Chapter 25 #2
I cleared my throat. “You didn’t visit,” I said. “Your people were killed in a terror attack. Future soldiers, engineers, doctors. And you didn’t visit. You only released a generic statement. Did you even think to contact the families?”
She stared at me, her jaw working. She had nothing to say, and I knew it.
“Anything else you’d like to share? Since you spend so much time in the company of those who criticize your mother.”
That surprised me. I laughed again. “No, mother, I only spend time in the company of the lesser, as you said.”
Mom’s cheeks turned the slightest bit of pink at her embarrassment. But she only pursed her lips and waved a hand, telling me to go on.
“While we’re on the topic, since when do the guard wear green?” I asked. “That’s another problem. There are dead students at the academy, and the guard are in a new color. It’s tone-deaf.”
Hugo looked like he was ready to throttle me, but I ignored him. He’d always coddled my mom a little too much, which is why I suspected he was the favorite.
I readied myself for my mother to go into complete meltdown mode, but instead, she surprised me again.
She crossed her arms, chewed her lip for a moment, then lifted her chin. “What would you have me do?” she asked.
My mother had never asked for my opinion. Ever. Not even indulgently when I was a child. The fact that she was allowing me to give her counsel only proved she felt as lost in her new position as she appeared.
“Let me take this on,” I said. “Let me start handling a few things for you. I’m the Heir Apparent, now. I have to take on a larger role. It will improve your image while shaping my own.”
My mom nodded, then cleared her throat. “Alright. And your special interest is…the academy?”
I raised my eyebrows. Hugo raised his eyebrows. Raaz remained a stoic fuck.
“I suppose. Maybe just the common people in general?” I thought as quickly as I could. I hadn’t expected her to actually take me seriously.
“This is because your Key is from the islands?” she asked.
I chuckled a little nervously.
“Not entirely,” I said slowly. “But it’d be a lie to say hearing about her experiences in the islands hasn’t influenced me.”
My mom stared at me for a moment, then nodded.
“Very well,” She rubbed her shoulders. “Hugo, call your Link-mate.” My mother never used my father’s name. “He is to leave all disaster management to the Heir Apparent.”
I choked on a laugh, letting out an awkward cough instead.
Hugo looked alarmed. “He’s going to–”
Mother cut him off. “I don’t care. The Prince has expressed interest in his Royal duties. I will not refuse him. If my Links should have a problem with this, they can speak to me directly.”
This time, I laughed openly.
My mother hadn’t spoken to my father in nearly a decade. There was a rumor she hadn’t even looked at him in nearly as long, too. My mom watched as I ran a hand down the roughened skin of my arm.
“This is good for you, my son. Perhaps I should meet the Key to this new Royal Chain.”
I grinned, imagining how angry my father would be.
This was going to cause such a fucking problem.
I was so excited.
For some reason, it was nearly impossible to leave the Palace.
It was more of a fortress, really, even if the more recent generations had slathered it with opulence to hide the fact that it had been a stronghold castle at one point.
My grandfather used to brag that the entire thing was constructed with stone, no metal reinforcements needed. He claimed this was so those with affinities for wielding metal couldn’t break it down from the outside in an attack.
As if earth affinates didn’t exist. Wyatt could level this place and all I had to do was irritate him.
As I made my way down the hall, shaking my head, though, I realized an affinity for metallurgy may not be as extinct as previously believed.
Wasn’t my entire Chain proof that no affinity was truly extinct?
And what of the affinity Shafer sensed, the new one he couldn’t name because he’d never felt it before?
Part of me was glad Wyatt was finally embracing the fact that he had some sort of affinity for sensing, even if it was weak and untrained. It was unfortunate that Shafer was the only Sensor I knew of who’d be willing to teach him, and the two of them didn’t get on well at all.
Fucking Wyatt, always pissing off important people.
Although…I grinned to myself. I tended to do the same.
I rounded a corner I was pretty sure I hadn’t already passed, and suddenly the shadows enveloped me, pulling me into an alcove and obscuring my human form.
Odd…but then I heard voices.
I moved completely into my shadow form as none other than my father and the Crusader exited the door to the dungeons.
The Crusader was pissed, shaking his head back and forth as my father urgently spoke to him.
“She’ll get it, I swear!” Alejandro hissed a little loudly. Clearly, he didn’t expect anyone to be here to witness this.
“I don’t trust you anymore,” the Crusader said with a shake of his head. “We’ll have to try one of the others.”
“They’re…they’re too weak. They’ll never be able to–”
“I don’t care!” the Crusader snapped, and Alejandro’s steps faltered, coming to a stop as the other man rounded on him.
A very, very weird sense of protectiveness flashed through me.
I didn’t like Alejandro, but I didn’t exactly hate him. Watching someone else put him in his place should’ve been something exciting, but instead…it made me a little angry.
“Any news on Shafer?” the Crusader continued back up the hall as if this was his home, and not Alejandro’s.
My father straightened his tie before following as if nothing had happened. “No,” he replied. “I’m assuming you had no luck in the islands?”
“None,” the Crusader clipped. “I don’t know how many of those islands I visited, but I never saw any sign of him. Even my Ward couldn’t sense him.”
Alejandro scoffed.
“I know,” the Crusader muttered in agreement.
“He’s been rebelling too hard.” Alejandro said.
“You say that like I’m not the one dealing with it,” the Crusader replied. He blew out a heavy breath. “He’ll be back to normal soon enough.”
I began to follow them, the shadows hiding me as I slipped from dark patch to dark patch while I made my way up the hall. This conversation was important, even if I wasn’t yet sure why.
“Avery,” Alejandro said, his voice a little uncertain. “Can he really…”
“Yes,” the Crusader responded. “Yes, he can. He’s definitely choosing not to, but we’re working on that. I have a new assignment for him, since I’m down a Sensor.”
“Does she help you at all? She used to have a way with him.” Alejandro said.
“No,” the Crusader replied with a shake of the head. “He can do no wrong, as far as she’s concerned. Her fits are growing in frequency, as you know. But it’ll be fine. Things will be better once I’ve found my phantom.”
A cold chill wafted down my spine.
I’d known the Crusader was in charge of the Pilgrims. I’d known the Pilgrims had attacked the islands, and the academy. I’d known they’d referred to Skye with that code name, but somehow, hearing this man use it in regular conversation with my father was…
The shadows reacted without my say so, skipping down the hall and dancing around the light switch as I held in a groan.
My father and the Crusader froze before turning to face me. My father looked fearful, his eyes wide as he adjusted his tie. The Crusader seemed a little irritated, but then in awe, like witnessing the shadows was some amazing privilege.
“Rafe?”
“Oh, there you are,” I said lightly, revealing myself. My heart pounded, and I was so pissed that my palms were growing sweaty, but I offered an easy grin. “Your previous meeting went late?”
Alejandro cleared his throat, looking confused, but the Crusader had narrowed his freaky pale eyes at me. They were too light, too void of color. They didn’t match the rest of his face.
“How much did you hear?” the Crusader asked.
I snorted. “Your family problems don’t interest me.”
He narrowed his eyes even further. “Family problems?”
“Yeah?” I said, tilting my head. “Wife throwing fits, teenager not doing as he’s told?”
The Crusader and Alejandro shared a look, then Alejandro looked back at me with renewed confidence.
“I’m sorry the meeting ran late. We had a lot to discuss.”
I shrugged, then glanced down the nearest hall, and my heart leapt. The stupid bald tapestry was at the end, meaning my father’s office was close, meaning I could get the fuck out of here soon.
“Well, now that he’s free…” The Crusader looked at my father again, and they seemed to be having a silent conversation.
Wait a minute.
They were having a silent conversation.
Fuck. I was nosy on a normal day, but I’d never wished for stronger telepathy than I did in this moment. If only Skye were here–
Actually, scratch that. Skye being here was a bad idea, especially since this fucker was looking for her. As much as I wanted to watch her kill again, this would not be a good time.
“Don’t you have to be at the academy soon?” I asked, distracting them as I slowly began to creep toward the tapestry.
“How do you know that?” Alejandro asked sharply.
I rolled my eyes. “Wyatt.”
Alejandro stiffened, and the Crusader noticed.
“That’s the pretty boy?” he asked.
I snorted, then grimaced. God, Wyatt was going to break every bone in my body, then heal them, then break them all over again.
“Anyway,” I said, deciding not to answer the question. I was nearly to my bald ancestor. Just a few more steps and then I could make like Skye, and run the fuck out of here. “This has been fun, but I have to go.”
“So soon?” Alejandro asked. “The meeting didn’t run that late–”
I snorted again. “It did. It’s four. I met with mother for over an hour and you still weren’t done with this…meeting.”
“My apologies,” the Crusader said. “We had a lot of catching up to do.”
“Sure,” I said, continuing my journey to the tapestry. Was this hallway getting longer? I began plotting ways to level the place and rebuild it once it became mine.
“Well then, say hello to your Key for me.” Alejandro said.
I stopped in my tracks, stared at him for a moment, then shook my head. Not worth it, I told a shadow on my shoulder. I didn’t have time to kill my father, cover it up, and get to Wyatt in time to drop him off at his father’s, so I kept walking.
“No,” I said finally. “I won’t be doing that.”
“Well, give your boyfriend our greetings, then.” The Crusader said.
“Sure,” I said, barely holding back the urge to gag. “Wyatt will love that.”
“No, not that one,” the Crusader said, flashing a grin. “I meant the one with red hair.”