Chapter 53
Exposed and pinned to the wall by my grandfather like a useless sack of bones, chest bared—my facade had completely crumbled.
Even when I’d held my speech during the ball, Galrach hadn’t glared at me like he did now, nor had he been so openly furious. Of all my recent sins, the one painted on my skin weighed heaviest for him—a transgression I hadn’t even chosen myself.
Since I couldn’t afford to lose consciousness, I did fuck all to defend myself, not even when my grandfather used his strength to hurl me through the air another time. The impact on the marble was so hard that if I hadn’t been able to protect my head, I would surely have cracked my skull.
No.
Pain spread through me, centering on my hip and shoulder, which had taken the brunt of my fall. Darkness stirred in my veins, clouding my senses as I stared at Galrach with more hate than ever before, more intense than I’d thought possible.
The monster had to die.
Shaking the brain fog away, I picked myself up. Keeping my face as neutral as attainable, I closed the few surviving buttons before raising one corner of my mouth.
No backing down.
“I liked that tunic. A refreshing lack of silver.”
“Scriosta, stop provoking me, for your own sake.”
Enough.
This godscursed annoying voice in my head. Why the thing riled me up all the time, urging me to more defiance than was healthy, was a mystery to me, and only as I surrendered to my temper, dropped my mask, and stared daggers at the king did some of the pressure in my chest ease.
The damage was done. Gone was my bored behavior, and the chance to fool Galrach into believing me to be unaffected was zero.
“Not my fucking fault. What else do you want me to say?”
“Who knows?”
“Me. And now you.” And Antas, but I wouldn’t mention him to his brother. He was caught in the crossfire enough already.
“At least you kept your wits.”
“Then we’re done?”
“No.”
At this moment, I understood why one-word answers drove Nayana mad on a regular basis. “Then what?”
Galrach was in my face once more, too close for comfort, but I wasn’t backing off. “Listen to me and pay attention.”
As much as I wished to formulate a witty response, the red haze of anger had me in its clutches. My jaw had locked a long time ago, and as I attempted to defeat the High King by piercing him with my stare alone, I simply stayed silent.
“First, you will not complete that.”
“Complete what?”
“Are you playing dumb again? I have eyes in my head, Scriosta, and what you have done is unacceptable.”
“Last time I checked with the clergy, accepting a gift granted by the Triad is perfectly valid. Also, this is none of your business.”
“Everything about you is my fucking business.”
“It’s my problem, not yours.”
“You have more problems than you understand. But I am aware of all the weaknesses you amassed during the past few moons.”
“Enlighten me, then?”
“My brother. The general. The medic. Even the gigolo you pretend to despise. And of course, your Amplifier, who is so much more to you, isn’t she?”
“If you just so much as breathe in her direction, I don’t fucking care how, but you’ll be dead. This I swear.” Snarling, I snapped at him, ignoring the fucking pain threatening to incapacitate me.
But Galrach wasn’t impressed. Instead, his face contorted into something resembling a smile, drowned by vast amounts of cruelty.
The gesture appeared downright ghastly. “You are exposed because of them. Finally vulnerable. Wide open at last. And I will use your deficiencies until you fall back in line. I invested too much in your legacy to have you throw everything away.” My grandfather went still, cocked his head, and a calculating expression crossed his face.
“But if you do exactly what I say from here on and prove your subordination, we may come to an understanding.”
My scoff earned me another angry glare, but how else should I have reacted? He wanted my obedience? Once the Breocharn froze over, maybe.
Galrach was done waiting for my answer and pressed on.
“There is a mission I will send you on. Do what I ask of you well, without complaint, and with outstanding success, and everyone who softens your heart will live to see another day. Fail me in any way, shape, or form, and I will make sure that not only will you have to witness the deaths of everyone you hold dear, but also that you yourself will be the one swinging the blade. You remember your traitorous father?”
“You wouldn’t.”
“In a heartbeat. I would spare the Eachtrannach for last and give her to the High Court for a while before I grant you to end her suffering.”
Kill.
Fuck. I was close to doubling over because of the roar only I could hear. My own emotions battled inside of me, making the simple task of grasping just one clear thought almost impossible.
Blackmail. He was blackmailing me. And I’d allow him.
There was no other choice, no matter how much my mind was screaming at me to jump into action.
“This is my offer. And Scriosta, each sassy answer, each hesitation will worsen the conditions for your Amplifier.”
“Tell me what I’m supposed to do for you.”
“You will ride into the Breocharn.”
Oh, fuck. Whenever I believed nothing could get worse, Galrach managed to trump himself.
My head was pounding, more and more pressure built in my chest, and it took me a while to realize that my magic desperately fought to break free.
My grandfather fixed his gaze on the drop of sweat running down my temple. If I couldn’t beat my state into submission, something horrible would happen, according to the bottomless pit of unease in my stomach.
When had this war for internal control begun? And why did that shit happen? Yes, my magic was wayward sometimes, but like this? Fuck.
As usual, I refused to consider the possibility that something was very wrong with me, but the unsettling fear lingered.
What if I gave up struggling against whatever was afflicting me?
The lure grew stronger with each passing day, more insistent, and carried a promise of rightness I didn’t understand.
“Are you listening?”
“Yes. The Breocharn. And?”
“Located right in the middle, a tribe of lesser fire fae is dwelling. According to my sources, they worship a pillar in the center of the desert. Implanted inside is a mystical gem, which allows them to survive in their hostile surroundings. Bring me the trinket.”
Concentrating on the facts, I finally managed to quieten the screams in my head to a bearable level.
The Breocharn. The fire desert southeast of Alaiann burning since the beginning of time. And just like the Ainmhi living in Tocsaineach, the Doitean, or lesser fire fae, as Galrach had wrongfully called them, were ancient, one of the six ancestor tribes of elemental magic and their Wielder.
Lesser my ass.
Fae could reach a great age, but the ancients? They were practically immortal. Everything scholars had found out hinted at that.
But the tribes refused to submit to Galrach’s rule, had never accepted his position of power, and now he obviously wanted to deal with the thorn in his side that they’d proven to be.
The moral implications of my actions had never interested me, but the reluctance rising inside of me at the notion of going against the ancients had nothing to do with ethics.
If said gem protected the Doitean from the harsh conditions of their home, taking the item meant they’d be forced to leave their habitat or perish—maybe even both.
Would this—
What if—
Why my mind jumped to the conclusion that stealing the gem for Galrach wouldn’t only annihilate the Doitean, forefathers of fire magic, but would also further weaken the fabric between the worlds was inconsequential.
So, not morality was holding me back, or the possibility of committing genocide, but the prospect of accelerating the advent of the apocalypse before I’d found a solution to the problem of how to ensure Naya’s safety during such an event.
My jaw locked so tight my teeth groaned, but I didn’t care. Galrach would hurt my female if I weren’t doing his bidding, but following his orders could just as well trigger harm for her.
Only now did I realize that the screams inside my head had turned completely silent, and my mind jumped right into plotting.
Both my options were terrible, but maybe I could figure out a third, given enough time.
Still, I would be an idiot if I didn’t attempt to talk Galrach into sweetening the deal.
“If you support my courtship and treat my female with respect, I’ll fetch your stupid gem.”
He would never, and I didn’t need him to, but aiming high to get what I really wanted was a tried and proven tactic I’d used before.
“You’re in no position to make demands, Scriosta.”
“Then at least swear you’ll leave her alone in my absence. You won’t threaten or harm her, and she will continue residing in my quarters. Promise me that.”
Offering the obedience he expected from me was wrong, and bile gathered in my throat, acid burning right into my soul. But for Nayana, I’d eat my emotions. I’d commit atrocities in her name so I could take another dent to my pride as well.
A muscle in Galrach’s jaw ticked, but he nodded. “I will agree to your terms if you depart this instant and alone.”
“I have to pack.”
“I will see that travel essentials and provisions are brought to the stables at once.”
Of course, he didn’t want me to notify anyone of why I was going to be absent. I could only hope that one of my comrades was in the area.
This fucking pile of shit changed all our plans, and the least I had to do was to inform the others. What a fucking inconvenience.
Still, I extended my hand to my grandfather. “It’s a bargain.”
With ominous triumph radiating in his eyes, he shook my hand and repeated the phrase, sealing our pact following the tradition of our people. “It’s a bargain.”
Without waiting for a dismissal, I spun around, abandoning the Sun Room.
Anger was churning through me once more, and I desired to tear someone apart, just as the prospect of leaving Nayana behind without speaking to her beforehand shredded the fabric of my soul.
I loathed the situation I was in, and I despised Galrach so, so very much.
Sometimes, I wondered if for every good thing arising, a multitude of terrible events occurred to balance the fortune out.
Not only did Galrach blackmail me into doing his bidding—as if that wasn’t bad enough already—no, the only one of my allies hanging around the stables was fucking Thain.
Well, at least better than Thain fucking.
Shit, I was really losing my mind if I made dreadful puns about Thain, of all people.
Before he could open his mouth, I raised my hand and growled. “I have no patience for you today. So keep quiet and listen closely.”
“Oh, someone is cheery. Did the Third Act of Courtship go wrong? Of course, your arrangement must have displeased her if you were your usual sunny self.”
“Thain, I’m warning you.”
Something in my tone must have tipped him off that there was something seriously amiss, and a fucking miracle occurred—he nodded without making another sound.
“Galrach sent me on a fucking mission. Alone. And he counted on that I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone.
For fucking reasons I won’t explain to you, I can’t back out.
I’ll be gone for approximately three-quarters of a moon cycle.
My fucking grandfather—fuck, I have no clue what fucking lies he’ll spread. ”
“Where are you going?”
“Fucking Breocharn.”
“Ouch, unpleasant. And I actually enjoy fire.”
“Not—helpful.” As I’d expect, Thain made a spectacle out of the fact that I had to rely on him.
My fingers twitched, and my magic convulsed restlessly under my skin.
But if I killed him now, there would be no one left to relay my message.
Once again, I was helpless, and I fucking despised every second.
“Of course, I’ll communicate the change of plans to everyone.”
Mouth hanging open at the sudden agreement without any more of the redhead’s telltale teasing, I weighed my options.
My skin crawled as I considered what I had to order next.
“You and the others will keep Nayana safe at all costs. She is never to be alone or unprotected. And Thain, if I hear that you set only a single toe in our bedroom or tried anything funny with my female, I’ll eradicate your existence for real this time.
I’ve had enough. Of you, of Galrach, of fucking Alaiann.
So, make sure the High Fucker doesn’t harm Nayana until I’m back. ”
Just as I wanted to turn to Cath, I stopped dead in my tracks.
What the—
Thain was bowing. And not in an ironic way. As he straightened, I was still gaping at him, and the strangeness didn’t end there.
The redhead faced me with the most serious expression I’d ever witnessed on him, then bowed once more.
“Yes, Your Royal Highness. Never forget that you have friends who have your back. Your message will reach everyone, securely and swiftly, and will be followed by the letter. Nayana will be safe. On top, I guarantee that everything will be in place, so immediate departure upon your return can be possible, my prince.”
Madness had finally sunk its claws into me—there was no other plausible explanation.