Chapter 4 #2
"Frost Elf features?" Cadmus guffaws but before he can chastise me further, the queen slumps in her chair and the king nods his head.
"We didn't know she possessed magic, but we did know she had Frost Elf blood," the king rubs his fingers along his jawline.
"When Keres was pregnant all those years ago, she lost our child.
He was stillborn. Somehow, Armas Basilius knew of our loss and offered us a solution.
He informed us of a child, a little girl, who had lost both of her parents in the Great War and needed a home.
We should have said no, but we were so desperate and filled with immeasurable grief we took him up on his offer.
We met Armas in the mountains of Durne in secret to acquire the child.
Frost Elves are extremely protective of their own, and he didn't want his people to discover how he'd helped us. "
"He instructed us to give her a concoction nightly," Keres finally chimes in. "He said it would hide her Frost Elf features. If she failed to take it, everyone would discover her true parentage, and we would ignite a scandal with our allies in the north."
"So, you didn't realize she had magic?" I ask.
"No." Keres shakes her head, and I'm inclined to believe her. "What kind of magic does she possess?"
"Light magic reserved for the Celestials." I explain and they pale. "Her real name is Aurelia Basilius-Sol. She's the daughter of Sylvane Basilius and Enver Sol."
"Enver Sol?" Garren clutches his chest. "What was Armas thinking offering his granddaughter to us?"
"Unfortunately, Armas Basilius won't be answering any of your questions, Your Majesty."
Garren shoots to his feet, red in the face. "He will answer me!"
"He's dead."
"Armas Basilius is dead?" My father points at me. "How do you know this? We haven't gotten word of his death."
"You will. I watched Thrane Basilius claim his head. He is the new Frost King, and I promise he is in no way going to abandon Shaye and won't be looking to continue an alliance with Midori. She's a Basilius and they're a proud family."
"What are you suggesting?" Keres' bottom lip quivers. "We should just abandon our daughter? She might be a Basilius, but I swear we didn't know. She's just as much my daughter as she is Sylvane's."
"I'm afraid the Basilius family won't see it that way.
I know Thrane. He will see his grandfather's act as a betrayal and treasonous, justifying his swift execution.
Thrane may be a lot of things, most immoral at best, but he is fiercely loyal to Sylvane and in extension Shaye.
He won't believe you and the King didn't have prior knowledge of her true lineage. "
"I swear we didn't know." Garren's eyes dart from mine to meet my father's. "We didn't know, Cadmus. I swear we didn't know."
"Your Majesty, you have two choices." How very true to form of my father to skip past emotions and get straight down to strategy.
"We can send word to Thrane the usurper that he must return the crown princess to us or risk war with Midori or we wipe our hands clean of the magic wielding Frost Elf.
If our people discover the heir to the Midorian Throne is not of Midorian blood, and worse, possesses illegal magic, they won't bend the knee to her.
It would cause civil unrest and there will be riots in the streets, calling for her execution.
In my opinion, the Frost Elves did us a huge service in ridding our lands of her muddied blood. "
"That is your advice?" I hiss, gritting my teeth, earning a deep-rooted scowl from my father. "Threaten the Frost Elves who ride dragons into battle or abandon the princess because her blood isn't to your liking?"
"If you believe yourself to be so wise, Lord Commander, tell me, what would you advise the king and queen to do? Hmm? I'm waiting, Bastian. Speak, since you obviously know so much."
My chest constricts and I'm left gaping like a fish gasping for breath.
Do I agree with my father? No. Especially when it comes to his views on magic wielders and muddied blood.
But I don't have any better plan of attack.
I tried to retrieve Shaye, and she made it clear she wanted nothing to do with me or her parents.
She chose our enemies. She chose him over me.
I don't wish to abandon her but, in all truth, she turned her back on us long before I stepped foot into Stelara.
"That's what I thought." My father's voice slices through my thoughts, making me feel small. "You have made a career of combating me at every turn but offer no sound advice of your own. You have too much of your mother in you, Bastian. Best to leave her weak ways behind you and finally – "
A guttural sound rips from my father's mouth as I stare into his horrified gaze. I don't remember shifting, and I certainly don't recall shoving my claws into my father's chest, but I can feel his lungs fill with blood and his heartbeat slow.
"I am not weak," I whisper. "And you will not speak of my mother that way."
Short gasps escape his lips as his eyes flutter closed and his limp, lifeless body slips from my talons and crashes to the floor.
His blood pools around my furred paws, bursting through my leather boots.
Vesper and the rest of my private guard, unsheathe their weapons and point them at the few guards scattered throughout the throne room as I step toward Garren and Keres.
Horror. Pure, unadulterated horror streaks across their faces, and I can't blame them.
I'm used to that same expression being shot my way every single time I shift, but this time it hurts more than usual.
"Bastian!" Keres cries. "Please."
I stop. I had never intended to harm them but realize how it must appear to them as I traipse forward wearing my father's freshly spilled crimson blood as war paint. "You need not fear me. I mean you no harm."
"What is the meaning of this?" Garren waves his hand up and down in front of me. "What are you?"
"Your daughter is not lost," I ignore his questions, not truly sure how to answer other than admitting I'm a monster. "Trust in me and I can bring her home."
"Forgive me," Keres finds her voice, "but did you not try and fail to bring her home already?"
Vesper hisses, ripping her golden mask from her face. I raise my hand, silently ordering her to stay put. She might see the queen's question as defiant, but I know Keres better than that. She's a mother grieving the loss of her daughter. She wants guarantees, not more unfulfilled promises.
"Shaye is blind." I shift into my human form. Vesper rips her cloak from her shoulders and extends it for me to wrap around my naked torso. "She thinks she knows the whole truth, but she's mistaken, misguided. Give me another chance to prove my worth as your High General."
"I don't remember bestowing you the title of High General," Garren pokes his chest up in feigned confidence.
I motion to my father lying dead on the floor. "The position is now open, and I have claimed it. If you have objections, voice them now."
Garren and Keres exchange a quick look, but neither denies my claim. I'm done playing by the rules and allowing others to dictate my future. I have entered a new era – the era of taking what I want, others be damned.
"I will bring Ilaria home." I turn on my heel, step over my father, and march out of the throne room. Blood still stains my hands and feet, but it doesn't bother me like it should. Cadmus Tarkin will no longer be able to harm me and that's a reason to celebrate.
"What a great start to the morning." Vesper smiles, licking her lips. "How does it feel to live your truth in the light of day, High General?"
I smear the blood from my hands to my waist as I tighten the cloak. "A new era has begun, Vesper. And all who stand in my way will pay."