Page 77 of Polestar
Betrayal.Regret.Disgust.
He focused on Elias as he approached his father’s judgment.
No matter what, he’d imprint his son’s face in his memory.
Even if he, too, hated him and turned his back on Magnus.
“Stop there,” Ulla commanded.
Ignoring her, he turned his attention to his father, ten paces before him.
Sadness swallowed every other emotion.
Bjorn Thornsson, King of the Barentian Polar Bear Shifters, was no longer the physically robust ruler exuding power that he’d been when Magnus last laid eyes on him.
The arm of the throne supported his shrunken, sallow form.His once thick white and gray hair hung in limp strings to either side of his hollowed cheeks and bleary eyes.
Magnus sniffed.Not right.His father smelled of slow rot from the inside out.
Illness?
How?
Magnus searched for a mark denoting Ulla’s influence on the elder man.His high collar encased his throat below his thinned beard.
Magnus turned on Ulla, ready to throw accusations at her.
She met his gaze, but there was no triumph or delight in her eyes.Fear?
Couldn’t be.What is there for Ulla to fear?Here?Now?No.
He stayed his words.
“Magnus the Banished,” his father rasped, still denying Magnus his paternal surname.
Still not Magnus Bjornson in Barentia’s eyes.
He sucked in a breath at the resurgence of rejection, attempting to re-bury it.
He straightened his shoulders, staring at the sick old man, willing him to get on with his judgment.
The old man’s jaw worked before he spoke.“I charge you with treason for attempting to influence the true heir of the realm,” Bjorn repeated Ulla’s words almost verbatim, panting against the energy those words cost him.
Magnus’ keen hearing picked up the subtle movements of the guards surrounding him.Clenching fists on weapons, shuffling feet, deep breaths.
They were prepared for him to resist.To fight.
They expected it.
Gladly.But not yet.
Not yet.
Magnus kept his features neutral as he leveled his gaze at Elias’ drawn expression.
“In consideration of your previous position as heir and member of the ruling family, I shall grant you mercy.”
Tears glazed Elias’ eyes.
