“Yes, and now there are two of them to get rid of.”
Vitki felt sick to his stomach, and it had nothing to do with being pregnant. He slid his hand down to cover his abdomen, protecting his unborn child. “You are the one trying to kill Ivo.”
“Look, I like the guy and all, but he has to go. He’s a royal. They all have to go.”
“Why are you so against the royals?”
“Because it’s wrong!” Yuval slammed his fist down on the table so hard that the wood splintered. “There should be no class system.”
“Ivo’s getting rid of it.”
“You expect me to believe that? All royals are the same. They are power hungry. They crave it like a drug, needing more and more of it until it consumes them. They forget everything else, those they love, those they are supposed to care about, everyone.”
Vitki was confused, and he didn’t like that feeling. “Did someone do something to you?”
He was trying to find some explanation as to why his close friend, a man he trusted with his life, would suddenly turn into the monster before him. He’d had no previous hint that Yuval was insane, but it was certainly looking that way.
Yuval’s lip curled back. “She said I wasn’t good enough because I wasn’t royal and she could only accept a royal. She said thelongingbetween us was wrong, that it could never cross class lines. She said she would never mate with me even though we were destined by fate.”
“Who?”
Instead of answering him, Yuval stiffened. Vitki had trained Yuval himself. He expected a lot of things out of him. He did not expect the man to pull a gun on him. He would have shifted and taken the man out, but dragons couldn’t shift once they got pregnant, not until the child was born. It would kill the child, and he wasn’t about to do anything that would take his baby from him.
“Yuval, think about what you are doing.”
“I am thinking,” Yuval replied. “If I have you, I can make Ivo abdicate his throne, and then there will be no more royals.”
Yuval apparently hadn’t visited the royal genealogy records. Vitki still didn’t know who would stand to inherit the throne, but there was always someone.
Yuval motioned with his gun. “Move.”
“No.” There was no way in hell he was going anywhere with the crazy man.
Yuval lowered the barrel of the gun until it was pointed at Vitki’s abdomen. “I can’t miss from here.”
As much as Vitki hated to admit it, Yuval was right. The chances of being hit in the abdomen were pretty high. Dragon children were a pretty hearty bunch, but not that strong. A direct shot from a bullet would kill the unborn child.
Vitki raised his hands. “Fine.” Hopefully, he could figure out how to escape. Someone would see them and alert the guards. That hope lasted until Yuval led Vitki over to the fireplace. He pushed on a brick on the corner, and the whole damn thing swung open.
“You sent the assassin the other night.”
“I did, and if he had done his job properly, Ivo would be dead now and you wouldn’t be in this position.”
“But you killed him.”
Yuval shrugged. “I had to make it look good.”
Bastard.
“Was Samara involved?” He wasn’t sure Yuval would give him a truthful answer, but he had to ask anyway.
“She might not be a royal, but she’s one of them.” Yuval’s reply was clipped and full of anger.
Okay then.
“Once the class system is gone, she’ll be just like everyone else. They all will.”
Man, Yuval was truly delusional.
