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Thrane groans as he stands up but stills when he notices Eris crouched beside Finn. I suddenly realize she's in her true form and my heart sinks. Recognition sparks in Thrane's eyes and he grins widely, like a hunter who has just spotted his prey. "So," he coos as Eris rises, "you're the Hydran Princess with a generous bounty on her head?"
Finn stands and steps between them, and by the look on his face, he won't hesitate to use his magic to protect Eris.
Thrane waves him down. "At ease, watchdog, I mean her no harm. The price on her head doesn't interest me."
"What does interest you?" Eris asks, though there's a slight tremor in her voice.
"At the moment" – he kicks Armas' headless body off the throne and plops down – "a bath."
"It seems you will have a coronation to plan," I point at the ice throne with a smile, hoping to sway the conversation from Eris.
He glances at Armas' head at the bottom of the dais and smirks. "King Thrane Basilius does have a delicious ring to it, doesn't it?" He rolls his shoulders back and inhales deeply before gripping the armrests. "It appears you Tronovians were correct about the Midorians. With Bastian's beast form and Soul Eaters exposed and Aurelia's magic no longer a secret, it would be safe to assume war won't be too far behind."
"What are we going to do about it?" Nyx finally chimes in, his blades firmly tucked in their sheaths on his back.
"First," Thrane rises, "we rest. Then, we plan." He crosses toward me and extends his hand, helping me stand to my feet. "Armas might have denied you as a Basilus, but let it be known here and now, that you are one of us. By order of King Thrane."
"And will King Thrane be going to war with us?" I quirk an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth ticks upward.
"We do not beg, we never surrender."
I nod, finally understanding the gravity of House Basilius' motto, and finish what my cousin started. "We die as we live, free and feared."
That's when it hits me. Before this war is over, I will be forced to kill my childhood best friend.
Forty-Two
Bastian
Safely hidden in the mountains of Durne, we make camp, but I won't be eating or sleeping tonight. I perch myself on the edge of the cliff, allowing my legs to dangle over the rocky expanse, and stare across the snowcapped forests at the Kingdom of Elowen. The sun has yet to rise, but it's a clear night, and Stelara is hard to miss.
I thought Shaye would be ecstatic to see me. That she would rush into my arms and thank me for saving her from the Tronovians who kidnapped her in the middle of the night and robbed us of our wedding day, but I was wrong.
What's worse, is Vesper was right.
She doesn't want me.
She chose him over me.
She tried to kill me to protect him.
A queasiness settles in my stomach. I run my blood-stained fingers through my sweaty hair and slowly let loose a sigh to steady my breathing and keep my tears at bay. My entire life, she has been my everything. When I was at my lowest, the thought of her was the only thing that motivated me to rise. Even now, when I close my eyes, I can see the mischief in her face when she smiles and feel the tenderness of her kiss against my lips. Her unblemished hands against my calloused ones. The smell of jasmine in her hair and the melodic quality of her voice will haunt me until the day I take my last breath.
I always did say she would be the death of me.
But now, those memories that once gave me strength, cleave my heart in two.
Does she not realize that she consumes my every waking thought? That despite the distance between us during my travels, she visits me in my dreams? How can she really not know that even though I was working for the betterment of our people, that seeing her eyes light up when I gave her a trinket to soften the blow of my absence was all that brought me any true joy in life?
How can she honestly say, after being my betrothed from birth and my only true friend, that she no longer loves me?
How can she not see I'm doing all of this for her? For us?
The Six Kingdoms are no longer united and they've ostracized Midori since the Great War. Any form of diplomacy is met with resistance and even those who call themselves our allies keep us at an arm's length, not wanting us to get too close, but not wanting us to grow too powerful without their knowledge. They've treated us as the inferior people, and I won't have Midorians suffer any longer because of it. Resources have been hard to come by and the other kingdoms have wanted to charge us more than their goods are worth. I've spent my life working for change, but Vesper was right about diplomacy. Only the poor and desperate seek peace. The rich and powerful only seek dominion.
Footsteps approach from behind me, throttling me from my thoughts. I don't move or flinch when the crunch of boots halts beside me, because I know exactly who it is.
"We shouldn't stop here," Vesper says, with a haughtiness in her tone that makes my skin itch. "The Frost Elves could find us by morning."
