“Koa,” I say, dipping my head toward him.
Unlike his sister, his stare is hollow. “Your Highness,” he responds drily.
I wish rolling my eyes was kingly. “Give your reports,” I command.
Katze grimaces. “Our subjects are not as keen to invite the witches in as we initially thought.”
I lean back, placing my elbow on the armrest and resting my chin in my hand. “Make them,” I say. Again, he grimaces. He might be the weakest, most spineless of them all.
“It’s not as easy as that, Your Highness,” Katze says, casting a nervous glance toward Cora.
“What do you expect me to say, Katze?” I ask him, voice hardening. “The problem lies in your court, not mine. You’re responsible for your subjects, not me.”
“We’ve been thinking…” he says, turning toward his wife. Issa’s full lips curl into a cruel smile, and Katze straightens. “We’d like to begin executing the dissenters,” he says, chest puffed in pride.
Koa doesn’t flinch at the words, but Cassia balls her hands into tiny fists before hiding them behind her back.
Elle screams in my head. I tighten my control on her so she doesn’t sprint at the Panthera King and claw his eyes from their sockets.
“Are you sure that won’t push them in the opposite direction?” I query.
Before Katze can respond, Issa says, “We are confident that it will provide the right motivation, Your Highness.” Her voice is lined with cold, cruel pride. Mother always liked her.
“Fine,” I say, prepared for Elle to thrash against my hold. But it doesn’t come. I resist the urge to look back at her. Her fight is a constant that I’ve grown used to over the months. Her silence, although rare, is concerning. Not for the first time, I wonder if bringing her to this was a good idea. I tried to warn Cora that it would be too much, but she insisted that House Panthera see “Mae” involved.
“Kill everyone who disagrees,” Cora says.
I shift in my seat at the order, but give a curt nod of agreement. There’s no room for sympathy on a stolen throne.
Elle was silent for the rest of the day, even when I released her from my control. After House Panthera left, she followed me back to her wing without protest. The last time she was like this, she was trying to take her own life.
The next morning, I knock on her door. I wait, hoping she’ll open it on her own.
She doesn’t.
I shove it open anyway. She’s curled on the couch, a novel clutched in her hands. Her crimson hair is a mess, wavy strands tangled in her ivory antlers. She wears a pair of navy-blue cotton pajamas, the blue accentuating the bags under her eyes.
“You look like shit,” I mutter. She doesn’t respond, nor does she look up at me. “Elle.” Still no response. I could make her, but the thought is tiring. I stand there, waiting for her to say something.
She doesn’t. I settle into the armchair across from the couch. Thanks to my parents, I can wait. Mother and Father used to force Asmo and me to sit in silence for hours, any sound or movement punished with a quick slash of the snake-skin whip. The whip’s end was meant to resemble the tail of a rattlesnake, studded with an iron tip. Sometimes, after dozens of lashings, I would have preferred the deathly kiss of a rattlesnake.
I don’t have to wait long, but it’s not Elle that breaks the silence. The front door opens. Vicente’s dark head of shiny, black hair pokes through the archway.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Your Highness,” his whiny voice starts. “It’s important, sir.”
I sigh. I don’t care about whatever the hell Vicente has to say, if I’m being honest. He’s a snively second-in-command chosen by Father. If only Cora’s black magic hadn’t saved him and Mother from the brink of death. Then I wouldn’t have to deal with Vicente.
With a sigh, I stand. Elle still hasn’t moved.
“I didn’t realize you were a statue,” I toss over my shoulder as I turn toward Vicente.
He refuses to be in this space longer than he must, so he stands outside awkwardly, picking dirt from beneath his fingernails.
“What is it?” I ask as I shut the doors behind me.
Vicente drops his hands to his sides and straightens. Detritus still hangs from one of his nails. “Sir, they’ve done it again.”
