Chapter Sixteen
Ladon
Breathe in. Breathe out.
My legs were heavy against the sandy shore, but it wore my muscles down in the best way.
Getting back into the habit of training was doing wonders for my sleep and mental health.
I’d asked Emilie a few times if she’d like to come with me to see if it would help her too, but so far, she hadn’t taken me up on it.
Instead, she had spent most of the past week with Marco and Selene working on that gods-damned antidote. I wasn’t an expert in alchemy, but I had expected a solution by now.
My arms pumped harder, and cool air brushed through my hair. It was impossible to know whether my accelerated heart rate was because of my frustration or the intensity at which I ran. Perhaps a mixture of both.
The only thing more frustrating than Cyrus’s unchanged status was the fact that Zayn and Clarise still hadn’t shared anything of use.
I was confident that Clarise was telling the truth—that is, before I cut out her tongue.
She was weaker than her partner, but even so, she never broke.
She didn’t even offer false information just to get me to stop.
Zayn, on the other hand, was holding onto something of worth.
I could sense it. He was trying too hard to prove he could handle the torture.
Like he was taunting me. But he had passed out after I carved out his eyes, so I had to take a break.
I’d check in on them both after I met with a few advisors later today.
On top of everything else, I was still juggling my duties as regent.
I turned around at my usual halfway point—Treye’s Grove.
There was an entire horde of religious fanatics worshipping and begging the gods to save my brother.
I used to get annoyed seeing them all out here so early in the morning, but today I took comfort in it.
Maybe their mythical higher beings would give us a solution soon.
As the castle came into view, I slowed to a walk and headed to the water. I pulled off my shoes and rolled up my pants before stepping in and letting my feet sink into the sand. It was as calming as it was cooling—something I desperately needed after my run.
The waves rolled in and out, and I closed my eyes, getting lost in the sound and basking in the sun on my face. I’d never take the sunlight for granted again after spending so many months without.
A faint voice called to me, and my eyes shot open. I turned around, unable to tell if that was alarm in her voice or something else.
Emilie waved her arms in the air, shouting, “Come here. Come here!”
My legs found their strength again, and I bolted toward her. I ran up the stairs from the beach to the gardens two at a time until I stood before her. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”
She grabbed my hands and squeezed, and I realized that she wasn’t worried or frantic—she was beaming.
“Nothing is wrong. It’s happening. They’ve figured it out.
Marco and Selene, they’ve come up with the antidote.
They’re going to administer it any second now, and Sophia wanted me to come find you. Let’s go. Hurry!”
She didn’t have to tell me twice. Together, we raced through the castle corridors and into the healer’s ward. The guards stepped aside when they saw us coming, and we barged into my brother’s room, interrupting the silence.
“Ladon,” my mother admonished. “No running in the castle.”
I could’ve laughed at the way she spoke to me like I was still seven years old, but I was too focused on Cyrus. Marco was standing over him with a syringe just inches away from his arm, a blue vein prepped and ready to be jabbed.
“Well… what are you waiting for?” I asked.
Marco blinked in annoyance. The answer was obvious—they were waiting for me. But I was here now, so there was no more time to waste. This was it. I was going to have my brother back.
Emilie’s hand touched my arm, and she slowly rubbed her thumb over my skin.
The movement lured my mother’s gaze, but her eyes quickly returned to Cyrus.
Still, I moved in front of Emilie. I didn’t want her to stop touching me—soothing me—but I also didn’t want it to be the first thing Cyrus saw when he woke up.
Marco slid the needle into my brother’s vein, and the liquid in the syringe slowly seeped into his body. Afterward, Marco placed a bandage over the puncture.
“How long does it take?” My mother asked.
“It’s hard to say,” Marco answered. “We’ve never done this before. The serum won’t take long to circulate, but we will have to wait and see how his body reacts.”
It dawned on me how dangerous this was. I trusted Marco’s abilities, but we were experimenting on my brother. I had every hope that this would work, but it was still possible that it wouldn’t.
My mother sat on the bed next to Cyrus and held his hand, slowly stroking his face and whispering his name.
I took one of the open chairs that was pressed up against the wall and leaned forward with my chin resting on my clenched fists.
We waited… and waited…
An hour later, we were still waiting. Cyrus hadn’t shown much improvement. I thought I could see more color in his cheeks, but that might’ve been my brain playing tricks on me.
My mother alternated between sitting by Cyrus’s side, encouraging him to wake up, and standing so she could pace about the room with her hands pulling at her scalp. Meanwhile, Emilie bounced back and forth between the two of us, hoping she could instill some peace.
“Why don’t you go get something to eat?” I finally told her after she got my mother to sit down for the tenth time. “You don’t have to stay.”
“Of course I’m staying,” she said. Then, with a little more sympathy, she added, “But if you or Sophia are hungry, I will go get something from the kitchens.”
“I’m not hungry,” my mother said.
I wasn’t either.
I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes. This waiting was going to kill me.
After another hour passed, I stood up. “I need to go for a walk.”
I had just put my hand on the doorknob when a gasp came from behind me. I turned on my heel to see what had shocked my mother.
“Cyrus,” she cried. “Oh, gods, Cyrus!”
She threw her arms around him, and he winced, looking around the room in confusion.
His eyes were open. He was awake!
My legs nearly gave out, but I forced them to carry me forward until I sat on the bed opposite my mother. “Brother,” I said softly.
“What happened?” he asked, his voice hoarse from weeks of nonuse. “Am I in the healer’s ward?”
Emilie appeared with a glass of water in hand, and I took it from her, pressing it to my brother’s lips and slowly tipping it. “Here. And yes, you are. What’s the last thing you remember?”
He swallowed and licked his lips, eyes bouncing around the room. “I remember going to Murvort and rescuing the two of you. There was a battle. That part is fuzzy. I don’t remember blacking out, but I must’ve. Gods, I must’ve given you all a fright. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I exchanged a look with Emilie and knew she was sharing the same thought as me—Cyrus had no idea how long he’d been out nor the severity of his situation.
I cleared my throat. “That’s right. There was a battle in Murvort, which we won.
But you were struck by a poisoned blade.
You passed out on the field, and we had to bring you back to Renoa.
It took some time to find the cure. Cyrus,” I said, gaining his full attention.
“You’ve been in the healer’s ward for a month now. ”
His face twisted in confusion. “A month? How is that possible?”
He started to sit up, but our mother pushed him back down. “You will rest until a healer has given you a full checkup.”
“Mother—”
“Don’t ‘mother’ me. Do you know what I have been through? How many times I’ve had to watch my sons face death?”
I grinned at my brother. “I’d listen to her if I were you.”
He relented, settling back into bed. After a moment, he spoke again. “What else have I missed? I presume you’ve been filling in for me?”
He looked hurt at the idea, but I took no offense. I understood how much he loved being king, and it was a role I could confidently say that I never wanted.
“I’ve hated every second of it, Brother.
I’m sure the conclave will be pleased to have you back as well.
” I bit my tongue, determining how much information he needed to know right this second.
“As for what you’ve missed, not much. Mostly business as usual.
There is one item we should go over, but we can do that once you’re feeling better. ”
I didn’t mention that the one item was a momentous agreement with Murvort where we agreed to give them crops, open travel routes, and diminish our naval presence. I wouldn’t give him a heart attack after we’d just revived him.
“I’m feeling fine,” he said. “Though I am hungry, I guess. And could I get something stronger than water?”
We all laughed.
Mother kissed his forehead and stood up. “I’ll go get the healer and find you something to eat. I doubt they’ll approve of giving you wine, but I’ll see what I can manage.”
I couldn’t tell if she was kidding, but she left the room without another word.
“Emilie. It’s good to see you, too,” Cyrus said. She had been so quiet, standing in the corner of the room, that I’d almost forgotten she was here.
She came closer and offered a timid smile. “How are you feeling?”
It was uncomfortable, watching the two of them exchange subdued pleasantries and surface-level remarks. Part of me felt like I should leave the room; right now, she was still his betrothed. He had no idea what had happened in his absence. It felt as though I was the intruder rather than my brother.
Suddenly, it became very real, this thing between Emilie and me. The conversation that was inevitable.
My palms began to sweat. How would I break the news to Cyrus? Where would I even begin?
We’d spent so much time focused on getting him back that I hadn’t considered what this would mean for our family. I could picture my mother’s face clear as day, wagging her finger and saying, ‘I told you so.’
I needed more time to thoroughly plan how to break the news.
My brother laughed at something Emilie said, and I was ripped from my thoughts. I should be present with my brother, not thinking about tomorrow’s problems. This moment was worth celebrating, not dwelling on how I would break his heart. Gods, I was a selfish asshole.
A knock on the door saved me from my self-loathing.
“That was fast,” Cyrus said. “I didn’t expect Mother to be back so quickly.”
But as the door opened, it wasn’t our mother who entered the room. It was Jade.
“Sorry to interrupt the reunion. I was told King Cyrus was awake and couldn’t wait to introduce myself.” Her smile was forced, her words full of shit. How had she even found out my brother was awake? And who had let her in? The guards and I would have to share a few words.
“And who are you?” Cyrus asked.
“We can do this another time,” I said before Jade could speak. “This isn’t appropriate.”
She was unfazed by my contempt. “I’m surprised your brother hasn’t told you.”
“Jade,” I growled.
“I’m Jade Holden, emissary from Murvort. I’m here to make sure you hold up your end of our deal.”
“Murvort?” Cyrus said with a mixture of confusion and disgust. “What deal? Ladon? Explain, please.”
I released a heavy sigh and then began to tell him everything he’d missed.