Page 46 of Cold Heir

“Well, if we’re being technical, he was. But beyond that, he was a traitor,” he reasoned. “A traitor who’s aided the Dynasty’s most destructive terrorist.”

The words left his mouth in such a way, I got the impression he thought I needed reminding. I didn’t take kindly to that.

“He should have been taken to the authorities,” I retorted. “There, they may have been able to get even more viable information from him.”

Confusion marked his expression now. “Roman, have you forgotten what we discussed previously, how I have possible evidence that Blackbird was present when your sister met her untimely end?”

“Don’t you dare use my sister’s death as some sort of punchline. Some statistic to hurl at me when I’m not quite responding in the manner you would like.”

His hands flew up as he all but raised a white flag.

“I didn’t mean to cause you offense,” he assured me. “My only aim was to point out how detrimental it is to not only the Dynasty, but you personally, that we lay this villain to rest. And if the best way to bring this operation to its knees is by picking off one traitor at a time, then that’s what I intend to do.”

There was something in the way he uttered those words, with so much determination, that I was certain he would never let this die. Not even if I were to have a change of heart, and decide that sparing my brothers’ lives was far more important to me than ending Corina’s.

“We’ll discuss this when I return,” I muttered, finding it difficult to look at him now.

“Please, Your Highness, if you’ll just agree to join forces on this with me, you’d give the story the weight it needs to—”

“I believe I was clear,” I growled, cutting him off brusquely. “We’ll continue this conversation whenIsay we’ll continue it.” He seemed to need reminding who had the authority here. “As of right now, you can officially escort yourself off this jet.”

We were finished speaking, and I couldn’t stomach another second of having him in my presence.

Swallowing his pride because he had no other choice, Jon stood and straightened his rain-soaked jacket. From the corner of his eye, I watched as he retrieved his belongings—the umbrella he boarded with, his USB from the port on the side of my computer.

There was a loaded silence between us as he moved toward the exit, glancing back.

“If I might trouble you with one last request, Prince Roman,” he groveled, finally remembering his place. “I would much appreciate it if you would keep what I’ve shown you here today between the two of us. I understand if you’re not certain you’d like to continue supporting this investigation, but I hope that you’ll at least honor my wishes and not hinder it.”

Holding my composure, I didn’t justify the request with a response. Mostly because I couldn’t rightly promise to uphold it. Not anymore. Not with the same certainty as when we first communicated several weeks ago.

Suddenly, my gut was telling me to handle things differently than planned. In fact, as I sat pondering, it became clear I could no longer ignore my brothers. Pretending to be at peace with the idea of them being affected by the fallout had gotten me nowhere.

So, it was decided. I’d use my week away to gather my thoughts, and determine the approach to which I believed they’d be most receptive. And then, upon my return, the first order of business would be to visit the Eastern Quadrant. There, I’d reconvene with my brothers to reveal this damning knowledge I’d discovered. My hope would lie in their ability to see past whatever spell Corina had them under, and that they’d do right by the Dynasty. It was high time they chose.

They could either cling to their birthright.

Or cling to her.

But they could not have both.

Chapter Sixteen

Corina

It was way too early for this—Elle and her cheery, morning routine. Especially seeing as how I’d gotten to bed so late, going over the plan Silas and I spent nearly a week fleshing out to perfection. The goal was to leave no stone left unturned. That way, once we made it inside the Simon Tine Facility, there would be no surprises.

“Rise and shine, Mistress Corina!” she practically sang, pushing the curtains in my bedroom wide open.

Wide open.

My eyes popped open and I was only mildly annoyed. Mildly because, despite being exhausted, her energy was somewhat contagious.

Not that it got me out of bed or anything.

Turning onto my side, I shielded my eyes from the sun with a pillow. Had it not been for the sound of something being dropped in front of me, I wouldn’t have budged. One eye slowly opened, and I observed the stack on the mattress—an array of envelopes, varying in size and color.

“What’s this?” I croaked, feeling my lips move on the sheet I had my face pressed against.

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