Chapter 47
Looming War
CASPIAN
The night following the execution had been one of the longest, and the only other time comparable was intertwined with a life I was no longer a part of.
Each step carried the weight of responsibility, of duty in a position I never wanted.
And the blood still lingering beneath my fingernails—no matter how hard I scrubbed—served as a reminder of the essence that should’ve never been spilled.
With the sword passed down from one guard to the next sheathed at my back, my strides echoed down the mostly vacant hallways.
Clad in a tailored midnight doublet, ornate clasps trailed down the entire length of my torso.
The garment itself was structured like a court military coat, with its high collar framing my throat with stiff, defined lines.
Across my shoulders lay a mantle of embroidered brocade guard panels, their silver filigree woven into the dark cloth to mark the authority of the crown’s sentinels.
Each time I passed a window, the patterning caught the light like frost on steel, emphasizing a rank I had no right nor interest in upholding.
As if to drive that point home, engraved vambraces hugged my forearms, both etched with royal motifs.
To anyone else, they signified extravagance and the severe elegance expected within royal service. But to me? They were makeshift cuffs that confined me to the grounds, to the king, to the Others.
This was my fucking prison.
Rounding the corner, the deep purple cloak stitched to the minimal fabric backing of the panels caught the breeze and snapped behind me with an air of authority that made my skin crawl.
Where I’d held the position of the captain of a crew, the men whom I supposedly commanded were family.
But within the walls of the palace, where a wrong word could cost your tongue, and obedience was the only way to stay alive, there was no such concept.
And the king’s decision to have me take the position of the man I’d killed, the man who once stood beside Kaelivan in both honor and love, only proved the depth of corruption littering the lands.
Forgetting that I was towing company, the deep, refined voice ripped me from my wandering mind. “They expect Kaelivan to be in the ballroom no later than the golden hour, sir.”
I turned to my right, locking eyes with the male who once bore the title of Percival’s second, recently turned mine.
Brix’s fire-red hair settled just above his shoulders, and the crystal-like hue of his irises seemed to reflect his emotions, a hint of red igniting them as he held my stare—a sign of the tears he had shed over losing a man who should still have been walking alongside them.
It should have been me.
“Have you or the others been able to get into his quarters?”
He shook his head. “No, he’s been unresponsive since…”
“I understand,” I interrupted before he had to relive the moment the news spread through the capital. “And in the efforts of protecting him, I will ensure he obeys. This reign has lost far too much already, and there remains no bandwidth to consider the fall of the heir.”
Before I could blink, his forearm met my throat as he forced me into an alcove just off the hallway. Back slamming against the stones, I grunted but didn’t bother to fight back as the tip of his dagger met the side of my neck.
“You sit and speak with feigned innocence, but all I hear is bullshit. You’re responsible for Percival’s death, and you wish to waltz in here and claim you are worthy of the same title? That we should adhere to your demands and follow your orders?”
My lips curled back in a snarl. “I am not demanding anything, though if you are smart enough, you will follow the chain of command. Not because I require you to, but because this palace’s walls have godsdamned ears.
If you wish to lose your head, by all means, allow your temper to rule.
But believe me, I don’t want to be in this position just as much as you do not wish to have me here. ”
His grip didn’t waver, and his glare only deepened. “You’re a fucking pirate. Your kind are known for lies, betrayal, and misleading, which is precisely what you are doing here. Infiltrating the royal guard like a goddamn infection, with only one aim, eradication.”
“Do you agree with King Marellan’s ruling?” I asked, hissing between clenched teeth as he dug the tip of the dagger into my flesh.
“No.”
“Great. Then you’re not on my fucking list.” Palms slamming into his chest, I forced him away from me but kept my voice to a harsh whisper.
“Do as I order if you wish to stay alive. The king and the Others are on high alert and will continue with executions if they deem them necessary. And believe me, the four of you, the remnants of Percival’s entourage, fill the top slots on that list.”
Brows furrowing, his composure slipped. “Wait, what?”
I exhaled in a mix of annoyance and disbelief at his naivety.
“None of you are safe, and I am willing to put my neck on the line to say that. If you want to battle me on my allegiances, go for it, but just know that I’ve escaped these grounds once by myself, and have no problem leaving the lot of you behind as I do so again. ”
“What is your goal?”
“Currently?” Running the back of my forefinger down the side of my neck, I gathered the lineage he’d drawn. “To keep Kaelivan safe. Outside of that? To have my bind—” A searing anguish circled around my throat with the admittance.
Tension dissipating from his shoulders, a flash of understanding graced his features. “You’re bound to the king?”
I shook my head with a humorless scoff, swallowing the building agony. “I wish it were just him.”
“Is it true that—”
Approaching footfalls silenced him, and I reiterated the need for it as two feminine voices slithered through the hallway.
Adrenaline spiked, numbing some of my affliction as I snapped my chin toward the sound.
Turning back to Brix, I pressed my finger to my lips as I leaned back against the stone, tucking myself into the shadows the alcove provided.
“Well, if those are your plans for the prince, what of the pirate?” the first one asked, her articulation slightly familiar—the dark-haired woman who’d led Kaelivan off the ship.
“The pretty one?” the second crooned, and the way my chest ached alongside her sing-song timbre solidified who I presumed would be prowling through the palace.
Sorva.
“I don’t know, I think the blonde is rather… appetizing.”
“We each have our preferences, I suppose,” Sorva countered, a small laugh following as their voices grew more audible. “As for the pirate? Breaking his bind may have risks, though we will not be the only ones facing them.”
“What do you mean?”
“With his words no longer silenced, he will be able to spread the word of our truth. Though with the servitude mentality King Marellan has instilled in Serevalen, I am not too worried about the people here. The outstanding towns, though? They will likely become an issue, which is why we made the statement we made on Veilmar.”
I lifted a hand toward Brix, ordering him to stay where he was. Leaning forward, I peered around the corner, quickly reeling back as they passed the pillar lining the side of the alcove Brix stood on.
“For him,” Sorva continued, her lack of acknowledgment earning an exhale filled with relief from me.
“It presents a weakness. I showed it to him in a stream of visions. His link with the red-headed cunt, and how their ties to one another may serve as more of a downfall than a benefit. Without the bind, the barrier falls, and their souls link, which means we have a direct line. That is, if we wish to further torment the Damned and can kill two birds with one stone. Though there is nothing I love more than a bit of psychological warfare before the true war begins.”
A snicker was the only reply she got, which quickly fell more and more inaudible as they slipped through the hallways.
My throat bobbed, mind immediately slipping back to what I’d seen when she’d toyed with the mark buried beneath my brand.
It was becoming increasingly evident who I truly belonged to and who held the reins over my livelihood.
The king's hands were nowhere near her taloned claws when it came to possession, for she could command me as she wished so long as I was tethered to her.
“Fucking hell,” Brix whispered, his gaze meeting mine. “What the fuck was that about?”
“What I told you. Let’s go.” Shoving myself from the wall, I grabbed hold of his collar and ripped him with me toward Kaelivan’s quarters.
I silently prayed the prince would put a knife in my throat and bleed me dry for what I’d stolen from him.
“What the fuck do you want?” The question came with as much ire as I’d anticipated, though the reactivity I’d imagined would follow remained nonexistent.
Instead, Kaelivan remained seated in one of the plush black-fabric-backed chairs on the opposite side of the room. Arms folded over his chest, his selection of plain trousers and a loose-fitted linen shirt made it clear that he desired to be anywhere but here—he wished to be at sea.
“Well, that’s rather loaded, don’t you think?” Leaning against the wall, I mirrored his demeanor. “You refused to let Brix in, but allowed me to bask in your presence. Why?”
“I asked first, pirate.”
“Well, to answer your query honestly, I want out of here. But since I know that is not the answer you are seeking… I am here to ensure you are getting ready. For your wedding.”
“It is not my wedding,” he spat, running a shaky hand through his disheveled hair. “It is my father’s fucking wedding. I want nothing to do with that woman. By the gods, I don’t even know her!”
“I understand your frustrations—”
“You don’t understand shit, Caspian.” Shoving himself from where he sat, he came to stand.
“You do not know what it is like to be suffocated by the Marellan name and the weight of the expectations that come alongside it. You do not know what it is like to have your freedoms ripped from you, while all you can do is watch. You do not fucking know what it is like to be in love with someone… to want someone so desperately just to have them ripped away from you while you do nothing… nothing to stop it.”
“Kaelivan.” My jaw feathered, and I sank my teeth into my tongue to prevent myself from retaliating with unnecessary harshness.
His chin snapped toward me, his body trembling with rising wrath. “What?!”
“I am sorry.”
Chest falling, he stopped breathing as soon as the three words left me.
He held my gaze, and the perpetual state of panic I’d seen him fall into as soon as Percival’s life slipped into my father’s hands welcomed me once more.
Face twisting even more, every ounce of anger dissipated, and the only thing that remained was gut-wrenching sadness.
It was the expression of someone who had lost everything, someone who had nothing else to live for, and fuck, I so deeply desired to tell him I understood.
But I had no right. I was the reason Percival was dead, and my decision to follow those commands marked me with a vileness I knew I would never be able to remove.
“You have no right…” Bottom lip quivering, he shook his head. “You have no right to sit here and ask for forgiveness.”
“This apology is not a means of requesting forgiveness,” I stated without missing a beat.
“It is an apology. One that I very well understand you will likely never accept.
You have every right to wish for my death, to pray for my demise, to loathe me far more than the definition could even entail, and that is something I will never take away from you.
“Hell, I would offer you a blade right now if you wished to carve my heart out, but there is something in your gaze that suggests you desire something different. That you do not wish to continue conforming to any act that could be seen as heinous, anything that could deepen your tie to your father.” Unmoved from where I perched myself, I continued, “You are terrified that even a simple act such as vengeance for your lover will transform you into the monster he has become.”
His seafoam eyes welled with tears, and he blinked as if wishing to hide them. “I… I-I… Does that… Does that make me a bad person? For not… desiring to kill you for what you’ve done? For what you robbed me of?”
I offered him a saddened smile. “No, Kaelivan. That makes you better than the rest of us.” Inhaling, I finally pushed myself from the wall and took a few steps toward him before I offered my hand.
“There is nothing that will redeem me for my actions, and I do not expect there to be a day when you look at me and do not see a murderer. But… I do wish to pose an offer to you, because I fear our paths have crossed for a reason, and the war looming on the horizon demands your influence.”