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“The Paragon doesn’t show weakness easily. You know this more than anyone.”
“I’m desperate, Carlyle. If I can’t find a way to stop them when they come, they’ll take her.”
Carlyle’s eyes darkened. I didn’t expect him to fully understand the situation I was in, but he was a caring person. Perhaps he would have an idea.
“You have an impressive amount of manpower here, Malachi, but is that enough? What happens when they come at you with power? It’s been years since you’ve last seen them. They could be much stronger now…”
“Or weaker.”
“I suppose that is a possibility.”
We both took a long breath. I leaned back in my chair, running my hands across my face.Think, Malachi.There had to be an easier way out of this mess.
Carlyle set both of his hands on the table. “I don’t mean to be presumptuous, Malachi, but I’ve heard whispers of your mother. And I’ve heard she’s here in this kingdom.”
“She’s lucky she’s still alive after what she did to me.”
“Maybe. But instead of rotting away somewhere under our feet, you could use her.”
I shook my head. I would be lying if the thought hadn’t crossed my mind. But Esther couldn’t be trusted. I felt no remorse about locking her in the dungeons. She deserved much worse. “It’s too risky,” I admitted. “She turned on me once, what’s to say she won’t do it again?”
“If the witch faces death,” Carlyle said, dropping his voice to a low whisper, “she will have no choice but to comply.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Isn’t it?” Carlyle pushed. “Right now, it’s looking like you need all of the help you can get. You’re a new king, that makes you weak enough. You have your power, and you have men that are willing to fight for you. But the Paragon will come with every ounce of magic they’ve got. It’s in your best interest to do the same.”
“She tried to kill me, Carlyle. Her own son.”
“We’ve all done insane things to survive.”
I let his words sink in, and I tried to fight the wave of anger that came from listening to them. Yes, we have all done insane things to survive. I couldn’t even begin to count the number of times I had done something desperate to get out of dying. Holding a blade to my wife’s throat being one of them.
But Esther wanted Jade’s power. Esther was loyal to her bloodline of witches, even with them dead. She did not want us fae to fulfill this prophecy and become the most powerful with our magic.
She did not want magic returned to the fae.
But the only other option was the Paragon using the power. And they already had enough.
“I suppose it’s worth a shot,” I finally admitted through gritted teeth. “But she’s been in the dungeon for weeks now. I can’t imagine she’s much stronger than a human at this point.”
“A weak witch with some power is better than nothing.”
Saints, he was right.
“You don’t happen to know of any powerful witch bloodlines that would be willing to come to our aid, do you?” I asked, only half-joking.
Carlyle smiled, the wrinkles around his eyes multiplying. “If I did, we wouldn’t hear the word Paragon ever again.”
CHAPTER25
Jade
“Just sit down and shut up, okay?” I hissed to my father, motioning for him to sit at the large wooden table that stretched the length of the busy dining hall.
He nodded and stepped over the bench, Tessa sliding in next to him. It had been too long since the three of us had eaten together, and with everything going on, I wasn't sure I was going to get another chance.
Besides, after the last time my father and I encountered each other in this dining hall, I felt the need to redeem myself.
