I scoffed in turn, my hands flying out to the side, “Someone has to! You certainly never bothered.”
His brows rose, “Is that what you think? I pushed you, yes, because I knew you could be better. I wanted my heir to be ready for the machinations of court. But you have lost yourself along the way, son.”
His voice had dropped, sounding almost mournful, but I snarled back at him, “All you ever did was undermineme! You wanted Weylin to be your heir, admit it!”
“I wanted you to not take your position for granted, but it seems you’ve done the opposite.” His eyes locked with mine, and I fisted my hands, lightning crackling along them even as I tried to force it back. “What have you done with the humans, Cyrus? What plans have you made behind my back?”
I ground my teeth, and at my silence his frown became even more severe. “Treason then?”
“No!” I denied, shaking my head. “I’m only doing what is necessary for us! We lose more of our magic by the day. I am ensuring we don’t lose our power and positions so easily as the gods would wish.”
His head reared back as he looked me over in shock. For so many years, I’d wanted nothing more than his approval. For him to be happy with anything I did as his heir. But it was only when I was doing ashewished that he didn’t cut me down—that he didn’t turn to my brother as a more attractive alternative.
“Is everything okay?” Emmie’s head popped in from the other room, hiding her body behind the doorframe, and I rolled my eyes. Father had finally caved and taken her back, but not full-time as she was before. Her spot had been taken, so he now only called her when he needed her. Which was apparently right before meeting with me.
The fact that this slave girl ranked higher on his to-do list than I did made me want to scream. Only my father could make me feel this insignificant and small. Like I was a child once more, begging for attention. I forced myself to stand straighter. I refused to keep allowing him this power over me.
Emmie now reported back to me, and it was supposed to ensure I had eyes on him. I would absolutely be having words with her after this. She hadn’t mentioned anything that hinted toward my father being suspicious of me.
If she had decided to be loyal to him instead of me, I would throw her in with the other humans currently serving a higher purpose.
“It’s fine, Emmie. Leave us to this matter.” My father insisted, shooing her away. She nodded meekly, returning to his bed. Surely, she should be happy with that, after all she’d done to earn her place there back. Throwing away friendships and a girl who was practically a sister to her…
I hoped it lived up to her expectations, I thought sarcastically.
“Tell me you have not ventured into what is rightfullyforbidden, son,” he pleaded, his voice cracking over the word.
My eyes widened, shocked and a little appalled, by the show of emotion from him.
“I won’t let our magic disappear. The gods have seen fit to tear it away, all because we didn’t play by their ridiculous rules!” I spat back at him. “The gods don’t deserve their place anymore, Father. We can do better, be better, without them.”
“How dare you speak of the gods in such a way!” he thundered, lightning crackling off him and hitting the wall. I let my own lightning play around my hands, glaring at him as he sneered at me.
“I dare, because they dared to take our magic!” I yelled back, trying to make him understand. “But when we stop playing by their rules, we can access even greater magic, Father!”
His look of disgust felt like a blade to the stomach.
“You’re using blood magic,” he whispered, aghast. “That's what you’re doing with all the humans, sacrificing them to power tainted magic.”
I laughed disdainfully. “Tainted? It allows us more power than the damn gods ever offered us!”
“There’s a reason for that, son!” My father pleaded, his voice cracking as his face creased, his stormy blue eyes filled with incredulity and something that resembled fear. He tried stepping toward me, his arm out beseechingly, but I refused to move an inch to meet him. “Each use of blood magic will only drive us further into chaos. It will turn this very world on its head, Cyrus! You must see reason!”
“All I see is a king who won’t step up to do what must be done. Who fears the power I now wield.” I laughed again, but the mocking I intended quickly subsided in favor of the remembered pain. “I always failed to meet your high expectations. You workedso hardto ensure my position was challenged at every turn.”
I stepped forward then, letting the blood magic he wrote off so quickly flow through me, my lightning encasing my limbs as my father stepped back, eyeing me warily. The power I felt at finally seeing the man I had always failed to impress now so uneasy before me was greater than any I’d ever known.
My father shook his head, but I continued, lowering my voice, “Now,nonecan challenge me.”
My father’s face changed, something new coming over him. The worry left him, and he gave me a mournful look. “You will not be swayed from this path?”
“No,” I confirmed, raising my brow at him and letting the lightning play off my hands. A few stray bolts escaped me, hitting the ceiling, but I ignored them.
“I am still your king, not just your father, Cyrus.” He countered, straightening, scrambling for the tattered remains of the royal air he so loved to maintain.
I smirked, feeling the confidence blood magic always infused me with rise to the surface. “And yet I’m the one able to wield true power, while you wield the sad scraps of what the gods left you with. What will you do, father?”
A sad look crossed his face, but the strength in his voice was clear. “I will do what is best for my kingdom. You cannot be allowed to destroy us all. Chaos would be the end of us.”
