“Which is why we need to focus all our resources on overthrowing the king,” I say, seizing the opening. “The clinics are a symptom, not the disease. Once we remove the king from power, we can dismantle his entire system.”
She sets her cup down with a sharp click of porcelain against porcelain. “And how many women will suffer while you plot your grand strategy, Logan? How many Omegas will be experimented on, violated, transformed against their will while you gather your forces?”
I set my own cup aside, leaning forward despite the protest from my ribs. “Every day my father continues his rule increases the risk of our failure. If we strike at the clinics now, we alert the king to our presence, to our intentions. We lose the element of surprise.”
“And if we do nothing, we are complicit in their suffering,” she counters, her golden eyes flashing. “Just as we were complicit in what happened to your Maya.”
I feel my jaw tighten at the mention of Maya again, at the casual way my grandmother wields her name like a weapon. “What happened to Maya was?—“
“Was preventable,” she interrupts, her voice cutting like a blade. “Had someone acted sooner, had someone prioritized the safety of Omegas over political strategy, she might have been spared a year of torture.”
The accusation hangs between us, heavy with implication. That I should have known. That I should have acted sooner. That my failure to protect Maya was not just a personal failing but a political one.
“I didn’t know,” I say, the words tasting like ash. “By the time I discovered what had happened, the damage was already done.”
“And now that you do know?” Grandmother presses, relentless as always. “Now that you’ve seen firsthand what your father is capable of? Will you still prioritize your coup over the immediate suffering of those in the clinics?”
I stand, unable to remain seated under the weight of her judgment. Pain flares through my ribs, but I ignore it, pacing to the window and back. “You don’t understand the complexity of what we’re attempting,” I say, fighting to keep my voice level. “A direct assault on the clinics would be suicide. We don’t have the numbers, the resources, or the intelligence necessary for such an operation.”
“I understand more than you think,” she replies, her voice suddenly weary. “I was fielding would-be assassins and navigating potential coups were still learning to walk, Logan. I know the cost of revolution better than most.”
I turn to face her fully, studying the woman who has been both mentor and adversary throughout my life. The Queen Mother has always been a force to be reckoned with—the power behind the throne for decades, the architect of alliances and destructor of enemies. Her support for my claim is not insignificant.
But neither is her judgment.
“The clinics are well-guarded,” I say, offering facts instead of excuses. “They’re located in populated areas, making direct assault risky for civilians as well as our forces. And most importantly, they’re just the visible part of the operation. Theresearch, the real damage, is happening elsewhere, in facilities we haven’t yet identified.”
“All true,” she acknowledges. “And yet, every day they remain operational is another day women are suffering. Women like your Maya.”
I clench my jaw at her continued use of Maya’s name. “Leave her out of it. You don’t get to use Maya as a weapon against me.”
“Is that what I’m doing?” Grandmother’s expression is all innocence, but her eyes remain sharp. “Or am I simply reminding you of what’s at stake? Of who is paying the price for your careful planning?”
The accusation cuts deeper than it should. I’ve always prided myself on my strategic thinking, on my ability to see the bigger picture beyond immediate emotions. It’s what makes me different from my brothers, what makes me a true heir to the throne rather than just another prince with ambitions.
But Maya changed that calculation. Her suffering—suffering I failed to prevent—has become a weight I carry, a debt I can never fully repay.
“I want to save them all,” I admit, the words quiet but firm. “Every Omega in those clinics. Every person who might be forced into designation change against their will. But I can’t do that if we fail in our primary objective. If the king remains in power, he’ll simply rebuild whatever we destroy.”
Grandmother watches me for a long moment, her golden eyes unreadable. Then she nods, a single sharp movement that seems to settle something in her mind.
“You sound like your father,” she says, the comparison landing like a slap. “He, too, was always focused on the bigger picture, the grand strategy. Always willing to sacrifice the few for the many.”
I feel my spine stiffen at the comparison. “I am not my father.”
“No?” She rises from her chair with surprising grace for a woman her age. “Then prove it. Show me that you understand what he never did—that true leadership requires both vision and compassion. That sometimes, the immediate suffering of the few outweighs the potential benefit to the many.”
“What would you have me do?” I demand, frustration breaking through my careful control. “Abandon our plans for the throne? Throw away months of preparation to launch a suicide mission against the clinics?”
“I would have you remember why you’re fighting in the first place,” she replies, her voice softening slightly. “Is it for the throne? For power? For revenge against your father? Or is it to create a better kingdom—one where Omegas aren’t treated as property to be experimented on?”
“Both,” I say finally. “I want the throne because it’s the only way to ensure lasting change. But I want that change because of what happened to Maya, because of what’s happening to others like her.”
Grandmother studies me for a long moment, her expression unreadable. “Then perhaps there is hope for you yet,” she says finally. “Though I remain unconvinced that your strategy is the correct one.”
I feel a flicker of irritation at her continued doubt. “You haven’t offered an alternative.”
“Haven’t I?” She moves to the window, gazing out at the manicured gardens with an expression I can’t quite decipher. “There are ways to strike at the clinics without compromising your larger strategy. Ways to save those Omegas without alerting the king to your true intentions.”
