Page 211 of Settle Down, Princess

“But not anymore.” I saw Magnus’ destroyed form on the marble floor of the throne room and felt a vicious kind of satisfaction. We’d finally taken him down and that left only one more piece to clear from the board. My grip tightened on my knives. “Not anymore, Father. Magnus is dead, but he was only one of the monsters that ruled Khean.”

“And I’m the other.”

His smile twisted, becoming something else altogether and I fought to determine what. Was that regret? I stared openly, hands hanging by my sides instead of raising them and my knives to attack. His lips twitched, then he shook his head.

“Monsters have ruled Khean since the very beginning. First the beast men. Our cousins were the only ones who walked this land, before the women came. Some of their children couldn’t take fur, had no wolf, so they formed their own settlements in the way of men and one rose above them all.”

His head tilted sideways.

“Was he more ferocious than the others? Was that what made him king? I haven’t been able to find records of that, just those of his children and his children’s children. It’s a bad business, hereditary power. It’s why we’ve never stood for it in The Guild. You have to prove yourself worthy of taking my mantle.” He stood tall then. “By taking my head. Kings don’t do that though, as Arik’s father told me many times. Their power comes from their bloodline occupying the same space for time immemorial, creating a kind of inertia. Children are raised to expect there to be a king on the throne. They grow up to be adults who don’t question his authority, even when they should. They stand by as this man, this boy who slithered from between the thighs of the right woman, does horrific things and they do nothing. You… did nothing.”

I couldn’t let the weight of that press me down. Arik had seen something in the throne room, in the tunnels, beside the king. His mutterings made clear that, but I had to believe that the dead princesses were at rest now.

Or they would be when I was done.

“And all you did was ensure that more suffered, Father,” I replied. This was a hunch, but I needed to follow it through. “The Guild doesn’t get involved in politics, not unless it furthers the aim of our people, but you did.” I nodded slowly. “You did. You went to Arik and put forth a deal to him, and when it was made clear you wouldn’t get far with that, you turned to Magnus. You helped him take the throne. You placed him in the perfect position to harm so many. You sent him Giselle. None of this furthered The Guild’s aims or lined our coffers.” I fell into a loose stance, ready to move at a moment’s notice, and he nodded in response. “You are not worthy of being the Raven.”

“No, you’re not.”

My eyes snapped upwards to see my sister there, body braced against the roof beams, right before she dropped. She dragged my father down with her, arm wrapped around his neck and tightening as he started to struggle.

“Selene…!” he wheezed.

“The very same.” Her smile was as sharp as my knife, not faltering for a second as she choked my father out. “I know what you planned, to revolutionise The Guild. In the face of a weak king, an idealistic bastard son and a monstrous illegitimate one, you saw an opportunity.”

He couldn’t confirm or deny this, his heels kicking at the floor, trying to find purchase as he fought her hold.

But not for long.

Guild members emerged from the shadows, called here to witness the death of the Raven. I should’ve put the call out the moment I walked in here, announcing all my intentions. Instead my sister had been forced to do just that, because I wasn’t the only one seeking to challenge my father today.

“Expose the monster for what he was to destroy any faith the powerful might want to invest in Magnus, then raise up the bastard.”

My father’s fingers were white as they clawed at her arm but they got little purchase. She wore a silk catsuit that was made for just this purpose. It made it so much harder to gain a grip.

“The bastard would be grateful, need advising, and would want to replace those lords that had shown the monster loyalty with those he could trust.” Selene’s eyes met mine. “From our number.”

She’d known the entire time what would happen and why. While I played at soldier, she became a candidate for Raven. I realised she used the information networks she’d developed while a Temple sister, building a picture of his true intentions. When she nodded I expected her arm to jerk, the sound of my father’s neck breaking anticlimactic in a way. He went limp, his eyes staring up at the ceiling as I moved closer.

“I have challenged the reigning Raven,” she said, throwing her arms wide, the theatricality of the gesture unlike Selene, though perhaps I didn’t know my sister at all. “And I have won. By our laws, I am now the new Raven of Khean.” Her eyes locked with mine. “Unless anyone cares to challenge me now?”

I shook my head, just a tiny thing at first, the movement growing as I considered what she had done. I’d continually made my denial clear. Was this what Arik had felt once Magnus was dead? A feeling of freedom that fair took my breath away. Father was dead. I was not his heir and so… I didn’t know what that made me, but this.

Jessalyn’s, I was entirely hers, just as Rose was Selene’s, the woman emerging from the crowd to pull my sister into her arms and slam a savage kiss down on her lips.

“The Raven is dead,” Weasel drawled. “Long live the Raven.”

Chapter 117

“Will that need stitches?” I asked, hovering over Creed’s shoulder, then Silas’. I slid my hand along my rogue’s arm, rubbing up and down as if to persuade myself he was here in one piece.

Mostly.

“Creed—”

“Jessalyn, Silas will be fine.” His heavy hand on my shoulder felt like he was keeping me from floating away and I quickly covered it to give it a squeeze. “I’ve healed him from far worse. Now, I’m going to brew up a tonic—”

“Gods, no…” Silas groaned, then shot me an almost shy smile. “I think I’d rather take my chances healing naturally.”

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