I ignore him. What we lack in numbers, we make up for in tenacity. Instead, I turn to Alden. Sweat dots his brow. Maybe he isn’t the emotionless killing machine he pretends to be. I study his expression, searching for a sign we are on the same side. There is none. My heart thrashes against my ribs, but as long as I stand, I can still convince him. “Alden. Don’t do this.”
Alden shrugs. “No hard feelings, Leigh.”
“You are helping your weasel of a brother take my crown. Of course, there are hard feelings.”
Zeus steps forward as if to attack me, but Alden slaps his chest. “Easy, brother. On my count, remember?”
“She called me a weasel,” Zeus says through his teeth.
“You are the future king. Act like it,” Alden whispers loud enough for all of us to hear.
I cross my arms over my chest. When Ravi told me what Zeus did to Tanith to control Alden, I felt sorry for him, but maybe he got it wrong. It looks like Alden controls Zeus. Perhaps I put my faith in the sibling with the most power.
I search for Ravi among the crowd behind the princes. I don’t see him.
Did Alden leave him behind, or did Ravi expect me to fail? I glance back at Alden, who just stares at me without a hint of remorse. I don’t have a backup plan. If he doesn’t help me, Corona is doomed.
He smirks, as if he can read my mind.
“Are you ready to surrender, Leigh? Or must I use force?” Zeus asks.
“Where’s Wilder?” I ask, stalling. If Alden hurt him, then I’ll know he betrayed me.
Zeus’s answering smile reminds me of the Harborym daemon. It’s straight from Hell.
“Bring the prisoners forward!” he calls, his voice echoing off the stone bridge. A guard dressed in forest green pushes a bound and bruised Wilder and Marlowe forward.
With a cruel kick, the guard forces them to their knees. “Don’t forget to kneel before your queen,” the guard sneers.
I gasp. Wilder’s face is battered beyond belief. Dried blood cakes his hair and stains his dark clothes. His eyes meet mine, and they hold reassurance, but also a plea for me not to panic. But panic is far from my mind. In its place, white-hot rage singes my veins.
Zeus’s grin widens, relishing in their humiliation. I want to throw him into the river below, preferably with weights attached to his skinny ankles.
“That’s enough, Heinrich. Fall back in line,” Zeus commands. When Alden nods, the guard obeys. He melts back into the ranks, but I memorize his soulless eyes. I will make him pay in this life and the next.
“You tortured them,” I say to Alden, who sighs.
“They shouldn’t have broken into our camp or taken what didn’t belong to them.”
Zeus nods. “A monarch should never be so soft-hearted, Leigh.”
“A compassionate queen isn’t a weak one,” I counter.
Zeus clicks his tongue as Alden groans, no longer meeting my stare. Instead, he glares at the ground.
I clench my roiling stomach.
“Face it, you lost.” Triumph gleams in Zeus’s eyes. “You were so busy trying to detect corruption within your Council that you never anticipated our invasion. And now, you have nothing left to do but surrender or watch as your people suffer.”
Traitor. I shoot a menacing look at Alden. He let me believe we were on the same side. We were supposed to be allies, not enemies. “I told you the truth. Yet you side with Zeus? He’s your enemy, not me!”
Zeus scowls at his brother before frowning at me.
“Alden told me everything,” he says. My jaw drops. “He mentioned you would give him the cure to save Tanith in exchange for him turning against me.”
No. “Youtoldhim?”
Alden meets my stare head-on. “He’s my future king.”
