Kaz blew out a relieved breath. “Good. Would’ve hated for you to have fallen in love with me, and then I’d be forced to break your heart.”
“Bold of you to assume I’d fall in love with you.”
“Hey, I am extremely lovable.” She knocked her shoulder into his. Emmeric grinned. “What are you going to do now, grumps? Go after your girl?”
He glanced over to where he knew he’d find Iyana. Altair had moved her closer to the cave’s entrance, away from Uther’s body. She was still cradled in his arms.
“I don’t think so. There might be something between us, but with Altair in the picture…I don’t stand a chance. So I’m going to spare myself the pain.”
“I’m still rooting for you two,” Kaz said quietly.
“Thanks.” Emmeric smiled sadly. “No, I’ll go back to Athusia. Help Zane restore some normalcy to the empire. Make sure Talon doesn’t go too crazy.”
“They do make a really cute couple. I’m happy for them.”
“Me too.” Emmeric said, grinning. “What about you? What will you do?”
Kaz sighed. “I think I have to go back to Nyr. I need to tell the king and queen the empire has changed hands, and that a star has fallen. They’ll want to know.”
Emmeric looked at the energetic, carefree shifter in a new light. “You have the ear of the king and queen?”
Her dark eyes sparkled with mischief. “You wanted to know what Kaz is short for?”
“Yes,” Emmeric said, dragging out the word, curious where this was headed.
“Kazumi,” she said, smiling brightly. “Specifically, Zoara Kazumi Zaya Tsenira.”
Tsenira.He recognized that name… Kaz stood, brushing off her pants to little effect, the brown dust of the Dead Lands adhering to drying blood. She looked down at him, still grinning.
“I’m the crown princess of Nyr. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an alliance to forge.” She sauntered off towards Zane and Talon without a backwards glance.
Emmeric chuckled, shaking his head. He didn’t know why things continued to surprise him.
Chapter 54
Zane
Icy blue eyes stared back at him, glazed over with the film of death. Red faded to black as his father’s life blood seeped onto the dry, cracked ground.
Not your father,Zane told himself. Uther had spun intricate lies to achieve his preferred outcomes, and so Zane couldn’t trust anything that had ever come out of that man’s mouth. Now he feared he’d never have the answers.
Nobody had removed the dagger from Uther’s chest. Zane wondered if he should close his unseeing eyes, if only to cut off the deathly stare sending shivers up his spine. He started when gentle fingers alighted on his back.
“Sorry,” Talon said softly. Zane’s heart rate immediately slowed. “Are you okay?”
Zane shrugged. “I don’t really know. I’m relieved he’s gone, but then that makes me feel guilty. The man was terrible to me. Ishouldbe happy, but…I’m not. I’m still sad about the loss of my father.” A memory flashed through his mind, unbidden—Zane was a small child and Uther was teaching him how to use a wooden dagger. The emperor laughed as he ran from his young son and collapsed in an overdramatic heap when Zane first attacked him. He was congratulated for the hit, and his father gave him a piece of chocolate, quietly instructing him not to tell his mother, like they shared a secret. It was the only positive memory he had of Uther.
“That’s normal. Grief is unpredictable. There’s no black and white to it, so fuck anyone who tells you differently.” Talon dropped into a squat and gently closed Uther’s eyes. Zane thought he saw a shudder run through him.
“Thank you,” Zane whispered.
Talon swiped the astmina off the ground from where it had landed. Turning it over in his hands a few times, he placed it in his pocket.
“Come on.” Talon wrapped his arm around Zane’s shoulders and turned him from the gruesome sight in front of him. “I’ll get Altair and Iyana to cremate all the remains before we leave. Right now, though, we need to discuss what to do with the rest of Uther’s men, Your Majesty.”
Zane’s steps faltered. “Oh shit, I’m really the emperor.”
“You are.” Talon grinned widely down at him. Zane raised his chin to gaze into Tal’s warm blue eyes. So different from his father’s. Interesting how he could feel anxious or safe from a simple difference of shade in color.
