Page 73 of Crown of Wrath

“We know. There are plans in the works to gain more allies and soldiers, but these five hundred soldiers need to be dispatched immediately to protect the human kingdom we have been in all this time.”

Father frowns for a moment and then shrugs. “I don’t care to help humans, but I’d be more than happy to burn an army of Steel soldiers with you. Let me go, and we can leave immediately.”

I shake my head. “No. We’ll release you in the morning. There are still things that need to happen before then, and I won’t have you wandering inside a human castle in the meantime. I just need to know if you’re willing to fight with us. And if you’re willing to take orders from Maeve. She wears the Painted Crown, and you owe her fealty.”

He looks Maeve up and down. “You really believe that you’re strong enough to fight both Gethin and the House of Steel?”

She smiles at him. “No, I don’t, but I don’t need to fight everyone tomorrow. I need to prevent him from becoming any stronger. I need to keep him from attacking future allies while they prepare. I need to stall, Casimir. That’s all I’m asking for help with today. Tomorrow night, when the pressing threat is dealt with, we can discuss fighting Gethin and the full might of the House of Steel.”

My father is quiet as he takes her in again. When she’d first come to Draenyth and met my father, she’d been afraid. She’d known that he was going to hurt me. She hadn’t even known how to dress or act, but now, there’s no need to help her navigate discussions with one of the four most powerful Immortals.

This is not the woman who nearly died to harpies. She’s not even the woman who was furious when the Painted Crown appeared on her head. Maeve has grown into the woman that the world needed.

The woman I knew she would become. She is her mother’s daughter, but she’s also her father’s daughter. It’s strange to see the humanity in her still just as vibrant as ever, and yet it makes her stronger than Immortals like my father, who have forgotten the effect of kindness and empathy.

Casimir smiles at her. “Will you put me back in this box when you’re done wielding me at your enemies?”

“Is that what you’d have done?” she asks. “You have hurt Cole too many times to count. You tried to kill my mother. Every time that you’ve been given the chance to do what is right and what is easy, you have taken the easy path.”

Without giving her a moment to finish her statement, he interrupts. “Hurting Cole was never easy,” he snarls. “He… It had to be done, and every time I caused him pain, I felt a part of myself breaking. Every time he screamed, it took every ounce of strength to continue pushing him.”

I watch him as he says the words. I know what Darian said, but I can’t truly believe it. I need to hear him say the words, to somehow try to blame the millennia of torture on someone else. I look into those orange eyes and see them burst alight. “Why?” I ask softly. “It never seemed to bother you before. You’ve beaten and burned me more times than I can count. What could haveforcedthe great King Casimir to do anything against his will? Especially to do his best to break his only son?”

“Calyr.” The word comes out as a hiss, and the world becomes sharper and blurrier at the same time. “All four of us, when we were given our crowns, talked to Calyr. He offered us advice on what would happen during our reigns, and the only thing he told me was about you. He refused to speak about anything except you, and it all boiled down to a single thing.Your son is the only one who can save the House of Flames. Its very survival will depend on whether he is strong enough.I made you strong, Cole. I sacrificed your loyalty and any kindness you would have ever had in your heart for me to preserve our House. To save…”

He looks beyond me, as if he’s reliving memories. “I might have been too cruel, but how could I have known where the line was? Who was to say when you’d be strong enough? I…” He looks at me, and there’s none of the anger I’ve always seen inthose eyes. “Now I know. You’re strong enough. My reign has come to an end, I can finally tell you. You’re not the Prince of Flames any longer, are you?”

I feel wave after wave of emotion roll through me. My fists shift from stone to flesh and back again. Flames explode around me and flicker out. My face shows none of those emotions, though. Just as I have since I was a child, I don’t show my father anything beyond acceptance of his words.

“You don’t have anything to say?” he asks, and for the first time in my life, I see a need to be answered, not a demand.

I don’t know the man sitting in the chair across from me. I stand up without saying a word and turn to Maeve. “Do what you want with him. I will not continue this conversation.”

She hesitates for a moment before nodding to me, and I walk out of the cell. Over and over again, the emotions roll through me, and my body shifts, flames igniting in random places. I don’t even care that I don’t have control over my powers. At any point, I could erupt in an inferno, and the only thought I have is that I need to get out of these hallways. I need air. I need to be free.

Because I don’t know anything anymore.

Chapter 38

Bloodlines matter to magical beings. A child inherits a piece of each parent's power. This is why it is so difficult for sons to disobey their fathers. A piece hates to refuse the whole, but as with everything related to children, with enough willpower they can still be insolent. Brenna has certainly had her rebellious phases.

~Erevan Morvyn, A History of Magic and Dragons

Maeve

I hadn’t truly believed it when Darian had told us, but now that I hear Casimir say the words, I know he’s not lying. I don’t know how I feel about his confession, but I trust my powers to distinguish truth from lies enough to know that he believes what he’s saying.

It changes so much, or at least, itcouldchange so much. I’d thought that Casimir was just as evil as Gethin. I’d thought he was only ever interested in using Cole as a weapon against the House of Steel.

The truth is that Cole needed to be strong enough to manipulate the world as the Shade and wage a coup to steal the Painted Crown from Gethin. The world needed a Prince who could do what was needed. I needed him capable of holding me together when I fell apart.

And he was.He still is. Maybe I believe that Casimir was acting on advice from Calyr. It doesn’t mean that I don’t hate the man, but maybe I understand him a little now.

“You thought he had to protect the House of Flames from Gethin?” I ask, sliding into the chair across from Casimir.

He nods to me. “What other force would be strong enough to destroy the House of Flames?”

I chuckle. “Other than you, you mean? Your assault on the House of Shadows was the beginning of its downfall. If you’d refused to ally yourself with Gethin, the other Houses would have come to your aid. Then it would be the House of Steel that would have come close to failing.”

---