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Jacques nodded. “Henrik’s demon has been exiled, and the boy can become a Judge should you deem him as pure.”
The king nodded. “You’ve done well, Jacques.”
“Yes, well…I always repay my debts.”
There was a shared look between them, but it only lasted for a breath of a moment. The king then turned his eyes toward Henrik. Henrik hung his head lower.
“Look at me, Henrik,” the king commanded, his voice unreadable.
Henrik slowly raised his head, his jaw clenched tight, his eyes showing nothing but deep exhaustion.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” he croaked out.
“You allowed a demon to possess you in order to gain power. I cannot overlook this.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Henrik replied, bowing his head. “I accept any punishment you command.”
The king took a long breath. “You will be tried. Should you survive the Trials, you will work for me permanently. I saved your brother’s life and spared yours. In return, you will hand that life over to me.”
Henrik looked at Adrian, his eyes glossing over.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” he said. “For my brother’s life, you have my loyalty.”
Henrik bowed his head out of respect, but failed to raise it, perhaps from pure exhaustion. The king cocked his head slightly to the side, a smile pulling gently at the corner of his lips.
“Come on,” Jacques said, pulling on Henrik’s arm. “Let’s get this trial over with. I would say, ‘Good luck,’ but if you survive, then I have to train your ass for the rest of my life. So eitheryouget hell, or I do.”
Henrik said nothing, taking one long glance at his brother as he walked with Jacques toward the door. His eyes then lifted to mine for a brief moment, just long enough for me to read his shattered heart.
I smiled at him through the tears in my eyes and nodded, letting him know I understood.
He disappeared through the doors.
Luc squeezed my shoulder.
“You want to go, don’t you?” he asked.
I chewed my lip, trying not to let my tears spill over.
“I’m scared to,” I admitted.
Luc turned me toward him, bringing his soft long fingers to my cheek with a comforting smile on his face.
“You saw the grief in his heart, didn’t you?” Luc asked. “That’s a good sign. It’s the ones with no grief that you should be worried about.”
***
Ten days had passed.
None of us had planned on staying this long, but none of us had the heart or strength for sailing. The king had not spoken to me in all that time, but I knew he was preoccupied with more important things, and I had learned from my past mistakes of barging in unannounced.
So I waited until he summoned me. Which he eventually did.
I made my way down the hall, to the throne room, stopping when I saw a familiar figure.
Henrik was in front of the throne room door, standing against the wall on duty but completely lost in thought. His eyeswere glossed over as he looked at the empty space in front of him. He didn’t hear me as I stepped in closer.
I watched him, waiting for him to look up.
