“What’s going on here?” Kane shouts as he pushes his way through the crowd lingering to watch the exchange. He has one hand stuffed into his pocket, his gait bordering on a pretentious swagger.
“I am just reminding Jahlee of her and her brother’s place.”
“You do know that threatening a member of the royal family is a criminal offense, right, Lady Apa?” Kane replies as he steps between Jahlee and the other female. He stares her down, her gaze morphing from unfettered fury to knowing resignation.With a huff, she sends Jahlee and I one more menacing glower and then turns to leave, her retinue following.
“What are you doing here,Kane?” Jahlee demands with a scowl as she clenches and unclenches her hands.
“You’re welcome for that,” he chides, ignoring her question and turning to face her fully.
“Did you forget that it’s summer, or did daddy not help you dress today?” Her eyes draw down his body in a scathing manner, taking in his blue tunic with the sleeves going to his wrists while the center buttons are undone halfway down his torso. He wears it over dark trousers and laced-up boots, the latter of which are flaked with dried mud.
“Watch it,” he fumes, taking a step towards her until there’s hardly any space between them. Jahlee holds firm, tipping her chin up to look at him. “Your brother isn’t here to protect you.”
“Enough,” I snap, shoving my shoulder between them. “We have a dinner we need to get to.”
Kane scoffs, his gaze lingering on my lips before meeting my own. “Interesting that you would stand up for them.”
Jahlee laughs, the discordant sound like the smashing of piano keys. “Interestingthat your master gave you such a long leash today. Run along, little kitty. I’m sure you’ve got some bitch work to attend to.”
Oh, fucking gods.Grabbing Jahlee’s elbow, I push her forward past Kane right as he makes a noise that echoes out deep and throaty, rattling the glass sconces on the walls. Gesturing for her to lead us to dinner, I wait until we are far enough away before I ask, “What the hell happened back there?”
She tries to flash me a grin, but it doesn’t hold the same levity as her usual ones. “I stood up for Kai, that’s what happened.”
“Okay, and what about with Kane? He was just trying to diffuse the situation.”
She barks out a short laugh as she shakes her head. “No, he wasn’t. He wants everyone to think he’s some diplomatic dignitary, floating about between the people and the Crown and relaying what both need to the other. But the truth is, he’s just an asshole.”
I snort, glancing at her. “That sounds like your brother.”
Her finger digs into my chest as she steps in front of me and snaps, “Don’tfucking say that. They arenothingalike.” Anger burns in her eyes, the soft brown color deepening with it. Slowly, I wrap my hand around her wrist and gently pull her finger away from me. Jahlee goes lax, the tension seeping from her nearly as quickly as it came. “I’m sorry. It’s just,no onelooks beyond Kai’s façade.No onegives him the chance to prove that he cares, that he is doing the best that he can. Kaigenuinelywants to help our people. He just doesn’t know how.”
The guilt that previously sparked within me flares again as I release Jahlee. “Why do so many hate Kai? Why call him ausurper?”
Jahlee studies me thoroughly, weighing her answer for a long while before she decides that whatever she has to say is safe with me. “I’m only sharing this because part of the story involves me. Do not ask me for more details than I give you. Kai should be the one to relay the story fully.” A line forms between my brows, but I dip my chin in acknowledgement. “Kai was all butforcedto become king. His father called him to the palace under the guise of wanting to speak to him about our mother. But when Kai arrived, he forced him into the ceremony to become the next successor to the throne. He used me as collateral, threatening to kill me if Kai didn’t go through with the ritual.”
Her eyes drop away from mine, guilt ravaging her features so thoroughly that I swallow down any of my follow up questions. “Thank you, Jahlee, for telling me.” I feel ridiculous offering the words, but something within me twists at the way the weight ofthat night, of what Kai was forced to do, seems to crush her. We return to walking when something she said to Kane snags my attention. “What did you mean about Kane having a master?”
Jahlee rolls her shoulders back and lifts her chin. “I was talking about Tua.”
“Tua? Does he advise Kane as well?” If so, that seems like a flagrant conflict of interest. I don’t even know what Kane’s official title is, but how could Kai allow his advisor to also work with the man who wassupposedto be king?
“Tua is Kane’s father.”
Chapter Forty-Three: Bahira
I shoot Jahlee adisbelieving look as we approach guarded double doors, their edges gilded in gold. “So Kane is Kai’s cousin by blood?”
Him being tapped as the next king makes more sense, and I’m embarrassed I didn’t put it together sooner. With Tua being Kai’s uncle, the line of succession would have had no choice but to continue with Kane before Kai was born. Though I still don’t understand what exactly happened in Kai’s early years, like whyhe didn’t grow up in the palace, Idofind it curious that neither Tua nor Kai mentioned Kane’s relation to them.
Jahlee nods as she links arms with me, but the move feels less like a gesture between friends and more like she’s ensuring I don’t flee. The reason why is clear when the guards open the doors and we step into the dining space. Tua, Kai, and a handful of other shifters all sit at a long table, their attention snapping to us as we enter.
I clench my teeth together and ask with a whisper, “What thefuckis this?”
Though flame gems light the perimeter of the large dining room, pillar candles run in a line down the center of the table, casting the shifters’ faces in moving shadows.
“Bahira, Jahlee, what a surprise,” Tua says as he stands from his seat, one hand holding a glass chalice of what looks to be wine.
My gaze connects with Kai’s as Jahlee drags me towards the table, the look he gives me one that radiates his displeasure at our arrival. Jahlee pulls out the chair directly to Kai’s left from where he is seated at the head of the table, acting as if she is going to take it before she quickly darts to the one next to it. “Bahira, you can sit here,” she gestures to the seat that is now half pulled out.
