Page 112 of Clash of Kingdoms

“Stop. Don’t make me do this?—”

He rushed me, his blows cranked to a new level, flying through the air and aimed at my neck. He’d aimed to wound before, but now, he aimed to kill. I was the only thing that stood in the way of his domination, and if he didn’t remove me from the situation, he wouldn’t get what he wanted. He made his decision.

So I made mine.

I faked to my right, slammed my sword down on his to make the opening, and then my blade went straight through his neck.

I turned away before I saw anything.

But I heard it. I heard his head hit the floor. Then the rest of his body, the sound of his armor striking the hardwood floor. Fighting still carried on in different parts of the room, but I couldn’t see it. My sight was blurry…blurry with tears.

I fell to my knees, overcome with the weight of my decision, what lay behind me.

I’d killed Renee…and now I’d killed my own father.

Someone moved in front of me, but I couldn’t make out their face. I couldn’t even see the floor. The room went silent. A powerful hand moved to my shoulder, and then slowly, my gaze sharpened.

It was Huntley.

His eyes ached with pain as he looked at me, as if he could somehow have empathy after my father had tried to take his kingdom and his head. “I’m sorry.” His other hand went to my other shoulder to support me because I started to tip over. “I’m sorry, son.” He moved into me and hugged me, hugged me hard like he did with his own son, a bear hug that squeezed and squeezed.

I continued to stare at the floor, the tears so heavy they streaked down my cheeks. I was numb but simultaneously overcome with grief. Despite the fact that it had just happened, my mind already tried to pretend that I hadn’t been the one to do it. That someone else had killed him and I didn’t get there in time. My father was the only parent I’d had left…and now I had no parents.

Huntley pulled away and looked at me, like he wanted to say something but he had no words. Kingsnake and Cobra approached, and that was when he took his leave to give us space.

I remained on my knees, my bloody sword on the floor beside me.

My brothers each took a knee to be eye level with me.

I didn’t meet their gazes, too ashamed of what I’d done. “I—I didn’t know what else to do…”

Neither of them spoke.

I clenched my eyes shut for several seconds to stop the tears. When I looked at the floor again, they were dry…but the heat was still in my throat. “I’m sorry.”

Kingsnake’s voice was gentle. “It’s okay, Aurelias.”

“It’s not okay.”

Fang slithered to us, snaking up my body and wrapping around my shoulders as a sign of comfort. He wasss a sssnake killer.

“Fang, not now,” Kingsnake said without looking at him. “After we absorbed the Ethereal and defeated the werewolves, Father took over all the Kingdoms and proclaimed himself the king of all Kingdoms, which we thought was unnecessary. If we hadn’t challenged him against the Ethereal—innocent people who weren’t even aware of their crimes—he would have slaughtered them all. Perhaps he’d been a vampire so long that he’d forgotten his humanity altogether.”

“He needed to be stopped,” Cobra said. “This probably would have happened anyway.”

“Some people change—like you,” Kingsnake said. “But some people don’t.”

My eyes remained on the floor.

Kingsnake moved his hand to my shoulder. “Brother.”

My eyes lifted automatically.

“You made the right decision.” Kingsnake said it with the confidence of a king. “Instead of coming to his son’s aid, he came to this land with an agenda. He’s always been an opportunist. He should have respected your love for Harlow, regardless if that love would last forever.”

“But—but now we have no father…”

Kingsnake exchanged a look with Cobra.

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