Page 59 of Pieces of Halves

Tilting my head, I look up at him. His gaze is tender and genuine. First the first time in a few days, he looks content.

Fire.

Chapter Twenty-Four

JACOB

The army grounds are busy as we walk past the training soldiers. The men shout as they spar in the blaring heat, the noise making it hard to hear Nicolas. The slender man keeps his posture straight as we walk next to him, his expression oddly unreadable. It’s frustrating how little he gives away.

“As you can see, my queen, the men train well.” He turns to a path that leads away from the grunts and yells.

As soon as the sounds vanish into the background, my headache becomes a little more manageable again. Squinting, I glare at him. Nickolas has an angle he’s playing, I’m just not sure what it is yet.

“How loyal were you to my father?” Izzy asks, taking me by surprise with her bluntness.

I suppose she got fed up with his games as well. A small smirk forms on my face as pride swells in my chest at her confidence.

“I believe in cruelty towards those who deserve it. Cassandra was a kind soul. He did not deserve her.” Just for a flash, there is pain in his eyes. “Alexander was hopeful, believing he could show Victor how things could be done.” He stops and looks out into the distance. “And you were just a thing to him. A powerful weapon to help him rule. The books he read said that your power would manifest on your nineteenth birthday. They didn’t.” Shrugging, he looks down at Izzy. “Playing a fair game is more predictable. Less chaotic.” He looks away again, towards the training field. “I hate chaos.”

The man is odd.

“You loved her? Casandra.” Izzy’s brows go together as she looks up at him.

“Everyone loved her.” He looks at Izzy with a light scoff.

“What happened to her?” A shimmer forms in her eyes.

She knows what happened, but maybe she will get closure if she hears it from someone else. Sometimes, I still have a hard time believing my mother abandoned me for power, and I heard the awful words coming from her mouth with my own ears.

“She was no longer useful.” I don’t fail to notice how his jaw ticks.

“I see…” Izzy mumbles, her eyes dropping to the ground.

Stealing a quick glance at Nicolas, I slide my fingers through hers and tug her to my side. I can be her strength, just like she is mine. He seems like he wants to say more, but he stays silent.

The man loved Cassandra more than he cares to admit.

Greed and hate. Some people allow it to consume them. It is a high price to pay, and it never ends well. Unfortunately, it will never run out of victims, always leaving pain behind. I can’t fix the world, but I can make this right.

The throne room is done over the top. Paintings with gold rims hang on the walls, and marble statues stand in the corners, looming and watching. The cushions of the throne chair are red velvet, making Izzy look regal and powerful as she sits on it.

It has only been a week, but she has been unwavering with her father’s council. Jorgan has trained her well and continues to do so daily, while Yanuk always stays in the distance, observing. It is a little unnerving how harmless he looks. The man can fight better than most. I would know, we sparred a few times. He has come a long way since I saw him in Louvide.

The last of the council leaves after giving a financial report. I eye Izzy, cautious of the few that linger. She looks worn out with her shoulders slumped, but I know that when we get back to our room, she will be going through those reports, checking every number. She does not trust anyone who worked under her father’s rule, and for that, I am proud.

“I’m afraid this is not it,” Jorgan states, his expression hard to read. “There has been activity outside the city that indicates Sofia’s followers are here. I sent a messenger to Adrian. We will have support, but I advise that you get your army ready as soon as possible.”

Izzy’s chest expands as she sucks in air. We talked about this and were expecting such an event, but Izzy worries she willlead her people to death. She will not. Every night, she studies maps and reads war tactics books. A few days ago, she even went to the army training base and met with the lieutenants and generals. I expected pushback from them, but Nickolas glared at them, and they listened to her.

Nickolas seems to want Izzy to do well, but no one can be trusted. We have someone spying on him just in case. Victor and Alexander were his cousins; he may harbor ill feelings or want the throne for himself. Even if he did say that he hated what Victor stood for. One cannot be too certain among the power-hungry leeches.

The pain inside my head makes me wince, forcing me to shut my eyes. These headaches have been persistent in the last few days, becoming more and more frequent. At times, it feels disabling, preventing me from thinking straight.

In the middle of this mess, Izzy was insistent that we send out letters to the nearby countries and the black market to search for lineage papers of demons. This type of search will take time that we don’t have, but she would not take no for an answer. I obliged, but we need to stop these followers.

“At the rate that her followers are piling into the city, we have a week,” Jorgan says to Izzy, but shoots me a confused look when I groan from the discomfort coming from the front of my skull.

“You should really see a doctor about that,” Yanuk comments.

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