Page 105 of Wicked Heirs

“That wasn’t meant literally and you know it.”

He grunted, “Who the Hades knows where she is?”

“Father,” I admonished.

He threw up his hands in a very uncharacteristic way for somebody known for being so collected and poised. “She doesn’t keep me abreast of her schedule these days.”

“Excuse me?”

“She’s… distant.”

“What? Why? When did this happen?”

“A few months ago.”

“Months? Why didn’t either of you tell me?”

“It was our business, Orpheus.”

“I beg to differ. Your marriage is in trouble?”

“It’s in a precarious state, but I can pull it back. So long as I allow her the space that she needs. That includes not tailing her all over the Realm.”

“No, she’d definitely feel your magic. And not even your guards are as stealthy as she is, she’d register them watching her.”

“Precisely. I’m glad somebody is seeing eye-to-eye with me.”

“Just not on the way this Kingdom is run, or how you wish me to continue running it once you step down.”

“You’re fortunate it’s my way when it comes to running things here and that I haven’t entertained your mother’s ideas. Hers have become very restrictive and highly domineering. I strike more of a balance. Her approach entails very divisive policies that would effectively subjugate the Kingdom. Muchmore than you claim that I do now. It’s nothing compared to what she wants. She’s always had a taste for power but something changed when she visited the human realm a few months ago. With me giving her the space she’d begged me for, I don’t know what that was.”

“I can look into it if you want.”

“No. Leave it be. I’ll see to her.”

“What if she’s been influenced?”

“She can’t be magically influenced due to my protective magic she’s imbued with as my wife.”

“But she could be influenced without magic. In a cult-like way, for instance.”

“As a way to undercut my reign? People using her to force their own agendas through her and the hold she has on me as my wife?”

“No. No, I’m not suggesting anything that nefarious, especially not from my own mother.”

“Well, now you’ve inadvertently brought it up, it’s also worth looking into.”

“Fuck, Father. This really won’t help the precarious nature of your marriage. This is Mom we’re talking about.”

“People change, Orpheus, for all manner of reasons. Failing to recognize that due to sentiment is dangerous.”

“I know, but—”

My words caught in my throat as he grimaced, then staggered back, at the same time as I felt what had just ailed him—a mammoth power rush.

“Elliot Sabre?” I uttered as it started to dissipate. Such power being expelled, especially without warning, caused other magical beings an uncomfortable pins-and-needles sensation to wrack their bodies. Those attuned enough to that sort of thing. Just like my father and me.

“No, El always provides a warning. He’s very respectful.” He blinked, shaking off the power hangover. “It must be Abigail.”

---