I thought that was everything.
I thought if I could fix that, if I could bring their power back, it would mean something. That I would finally be something more than the second son who survived when he wasn’t supposed to.
Now, sitting here in the dim light of a cave that nearly became our grave, that goal feels… distant. Hollow in a way it never has before.
Because none of my people were there for me.
Not when I needed them. Not when I bled for them. Not when I came back to a throne I never wanted, expected to lead people who only ever saw me as a weapon.
My gaze shifts, drawn back to the others without thinking.
Sylvian, focused despite the exhaustion dragging at him, studying the shadows like he’s already solving problems the rest of us haven’t noticed. Ashton, rolling his shoulders despite the pain, forcing life back into his limbs with stubborn defiance. Cassius, pale but conscious, his eyes sharp again even after everything he just endured.
And Alette.
She sits close to them, close to me, like she belongs with us, which she does, even if she doesn’t realize it yet. Human. Fragile in ways we are not. Stronger in ways that matter more. The only one who chose us without hesitation as just ourselves, not as kings, not as leaders, just as ourselves.
A heavy certainty roots itself deep inside me. This is what matters. Not the court. Not the power. Not the expectations I’ve been carrying since the moment my brother died in my arms.
This.
Them.
Keeping them alive. Getting them out of this labyrinth. Making sure she never ends up on a stone floor with blades rising beneath her. Everything else can burn.
I flex my hand, the fire in my palm flaring slightly before I rein it back in. “Time to go,” I say quietly.
Not as a command this time, or as a king. Just as one of them. Because for the first time in my life, I’m not alone. And I am not fighting for a throne, or a title, or people who never chose me. I am fighting for them.
And I will not lose them.
Not here. Not like this. Not ever again.
5
Alette
The cave feels like it’s closing in on us as we move, the air thick and suffocating, every small sound stretched too far in the silence. The scrape of a boot, the brush of fabric, the uneven rhythm of our breathing. It all feels too loud.
The smell of damp stone and blood clings to everything. It coats the back of my throat, makes every breath feel heavier than it should. I try to keep it quiet, shallow, controlled, but fear keeps creeping in, tightening my chest, making it harder.
We slip into the main cavern, and I nearly falter.
The space stretches wide and open, the shadows pooling in the corners, the stone floor still marked by what they did to my men. My eyes catch on the shape of it before I can stop them. The basin. The grooves carved into the ground. The place where they had them strapped down as sacrifices.
My gaze flicks to the kings, to the men moving beside me, and something tightens in my chest. They were there. They were the ones on that stone. And for one horrible second, I imagined it ending differently.
A shiver tears through me, sharp and uncontrollable.No. They escaped. They’re okay.I shove the thought away, but it lingers, curling low in my stomach.
But we keep moving.
Sylvian leads us, silent and focused, like he can feel the safest path through the dark. Ashton stays close behind him, quieter than I’ve ever seen him, all that usual ease stripped away. Oberon is behind me, and I can feel him there without looking. Solid. Watching everything.
Cassius…
I glance back.
He’s still moving, but barely. Each step looks like it costs him something. His hand is pressed tight to his side, his face pale even in the low light, his breathing uneven. He shouldn’t be walking. He shouldn’t be here. But, he’ll have time to rest, when we’re somewhere safer. Somewhere the cyclops can’t find us.
