Page 109 of Lake of Sapphire

“I am telling you that is not true. Your future King is telling you that this male is lying. Are you going to believe one guard over—”

Synder cut me off. “Sie, you would do best to hold your tongue. It has already been confirmed. We searched your wife’s body before we locked her in her cell and saw her Luxian markings for ourselves. There are rumors that can also frame you for treason as well. How do we know that you weren’t involved? How do we know that you didn’t know the truth about this girl? You were married to her after all, and we found you together, alone at a lake. She is a gorgeous female, don’t pretend that you didn’t explore every inch of her body. Don’t pretend that you didn’t notice her back when you fucked her.”

My father chimed in then, “You will annul your marriage to the wretched girl, claiming that she fooled you, that you had no idea that she was from Lux. You will be the one to draw the blade at her execution to prove your innocence in this matter.”

Fuck Pylemo. Fuck all of the twelve lesser Goddesses too, because they were not on my side. They wanted me to murder my wife—to kill Scotlind.

Peter stepped up to stand in front of me. “With all due respect, if this girl is really from Lux and Sie kills her, we are opening ourselves up to a war with the Lux Kingdom. It is illegal to kill another race, it’s in the Treaty itself. Lux could claim Sie’s life in exchange for the murder. I don’t believe we should start a war over one worthless girl. If you would allow it, I would like to suggest something else.”

“You’re friends with the girl. Why should we listen to you?” Braven barked.

“I was acquainted with her out of duty for my Prince. And you and your High Council were the ones who hand-selected her for Sie to marry. I’m sorry if I’m being so bold here, but aren’t you to blame as well? How could the High Council select such a girl for our future King?” Peter said casually. He shrugged before stuffing his hands in his pocket.

“Be careful what are you are implying, boy,” the Commander sneered.

Peter ignored it before continuing, “Annul their wedding, make it public if you want, have Sie plead innocent or make up your own story. It doesn’t matter.”

What are you getting at?I asked Peter, but he shrugged off my thought before continuing out loud. “But don’t kill her. Contact Lux, set up a meeting with them. Use this to Tennebris’ advantage. Send her home to where she belongs, but make it known we are watching them. That we suspect she was a spy. Let us have something over Lux.”

Peter stared at the three males as he thought to me in my head.Convince them. Send her to Lux. She won’t survive here. Not with these males in charge. They will make you kill her, Sie. I think Synder is banking on you not being able to do it.

He thinks if I have to kill Scottie myself, I wouldn’t be able to because he thinks we have the blood bond.I replied into Peter’s mind, realizing for myself what was happening.

He thought back to me,I don’t think Synder wants you on the throne. When they took you two to the warehouse, they were probably just testing your blood bond. If they make her execution public, and you can’t kill her, it would prove that you’re guilty too. It would be enough to send you to the prison. That is if the Light Kingdom doesn’t find out that you killed a Luxian and demand your life in exchange. They don’t have enough evidence to deem you guilty now. But if you save her, claim you love her even though it’s publicly known she is Luxian, that is treason. That leaves the throne empty. And if they make you kill her, it will start a war. Either way, you end up dead or locked up.

I can’t send Scottie to the Lux King. You know how he is. That is just as bad as death for her, or worse. You know how he will treat her, how he will use her.

It’s the only thing I can think of to keep Scottie alive right now,Peter interrupted our secret conversation in our heads.She will die if we keep her on our soil. They will force you to kill her, Sie. If Kole is with them, they definitely are using Sui Alluse. You can’t compel them. You can’t win. Send her to Lux. Keep her safe for now. We will come up with a way later to make sure she is okay. I have a plan.

I looked up to meet the eyes of my father, and although it killed me, I said, “I’ll annul the marriage.” My father smiled as I forced myself to say what I had to next. “Send her to Lux.”

EPILOGUE

The Fire Prince

Blood and dirttrailed behind me as I made my way toward my chambers. My labored footsteps echoing throughout the empty halls. I felt more fatigued than usual, my thighs burned and my calves shook slightly with each step. The battle dragged out longer than expected, taking me a long time to find their leader.

Images of the gore engraved in my forevision. They would linger until I could wash the remnants of battle from my body—remnants of rank zero sympathizers. The lower ranks retaliated more and more every day, fighting for equal rights. How many of their blood coated my skin, embedded in my scars, consumed me entirely until all I felt was death. The only thing that kept my feet moving was knowing that a hot bath was waiting for me. It was all I really missed about the castle, being able to wash off the dirt and grime and sleep for days in my own bed sounded like a gift from the Goddess herself.

“You’re back.” The King’s voice echoed down the open hall. “I have a task for you.”

I slowly, stiffly turned to face him. His silver eyes were hard. No hint of concern for the son he sent out to fight while he remained seated on his throne. I was expendable, just another being to serve him. He had Arcane, his eldest son, to carry on his bloodline, and me to carry out his orders.

“Can I, at least, wash off the gore from the last task?” I asked through gritted teeth. The scent of death clung to me like a shadow. I could still sense the fear in the blood that splashed onto my uniform and matted my hair, turning it from white to red.

The King clicked his tongue as his glowing eyes surveyed me. “Speaking of which, can I presume that everything was dealt with accordingly?”

“The rebels are all dead.”

“Good. Now you just have to deal with the families. I don’t want any low rank sympathizers alive. Our ranking system is crucial and anyone that is left breathing is at risk for spreading—”

I cut him off, which given by his glare, I would pay for later, but I really didn’t give a damn at the moment. I didn’t have it in me to listen to him lecture about the importance of compliance and amenability. “This is your task that couldn’t wait until after I bathed? I have done this enough times to know what is expected of me.”

“No. That’s not your task this time. Send your men to kill the wives and children. I have something else planned for you.” His calculated smile unnerved me—I knew whatever this task was, it meant something to him.

“Prepare a cage. We are going to Tennebris to get ourselves a prisoner.”

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