I got back into my tattered dress, pulled myself into my chair, and headed down to the demigod training center. I’d been training alongside the Firebirds for months, preparing for our next inevitable fight, but right now I had to be alone.
Hours passed as I threw my blades, but my head was still reeling. I didn’t know if this was actually helping me think, or just distracting me. Those divorce papers were still sitting in Charlie’s quarters. We had the chance to tear them up last night, but didn’t. What was I still waiting for?
To become a mother? To rise to power?
I didn’t even know if I could do both. I knew many Empresses had raised children before me, but this was a time of war— the worst war the world had ever seen. The realms were on the line, and so was my family. I didn’t know if I could keep them safe while accomplishing what needed to be done.
I practiced with my bow and the knives all day, repeating the movements until it became natural to wield them. My knives were hitting the target every time, when out of the corner of my eye I saw Kallie run by the open door.
“Shit,” she stated in a panic. “Shit, shit, shit! I’m gonna fucking kill Cameron.”
“Kill who?” I asked, not sure if I’d heard her right. “Kallie? Kallie!”
She didn’t stop when I called after her, so I knew something was wrong. I hurried after her as she made a direct line for the throne room.
“What the hell is going on—?” My words fell away. Shock made it so I couldn’t finish my sentence. Kazim was kneeling on the floor, bound by chains as ten guards surrounded him. Bruises massed his face, and small injuries dripped ichor. It looked like he’d been in a rotten fight. He must’ve been found while in hiding and dragged here.
For fuck’s sake, one of the guards had a sword to Kazim’s throat! And by the look on his face, all he was waiting for was Cameron’s order to swing. It looked like he was about to give it.
Kazim’s mate, Sigrid, was also bound, though it took half the palace’s guard to hold her down. The chains around her form rattled as they struggled to contain her magic. Blood ran from her mouth and was streaked across the floor, as if she’d bitten and torn into the first guard who’d stopped her from getting to her mate.
The audacity was absolutely atrocious. These were the king and queen of the fae, one of our few surviving allies, and he had them in chains. How completely idiotic could Cameron be?
The throne room was packed with people. Oberi growled lowly, his hackles raised as he snarled at the Emperor. Marcus barely restrained himself, body quaking as his eyes flashed from Cameron, then to Kallie.
Charlie was here, too, though he didn’t know what to do. His jawline was set with an edge of rage as his fists shook at his sides, though he didn’t speak up or intercede.
I couldn’t blame him for freezing. He didn’t have any political power anymore. Cameron had stripped it all away.
Kallie had already ripped her sword from its sheath, pointing it at Cameron. “Set my brother loose. I won’t ask twice.”
“Insolence will not be tolerated in the Elvish court!” Cameron yelled, already sounding like a whiny baby. “This whelping brat needs to learn when to hold his tongue!”
“Because I did as fae do and called you what you are,” Kazim spat. “A coward Emperor who hides away in his castle while his people die. Have you ever bloodied your sword? Because I would rather linger within the darkness of the Underworld for an eternity and a year than allow my people to perish while I do nothing to help them!”
“You are asking me to commit suicide,” Cameron snarled.
“I asked you to help us bring fae captives imprisoned by The Mission back to Ilamanthe. There are thousands of soldiers being held in Malovia since it was overrun, good fae with strong magic, trapped who could use our help. Our spies have confirmed they are being held in the town of Fasva, which I assure you is quite penetrable and could be overtaken! To rescue them is not just a favor to us; it is a benefit to you, as Ilamanthe’s forces would be twice as strong if we were to save the fae that remain captured under The Mission’s eye,” Kazim hissed. “We cannot beat Doctor Taurus without greater numbers, and this is our only chance to grow them, yet you slink away as a worm into your hole, dragging us all down into the dirt with you to become corpses! I call a thousand shames upon your house, and spit humiliation upon your name!”
I’d never seen Kallie’s brother so furious. Kazim was such a gentle, soft-spoken person, but a fiery wolf raged within him once confronted with another king’s weakness.
“Who said anything about beating Doctor Taurus?” Cameron said with a wave of his hand. “I find we are quite comfortable here.”
“This shield will not hold up forever, and neither will our supplies. We are running out of food!” Sigrid cried.
“You got past the shield somehow, so I don’t see where that’s a problem,” Cameron sneered.
This was exactly why Kazim and Sigrid had been hiding with Kallie’s parents. Now that they were exposed, so was our hole in the shield.
Cameron shrugged. “It’s irrelevant, because the palace has plenty of supplies to last the royal court for some time.”
In other words, if Cameron wasn’t going hungry, nobody else mattered.
Sigrid gritted her teeth. “We must confront The Mission soon, before we are on the edge of starvation, and we cannot do that without more soldiers!”
“And why should I take orders from you?” Cameron sneered. “You have lost your country, and I am trying not to lose mine. You are no longer a queen, so why do you holler like a bitch dog when hit?”
Kazim burst into a fit of Malovian that sounded like curses, straining against the chains. Kallie took on a defensive stance, getting ready to attack. “Insult the fae queen again, and you won’t have to worry about what my brother says next, because I’ll spear my sword through your ears. It will be easy to do, as there isn’t a brain in the middle to block my blade’s strike.”
