Chapter 20 #2
“You should have kept your mouth shut and your head down,” I said as I pulled out the chair and sat down. I smirked at the pissed-off elder—former elder. “Fucking fools. The lot of you.”
“Mask is fully coming off if they’re all gagged I see,” Fraser said with a dark chuckle.
I gave a half shrug, keeping Bramble’s gaze. “All so full of yourselves and so sure you knew everything. Knew so much more than me and you didn’t even fucking know why I was really sent away.” I chuckled when he rolled his eyes. “My parents were terrified of me. That’s the truth.”
“Sagan,” Darren sighed, but I snorted, meeting his gaze in the mirrors.
“No more lies. You can say they had some love for me, but I believe Belinda that it was more an act. But everyone in the know here knows they were scared of me more than they were scared for me.”
And he couldn’t deny it. I was impressed that the truth dragon and tiger who were in charge of this interrogation didn’t react. They were gagged as well and none of this was going to be recorded.
“See, here’s the truth,” I told Bramble as I crossed my legs and folded my hands.
“I had a crush on an older boy—so handsome and full of life.
Everyone loved him and he was so nice to me—genuinely nice to me, not the Heir of Thovudin.
And as silly children do, I tried to keep up with the big kids.
I wanted to show him I could and I was just as good.
“Except I almost crushed him.” I looked back to the mirror and into light blue eyes.
“Didn’t I, Benson? I broke—half the bones in your body?
At least a third.” I was shocked when he seemed to blink back tears and focused back on Bramble whose mouth was hanging open.
“And my parents were horrified that their little princess—their heir did that.
“So I was sent off. Immediately. Before I could even apologize or learn if I’d killed the boy I’d liked so much.
” I swallowed loudly at that memory. “That’s why your plan was so fucking stupid.
You were never going to puppet me. You were so in the fucking dark it was ridiculous because as a child I was a stronger dragon than Father and it terrified him. ”
Just to prove my point to everyone there, I stopped shielding my power, the very aura of my dragons. No one would be able to sense there were two—no one could since that hadn’t ever happened before. They would just sense power unlike they’d ever felt before.
“You thought to control that?” I mocked. “You’re just one of Hardin’s lackeys. The lot of you fools couldn’t handle me.”
“You never told me that they didn’t tell you I was okay,” Benson rasped.
I met his gaze in the mirror and flinched.
“All that mattered to them was you. Father loved you like a son and I was just his overpowered freak heir. He didn’t even talk to me for…
” I shook my head and glanced at Maple. “Maple learned that I was being shunned basically and came to see me. Told me you had fully recovered and that it wasn’t my fault. ”
“It wasn’t, Sagan,” she rasped. “You were a child—just a kid. You’re powerful by the blessing of the gods and Thovudin clearly needs it.
You’re not even the only powerful royal who’s made mistakes and hurt people.
” She glanced at Fraser. “Who was that nanny I hated and accidentally sicced all the squirrels on?”
“Oh, that twat was—I forgot her name but yes, accidents happened.” He snorted. “She deserved it, but—we’ve all made mistakes. Rhys—I’m so mad at him he never told you his own mistakes with his powers. He made many.”
I blinked between them and then let out an evil laugh, scrubbing my hands over my face.
“I’m seriously over the lies. He told me not once did he lose control.
No member of the royal family ever injured someone with their powers until me and I could never forget that moment so I always kept control. ”
“I no longer think he sits next to the gods,” Maple seethed before storming out of the room.
I wasn’t sure I did either, but I felt bad for ruining their image of their brother.
“I can practically hear you blaming yourself and none of this is your fault,” Darren said firmly. “It’s theirs. I’m furious at Amelia too, and I—we should have—none of it is on you.”
Fair enough, but I didn’t have a switch to shut it off in my mind either, so it was best to just move on.
“The mistake you just made—and in a line of them that will show the others you shouldn’t be in charge and they should have let us guide you,” Bramble said confidently. “Was that I didn’t sign anything and it doesn’t work after the fact. There’s no magic that contains me or—”
I burst out laughing and knew instantly it was Belinda when it echoed. It took me a few moments to calm down, but when we looked at each other, it set us off all over again. It got so bad the Alphas stepped into the room and couldn’t hide their confusion.
“You’re laughing at his sexism and audacity that your magic can’t handle him, right?” I checked with Belinda.
She tried to swallow a laugh but snorted. “No, that he’s so stupid that he thinks you’ll leave him alive.”
Everyone in the room froze, but I simply smiled at her.
“That’s why I was laughing, but also his stupid that you as an ancient couldn’t handle him.
The fact they were in charge of more than parking tickets in the capital is what’s really terrifying.
” I focused back on Bramble. “You’re dead. Super fucking dead.”
“Your Majesty, that’s—” one of the Alphas tried to interject.
I ignored him and kept Bramble’s gaze. “You tried to destroy evidence pertaining to the deaths of the king and queen. Ordered investigations shut down in my fucking name. And then blamed me to the public knowing it was your nephew’s fault and he’d made millions off of my family.
You also made it public that Father pushed through the weather like—you’re dead. ”
“And she’ll do it with a smile. That’s what you’re here to learn, Alphas. Sagan isn’t a wilting flower. You’ll wither under her if you aren’t smarter.”
“I’ve already started to see that,” Dray admitted. “You might have your father’s patience, but you have much bigger balls than Rhys ever had.”
I snorted, letting it go but then turning to the other Alphas. “Do you need to see me take his head without flinching to understand the reality you’re in? Or are you going to keep being stupid and reporting your findings to Dray like he’s my new boss or—”
“Wait, Sagan, please,” Vex of all people interrupted.
He dropped to his knee when steam about came out of my ears.
“All of this is off the record and I know I’ve done—I can never apologize enough for my ignorance and stupidity.
But not this time. This time it was innocent and please hear me out. Hear us out that—”
“They weren’t reporting in to Dray like he was the boss.
They’re out of their element and were asking for counsel,” Belinda explained.
“They’ve never investigated an elder—probably no one alive in their families has.
Instead of admitting they’re out of their depth to you, they went to Dray because he has the most experience in legal and police matters. ”
“Is that true?” I checked, sighing when the Alphas all nodded. “Idiots. Just fucking admit that instead of more…” I let out a slow breath and waved for Vex to stand. “I admitted when I wasn’t ready and—okay, fine, this was all for nothing then.”
“Oh no, I learned a lot,” Dray muttered, glancing between Bramble and me. “Is he the first you’ll kill?”
“No,” I chuckled, shocking Darren and Fraser.
“It was in self-defense,” Belinda muttered.
I started to nod but then glanced at her. “Well, then saving Myriam. Is Myriam-defense the same?” I smiled when she snickered and then looked back at the Alphas. “I’m not a psychopath. I don’t enjoy it.”
They seemed to accept it, but Dray glanced past me to Bramble but then focused on me again. “Even I’m affected when I have to take a life.”
That was fair. “I’ll tell you in six months how I feel about this one. I’m a bit overloaded with everything else at the moment and seething rage most days for how this all happened.”
“Fair. When it was self-defense?” he pushed.
“She doesn’t answer to you, Alpha,” Belinda snapped.
“No, she doesn’t, but she’s asking for a lot of trust as she shows this new side to us. I’ve given all she’s asked for and shown my loyalty.”
That was actually fair and I respected Dray for it.
“It was sort of a blur and I was young. When it was Myriam, I was just glad I got there in time and then scared people would find out it was me. I was terrified my parents would know their heir killed people to save a mobster’s daughter and got her hands dirty. So it was never anything simple.”
He snorted. “If you ever find anything simple in life as a leader, you let me know, Your Majesty.”
I chuckled. Yeah, fair enough.
And then we proceeded to rake Bramble over the coals in every way possible. He was so beyond dirty it was grotesque.
“Let’s call it for tonight,” I muttered when I realized it was well after midnight and everyone was dragging.
“Let’s get a call for tomorrow—today with all the Alphas.
Whenever and quick, but—your issues were valid.
No one has invoked the law in our lifetimes, even those of you with previous Alphas alive or family that’s trustworthy.
“I’m fine with Dray taking the lead, but let’s all get on the same page with this.
It’s too big for assholes later to get on—you know what will happen.
Not with this. Not with this level of corruption and—no.
We agree now as the leadership of Thovudin and move forward together or I challenge them as Alpha. ”
“You’re serious?” Fraser whispered.
I met his gaze and let him see I was. “This corruption led directly to the deaths of the king and queen. Yeah, I’m fucking serious that we all agree it is a line that’s never crossed again and how we handle it isn’t questioned.
Ever. Because I’m going to live a very long life or I will take out all the Alphas first.” I snorted when Belinda mimed clapping for me so I saw she was proud but she didn’t distract with the noise.
Right? It wasn’t just like some money was stolen. My parents’ plane went down because of this.
I was making it clear how that was punished so I survived.
“Someone had fun,” Darren said under his breath, both of us knowing he meant Eloise.
“Yes, but she needs to fly and soon. We need to—I need help to practice on how to—I need to figure this out.”
“I know how to handle this but yes, we will need areas where you cannot be seen at the start,” Belinda told me. She winked at me. “It was how I hid everything when you were younger, child. You were just too young to teach how to do it for yourself. You’re not now.”
Right, of course. Of course Belinda cloaked Eloise.
I actually felt stupid for never having figured that out before.
Then again… I always had enough to deal with even before my current level of crazy.