31. The Falling Out
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
THE FALLING OUT
Riel sat on the floor beside Avery’s door, his back against the wall, legs splayed out in front of him. His arms were crossed, and his head was tilted at an awkward angle, but his expression was peaceful, telling of a deep, dreamless sleep.
Solois observed this with a grimace.
Keep an eye on them , Ralif had said. Easy enough. Why the family’s next head should be tasked with babysitting, only the Goddess knew. Still, he supposed he’d done well to be pleasant at dinner. At least that way, he didn’t have to be sneaky about it, he could just keep them company. It was helpful to observe the human healer’s responses to their plans too. When she had learned Riel would be with the rest of the family, there had been concern in her eyes. Likely because she wouldn’t be able to continue manipulating him from the sidelines. Foolish man.
Solois knew the moment Riel woke, as his body tensed. He was on his feet in an instant.
“What are you doing here?” was the first thing that left his mouth.
“Keeping an eye on the spy, as Father ordered.” Solois rolled his eyes. “For some reason, they don’t trust you to handle it yourself. I wonder why. ”
Riel’s gaze darted to the closed door and back.
“She’s asleep.”
“So? If she thinks we’re asleep, she might believe this is the perfect time to slip out.”
“She’s not going anywhere.”
“Perhaps.”
The brothers stared each other down.
“You truly believe the humans are to blame for this?” Riel asked quietly.
“You believe Neyes was working alone?” Solois countered. “You think House Leimor came up with this plot by themselves all those years ago just to turn us against the humans? You think they sent one of their own to worm their way into a position of favor within our House so that they could manipulate us into a war with someone else entirely?”
“I think that’s exactly what happened. It makes sense that they would want us distracted so that they could take advantage of the situation. Bringing America into this accomplishes that. They didn’t have any trouble convincing our mother that this whole thing was some sort of test.” Riel eyed Avery’s door again, easing a few steps in the direction of the throne room. “Let’s take this somewhere else,” he suggested.
Solois scoffed. “Wouldn’t want to wake up your pet human.” Despite the spite in his words, he waved Riel along, and they headed down the hall together.
“You’ve changed,” Riel said as they walked. “I realize we’re not children anymore, but you used to be reasonable. Has a position of power gone to your head? The fact that you refuse to consider any alternatives when none of us know the whole truth?—”
“You trust too easily,” Solois retorted, cutting him off. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. You should never have had faith in the humans, not when they’ve been envious of us since the beginning. They were bound to become more aggressive sooner or later. No doubt they want to uncover the secret behind our magic, and agreeing to teach Avery gave them hope.”
“The lessons make no difference except to her. With the quantities of mana that still escape through The Rift to this day, they may be capable of everything we are soon enough. When that day comes, don’t we want to be allies?”
“What we want doesn’t matter . All that does is that a powerful nation is trying to keep us under their thumb. And if we don’t take a stand, they will succeed.”
“So, we make a show of good faith. We let Avery return to her people unharmed.”
Solois drew to an abrupt halt on the stairs. “You’re mad,” he exclaimed, shaking his head incredulously. “She’s our only bargaining chip. Letting her go would mean we’re rolling over and practically begging them for a takeover.”
“She’s not a bargaining chip, she’s a person,” Riel argued, proceeding ahead. Once on the ground floor, he pivoted to gesture broadly to the air around them. “War is coming, Solois. She shouldn’t be caught up in this. There’s no reason for her to remain here.”
“Father’s orders were clear.” Solois continued down the steps and passed his brother. “I’m not letting her leave.” His tone took on a distinctive bitterness. “And you need to remember where your loyalties lie. I don’t want to hurt you, but I won’t let you ruin everything I’ve done for this family. Especially not for the sake of some traitor pussy.”
“Let me be clear.” Riel stepped in front of him. Solois drew up short, and his brows shot into his hairline, surprised that Riel would dare to challenge him. “I wasn’t asking for your permission, and I don’t care what Father said. I will not allow us to make this mistake. You may not be able to see it yet, but I’m doing this for the family.”
Angry sapphire eyes clashed with determined Caribbean blue. Neither appeared likely to back down. But in fact, that didn’t matter. Riel’s plan was already in motion.