I did fucking hate him. That was no secret. But I couldn’t do anything about it now.
My hands were tied.
Jules was silent though, her eyes immediately fixed on Lyr. I knew she didn’t see me. Not yet. Nor anyone else. She wouldn’t understand that Meera was here, too. That we were all here. For her. To save her. She jerked from the Imperator’s hold, still putting up a fight, even if she knew she couldn’t win it. But he pulled her back suddenly, and slammed her against the wall.
“NO!” Lyr yelled as Jules’s head cracked. She paled, looking faint. But her eyes were open and she was still breathing. She wore a look of absolute pain. But there was defiance in her eyes. I couldn’t even comprehend what she’d been through these last few years. And a part of me didn’t want to. But one thing was certain. She wasn’t the same Jules I’d met before. She was stronger, a survivor, a fighter. And by the Gods, and every oath I’d ever sworn, she was about to be free.
“Lady Lyriana,” our new Emperor drawled. “I guess the secret’s out. Too late.”
Lyr practically growled, hardly holding onto her glamour—her bindings. She was moving too much, losing control. I could see it in her eyes. She wanted to run at him. Murder him. One of the chayatim looked up at her suddenly, their eyes narrowed. I had to do something.
“I see some congratulations are in order,” I yelled suddenly, trying to get the Emperor’s attention onto me. Let him attack me instead. I needed him to leave Jules and Lyr alone. I could only imagine the games he was ready to play, the way he wanted to torture them both. “Tovayah maischaon your promotion. Your Highness. Or I suppose, it’s Your Majesty, now?”
But it didn’t work. Jules was still struggling, still fighting back. She looked woozy, and unsteady on her feet, and the Emperor gripped her arm, squeezing. She snarled, but he held her aside, his strength too much for her to fight back against. Suddenly, her eyes closed, her injuries overwhelming her.
Lyr made a distressed sound beside me, and I willed her to be strong, to be still. For just another minute.
“Lord Rhyan,” he said. “As obstinate as ever. You need to bow before me. All of you do. Or have you forgotten?”
I eyed Tristan carefully and he nodded, bending over. We all followed suit. I could have sworn the Emperor’s eyes moved behind me. To Mee—, I mean to that one soturion whatever the fuck his name was. He was an odd one. Probably didn’t even know how to fucking bow. He probably curtsied. Farther than Lethea.
I swallowed, and stood, and the Emperor, fortunately, had his eyes on me. Good.
Jules suddenly came to, looking more focused than before, like she had a sudden burst of strength. She lungedfor the Emperor, with no weapons, only her own inner strength and will.
“LYR! LYR! Get out of here! GO!” Jules roared.
The Emperor whirled around and slapped her across the face. The cracking sound made me run forward. But Tristan stopped me.
I was two seconds away from ending this. From being fucking done. Except for one thing. I knew the Emperor had a vadati on him. And I knew he’d call in the Bastardmaker, and then my father. We couldn’t afford another visitor. Especially not them.
Three chayatim looked up at me.
“You little bitch,” the Emperor snarled, and slapped Jules again.
“Why don’t you punch me,” I shouted. “You know you want to, that you’ve been salivating at the idea. Punishing your rival’s son. Humiliating him. Letting Devon know that you won. Go ahead.”
The Emperor smirked. “Lord Rhyan, I will greatly enjoy seeing you suffer.”
“Why wait?” I asked. “Start now. You have every reason to. You know I was there. In Vrukshire. I was there when Brockton died. I saw him defeated, like he was nothing. Pathetic. He begged at the end. And he gave you up, told us about Jules, whining for life. And you know what else I did? I killed the others. Your nephews? I can’t even remember their fucking names. They were weak. Pathetic. None of them are worth remembering.”
The Emperor wrapped his hands around Jules’s throat.
“Trying to save this whore?” he asked.
I looked around the room. The chayatim may be onto us, but they were silent. And I was pretty fucking sure they didn’t have vadatis.
I wasn’t waiting for Tristan’s signal any longer. And from the look on Lyr’s face, neither was she.
I ran forward, punching the Emperor in the face.
“What the fuck!” he roared, and swung at me, but already he was going into his belt pocket, pulling out the vadati.
Fuck!
The chayatim started running at us, not to fight, I realized. But to get out, and sound the alarm. Soturi would fill this room in an instant.
“Stop them!” I screamed. Lyr and Dario immediately went for the chayatim. Meera and Aiden running, with their staves pointed.
