“Maybe not, but no one will argue with the king.” I gave her the ghost of a smirk. It felt like I was somehow outside my own body. I struggled to push aside my feelings as I knew I must. But staring at my father’s body, I was barely capable of accepting what had happened.
Being king was everything I’d ever wanted, but I’d never wanted it likethis.
“If you tell anyone, I will kill you. And I know how much you value your own life, Emmie.” I taunted, knowing this girl and her kind too well. Graspers who would do anything to rise higher and secure their own place.
Emmie looked me over with narrowed eyes, considering. As much as I hated it, this girl knew enough to make things difficult for me. But killing her would be a waste when she could provide more valuable services elsewhere.
“As long as you take care of me.” She countered predictably, and I rolled my eyes. Even holding the hand of her dead lover, she was already considering the next horse to bet on.
“Whatever. You’ll be well taken care of.” I promised dismissively. “Now, your role is to help me as I rise to be king of this damn continent.”
There was no need to hide my plans now, not in front of her. She would be loyal to me; I would ensure it. Some could know bits and pieces, but none the full picture. Zerlina was aware of some, but I knew she had little care for her father’s position as king as long as she was queen by my side. Emmie, similarly, didn’t care about much besides her own position.
And I could work with that.
“Very well, my King.” She smiled slightly, bowing her head, but I could still feel her body shaking with grief and fear. A cocktail of emotions I had unfortunately shared with her in this moment, if for different reasons.
I stood slowly, looking down at my father’s body.
Leaning down, I grabbed the crown off his head and walked away, needing to escape the sight of his dead eyes.
Chapter Fifteen
Asteria
We managedto get ourselves back on track with the meeting, discussing our plans for how to sway Sunrise and Sunset, as well as how to handle the upcoming meeting with my—with Queen Aurelia.
As much as I hated it, whatever insane Fae royal family drama I was about to step into would also impact the coming war.
“I’m waiting for word back from one of my contacts,” Eryx began, looking between Calix and me. “But I’m fairly sure that after your meeting with Day, everything will be set for you to take a trip to Sunrise Kingdom. They seem willing to meet, at least. They apparently aren’t overly thrilled about the way Cyrus is handling things.”
Calix nodded, satisfied. “Good. I’ll have Ilta and Delia make the necessary preparations for Asteria and I. Titan, if you could choose a guard to come with us?”
Titan nodded in confirmation, “I’d suggest no less than one hundred. It might be a political meeting, but we’re going through enemy territory and potentially staying in it as well.”
Calix opened his mouth, a look on his face that made it clear he was about to argue when Eryx spoke up. “It would also make a statement about the power at your command. And that should they step a toe out of line, you won’t mind removing it.”
I blinked rapidly, surprised at this more brutal side of Eryx I hadn’t seen before.
“And you’ll be better able to protect Asteria if you have more warriors with you,” Harpina added.
She’d been busy catching up with work since she’d gotten back to Night and hadn’t been able to come out with us. I’d missed her, but she sent me a wink now as she continued, “I’d suggest I join you. Lilith, as well. She needs to be surrounded by warriors, and I know that there are places in the North that are women only that she may be required to go to as part of her duties, schmoozing the royals.”
“Wait, what am I doing?” I questioned, looking between her, Eryx, and Calix, even as Calix argued with Harpina about the need for her elsewhere.
“Well…” Harpina drew the word out, teasing. Calix rolled his eyes at her before turning to address my question.
“You’ll be joining me on the trip North. As my mate, it will be expected,” he explained, looking at me almost apologetically.
“Oh.” That was the only response I could give. I didn’t know how to feel about that. “Are you sure it’s safe?” I couldn’t help but ask, looking at where my powers had blown everything all over the room.
“It will be. I have a plan.” Calix winked, and a flush spread through me. It made it hard to concentrate as we went through the remainder of the information. Calix finally convinced the others we couldn’t afford to bring that many warriors, but the final number remained undetermined. He quickly steered us into other matters before anyone could argue further.
Our forces were currently preparing for battle and were being drilled daily. Night Kingdom had become more self-sufficient since cutting off the rest of the kingdoms years ago, and their imports currently came from overseas, so there was not much to worry about there.
It all came down to magic and numbers. What Cyrus could accomplish with the blood magic was largely unknown at this point. We knew it increased his powers and allowed him to craft iron weapons, yes, but the scale and current status were still a mystery.
Kian was apparently working overtime trying to get us more answers. The balance was at stake every time Cyrus used this power. We had to stop him before it was too late for all of us.
