Chapter 3 Freedom from Politics #3
My brothers and I looked at each other. Three slow blinks from each of us, our oldest silent code, cemented our agreement. Whatever came next, we’d face it together. As we always had.
“We’ll take the job,” Zane smirked, “and we’ll see who dies first.”
Father stood, signaling the end of our audience, and I was already mapping out contingencies, escape routes, defensive measures.
A part of me had to admire the elegance of Father’s manipulation, dangling freedom in front of us like bait, knowing we’d bite no matter the hook hidden inside.
Another part, the part I rarely let surface, wondered if he cared at all about what happened to us in this arrangement.
If we were just pieces on his chessboard, to be sacrificed for a better position against Arabesque.
Irrelevant, I decided.
We’d agreed, and we’d see it through. Not for him, but for ourselves. And if we had to outwit both a vampire king and a Dark witch to obtain our goals? Well, we’d had worse odds.
“Be at your new estate by Friday at the latest. I’ll order the last of your things taken out of storage and shipped there this afternoon.
” Father reached for his tablet—a paper tablet; he had very little patience for modern technology—and jotted down an address in perfect Spencerian script.
“Congratulations on your impending nuptials. Let me know which day to send the officiant to conduct the ceremony.”
“We’ll be in touch,” I replied as I took the paper he held out.
“Or not,” Zane smirked.
As we turned to leave, Father’s voice stopped us at the door.
“Be careful with this one, boys.” His tone was serious enough to make me glance back. “Arabesque plays a long game, and she doesn’t care who burns as long as she gets what she wants.”
He sounded concerned. Not for us, maybe, but for the outcome of his strategic gambit. Still, it was the closest thing to paternal advice he’d offered in years.
“So do you,” I reminded him. “And neither do we.”
#
King Lucian Ro?u
The moment Casimir, Zane, and Koa departed, I let out a slow breath, rolling my shoulders to ease the tension knotted there.
They had taken the offer better than anticipated, although I knew they had their suspicions. Clever little monsters, all three of them. Always had been. It was what made them such good hunters.
After a while, I left my office and found Sebastian in the library with a book in hand, shirtsleeves rolled to his elbows. He looked up as I entered, his hazel eyes sharpening with curiosity.
“Hey, Dad,” he greeted, setting the book aside. “You look upset.”
“Perhaps because I am.” I exhaled through my nose.
He gestured to the chair across from him, and I took the seat. The overhead lights cast long shadows across the room, illuminating the fine angles of his face. He had his mother’s bone structure, sharp and elegant, and her eyes.
“I assume this is about my little brothers? They stopped by for a moment, but Casi was in a hurry. Zane seemed more unbalanced than usual. Ko was silent. I take it they accepted the arrangement.”
“They did,” I confirmed.
“A dangerous position, but an effective one.” He leaned back, crossing his arms. “Arabesque will assume you’re securing a truce through marriage rather than embedding them as spies. At least at first, but it will buy you time to investigate her more thoroughly.”
“That was one reason. The other is more complicated.”
He studied me in silence, waiting. He had always possessed a rare patience, an ability to listen without interruption. It was one of the many reasons he would make a fine king when I was ready to step down in a few centuries.
“Kaori is curious about them. She wants to meet them. I explained our history, and she lectured me. Me!” I shook my head, remembering my beloved’s reproachful eyes. “She even quoted Sophocles. Sophocles, Sebastian.”
“Let me guess: ‘How terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the man that’s wise!’ ”
“Not at all. Rather, ‘All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong and repairs the evil.’ ”
“ ‘The only crime is pride,’ ” he finished, then tilted his head. “So you are correcting your course by sending them away?”
“In a manner. I’ve ensured they have everything they need or could want. Freedom, wealth, security.” I ran a hand over my hair. “I used them as tools for too long. I want to give them a future of their own choosing.”
“And by assigning them to such a high-stakes mission, you also force the court to recognize their worth.” He tapped a finger against the arm of his chair.
“You see it.” I gave him a tiny nod. “I’m not sure they do. Not even Casimir. Not yet.”
“They can’t be heirs, but this will ensure they are respected outside the court. If they succeed, their reputations will be solidified.” He paused. “And if they fail?”
“They won’t.”
“A test of loyalty and character?” Sebastian huffed a laugh.
“I suppose so. I want to see if they rise to the challenge or if their freedom crushes them.” My jaw tightened. “I also wonder if they will return at all.”
“You believe they would completely sever ties?”
I didn’t answer immediately. It was a fear I had not voiced, even to myself.
Casimir, Zane, and Koa had no true obligations to me beyond blood.
If they flourished away from the court, they might decide to remain permanently separate from it.
Separate from me. Our relationship was strained, and it was entirely my fault.
Sebastian read my silence correctly because he sighed.
“If you wanted them to stay, you wouldn’t have offered them the contract.”
“No,” I admitted, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t want them to choose to stay. I know it’s hard to imagine after all I’ve done, but I don’t want to lose them. I didn’t realize it until Kaori made me see it, but now that I do, I find it almost unbearable.”
He regarded me for a long moment before shifting the subject.
“Have you considered what kind of girl Arabesque will send?”
“Not a blood daughter, certainly,” I scoffed. “No more than I would send you. I told them as much.”
“It’s likely to be someone who has little power in her household, but it will have to be a relation of some kind.
” He leaned forward, thoughtful. “Maybe that’s for the best. The three of them are harder than ever.
More closed off, even with me, and we’ve always had a good relationship.
Maybe a wife will soften them. And if she is not a power player or a haughty heir groomed to rule? Well, that could work out even better.”
“And if she’s a Dark witch or bound to Arabesque’s service or betrays them or—”
“You know the answer to that as well as I do,” he chuckled lightly. “She won’t live to see the moon-damned sunrise.”
“Although I am well aware that this may blow up in our faces, I would like them to find some peace. Perhaps not in their new bride, but at least at the estate we purchased for them.”
“I can’t see them picnicking by the lake, but yes, it’s peaceful enough. Ko will like the library we stocked, and it’ll do Casi good to unwind a little. As for Zane, well, maybe he’ll get lost in the hedge maze for a few weeks and emerge a new man.”
My lips wanted to twitch at that, and Sebastian studied me again, this time with something quieter in his gaze.
“You don’t want them to end up as you once were.”
Grief flickered in my chest, old and familiar. When I lost Catalina, I lost myself, too. The monster I’d become…
“No,” I murmured. “I do not.”
“Then let’s hope this arrangement gives them more than just freedom from politics.”
I nodded, but in my heart, I did not know if hope would be enough.