Page 31 of The Fifth Soul

“Where was her superior?” Damien asks. He knows damn well the answer, but he would never miss an opportunity to pick on my brother.

Roman stands and leans over the table. “Present, as I am today.”

His permanent frown doesn't budge when he looks at me. He hates these meetings as much as I do. However, he’s part of the group that disagrees with my course of action. The training circles are his turf.

“Why did you do nothing?” Damien doesn't back down.

Shelly gets to her feet too.“Is he supposed to stop every fight between cadets?”

“They need rules and order!” Someone else yells from the back of the room.

Appearances are everything, and my dealing with the punishment of a person under his command was rude, to say the least. According to him, of course.

My thoughts fly to Bianca once again. The way her eyes look at everything around me with so much wonder. She asked to stay in the castle after the mission was over, and her friend was back. I agreed so easily because I had no plans of letting her leave. Not just because something inside my chest aches at the thought of never seeing her again, but because, at that point, she might have learned too much.

Someone with her skill set can be a great addition to my team. She can earn that place if she proves herself to be useful and loyal. Jesse and Roman have already noticed the loyalty she has to her friend. This is the way I have collected allies in other places. It makes her no different.

I clench my fists tight when I recall the way the blade aimed at her head yesterday. She would have died before my eyes if I hadn’t stepped in. Incidents between cadets aren’t uncommon, but rarely are lives lost on the mats. I’ve never stepped in before—no one ever does.

When I catch his attention again, Roman’s frown is still firmly in place. His anger is redundant. We need Bianca for the mission. He sees it as if I helped her cheat on her test. Dora being able to kill her is a sign she is not fit for the mission. I would waste my time trying to explain to him what I see in her. All her attributes are futile to him as long as he chooses to wear those hate-tinted glasses every time he looks her way.

“What’s on your mind?” my grandfather asks me.

I give him a look, then look back at the room like, isn’t it obvious?

“I think that is enough for today,” he addresses the room. “You are all dismissed. I would like to speak to my grandchildren alone.”

I spot Jesse at the room doorway, making his way inside as the rest of the advisors leave. They give him nods as they continue to murmur their opinions. Roman acknowledges Jesse with a nod, unlike he did with me. My second eldest brother doesn’t look angry at me when our eyes meet. Well, at least that’s something.

I am still sitting on one side of the table adjacent to my grandfather. He’s casually leaning back in his chair, watching me. His gray hair reminds me every day that I won’t have him forever. A shiver runs down my spine at the thought. The idea of ruling doesn’t scare me. I have been crafting my image for years. I have been aligning my allies since childhood. But not having him there to guide me makes my heart slow and my skin crawl.

The door shuts, finally leaving me alone with my family. “I tend to forget how insufferable they can be,” I say.

“You haven’t given them something to chastise you about in a while. They are simply having a field day with it.”

He means for the words to come out with humor, but he coughs rapidly. Even Roman’s frown falls as his face shifts with worry. Over the past year, my grandfather has taken a back seat at meetings, allowing me to take over. He has adopted a passive form of teaching. After this long, everyone knows the truth: my grandfather is tired, and slowly, we are watching his health deteriorate. Moving forward with my coronation is a proactive act. Even I can’t deny that the time has come to prepare for what is evidently coming soon.

As painful as it is, I will rule without him one day. I pray to the Fates for the day to be far, far away.

“Are you sure you can make the journey with me?” I ask, even though I know the answer.

The dismissive huff and wave of his hand is my answer. Doing the tour without the king is absurd, unless we wish to begin waves of unsavory rumors. We’ll depart tomorrow morning to visit the Hue family. Ten cars are loaded and ready to transport everyone joining us. We will make it to Luz, the city of light, in a six-hour drive.

I internally huff at the fitting nickname the city has. My mother was born into their line, and not once did she ever feel the need to miss it. From the few times I have visited the cold, shiny walls of the glass castle, I couldn’t blame her. From personal experience, I know the image the royal families put out is not always the case. According to my mother, the Glass Castle was as cold and strict as it seemed from the outside.

The thought of my mother brings a smile to my face. Her sweet smell of coconut and fresh laundry tickles my nose. I look across the room at a picture hanging beside the bookshelf. A framed picture of my mother and father laughing on their wedding day. They look so young and happy. Unbothered by the thought of one day raising the next baby in line for the Oscuro throne. My father never worried about inheriting the title, since the Fates always skip a generation.

The Fates choose the next heir to inherit the title through a ceremony of the elements. The Fates have always been the ones responsible for making the decisions. I can almost see my father's smile wane as my name is called, and he realizes the duty entrusted to him. That was the day I lost my father. He no longer saw me as his son, but as his future king, who depended on him to teach them everything. It robbed me of a father and a childhood, amongst other things. I will always hold that against my fate.

I always hoped my father would cease to see me as his responsibility to the world once I learned enough. He would no longer feel the need to correct every action, or make every life event a life lesson. I would once again get back the father Roman and Jesse always had. Before any of that came to pass, my father and mother died in a car accident.

“Will you need a walker, old man?” Jesse taunts my grandfather with a wicked smile.

Without missing a beat, my grandfather replies, “What I need is for you to grow a working brain cell.”

The dark clouds in my mind pause as my attention shifts.

“I’m afraid that is not possible.” I join in their banter.

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