Chapter 28
Cai
There he was.
I finally laid eyes on the man who’d taken nearly everything from me.
I would have attacked him immediately had it not been for the young man who was with him.
I didn’t know what had happened to Conner after we’d left for Argon. He’d stayed behind at Mistwood to continue his training and I’d had no way of knowing if he’d survived the initial attack of Argon’s guards.
But there he was, still alive and breathing . . . for now.
Conner’s face was pale as Thatcher used his body to shield himself. My biggest concern was the knife he held to Conner’s throat.
The young boy’s eyes met mine, wide with panic and pleading for me to do something.
I’d thought about this moment so many times. About what I would do when I saw Thatcher again. But I should have known it wouldn’t be as simple as a duel. Thatcher was a coward after all.
“Let him go.” I held up my sword. Elara was close by my side. “He has nothing to do with this.”
“Maybe not.” Thatcher held the knife dangerously close to Conner’s skin. The boy swallowed hard, the apple of his throat bobbing against the steel. “But he’s the only reason you’re not coming at me with that sword right now.”
“Afraid to face me like a man? And yet you always insisted you were better than me at fighting.”
“In hand-to-hand combat, maybe, but I also know when I’m outnumbered.”
“That’s right, we have this whole place surrounded,” Elara said. I didn’t remember the last time I’d seen her face filled with so much anger. “Accept it, Thatcher, you’ve lost.”
“Maybe I have, maybe I haven’t.” He gestured with his head to Conner. “I could always still kill him.”
He braced himself as if to slice open Conner’s throat, and I shouted out, “No!”
Thatcher eyed me from the dais, inviting me to make the next move.
“Let him go, and I’ll put my sword down.”
I was going to murder him but not until I was sure both Conner and Elara were completely safe.
“How do I know I can trust you?” He kept eyeing Elara as if she would pounce on him with that sword at any moment. Had it not been for Conner, I believed she might have, despite her injured arm.
“Have I ever lied to you, Thatch?” I used his old nickname in the hope he would let his guard down.
This palace was filled with endless memories for the two of us, from a very young age. We would chase each other around with wooden swords, sneak into parties we were too young to attend, climb the trees in the gardens and practise fighting. He had gone and thrown it all away, and for what?
“I suppose not.”
“I’ll put my weapon down and you let Conner go, and then we can fight this out, man to man.”
“Are you sure about this?” Elara said softly.
“I know what I’m doing.” I didn’t want to be angry with her, but I was overcome with feelings of disappointment and worry. She’d used the Myrgonite dagger after I begged her not to, and now neither of us knew what the consequence might be.
“All right.” I was thankful he agreed. “Man to man, then.”
I slowly lowered my sword until it lay on the floor next to me.
He gave Conner a hard shove, pushing him in Elara’s direction. She pulled the boy to her and retreated with him, putting them both out of our way.
Thatcher still had the knife in his hand, and I doubted he would be willing to let go of it. I would simply have to take my chances.
I balled my hands into fists, readying my arms in the right position.
Thatcher didn’t hesitate. He came straight at me, with the knife pointing towards my chest.
I dodged left and knocked his arm as hard as I could manage. He let out a grunt of discomfort, running one hand through his hair to get it out of his face.
He swiped at me again and I kept the muscles in my arms rigid as I gave him another hit, this time at his elbow.
One more good hit to his wrist or lower arm and I might be able to rid him of the knife.
I’d been sparring with Thatcher for as long as I could remember. And though I’d never had the intention of actually hurting him until now, I knew all his moves and his weaknesses.
Thatcher often forgot to keep his face guarded, and so before he could anticipate it, my fist collided with his nose, knocking his head back. Before he could recover, I gave him another hit for good measure.
He let out a grunt of pain or anger, maybe both. Just you wait, bastard. I’m only getting started.
He started to circle me, blood running down to his mouth.
Conner was gone, but Elara still stood by the door, knowing that no matter how much she wanted to protect me, this was my fight, and I would have to see it through.
I wondered if I would have been able to do the same, had our positions been swapped.
Would I be able to stand and watch as she risked her life, fighting the person who’d taken almost everything from her?
Her family and her kingdom. A fight that we all knew could only end in death.
I eyed Thatcher, waiting for him to make a move.
“Well, come on then,” he spat out. “I know you want to kill me.”
Damn right I did.
“You betrayed everyone, Thatcher. Your king, your kingdom, your family. Did you even think about Gwen in any of this?” His poor younger sister, whose life would never be the same.
She’d not only lost her brother, but also her home, and she would be labelled as the sister of a traitor for the rest of history.
“I am not her keeper.” He went to stab me again, this time in my stomach, but I turned, and the knife caught in my tunic and ripped the material. I used the opportunity to grab Thatcher’s arm and come down on it with my elbow.
He groaned in anguish, letting go of the knife and pulling his arm back.
“You killed my family. The people who treated you as if you were their own,” I cried out, still hoping, somehow, that after everything, Thatcher might say that he was sorry, that he regretted it.
“You don’t even know the half of it,” Thatcher stated with proud arrogance.
“Who do you think poisoned your father?” The words hit me harder than I would have liked.
It was the equivalent of standing on a frozen lake and having the ice break beneath your feet.
That initial moment when you’re submerged in the icy water and it feels as though your heart is going to stop.
“Who do you think gave the servant the poison for your wine? Who do you think let Argon’s guards into the palace?
It was right in front of you the entire time and you were too blind to see it. ”
I’d thought and wondered about it for a long time, but hearing him say it, and hearing him confess to my father’s murder, was more than I could bear.
“You were never my king, Cai.” He managed to land a punch to my jaw. The pain shot through my face. “And you never will be.” Every word was like another blow.
I tried to go for his face again, but Thatcher was more prepared this time, blocking me. The only downside to my knowing all his moves when he fought was that he knew mine as well. And he had no qualms about taking advantage of my weak spots.
Another hit to my side, which I reciprocated. There was no version where this ended well.
“Believe me, it wasn’t easy killing your mother.”
I defended against his blow and hit him straight in the eye, causing Thatcher to stagger back a little.
“Right until the end she cried out for you.” It was as if all my nightmares had come alive before me.
I could see my mother’s face in my dreams. Hear her voice.
Hear her call out for me to help her before Thatcher slashed her throat.
I would do anything, pay any price, if I could erase the mental images of Thatcher murdering my family.
The people who treated him as their own son.
My fists were up again, ready to strike once more.
“She seemed particularly attached to this.” I watched as he pulled a ring from his pocket. The ring my father had given my mother on their wedding day. The ring she never took off. After he passed, I would often find her sitting staring at it. Like it connected her to him, even in death.
“That doesn’t belong to you.” Fury surged through my veins.
“Doesn’t it?” he challenged. “I figured I own everything in the royal household, since I basically rule this part of the kingdom now.”
“You’re a fool if you think Aries will allow you any power. He’s using you.”
Thatcher twirled the ring in his hands as if to taunt me that he’d pried it off my mother’s corpse.
“That belongs to my wife,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Your wife?” He raised an eyebrow, sparing a quick glance at Elara. “I didn’t realise congratulations were in order.” I had no doubts in my mind. Elara was the only person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
“I believe Aries wouldn’t be opposed to the idea of an alliance with Everness. But only the marital sort, of course. Perhaps if he decides he doesn’t want her, I can take my turn to play with your toy.”
I lost it.
I tackled Thatcher to the ground with all the strength I possessed. We both hit the floor hard, knocking over some decorative armour in the process. I saw my mother’s ring skid across the throne-room floor.
Thatcher was quick to throw a punch to my side, hitting my ribs. He knocked me on the side of my head, causing the world around me to spin for a moment as stars entered my vision. It gave him enough time to shift our positions so that he was pinning me down.
Thatcher managed another blow to the side of my head, and I tried to keep my eyes focused on him, but every hit was more painful than the previous one and my sight grew blurry.
As my head rolled to the side, I noticed Elara pick up the ring. Her eyes were filled with fear. Maybe she was calling my name. I couldn’t be sure.
“Thatcher, please! You’ll kill him.”
If I died now, I would be leaving her to fight all of this alone. Thatcher and Aries could get to her, hurt her or, worse, kill her.
I couldn’t give up on her. Not when she was the only thing worth fighting for.
My arm reached out and took hold of the metal helmet that we’d knocked over. Thatcher didn’t have time to react before I hit him, as hard as I could manage, on the side of his head.
The armour was heavy enough to cause damage, and a small trail of blood started to drip from his temple. He pressed his hand to his head, coating his fingers in blood. I took the chance to kick at his legs and roll him over so that he was under me again.
“You’re never going to beat him, you know.” Thatcher attempted to hit me again, but he missed, slightly disoriented. “Aries is too powerful. He will destroy you and everything you love.”
Though I would not want to admit that Thatcher could be right, Aries was already halfway there.
“He will end you and Elara. Both of you will be dead, just like your mother and your father, and the only thing left of your legacy will be two empty thrones.”
I didn’t care anymore. I brought the armour down on his face again and again.
Blood spattered across my face and the floor.
I heard Elara call to me, but the noise was drowned out by the ringing in my ears.
All I could see was Thatcher driving his sword through Jack.
My father on his deathbed, my mother and grandmother dying at Thatcher’s hand.
I saw Elara in Aries’ clutches. All the people I loved either dead or hurt.
I was helpless to save them once and I would not be again.
Thatcher let out moans of pain, unable to fight back. I hit him over and over, and eventually he didn’t move anymore, but I didn’t stop.
He’d taken my family, my throne and my kingdom, and all I could see was red. Fire might as well have blazed in front of my eyes. Anger like I’d never felt before overcame me until hatred was all I could feel.
I only stopped when I was completely out of breath, unable to move my arms any longer. I sat back on the floor, heaving. Thatcher’s face was barely recognisable, and I realised I’d murdered my best friend.