Chapter 29
Tobias
The throne room seemed vast and empty without all the chaos of the past few days. Tobias sat upon the dais, surveying the décor as if he might be contemplating some sort of renovation.
In reality, he’d fallen deep inside his subconscious, turning things over and over in a bid to find a way forward.
He’d been so focused on getting through the dying vampire crisis and oathing Marquez, there hadn’t been time to strategize the bigger battle looming ahead.
There was no way the eighth lord would sit back and let them outsmart him.
He’s always ten steps ahead. I’m not worried about the battle at all. I’m worried about what else he has up his sleeve we haven’t thought of. No matter how prepared we think we are, this will be pure insanity from every angle.
The air shifted nearby, something a mortal would never notice, for it took only a fraction of a second. Tobias picked up on it instantly, and knew an immortal was about to materialize. Forcing a swift exhale, he sat up straighter.
Rion appeared, cloaked in delicious dark energy, which alleviated some of the stress. A newly-fed demon often did that to Tobias, since his Undead core was also comprised of dark energy.
Despite this, he looked upon his friend with caution, uncertain of where things stood between them.
“All good?” Tobias asked.
“Indeed. And you? Are you nourished and calm?”
He arched a brow. “I don’t think anybody can be calm under our present circumstances, but I’m fine, and fed.”
“Excellent.” Rion stepped up onto the dais and sat on his throne.
“You seem…” the sentence trailed of as he failed to find the right word.
A gleam of mischief sparked in Rion’s cerulean eyes and a smirk twisted his lips up on one side. “We shall not come to blows, this day.”
“Uh, good?”
“Providing you do not allow this relationship with my sister to cloud your mind or influence what lies ahead, everything will continue to be fine between us. If you treat her with any less respect than you gave your late wife, my wrath is likely to make itself known.”
“I’m not going to screw around on her, fucking hell, Rion.”
Rion’s smirk grew into a grin. “I presumed as much, but nonetheless, it needed to be said.”
“I hate to stir the hornet’s nest, but this acceptance has come as something of a surprise. What changed?”
“I stopped letting my anger control my behavior. I am an empath and I failed to employ the easiest and most basic tool in my arsenal. You love her.”
Tobias simply nodded.
“Now, I recommend we speak of the path ahead, while we are not encumbered by our usual entourage. Any thoughts?”
“I can’t see a way we can win without taking out your father. Worse still, even if we did, Lyla’s twin sons could be an even bigger threat.”
“Agreed.”
“It’s a shame we can’t make a deal… but that was our plan last time and it almost ended in disaster. I’m not prepared to risk it all a second time. Not when you and Lyla have managed to free all ties from him.”
“There is much more at stake than the freedom of two individuals, Tobias.”
Massaging his brow, Tobias looked at Rion. “Well, what do you suggest?”
“Perhaps we do make a deal, but not with my father.”
“You want to make a deal with the twins?”
Rion called a bottle of cognac to one hand and a glass to the other, before pouring himself a drink. “It may be the least dangerous option.” He swirled the liquor in the glass and took a sip.
Tobias blinked a few times, trying to comprehend Rion’s endgame.
“We’ve discussed several times how dangerous they are.
Your father might be despicable, but he understands the necessity of the balance between light and dark.
The twins don’t. Plus, there are two of them.
You’ll never know which one is on the throne, and they’ll always be watching each other’s backs. ”
“No one suggested they had to rule together. Nor did anyone imply they would both survive what lies ahead. Additionally, one of them owes me a favor and I intend to collect.”
“You didn’t think it was worth mentioning that they owe you before this moment?”
“Not ‘they’. One. Singular.”
“So, let me get this straight. You want us to terminate one of the most powerful and dangerous Unholy Royals ever to exist, and then for dessert we’re going to bop off his heir apparent, so we can make a deal with the guy second in line?”
“I did not claim this to be a masterful plan; it is merely the most likely to succeed at this point in the proceedings.” Rion seemed far too calm, given the words coming out of his mouth.
“We’re screwed.”
“That is putting it mildly,” Kitty’s voice cut in unexpectedly.
Tobias had been so busy picking his jaw up from the floor, he failed to notice Kitty had materialized below the dais until she spoke. He couldn’t even tell how long she’d been there.
“Do you have a more valid proposal?” Rion asked.
“No, but I don’t think you’ve thought yours through,” she said. “You’re talking about patricide and fratricide.”
Rion drank back more cognac. “I am well aware, sister mine. I have already ended two brothers.”
Kitty folded both arms over her chest and slowly walked closer. “Yes, but neither of them were Lyla’s.”
Her words cut sharply. They’d been so busy trying to plot the winning strategy, they’d forgotten a vital detail. It appeared Rion had also failed to consider this angle. His drawn brows left no question of his perplexity.
“Bear with me because I think the plan is terrible,” Tobias said, “but do you really see all three of those males allowing this? How are we supposed to get any leverage if we play nice?”
She climbed the dais and sat on Will’s throne. “I don’t know, but if this is your best shot, you need to talk to Lyla. This isn’t self-defense, you’re talking about execution.”
“She’s right.” Tobias looked at Rion. “I’m interested to know her viewpoint on your crazy idea.”
“Then perhaps you should have included her in this discussion.” Lyla walked toward them from the middle of the room where she’d materialized.
“You heard your name…” Tobias said quietly.
Lyla parked both hands on her hips. “You know better than to have an unwarded discussion if you hope for privacy.”
“I apologize, Lyla. We did not exclude you intentionally.” Rion’s tone reeked of shame.
“We were just brainstorming, trying to figure out how we can all survive this,” Tobias added.
“I understand that.” She moved her gaze from one male to the other. “Is this truly the most likely scenario where we succeed? Ending my ex-husband and one of my sons?”
“We’re open to suggestions,” Tobias said, with a wan smile.
“What exactly do you expect to happen after these executions – assuming you pull it off?” Kitty threw in.
“We will strike a bargain with the new lord,” Rion announced. “He owes me a favor. We will agree to help him take the throne alone if he agrees to our terms.”
Rion’s bold statements surprised Tobias. He was not usually such a risk taker. It felt as though the roles had switched between them. It must have been some feeding tonight…
He dragged a hand through his hair, struggling to visualize any of this. “You plan to make the deal before we unleash war?”
“How could we attain victory any other way? Sometimes, in order to win, you have to lose.” Rion heaved a great sigh. “We cannot terminate my father with both twins as enemies. We will not get close enough to terminate a twin if the other is not already on our side.”
“Are you really in support of this?” Kitty asked Lyla.
“If it is a choice between the two of you and my twins, there is no hesitation. I will grieve the loss of my blood born, but I shall not pine for their presence once they are gone. You are my chosen family and I will never regret this.”
“Are you certain?” Rion murmured. “I would never do this without your consent.”
“You?” Tobias smirked just a little. “What happened to ‘we’?”
“So, you two are actually going through with it? Fuck. This is actually worse than Tobias and Will galloping off to the lower realms to save your sorry ass, brother.” Kitty let out a growl of frustration.
“First of all, Will has too much to lose,” Rion continued as if Kitty had not spoken. “So, we shall not involve him in this portion of the war. He will be better utilized in other areas.”
“The child…” Tobias echoed.
“Exactly.” Rion swallowed the last of his cognac and began again.
“Your existence is even more precarious. If you go down, the whole Undead society will implode, and a rather large portion of mortals will go with it. Whatever role you fulfill in this war, it shall not be executing royals of the eighth level, no matter how good you are at this type of task.”
“No, no, no.” Tobias held up a finger. “I didn’t go through everything I did this past year, to hide behind the barricades while someone else saves my fucking kingdom.”
“You also didn’t go through all of that to die.” Kitty whispered, barely loud enough for anyone else to hear. “You don’t have to be the hero this time. Fight in other ways. Lend your power in other ways.”
“I will do it.”
They all turned to stare at Lyla.
“What?” Tobias managed.
“If my son has to die, I will do it. Nobody would expect it, so that is in my favor. It is also my responsibility. If I am to permit this course of action, it must be I who makes it so.”
“How will you live with this? Lyla, no,” Rion said gently.
“How will I live with it if you do not survive? You and Kitty are my world now.”
This entire situation was a shit show. No matter how he tried to justify it, Tobias knew it was screwed up. Any way that he tried to reconfigure the scenario was still as risky as fuck, and likely to instigate either trauma or failure for many involved.
“Okay, we don’t have to get all the details figured out right this second,” he said. “First we have to call in that favor, right?”
“I grow fatigued from this incessant back and forth. We spend too much time conversing and not enough time employing tangible objectives to better our situation.” Rion’s anger stirred, raising the temperature in the near vicinity.
“I should return to my post as guard to the Undead Kings,” Lyla decided. “Though, now they have been imprisoned separately, they pose little threat. It is much easier to cope with than it was with Marquez.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Tobias stared at her for a long time. It had been great watching her come out of her shell in the In-Between.
The burden of her marriage to Rion’s father had suppressed a lot of who Lyla was.
On one hand, he could understand why she would be willing to do whatever it took to retain this new freedom.
On the other, he wondered if she would cope with the aftermath of these choices.
He knew better than most what it was like to live with the burden of regret.
“We shall let you know once the plan has been solidified,” Rion promised.
Lyla nodded and flashed out.
“You’re not going to tell her a damned thing, are you?” Kitty asked him point blank.
“Not in ten millennia.”
“Now there’s something we can both agree on,” Tobias nodded. “We are not putting her through that.”
“She’s going to lose her shit, and I honestly can’t fault her for that,” Kitty said. “But, I don’t want this on her conscience either.”
She gazed thoughtfully at the spot where Lyla had disappeared. All of a sudden, she whirled around to look at the two males. “Wait a minute, you two aren’t all loathing and daggers anymore. Did you–”
“Let it go, Silverwood.” Tobias gave her a coy smile.
Her brow furrowed for a second. “Huh.”
“Well, you’d better go and check on your charges. Do some angel chores, shit like that.”
“Honestly Martelli, sometimes you have no class at all,” she said, grinning. With a wink she dematerialized.
“She makes a valid point.” Rion poured another glass of cognac, ignoring the look Tobias was giving him.