Chapter 23 #3
Tarshi's black eyes were bright with a desperate kind of hope as he looked between his brother and the rest of us. "Think about it. If Taveth could use the crystal during the chaos of the assassination attempt, if he could free all the dragons while we're fighting to save the prisoners..."
"The confusion would be perfect cover," Jalend said.
"We free the prisoners in front of everyone.
Show the citizens what their Emperor has really been doing, how he's been lying to them.
Start a coup right there in the arena. Imperial forces scattered, trying to protect their Emperor, trying to contain an uprising.
They wouldn't know where to focus their attention. "
"Insane," Sirrax growled. "Death trap. Imperial guards everywhere. And Imperial dragons. Two free dragons cannot fight so many."
"And that's exactly why it could work," Jalend interrupted.
"Tarshi’s right. Taveth chooses that moment to attempt the crystal.
He removes the curse from the shadow mages, releases the dragon shifters from their collars, all in front of thousands of witnesses.
Show the people exactly what kind of control their Emperor has been wielding. "
I had to admire his audacity. It was either brilliant or completely mad—possibly both.
Tarshi leaned forward on his bench, his expression thoughtful despite the insanity of what was being proposed.
"The resistance has been building support within the Imperial ranks.
There are commanders, centurions, even some Praetorians who've been working against the Emperor from the inside. If we coordinate with them..."
"You're all out of your minds," I said, though I could already see the terrible logic in it. "Even with inside help, the risks—"
"Are enormous," Antonius agreed, but he was looking at his notes with new interest. "But so is the potential impact. If we could actually pull something like this off..."
"It would change everything," Sirrax finished quietly. "Not just for the Talfen, but for the entire Empire."
I looked at Taveth, expecting him to shut down this madness immediately. Instead, he was staring at something in the distance, his arms still wrapped around Livia. When he spoke, his voice was eerily calm.
"I was going to attempt the crystal anyway," he said. "At least this way, if I succeed, it might actually accomplish something beyond just ending my own suffering."
"And if you fail?" I demanded. "If you go insane in front of thousands of people?"
"Then hopefully someone will be close enough to put a sword through my heart before I can hurt anyone," he replied with that same terrible matter-of-factness.
Tarshi got up and walked over to crouch beside his twin. His face was strained, but his voice was steady.
"If it comes to that," he said simply. "If you attempt the ritual and fail, I'll be the one to end it."
Taveth met his brother’s eyes, then nodded slowly.
I watched the colour drain from Livia's face as she processed what Tarshi had just said. Her head whipped around to stare at him, her dark eyes wide with horror.
"No," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Tarshi, you can't—"
"Someone has to," he said gently, his hand settling on Taveth's shoulder. "And it should be me.”
Taveth reached out, placing his hand on Tarshi’s opposite shoulder. “Thank you, brother. I would want it to be you standing by my side.”
“You’ll have me there too, “said Livia stubbornly as the two dropped their arms.
“You won’t be there,” Tarshi said to her.
“You are not leaving me behind,” she said hotly, her eyes flashing.
“I had no intention of doing so, little Dragon,” Tarshi smiled, though it was full of sadness. “This is your chance to get your vengeance on the man who killed your family.”
Hope flashed across her face for a moment, then faded.
"Even if we could free the prisoners, even if Taveth could break the collars and cure the mages, we still wouldn't be able to get close enough to the Emperor to kill him. He'll be protected, surrounded by his personal guard."
“Why you?” asked Jalend, his face expressionless. I had wondered how he could sit here and discuss, no, suggest the murder of his own father. To hear that the woman he loved wanted to be the one to do it must hurt.
"Because he destroyed my family too," Livia said quietly. "Because he gave the order to destroy my home, to murder my village, my family. Because someone needs to make him pay for what he's done.”
I saw the pain that flashed across Jalend's face at Livia's words, though he tried to hide it behind that careful mask of composure he wore so well. She didn’t notice.
"That was the whole reason I joined the Academy," she continued, her hands clenched into fists. "To get close enough to him, to make him pay for what he did to my family. But even then, I never found an opportunity. In the arena, with all those guards..."
I saw the conflict in Jalend's face, the way his jaw tightened as he processed what Livia had just said.
The woman he loved wanted to kill his father—the man who had destroyed her family, yes, but still his father.
I couldn't imagine the pain that must be causing him.
When he finally spoke, his voice was carefully controlled.
"What if I told you I could get you close enough?" he asked quietly.
Livia frowned. “How could you do that?”
Jalend was silent for a long moment, his gaze fixed on her.
“Because I’m his son,” he said.