I knew what her true thoughts were. She didn’t want me to win. If I became King, it put me at risk for assassinations. I would have to risk my life to lead the Arcanea every day. She didn’t want to lose the one thing she had left.
“I don’t approve,” she said immediately, and pursed her lips. “There’s too much at risk. What if something happens to you? Do you want to leave me here alone?”
“Nothing will happen to me. I’ll be fine,” I insisted. “Father was preparing me for this. He had been since the day I was born. It’s my rightful throne.”
“Your father was going to be here when you declared. He was going to stand by your side when you became king.” Mother’s voice is sharp. “He is no longer here, and so now things have changed.”
“Do you think me incapable?” My voice rose.
“I think you care too much,” Mother snapped. “A king cannot go around trying to solve every problem his country has, and I know you, Ethan. You will try.”
I sneered, but I knew she was right. Mother loved me, but she wasn’t good for loving anyone else. Her list of people she cared about included me and Da, and he was gone. Besides taking care of me, her only purpose in life had left her. She’d let every last Arcanea on earth die if it meant saving her son.
Peasants were even lower on the list of things she found important. Commoners might as well be cockroaches to her.
And she knew I’d put my people first, before myself. Which scared her.
“There’s no need to talk of this right now,” I said. “Steward Solomon will take care of things while—”
“Steward Solomon is a fool. We both know it.” Mother put down her tea with a snap. “He couldn’t rule over a molehill. Look at what’s happened since your father’s been gone.”
She was right. The Arcanea were more than uneasy. There’d been near panic after my father’s death was announced. Monsters were getting braver. Hunters were having to go out every night to hunt them down to prevent them from entering the city. Sorceresses were working full-time to cast spells to protect themselves and their houses. The only place that seemed safe anymore was Arcanea University, and that was because it was protected by the strongest Marked and Companions in the world. The Circle was barely keeping control. Worse still, Solomon had made it obvious he couldn’t handle the job. He’d locked himself up in his quarters of the palace and refused to come out more days than not. Without a strong leader, the Arcanea wouldn’t listen. They’d look after themselves and their own, and to hell with everyone else.
“Whoever takes over after Solomon steps down is going to have his hands full,” Mother said. “It’s going to be madness regaining the trust of the people. The Factions will be fighting for power, and these are desperate times.”
I knew she was right. The four Factions usually got along, as patriotism and our country came before any individual race. We weren’t like the Houses of the Elementai in America, who couldn’t unify if you forced them to. But every twenty years when the King’s Contest came around, the allure of power took over, and each Faction would work their hardest to make sure one of their own kind was put on the throne.
The division never usually lasted more than a year or so. Arcanea were undyingly loyal.
Once the new king proved himself, each of the Factions would die for him. But before then? There would be assassination attempts, undercover plots, espionage. Only once the new king survived all of that would he be deemed worthy to become a true ruler.
Yes. Becoming the new king would be dangerous. But allow someone to do that in my place? Never. I knew what I was getting into.
“To back down now would look cowardly. I won’t do it,” I told my mother.
“Would you rather look like a coward or lose your life? No, I know the answer. You don’t have to say it, you stubborn boy.” Mother took another sip of her tea, looking cross.
I drummed my fingers against the armrest. “If you really think I’m about to quit and let Elijah have a shot at the crown that is mine, you don’t know me that well.”
“Elijah is another one. Pasty-faced fool. And stop that,” she added, glaring at my drumming fingers. “It’s painfully annoying.”
I stopped. She sighed and said, “I shouldn’t have to tell you that the Factions aren’t our only worries. The Black Claw is rumored to be regaining power.”
I sat back in surprise. “The Black Claw?”
“Yes,” Mother hissed. “Listen more closely the first time.”
The Black Claw was a fanatic cult, one that believed in dark magic. They’d caused quite a few problems in past years, including starting an uprising that had nearly led to a war. But my father had practically wiped them out during his reign. There were so few of the Black Claw left that I didn’t even think they were still around. I didn’t consider them a real threat.
I mulled in thought. “You really think the Black Claw stand a chance of coming into power?”
“They’re already coming into power. You’re not paying attention.”
“You’re just being paranoid.” I barely listened. The Black Claw was nothing to worry about. Sure, some Arcanea still feared them, but I wasn’t one of them.
Mother shook her head. “There’s been talk of human sacrifices increasing in the highlands. Deep in the woods, where no one can find the bodies. The Black Claw is attempting to please the Dark Stag of Wrath, and gain his favor. With your father gone, they stand a chance of gaining more followers. Weak-minded people who are too afraid to stand on their own, or those who seek power.”
“People are disappearing?”
