He should have known even on her birthday she wouldn’t give it a rest.
“And?”
“Mother—” Nikias turned his head to face her, his voice cutting off when he saw how close she was. Too much emotion had slipped into his tone. He cleared his throat.
He was the regent of Imperia. He’d faced the Desero demon and survived her torture.
He could stand up to his mother.
But instead, what he said was, “I’m afraid it contained no new information. You know that. Whatever illness it was that overcame Father will plague him the rest of his days. We already knew that months ago. Now it’s just a matter of time.”
Mother’s lip curled up in a sneer as she came to a stop. She grabbed Nikias’ arm and scoffed, “Illness? You and I know this cannot be any illness. Our healers’ ignorance is killing your king and father.”
Nikias looked down at her. She was only a few inches shorter than him. “We have the best healers in Imperia taking care of Father. I cannot claim to know better than any healer, much less our very best.”
Her grip tightened. Nikias kept his expression emotionless.
He could not let her see through a single crack in his marble façade.
“I know, son. And I know what you do know best. Justice.” She shifted her grip, taking his left wrist in hers. His scars pressed against her palm as she squeezed his arm. “You cannotlet the creature who has done this get away with a crime against the crown.”
Nikias lowered his gaze, staring at the scars that had once been the religo lines binding him to Faustina. “I assure you, justice will be done. Should there be a traitor behind Father’s decline, I will find them and have them executed.”
Thankfully, there was no traitor to be found.
But if pretending to investigate kept his mother happy, Nikias would play along.
“Should? Nikias, you know there is. It’s obvious! How can it not be?” She ripped her hand back, nails scratching the religo scars. “What other woman had the means and motive?”
Even if Nikias believed her that it was Hypatia, what could be done about it? They had no proof and they had a peace treaty. Accusing her would only bring back the war Nikias had used his blood to end.
Knowing his mother, though, telling her he wanted to preserve peace wouldn’t end well.
“What do you want me to do, Mother?”
“Make an example of the wretched thing.” Nails dug into his chin, and Nikias was forced to look back up at his mother as she gripped his jaw tightly. “You’ve let her get away with far too much. Prove yourself to be worthy of the crown you will soon wear.” Then she smiled and slackened her grip. “Consider it a gift to me.”
How exactly Nikias was supposed to make an example of a woman who wasn’t even under his rule, he had no idea.
Nikias flexed his jaw and resisted the urge to reach up and touch it. “And here I thought I’d already taken care of that with my plans for your banquet.”
His mother brushed her hands over his shoulders and said, “A devoted son can never give his mother too many gifts for herbirthday. The only thing that will make me even happier than I will be after tonight will be to see justice served.”
The engagement necklaces hung in the air even though they were safely tucked into his drawer.
“I will do everything in my power to make that happen.”
Mother let go of him and stepped back. “You’re a good son. Now, I’ll leave you to your work.”
Nikias only nodded as his mother finally went for the door. Each step that took her farther away from him, the easier he breathed.
He just needed to get to tonight and finally propose.
Aimilia would accept. At this point, she had to be wondering what was taking him so long given the rumors had been flying for months about his proposal to her.
Once she accepted, he could handle his mother better with a royal wedding on the way and the leverage of an heir to come soon after.
His mother was walking through the door, when she paused and called out, “Commander Aimilia! Just the woman I want to see.”
