“You’re a good child,” she whispered and moved her hand over my hair. “You always have been so pure of heart, Maple. Truly.” She let out a long breath. “You’re right and I have lived a long, full life. If this leads to the end the gods wish for me, then so be it. I worry about how to explain—”
But I already knew the answer, raising my head and meeting her gaze. “We used to have mystic dragon advisors. It was known and written. You’re ancient and Sagan has returned to the original coronation already. You areancientwhereas the elders have been doing everything they can to abuse her. Please, I will make it work with the other royals and our friends.”
She smirked at me. “Clever girl. All right, yes, well done.”
I also felt her spark light up as well because even if ancients were patient and liked peace… No one wanted a boring life and this was going to be interesting for her.
I hoped so. A lot of things needed to be shaken up in Thovudin.
A lot of things.
16
Onyx
I was already tired and frustrated when my phone rang, and then I was annoyed when I saw it was my brother and not Sagan like I’d hoped. So my greeting was… Honestly what he deserved. “Is everything all right?”
“No, Onyx, and now I really think it was you,” he snapped.
I sighed and let him hear it. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I figured—”
“You figured what? That if you leaked the video and hid behind JorisVisserof all people I wouldn’t see how you work all over this shit?” he blasted. “I gave you what you wanted. You wanted the chance to mate her. You have it. Why are you embarrassing this family more and—”
“Vex, I’mhelpingour fucking family as much as the queen,” I snarled. “The king is thrilled with what I found and—”
“What are you talking about?” he roared so loudly I actually pulled the phone away from my ear.
I couldn’t hide my annoyance either. “What areyoutalking about? I haven’t spoken to Joris since… I said hi to him at the coronation. I’m in fucking Protesia!”
“Doingwhat?”
“I’m so fucking done—you ignored my call, texts,andthe voicemail I left and you have the balls to ask me that? Be pissed that you’re out of the loop?”
It would almost have been amusing how quiet the line went if this wasn’t serious, my relationship with my brother was already shit, and I wasn’t fucking exhausted.
“So you didn’t leak the video of Sagan and Elira to Joris? You didn’t take it?”
“What did that fucking twat do now?”
“Thattwatmight become your nephew’s mate,” he drawled.
“Yeah, right, like you’ll ever make your precious son suffer consequences,” I threw right back. “What did she do to Sagan?” I practically felt his sigh through the phone.
“Someone recorded Elira confronting Sagan and demanding a position in her court, to be an aide, and then admitting she was sleeping with the high priest to influence him against Sagan.”
“Un-fucking-real,” I bit out. “And you think I’d leak that? Hurt her like that?”
“Great, you’re worried about her and not—”
“I want tomate her, Vex!” I roared. “Kole abused her and did this all to himself! People should know Elira is horrible, and if you were smarter you woulduse thisto get Kole out of mating her. Make him take accountability, but—he fell in love, but kick that whore to the curb. She was sleeping with others for power, but he was willing to sleepdownfor love.”
“I didn’t think of that,” he muttered.
Fucking moron. “Do not downplay what he did and make Sagan any more of a target or I will—don’t test me, Vex.”
“No, and there’s no point when his other affairs are coming out,” he chuffed. “More and more are stepping forward that they were sleeping with him while he was with Sagan. They are upset that—they thought there was an understanding in place and it was allowed.”
“Your son is trash.”
