Chapter 32 #3
“No. I didn’t. We staged it all. I would never kill my sister.”
Gratia balled her hands into fists. “Yet you would ask me to do that to my brother.”
“I don’t recall asking you to kill Carmine, who—might I remind you—is my mate.”
“Who you’re so enamored with,” she spat out, whirling back.
I climbed the three steps between us and rested my hands on her shoulders.
“I have no intention of killing my mate. I love my mate, Gratia, but there are things that he is driven to do as king that I cannot stand by and let happen. Partly because he wouldn’t want me to.
Do you think that Carmine wishes to kill children who may grow to threaten his throne? Do you think he wants to do it?”
“He does what is best for the realm. Want plays no part in being king.”
She wasn’t wrong about that, excluding the part where kings had no choice.
I gestured at the circle of kings. “Did any of you wish to eliminate threats to your thrones?”
I’d never asked them for input before, but they must have a wealth of knowledge about Tyran.
Gratia jerked and seemed to really see the ghosts for the first time.
Some of the kings closed their eyes as if in pain. Some turned their faces, and others shook their heads.
I softened my voice. “Do each of you wish that someone had stopped you?”
One of the kings cried into his hands, the pearly tears disappearing before they hit the ground. Kings nodded. Kings closed their eyes against the pain of what they’d been made to do in life by Tyran.
Gratia’s breaths were shallow. “These are past kings?”
“They are. Sometimes your father comes too. They are here because they wish to help Carmine as I do. As you must. We seek to break the cycle, and the way to do that is by removing Carmine from the throne and placing Adeuto there instead.”
“Your son will not come into his power for over a decade. Who will sit on the throne in the meantime? Let me guess… you.”
I nodded. “Yes, I will be regent in his stead. Because I must. I am also part magus, and the king’s power will not drive me to kill either.”
Gratia’s face hardened. “How convenient that you will earn a throne and my brother will lose one.”
“Do I seem like someone who wants to be a queen, Gratia?”
She grimaced.
I said, “Exactly. I don’t need a king for a mate, but I do need a mate. I need a son. I need a nephew and a niece to live, and their parents too. We need the cycle to stop.”
It had occurred to me a few times in the conversation to simply tell Gratia everything, but she could still prove an issue—even after incriminating herself by destroying Carmine’s crown.
I had barely believed everything about Istg and Ronj and white magic and the wrath curse, and I’d seen Carmine fighting the curse several times.
Athira had experienced the same with her mate, but though Gratia had figured out that her brother never did anything aside from what was best for the realm, she hadn’t been close enough—or enough of a threat—to have really seen how Tyran and Carmine could interplay and contradict each other.
I couldn’t tell her yet.
Was that a mistake? Probably. I couldn’t say. Who fucking knew? Not me. My mind was too full of fear after hearing Adeuto.
I rubbed my temples. “Gratia, you need to understand that if you make the wrong move, you will regret it for the rest of your days.” I looked up and was glad to see uncertainty in her gaze.
“I know this feels wrong on some level. Believe me, I’ve had to come to grips with whether Carmine will blame me for removing him from power.
But you need to know that if you make the wrong step, there’s no coming back.
For you and those you love. This feels big and terrifying because it is.
Because your brother is strong and smart.
We aren’t doing wrong by him. We are saving him. ”
Gratia licked her lips. “I need to speak with Raes.”
“I don’t know the nature of the curse—”
“And you expect that to reassure me?” she cried.
I blew out a breath. “No, I don’t. But I expect you not to lose your mind until I can assess Raes more thoroughly.
The curse is not tied to his mortality. The curse is designed to unfold on others.
I can likely tell more with five minutes to look at it.
But I can’t do that if I feel you’re going to act irrationally and go to Carmine. ”
“The word irrational does not apply to me,” she hissed.
Usually, no. In mating, absolutely, and she was the norm, not the outlier. “Go and speak with Athira. Fill her in on what we’ve learned. Make sure you’re not overheard, and make sure there is no contact with soldiers. I’m going to assess Raes and figure this out.”
Gratia squared her shoulders. “You mean, you’re going to figure out how to save the Luther queen?”
“That too.”
“When the curse is triggered, that will be Carmine’s first thought. He’ll go to her first.”
“You’re right. He will,” I murmured.
But I had a feeling Tyran would be more concerned with watching my movements, expecting me to help Andie.
Which must mean it was my turn to be the distraction.