Yet this wasn’t a day for tranquility. He didn’t know why he believed that. It was merely a premonition he couldn’t escape. A deep sense of foreboding.
Didn’t help that Mot gloated over something the idiot god knew that he refused to disclose. That only added to his deep sense of dread. When the loquacious Mot drew silent, hell usually followed.
“Leucious?”
He paused on his way to the stream where he’d planned to take a bath while his army continued to sleep after their victory celebration the night before.
Last thing he expected to see in the woods was Jaden Al-Baraka—the demon broker. They had met years before when his father had conjured the creature in order to strike a bargain for victory.
Jaden had refused. “You don’t need me, Your Majesty. Your army is more than capable of laying waste to your enemy without any demon interference.”
His father had been furious.
Secretly, Leucious had laughed at Jaden’s audacity. Not many creatures said no to his father and lived. But then Jaden was stronger than most.
And Leucious had no idea why Jaden would be here in the early morning to see him when he hadn’t summoned the creature. It made no sense. “Is there a problem?”
“Not per se. But I know it’s your birthday. Your twenty-first birthday.”
He’d given that no thought. What difference did such a day make? “And?”
Jaden became somber. Silent.
Which aggravated Leucious. “Are you here to spy on my bath, or do you have a real matter to discuss?”
He snorted. “I have something to tell you.” Seconds ticked by as Jaden said nothing more.
“Still waiting.”
With a heavy sigh, Jaden glanced away. “Have you ever noticed that you’re a little different from others?”
Where was this going? “More intelligent? Taller? Better looking? Wealthier? Meaner? Yes. I’ve noticed.”
Jaden rolled his eyes. “Stronger. More resistant to bleeding.”
That sent a chill down his spine. Of course he’d noticed. Everyone commented on the fact that he’d never once been seriously hurt in battle. Even blows that should have laid him low had been deflected at the last minute. It was as if something unseen protected him. “What exactly are you saying?”
Jaden let out a tired breath. “Right now, Mot is telling Tesiah about a bargain I struck for Veru approximately twenty-one years and ten months ago … give or take a day or two.”
Leucious froze as those words sunk in. Veru was his mother. And that timeline coincided with …
“My birth.”
Jaden nodded slowly. “Your mother was terrified for her life. Tesiah had told her that if she birthed one more daughter, he’d kill her along with the baby.”
That sounded like his father. The man had bragged endlessly about killing Leucious’s sisters and threatening to do the same to him when he displeased him.
I didn’t murder four innocent babes to be stuck with a useless, mouthy whoreson! Do as you’re told, boy, or join your sisters in their graves!
How could anyone forget a tirade that had been shouted at Leucious for as long as he could remember?
“So what? My mother bargained with you for a son.” How could anyone blame her for that when she was married to a brutal lunatic who would have murdered her had she disappointed him again? “What’s the harm in that?” His father had wanted a son, and she’d given him one. If anything, his mother should be applauded for her ingenuity.
At least that was his thought until Jaden spoke again. “Tesiah isn’t your real father.”
Those words slammed into him like a fist. That changed things drastically, and not in a good way.
If Tesiah wasn’t his father …
