Page 15 of Obsidian Prince

The woman nodded. "The pride-king of North Carolina died recently."

"Andrew Periclum was an unworthy king of lions," Liliana said, lips tight with anger.

Kazi Magoro chuckled. She sounded so much like her mother in that moment. "That's the first thing you said that I wholeheartedly believe and agree with."

Arel sighed. "Periclum was our king, worthy or not. Now that he's dead, a successor must be chosen. There is some disagreement as to who will be the next king since he had no sons."

"Some disagreement," the brown-haired woman repeated with a derisive laugh that sounded almost like a sob. "Arel, the pride is tearing itself apart."

From what Liliana had seen in her vision, that was literally true.

Andrew Periclum had been a cruel, lying, arrogant cur, but his father had been pride-king, and his father before him. The stable continuity of a smooth succession held the pride together. His death had implications that Alexander Bennett didn't consider when he killed the lion-kin with his magic.

To be fair, this was not Alexander Bennett’s fault, as much as a part of her would have welcomed another reason to be mad at him. Liliana would have killed Andrew Periclum herself if the prince had not. That mangey, parasite-ridden garbage eater tried to kill her friends.

"I am very sorry," Liliana said, tightening her lips. She was not even a little sorry Andrew Periclum was dead, but she was sorry his death might cause theirs. "There must be a Challenge to choose the new king. You know this." Somewhere in the pride of North Carolina were the grandsons and granddaughters of her brothers. This was a problem that would affect Liliana’s own family. "I do not know how, but I will help in any way I can."

"Can you tell us who will win the challenge? Who will become the next king?" the brown-haired woman asked.

The spider seer nodded. That was simple enough. She focused her fourth eyes on the results of the ritual combat that would choose the new pride-king. Liliana saw a lot of death. Street violence had already begun to erupt between factions who backed different potential kings. Not just lions. The king of the pride was the arbitrator of all beast-kin disputes, the unofficial leader of all beast-kin. An abandoned hanger on the north edge of Fort Liberty had been put to use as a place for the Challenge. A domed cage made of steel beams welded into triangles was being constructed, as was traditional.

The Challenge had been sacred for centuries before Simon of Nemea was born. It might be older than written history itself. Once, the Challenge had been fought in open arenas, but the dome of triangles had been the place for such things for as long as Liliana could remember. Unlike an arena, the dome could be constructed wherever it was needed. Inside a dome, young lions often fought contests of courage and skill to gain rank within the pride. It was meant to be a place where a lion's strength could be honed and tested.

"I see a huge lion-kin with a claw scar over one side of his face that pulls his upper lip into a permanent sneer. Oh.” Liliana recognized the man who drove the car that nearly ran over Alexander Bennett. Tray Bradley had also witnessed his king’s death, but Alexander Bennett’s subterfuge made it look like a simple accident. “It is Bradley.”

"Tray Bradley," Kazi’s jaw tightened.

The brown-haired woman sank in on herself, as if Liliana had placed a huge rock on her. "Not Tray."

"I am sorry,” Liliana said. “If the paths of the future do not change, this man, Tray Bradley, will rule the lions of North Carolina."

Arel rubbed circles into the brown-haired woman's back. "We'll find a way to fix this, Marilyn. Don't give up."

Liliana looked for a connection between the disheartened woman and the lion-kin who would soon become king of the North Carolina pride. She saw Tray Bradley beating the woman, Marilyn, with his fists until she would have had to go to the hospital or die if she were human. Again and again. The woman never left her abusive husband until she had a baby. For a time, Bradley had been gentle with his wife and new baby. But the boy had barely been toddling when his father aimed a casual kick at him for some annoyance.

Emotionally charged events always stood out sharpest in Liliana's fourth vision. She saw the moment when the cowed expression on Marilyn's face changed as she held her crying baby. She went from terrified to a cold rage. Underneath the battered wife, there was still a lioness.

As Liliana watched, Arel Magoro bundled the brown-haired woman and her tiny son in a coat. They rushed in the rain to her car.

Tray Bradley chased them with a shotgun, shouting threats.

Kazi drove the car. She and her mother helped to get the woman and her baby away from the abusive man.

Liliana nodded in satisfaction. That was how it should be. The pride took care of its own.

"Tray is your ex-husband." Liliana assumed the woman had the good sense to divorce such a horrible man.

Marilyn shook her head in denial. "He wouldn't sign the papers. I was too scared to push it as long as he left us alone. Now ..." She put her face in her hands.

Liliana did not have any wish to see Marilyn's fate if her abusive husband became king. She had already seen what would happen to the two women who helped her get away from him.

"This is not acceptable," Liliana said. "Tray Bradley is even more unworthy than Andrew Periclum was. These are not pride-kings. These men would not know honor if it bit them on the leg."

Arel smiled warmly at her. "Spoken like the daughter of a lion-kin prince."

"Are there no better candidates?" Liliana asked them. "If you could choose the next king, who would you choose?"

"I wish someone like Daniel could become king," Marilyn Bradley said wistfully.

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