"My king—" she began.
"Enough," he snapped, rising from his throne with what appeared to be considerable effort given how round he was about the middle. "I asked you for information, spy. Not another mouth to feed. Not a Betrayer in my own halls."
"With all due respect," I found myself speaking before I could think better of it. Fists clenched at my sides and teeth gritted with barely concealed rage, I could hardly help myself. "You don't know the first thing about me or my kind. Seeing as you've spent your entire life hiding behind your Geist-proof walls, you wouldn't know the first thing about living under their thumb. I am Dante of House Viper, heir to the high house, descendent of Prima the First, Victor of the Trials, Soldier of the Pavosian Army, and, yes, Betrayer."
Ksenia gazed up at me with wide eyes. I saw the slight shake of her head, a silent warning. I ignored it, stepping past both her and the captain to face the rising fury of the king.
“I've faced dark voids of spiraling madness, the crushing weight of stone, the fearful act of drowning, the sacrifice of a limb, the pain of unfeeling, the shift of time and space, and the weight of a mountain. I’ve faced captive Zver and Fallen heroes. I’ve faced gods and legends. And I’ve faced the choices I’ve made and the love I’ve scorned. You, human king, will be the least of these."
His lips parted and he sputtered at me, blinking and spitting with rage.
"Father," Prince Leo said, stepping forward, likely to heal the damage I'd done. But I wasn't finished.
"You hide here behind your wall and pass judgment on those of us living without its protection," I growled at him, stepping forward. Leo, between us, watched but made no move to intervene. "You hate the choices I've made when you could have saved me from ever having to make them. Your people let mine suffer in the cage our ancestors built, knowing we will live and die in captivity, held hostage by gods whose names you spit upon. And still, you hide. You sit on your throne and grow fat and old like the king before you while my people, a bloodline half related to your own, worship your enemy and live in ignorance of their own purgatory."
Leo stepped back then, having decided to let me finish my tirade.
"Don't be the next king to be remembered for his inaction," I said.
It wasn't my place to be making this argument. This was Adrian's plan. Adrian and the general and Zya, the girl from the second ring. But Adrian wasn't here and, from the way the king spoke of me upon my entrance, I wasn't sure she'd ever be allowed in if I didn't do this now. Besides, Sanctuary was my home too.
"If you don't do this," I started, glaring at the king I now stood directly in front of, "your son will."
He blinked at me as guards stepped forward from the shadows. With one hand lifted, he waved them back. Then he spoke.
"Do what?" he asked.
I grinned.
Roman and Ksenia launched into action, rising from where they knelt on the throne room floor and going into detail about all they'd seen and done since we left the palace. They ended with the Fallen's proposal, with the group camped outside the gates for the night.
The king looked once to his son and I saw where the wisdom lied in this palace. Leo, though younger, was better at this. Perhaps his father ruled his city well. Maybe his people loved him and they were well-fed and happy. But this stuff beyond the wall? The events of the wider world around them? He hadn't the faintest idea of how to continue. Leo did. The dream of an alliance shined in his eyes with every passing second.
"We should welcome them properly," the king finally said. "Liselotte will see it done."
Leo nodded and we all watched as the king strode from the throne room, half a dozen guards peeling off the walls to follow. The prince's shoulders slumped when his father made it to the shadows and I noticed he seemed to be far more tired than his earlier pluck would suggest. Ksenia must have noticed as well. She stepped toward him, a concerned frown on her lips.
“Leo—" she began.
“You’ve done well, Viper,” Leo interrupted her, forcing a smile in my direction. “If it’s redemption you seek, I imagine your words have taken the first step on that path.”
“There will be no redemption for me,” I ground out.
Leo paused, eyes flickering with interest, before nodding and exiting the hall after his father.
“Take him back to his room,” he called out just before the massive doors slammed shut behind him.
I wasn’t chained. I didn’t have to be bound and dragged back to the room I’d occupied before. I went willingly, silently, not even glancing up at the dark halls as we passed through them.
Roman and Ksenia spoke in hushed tones the whole way to my room. I wasn’t sure if they wanted me to hear them or not but my enhanced senses didn’t grant me the choice. So I listened as they worried about letting in the general’s men, discussed Adrian’s strange moment with the beasts, and argued about the best way to present the plan to attack Pavos and Sanctuary all at onceto the king. They didn’t stop when we reached my room. They simply followed me inside, closing the door behind them as if they were welcome, not that they cared they weren’t.
That’s when I broke.
It didn’t matter that they were still there, still talking, still glancing warily my way from time to time. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t alone and hadn’t been in so long. My anger had faded and an immense sorrow had taken its place. I’d told the king I’d made peace with what I’d done. But I hadn’t. Not really. I was beginning to suspect I never would.
“She should have killed me,” I whispered aloud.
All conversation ceased at once. Ksenia and Roman both glanced at me before turning back to each other. I just closed my eyes and took a shuddering breath, collapsing onto the edge of the bed.
