now, just while I get my affairs in order. I’m sure you understand.”
“I can help,” he blurted. “I can… I can at least arrange Mother’s funeral, so that you don’t have to—”
“Mother has already been buried in an unmarked grave behind the palace. I’m surprised you didn’t hear the staff carrying her out of her rooms.”
His jaw clenched hard. After a few seconds of silence, he softened his voice to say, “I can tell you about your father, Lonan. About what she did to him. I can tell you many things I have heard over the years. Come now, surely you don’t think you can run this place on your own? Let me help you, brother.”
“I don’t need your help.” I drained the last of my tea and wiped my mouth with my napkin, then stood. “Time to go, Cethlen.”
“Let me—let me find out for you what Balor has been doing,” he blurted desperately as I gripped his shoulder and started leading him out of the room. His hellhound scrambled up from the floor to follow, tail wagging. “I can try and get him to trust me again—”
