“Dawn being allied with Dusk means any way across the continent itself is out.” Calix shook his head.
“Wait!” I shouted a bit too loudly, my head shooting up from the map to meet their eyes. Mine were alight with an idea that hit me at the mention of Dawn.
“My mother—my birth mother—Queen Aurelia, was from Dawn. Meaning, I have family in Dawn that could help.” My excitement grew as my plan came together in my mind.
“We don’t know if they’d side with you or their king, Asteria.” Eryx cautioned, shaking his head.
“Lord Dali, my uncle, rules Chryse, and my cousin, Lord Kiran, rules Nysa. That’s two families in Dawn we can try to sway,” I insisted, knowing this could work. “We can ask my mother for help. But if they could get a messenger up through the Slievenamon Mountains, they could get it to Sunset without tipping anyone off.”
“If we ask your mother,” Calix began, looking sternly at me. I could feel his urge to protect me in the bond, and it made my shoulders relax, knowing he didn’t disagree, but he would always put my protection first.
“And she makes contact for us, then I could see it working. As long as they have a bird shifter of some sort who can fly it up. Going through the mountains would be too difficult and take too much time otherwise. I would have sent Eryx, but we unfortunately need him for more than message delivery.” He finished, and I smiled brightly.
“Thanks ever so,” Eryx remarked, dryly.
A knock on the door interrupted us before anything else could be said. Tieran called out for whoever it was to enter, and Dysis came in, wringing her hands, with anxiety clear on her face.
“Dysis?” Tieran asked, brow creasing. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Vesper, Father.” She bit her lip and looked between us all.
Tieran sighed heavily, leaning forward with his hands on the table, “What has that damn boy done now?”
“He’s gone,” she choked out. “All his closest friends and personal guards are gone, and the men they command are too. Several hundred soldiers, all gone.”
Tieran straightened, rage lining every inch of his face. Zakat’s face, on the other hand, fell. But his voice was as dry as a desert when he chimed in. “What a surprise, he heard about a prince killing others to be king and immediately ran to his side.”
“We don’t know that!” Tieran yelled, turning to Zakat, fury lining his face.
“Yes, we do!” Zakat shouted back, a snarl on his face. “Don’t pretend, Father. We both know he’s been unhappy since the day I was born! He’d do anything to see himself the heir instead of me. Cyrus will offer him a way.” He laughed dryly, “Though, it’s just as likely Cyrus will stab him in the back. Seems like Vesper thinks himself intelligent enough to outsmart the madman.”
Altan’s hand landed on Zakat’s shoulder, and he shifted toward him. “This isn’t on you, Prince. Vesper made his own choices.”
“He wouldn’t have without me.” Zakat despaired, throwing his hands up.
“Wouldn’t he?” Altan countered, raising a brow at him. “He wouldn’t be the heir regardless, and that’s clearly been eating away at him.”
“This is madness!” Tieran interjected, his hands nearly shaking. “He’s going to get himself killed! Or getyoukilled! Over what? A damn crown?!” He ripped the crown of Sunset off his head, looking at it disdainfully for a moment before throwing it forcefully at the wall.
It bounced off, landing unharmed on the carpet after several rolls. The silence in the room was deafening, and I looked between Calix and Eryx, unsure what to do or say. This undeniably complicated everything.
It seemed like almost every kingdom was splitting apart. Chaos was encroaching, and its insidious reach was stretching far and wide.
“It’s chaos, isn’t it?” I asked quietly. “The balance shifts more to chaos by the day. Those who wouldn’t have done something before, merely had passing thoughts—say about wanting to be heir. Chaos is pushing them to do it.”
Silence followed my words, but the bowed heads said more than any words could have.
“Cyrus will be feeling that most of all. Constantly being pushed farther, escalating more and more.” I added after a few minutes of us all absorbing what had happened.
“And now Vesper will be by his side.” Zakat snarled, and his father shook his head helplessly. But a moment later, he looked up at Zakat and placed his hands on his shoulders, bringing his face, set in harsh lines, close to his son’s.
“You must be the heir I know you can be, my son,” Tieran said forcefully.
“Father.” Zakat shook his head, his mouth opening to argue.
“I do not speak of betrothals and children!” he yelled, a fierce look on his face. “I speak of you stepping up to lead.”
That made his son stand up straighter, the adolescent disagreement fading from his face, replaced with a much more determined look.
