Page 128 of Kingdom of Crowns and Daggers

The king, the attack . . .

Is he behind it all?

Is my brother the one Constance mentioned? A ghost, forgotten and left to wander through these lands and cause havoc? Was he pulling her strings all along? Was he the brain?

But why?

“Why? Why did you do this?” I croak, confused and hurting. I thought my entire family was dead. I have grieved them for years. Every day, I grieved my brother, my best friend, and here he stands, alive and well. “Our family is loyal to the king?—”

“Was loyal! Look what it got them!” he shouts over the crashing waves as another firework explodes overhead. He takes another step towards me, his hands spread carefully. “Don’t you see? I did this for us, for our family.”

Tears burn my eyes as I stare at the desperation in his gaze. They slide down my cheeks as my lip quivers, and he softens his voice.

“Being loyal got our parents killed. They took everything from me. Yes, I did this. I was giving the orders, manipulating everything, and playing the game they started, not me. I just joined in, knowing it was the only way. Don’t you see, sis? I did this for us, for our family, to get revenge.”

Shaking my head, I waver as I stare at him.

“It’s almost over, Alyx,” he begs. “I did what I had to for us, for our family.”

“No.” I stumble back in horror, and he rushes closer. I hold up my hands to ward him off. “You’re not him. My brother died that night. He never would have done anything like this. He was kind and soft?—”

“And weak,” he interjects, arching his eyebrow. “Like you back then, but look at you. I guess we have both adapted to survive.”

I lift the dagger and point it at him, nearly touching his chest even as my heart breaks. “You killed so many people. Tell me it wasn’t you. Tell me it was all her. Tell me!” I scream, the horror of everything he’s telling me building up.

Please, please don’t let me have loved a lie all this time.

“Her?” he scoffs. “She was a means to an end and useful to a certain extent. We understood each other.”

“Because you both wanted the same thing,” I whisper in horror. “Power, rank, money. This isn’t about revenge. It never was.” I see the truth in his eyes he tries to hide.

I was right. My brother died in that fire. This isn’t him.

I still cannot bring myself to bury the dagger in his heart. He wears my brother’s face. For so many years, I dreamed of a moment such as this, wishing I had him back with me. Somehow, this is worse.

“Alyx, it’s me,” he pleads. “I read you stories every night when you were scared of the dark, remember? I wiped your tears and patched up your knees when the other kids bullied you. I protected you. It’s me. It’s still me, your big brother.”

Swallowing hard, I lower my dagger.

I can’t do it.

He smiles softly and steps closer, his arms spread like he’s going to embrace me. “That’s it. It’s me, it’s me.” I nod, unsure what to do, and his hand abruptly moves. He grips the sharp edge of the dagger, cutting his palm as blood spills down the blade.

I blink, frowning at it and then him. “Atlas?” I whisper, not understanding.

His eyebrow arches, his lips pursing for a moment.

“I am sorry, Alyx, truly, but I cannot let you stop me, and there can only be one of us,” he explains, sounding like it should make me feel better, and suddenly, he yanks the dagger from my grip, spins it, and slams it into my chest, plunging it in deep as my eyes widen in shock and agony.

I stumble back, and he watches me. Horror fills me as I stare at him.

“For what it’s worth, I am sorry, Alyx,” he says as agony rips through me. My legs become weak, almost failing me. “It will all be worth it in the end. When I sit on that throne, it will be because of our family’s sacrifice. I’ll make sure they remember them and you.”

It was all a lie.

I fell for it.

I let down my guard, and now I’ll pay the ultimate price for my weakness.

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