There had to be a way around this execution. There wasn’t a man or woman alive who cared more about saving Selene than that fucking pirate.
Blaze had volunteered to go after Selene, and he had a ship. Except, it was too slow and wasn’t built for the battle they’d faceifthey caught up to Tristan Thorne.
TheEntiahad the speed and capabilities to deal with the situation, but their captain was currently locked away. Augustus’s crew—loyal to the point of righteous anger at the moment—refused to go anywhere without him.
And Oskar was ready to join whatever ship set off first.
Dimitrios scrubbed his face. “Let’s just get through the rest of the hangings, then I’ll decide.”
The City Guard was hanging up to ten of Thorne’s pirates a day along the harbor, giving Dimitrios roughly a week to find a solution.
Nikolas didn’t look happy, but he gave a respectful nod.
“Any changes to the inquisitor’s condition?” Dimitrios asked.
“None. He sleeps on.”
Not for the first time, Dimitrios longed for someone to talk to. Pandora or Selene. Someone who could help him work through these problems. Nikolas was his friend, but he’d sworn an oath to Perean. He aimed to keep Dimitrios on a much more rigid path than he was prepared to go. One without nuance or empathy. It wasn’t in Dimitrios’s nature to ignore his heart.
Pandora’s last bit of advice returned to him again.“You need allies, and who better than your own blood?”
“Do I have time to ride to Braryn?” Dimitrios asked. “I know the city is in chaos?—”
“There’s no chaos,” Nikolas said, brows raised in interest. “Our military forces are stable. With much of Court away, the palace remains quiet. And there’s no need for you to attend all of the executions.”
“I only need two days. Maybe three.”
“Take them. Are we finally going to speak with your grandfather?”
“Yes, and I will need guardsmen.”
Nikolas nodded. “You should also bring some of your Blade friends. Selene was right to consider taking men you can trust. They’re not the sort that outside royals can buy, and they were loyal to your father.”
“I’m surprised to hear you say so.”
The commander glanced around the palace grounds, then stepped close. “The longer the council is gone, the more details are coming to light.”
Dimitrios’s heart rate increased. “Such as?”
“General Pateras was shocked by the thin numbers of men guarding ourborders, especially with Soterran forces inching closer. It’s almost as if they’re looking for a weak spot. He’s sent men to bolster our numbers, but it makes me wonder… Was Tassatos intentionally opening us up to fail? And if he was doing that, what was Panilis doing with Perean’s coffers? Where’s our wealth gone and why? What was Callas saying to our foreign allies? Do we have any left?”
Dimitrios sank into his back foot. It was disorienting to hear many of the same concerns voiced back to him. And put like that, he felt cold. This wasn’t just corruption. This was a slow, precise gutting of Perean itself. A self-sustaining kingdom, one with its full power and privilege, could fight back. But a carcass, stripped of its wealth, its armies, its alliances…?
“It seems you’ve been doing a lot of thinking of late,” Dimitrios said.
“Perean needs its king, now more than ever.” Nikolas slanted a wry grin. “You know, it’s too bad we can’t hire the Assassin’s Guild to go around covertly slaughtering our enemies. Let them do the dirty work so your hands stay clean, all the while preventing a much larger war.”
The back of Dimitrios’s neck tingled.
Nikolas’s eyes narrowed. “I was joking. Tell me you’re not considering it.”
“No. Of course not.”
It wasn’t a lie, exactly… He didn’t need the entire Guild.
Only one Blade.
Dimitrios pulled his cloak’s hood up to move through the gaps of people gathered along the harbor.
