I stood my ground firmly. Sure, I’d had a meltdown earlier in the guest house, but Melchom wasn’t there and hadn’t seen it. He had no right to speak to me in such a brusque manner. He was a dog keeper, paid help around the palace just like any other servant.
“What is the meaning of this?” I asked.
“Your father the King wishes to speak with you,” Melchom said. “He made it clear that attendance is mandatory, even if he needs to use force to accomplish it.”
The hair on the back of my neck bristled. So, this was the game Father wanted to play. He was going to display all his power even if it was overkill. Had he finally woken up to the fact that his oldest son was becoming a threat to his total dominance?
“And if I refuse?” I asked.
I had no real intention of refusing, but I wanted to see Melchom’s reaction anyway. I’d always thought of him as a dependable beta, if not a little surly. But I had never seen such an odd expression on his face before. It was uncomfortably cold.
“Then I have authority to order the knights to handle you as they please,” Melchom purred.
A shiver ran down my spine. I despised the way he’d said those words, like he was insinuating something worse than necessary force. It hit me like a frigid wave—I couldn’t trust my father, and I certainly couldn’t trust anyone working directly for him, including Melchom and these knights.
I had apparently spent too much time deliberating because Melchom snapped his fingers and said, “Seize him.”
I froze. Certainly, the knights wouldn’t handle me the same way they’d handled Rourke, would they? Even when Father ordered us separated in the guest house, the knights had taken care not to be too rough with me. But as they charged towards me with no sign of slowing down, I felt a flash of fear.
“Hey!” Elian snapped. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Elian, stay back,” I warned him, holding a hand out to keep him away.
But when had he ever listened to me? Elian leapt to my side with a scowl, looking completely outraged.
Cecil scrambled to his feet and joined my other side. “Sebastian, what’s going on?” he cried. “They can’t take you away, can they?”
I bit my lip. It was one thing to threaten me, but to involve my younger brothers was despicable. I didn’t know if Melchom was acting on his own or under Father’s orders right now, but either way, doing this in front of them was unacceptable.
The knights stalled, hesitant to approach all three princes. I felt a pang of relief and gratitude for Elian and Cecil jumping to my aid.
“Take Sebastian,” Melchom stated firmly. My eye twitched in anger at his level of disrespect—he had left off my prefix on purpose.
“Sir, Prince Cecil and Prince Elian are in the way,” one knight said.
Melchom stormed forward, glaring at my brothers. “Move.”
“Bite me,” Elian said.
If the situation were any less serious, I might have laughed at the shocked look on Melchom’s face. Clearly, he had never spent much time around Elian. It was going to be harder than Melchom thought to deal with Elian when he was being stubborn about something.
“King’s orders,” Melchom said.
“Don’t care,” Elian said with a shrug. “If Dad wants me to move, he can come tell me himself instead of sending abetato do it.”
For one terrible moment, I thought Melchom was going to strike Elian. I instinctively put myself in front of him. In the corner of my eye, I saw Cecil’s dog Fluffy tense. The short black hairs on its shoulders began to rise and a low growl filled its throat.
Melchom gave up trying to deal with Elian and turned to Cecil, speaking with fake sweetness. “If you were smart little boys, you would listen to the King. You don’t want to end up a disgrace like Sebastian, would you?”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
But Cecil wasn’t swayed. He clung to my arm. “I don’t care what you say. I’m not letting you take him!”
Melchom’s jaw went taut. His shoulders tensed. The anxiety in my chest ramped up, making my heart race.
Movement in my peripheral vision. Fluffy was approaching Cecil slowly, his legs stiff and his muscles poised to spring.
Rourke’s words came rushing back to me along with horror.
