Page 151 of Warlord's Plaything

"I was never Kaelith’s."

"Bullshit."

"I was always Xiva’s."

This was unexpected.

Unbelievable.

Valis has been against me at every turn.

Every time I tried to move up in power, he was there to cut me down. Every time I thought I had an advantage, he was the one who threw me into the dirt.

And now?—

Now he’s saying he was never against me.

That he was never against my father.

That he was waiting.

For this.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I don’t expect anything from you."

His voice is steady. Firm. Unshaken.

"But your father did."

He reaches into his coat.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

I keep the blade pressed to his throat, waiting, watching.

And then?—

He pulls out a folded parchment.

A wax seal.

A symbol I know like the back of my own fucking hand.

Xiva’s personal insignia.

I take it before I can think.

I break the seal.

I unfold the paper.

"My son, if you are reading this, then I am dead.

If I am dead, then I have failed you.

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