Page 95 of The Warrior
“The usual place, no special treatment.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I’m telling you now.”
Khan plunked down in his chair. “Who did they want to replace me with? You?”
“Uh-huh. They think that Pearl has too much power over you, and they knew I agreed.”
“But not enough to take my place?”
I snorted. “If I wanted to be the ruler of this country, I would’ve taken you out a long time ago. The job is not for me.”
“You never considered it?”
“Sure. But I was fourteen and I grew out of it when I realized how boring the job is. You sit behind a desk all day. I always preferred to be hands-on. Being among my Huntsmen and feeling the adrenaline of a good fight; those were the best days to me.”
“I should thank you.” Khan looked a bit stiff when he said it. We weren’t raised to apologize or give thanks.
“It’s okay. Just because you're a gigantic ass doesn't mean I have to be one.”
For a moment none of us spoke, and the room filled with an energy that prodded at my emotions. When Laura first left me, I had gone on a drinking binge, and I would never forget Khan for being there for me. We were the two only people who would ever understand what it had been like to grow up as the sons of Marcus Aurelius. The man had been a monster at times, and hardest on Khan. I could remember being frantic for a way to distract my father to spare my brother. Working out and practicing fight techniques had been an obsession of mine. Not because I loved it, but because it was the only thing I knew my father would always take time to watch me do. And as long as he was watching me, he wasn’t harassing Khan.
It was Khan who broke the silence. “Alaska, huh?”
“I would prefer a warm beach down south, but I hear those are crawling with Momsies, and you know how I feel about them.”
“I don’t want you to go. I need you here.”
I shrugged. “You should have thought about that before you agreed to make Pearl your co-ruler.”
Khan opened his mouth looking like he wanted to argue, but then he closed it again with a sigh of resignation.
“Fine, but I want us to tell Mom together.”
“Why? I did the hard work. It’s only fair that you break the bad news to her. I hate it when she cries.”
“She’s going to want to hear it from the source.”
In the end we went to our mother’s suite together. Khan did the talking, and I was the silent brooding son in the background.
“Did you know anything?” Khan asked her.
Erika was fiddling with her hands, her face pale, and her eyes full of tears. “No.”
“You never suspected anything?”
She shook her head and sniffled. “I had no idea.”
“You know the punishment for treason in this country. Zobel will be executed with the others and their assets will be confiscated.”
“Please don’t kill him. I’m sure he didn’t mean it,” Erika begged.
“Mom.” Khan sat down beside her. “He wanted medead.”
Her voice was thick when she spoke “He was your father’s best friend. I’ve known him for thirty-five years. He would never do something like that.”
I was shocked at how naïve she was.
