He froze, but then his eyes blazed and narrowed. My blood froze as my son, my gentle, loving, sweet son, walked up to my toes to stand over me. Somehow an inch taller than me. An inch he’d never owned before. His shoulders rippled with tension, fists quivering at his sides. “You never trusted me,” he muttered darkly. “You never believed I could doanythingbig. You didn’t even think I could do small things. And now look at me.” He stabbed a thumb towards his own chest and his chin rose. “They follow me. They listen to me.”
God, it was so wonderful to see him gaining some confidence, and so heartbreaking to know he’d been deceived into it. I hated shaking my head, but I couldn’t let him hold onto those lies.
“They follow the Fallen. Not you.”
“Stop trying to make me afraid! They follow me! And if they don’t at the start, I kill them—and then the others follow.”
“That’s not power, Gall. That’s intimidation. Remember Gault? Remember the Sergeants who trained you? How scary they were? All it takes to lose that kind of authority is for someone stronger to show up, and be more scary.”
Gall’s jaw flexed. “Like you?”
I exhaled slowly. “I claimed the crownbeforeyou did.”
“I didn’t have to claim it. It was already mine.”
We stood, toe-to-toe. I wouldn’t hurt him. Wouldn’t attack. But I also didn’t want to give him a reason to feel like he had to come for me.
How far was too far to push?
When I didn’t answer immediately, there was a flicker of uncertainty in Gall’s eyes—I saw him questioning himself, recalling the conversation and looking for his own mistakes, and it broke my heart, and I knew I had to be soft with him.
“Gall… I’m not your enemy.”
But his expression hardened. “Then leave, and don’t come back. And stop calling yourself a king!”
“Iama king, even if I leave. I’m already king of the Shadekin. And half your population—most of yourfightingpopulation—has already acknowledged me.”
Gall shrugged, but I saw the light of fear flash. “They’ll change their minds when they see me here,” he insisted.
I couldn’t deny that some would. But I also knew that many wouldn’t. Not those who’d truly resisted. “A lot of the men… they’ve changed, Gall. Many of them don’t want to follow the Fallen anymore. At all. They’ll stay with me, even if I leave Ebonreach and never return.”
“Then they aren’t real Neph, and they can leave too.”
I was growing desperate. I wanted to hug him. Hold him. Remind him that I’d been there for all of it. That he could trust me. Yet, it was clear he was so consumed with the lies he’d been fed, I was afraid trying to touch him would push him to attack.
“Please, Gall. Don’t do this. Don’t put yourself in that fucker’s hands. Don’t follow his sick, dark power. It may gain you wealth and fickle authority, but the moment you show weakness—”
“That’s what you don’t understand. I’mnotweak with him.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
Gall’s chin rose. His gaze was wary, like I might try to trick him. But also proud. When he leaned in to whisper, I was reminded of the child with a secret he was excited to share. “WithhimI can think. I understand things. I know what to do. And I have power. They’re afraid of me when they see it. So, they listen. You never listened!”
“I always listened, even when no one else would!”
“No, you only listened when I said what you wanted me to say.”
It was a struggle not to scoff. “Try telling Lucifer something he doesn’t want to hear, and see how far you get—”
Gall’s lip pulled back from his teeth and he leaned right into my face. My skin prickled, my instincts sensing the new strength in him—and my spirit grieved, because I knew that didn’t come from Gall. It was a callous, angry strength that my son had never possessed.
“What did he do to you?” I breathed.
“Get out,” Gall snarled.
I wasn’t giving up. “I’m not coming foryou,Gall. Remember that. I’d never hurtyou.But I will defeat that Fallen bastard—or die trying.”
“Then you will die.” To my relief, he didn’t sound happy about it.
