“Father?” Caiden says.
The emperor stares straight ahead at nothing, unmoving, unspeaking. Fear grips me. He’s supposed to be dead. He looks like he’s dead.
Brevan swings his sword, and the emperor’s head falls to the ground, but his body remains upright. I shove him hard, and he falls on top of his head.
We’re all panting and wide-eyed, each of us looking at the other.
Brevan moves closer to me but won’t meet my eye.
“Well, this didn’t go the way I expected,” Ludis sighs. “I just wanted to regain my father’s favor. I had an entire plan. It was going to be so glorious.” He throws his hands up, then glances over at me. I hold my ground, glaring at him.
“But you didn’t make it easy, did you? I had to constantly adjust. And when you survived the temple—” he scoffs, “Well, I had to adjust again. So here I am.” He kicks the dead emperor’s leg. “Now, look at this mess.”
“You still can.” Caiden leans down and grabs a fistful of his father’s hair. He hoists the head up, then tosses it to Ludis. Blood splatters from the severed neck.
Ludis catches it but wrinkles his nose in disgust. His black clothing hides most of the blood that now dots it.
“Take him this,” Caiden says. “Tell him you killed the immortal emperor. Then get me that army.”
“I’ve got a better idea.” Ludis drops the head, and it makes a sickening crack.
“What’s that?” Caiden asks.
“I’ll get you that army, but you have to do something for me,” Ludis says.
“Or I could just kill you now and bargain with your father,” Caiden says.
“You’re willing to give him immortality?” Ludis lifts a brow. “Because unless you provide that, he’s not helping you. I read the treaty.”
“I’ll be married to his daughter,” Caiden says.
“I’m not really Sabina,” I say.
“Nobody outside this room knows that,” Caiden points out.
I grit my teeth knowing that until I have Anya and the other ladies to safety, I can’t argue with him.
“Or, you help put me on the throne and we become the young rulers who change the world. We both know what it would mean if we combined our armies.” Ludis grins.
“Your father disowned you. Told the whole world you were dead,” Caiden counters.
“But I’m not. And with mysister’ssupport, and my mother’s support, the nobles will fall into line.” Ludis takes a step closer to Caiden. “Think about it. Bonded by blood. A huge, glorious royal wedding that makes everyone celebrate putting decades of war behind us.”
My stomach twists. That’s the last thing I want.
Caiden smirks. “That could work. I have no interest in attacking Iskvaland if we’re on the same side.”
“Think of what we can accomplish together,” he says. “All those mines in the Shatterlands, ripe for the taking.”
“This is what we were trying to stop, Lee. How could you?” I step toward him. Brevan captures me and pulls me back. I glare at him, but he’s not even looking at me.
I deserve it. I deserve everything that happens to me after my betrayal. I will hate myself for the rest of my life for what I did to him.
Caiden saunters over to me. “I’ll give you a choice, my little raven. You can marry me and spend the rest of your life as Sabina of Iskvaland, or you, and all your ladies, can be a feast the dragon will never forget.”
“I hate you,” I say.
“Don’t worry, I think I’ll grow on you over time, just as you’ve grown on me.” He traces my lower lip with his index finger, and I have to resist the urge to bite him. “I’m rather disappointed that you spent all that time with Brevan.” His eyes travel upward, and I know he’s looking at the enforcer. “But I don’t think we need to worry about that again. Because if either of you steps a toe out of line, you will lose the thing you hold most dear.”
