He’d polluted our family, staining it with an inky black. It tainted my truth by association, molding me into the same type of monster the king had led with, and that was something I feared. Becoming someone,something,like him. His apathy was suffocating, not just for those he wielded it toward, but for each person who existed within his vicinity—Percy, other royal servants, and me.
My father was a wretched man. But it was also his despicable nature that birthed and raised me, and that was a piece of me he would claim for as long as he lived. His biggest goal was to craft me into a version of himself, one so unmendable that I would carry out his legacy decades after he passed.
As if sensing my spiral, Percy pushed himself away from the gunwale. “Kael, I didn’t mean?—”
“No,” I lifted a hand, preventing him from continuing, “don’t apologize.”
“You are nothing like your father,nothinglike the king.”
“I am his son.” I forced the truth between clenched teeth, swallowing the bile it brought forth. “I am his heir, and that is the exact reason we are still on this ship. My bloodline poses a risk, which is why Alastair asked me to stay here, on this godsdamned ship. My presence and everything my lineage carries, allhehas done, spikes upheaval. By the name of the gods, his ruling, his… maliciousness has reached the furthest corners of the continent, areas in which he no longer holds power, andstill,hatred exists for anyone bearing my surname. Do you not understand that?”
“No, I do not,” Percy admitted, shifting to face me. Slipping two fingers beneath my chin, he guided my gaze back to him. “Not in the magnitude you do. I do notlivein the sea of guilt you do; I do not harbor the guilt of all your father has done. That is an experience only you can speak on, but that does not negate your feelings, that does not negate your suffering.”
“It still doesn’t… make my existenceright.”
Brushing his thumb along my jaw, he shook his head. “Your existence ismorethanright,Kaelivan Marellan.Youare the fracture in his reign,youare the power that will overthrow him,youare the beacon our world needs—the shining lightIneed.” He cupped my cheek, fingertips settling just below my ear. “You are the reason Wraelira will know what it is like to breathe again, what it is like to be free from the shackles of our oppressors. And that I know with unwavering certainty.”
My chest rose with a steadying inhale, the vice that had coiled around my throat slowly loosening. Holding his gaze, I curled my hand around his waist, pulling him toward me as a display of my possessiveness—mylove.Our foreheads met, breaths mingling for a handful of silent seconds before my nails dug into his hip. Pulling backjust enough to grant me a fraction of space, I brushed a few misplaced curls from his forehead.
“The only way any of that will happen is if you remain by my side, Percival Corvathis, for the darkness that plagues our world is not something I can survive without your presence.”
A deep chuckle rolled from his chest as he dipped his chin, brushing his lips against the side of my throat. Planting a kiss there, his breath lingered, cooling my warmed skin. “You do not need me to accomplish greatness, my future king, but if you demand my company, I will happily kneel beside you for as long as I shall live.”
“You do not kneel,” I whispered, swallowing the groan that threatened to fall at his attentiveness. “You stand beside me.”
Nipping at my pulse point, he brushed his nose along my jaw before stopping at my ear. “Oh, but that is where you are wrong. I do kneel for you,myprince.”
“Your devotion may as well become the very thing?—”
“Rigel!” one of the deckhands shouted. “We’ve got a problem!”
Tight woven strands of dark, long locks came into view. Umber skin catching the sun before it slipped behind a cloud, corded muscle displayed perfectly, a clear symbol of Rigel’s—the ship’s quartermaster—position in the crew. Wearing a leather harness fitted with two pistols and a belt containing paired cutlasses, he approached the male whose name I hadn’t gotten yet.
His thick, honey-woven voice pierced the deck, various crewmates turning to him as if he were their god. “What seems to be the issue, Elias?”
Elias raised his arm, pointing at the horizon while simultaneously offering the telescope.
Rigel raised the gold spyglass, peering through it with the attentiveness Elias’s concern seemed to require. Not able to take a full breath, I watched as he lowered it abruptly, the drastic shift in his mannerisms hinting at concern. Dark eyes sweeping over the men he commanded in the absence of his captain and first mate, he spoke with an authority those around him seemed to respect.
“Ring the bell! We’ve got ships approaching that bear the royal crest!”
My stomach sank, and nausea immediately churned forward at the unsettling realization: my father had sent men after me. And because of that, because of my godsdamned presence on Alastair’s ship, they were all in danger.
My horror went unnoticed as the crew worked to oblige his demand. Reaching for the bell, a younger male ignited its chime, and its sound seemed to exemplify tenfold. Turning toward land, I watched as a large bronze bell swung in a tower, singing with the same warning—the king’s fleet was approaching. In tune with the song of caution, a handful sprinted to the dock, weaving through the curved walkways on what I presumed was a hunt for their captain. Another group gathered at the starboard gunwale, making quick work to equip the cannons at the orders of a lean male who seemed to oversee the ship’s gunners.
Percy shook me once, the presence of his hands on my shoulders not having registered amidst the chaos. “We need to move, Kael.”
“Move where?! I am not leaving these men here!” I shouted, raising my arm in their direction with adamance. “This ismyfault, and I refuse to abandon them as my father’s men approach. I will not!”
Throat bobbing, striations danced along Percy’s jaw. “I understand your hesitation, but I need you tolistento me. If we stay on this ship, your father’s soldiers will butcher them for harboring you. Do you understand that?” As my attention shifted back toward the deck, his fingers snaked around my jaw, pulling me back to him. “Kael, they will all die if we stay put. We need to get off this fucking ship and inland before they dock.”
“I want to help, Percy…” I breathed, though I knew the truth was inarguable. “If we get off then?—”
“Then they will befine,Kael. Look at me.” Emerald irises locking with mine, he gathered my face in both hands. “Veilmar is a sanctioned island and has been free of your father’s reign for years, which means its inhabitants and visitors aresafe.Will they thoroughly sweep this ship?Yes. But if fugitives aren’t being harbored, then there is no reason for them to resort to violence.”
Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I swallowed the sharp tang of iron that flooded forward. With a steeling inhale, I dipped my chin, settling on the trust that had built between us through the years. “Okay. Okay, Percy.”
He mirrored my agreement with a nod of his own before he pivoted, making his way toward the main deck. Following him, I dodged the various crewmates who continued to work, tidying shipments and preparing for opposition if it came down to it. With the front of my boots nearly clipping the back of Percy’s, I had to catch myself before slamming into him as he came to a sudden halt.
