Page 295 of The Ascended
"Yes," he said simply. "I have wanted this. I've worked toward this. The difference is, I'm prepared for what comes next. She isn't."
I wanted to rage at him, to call him the opportunistic bastard he was. But looking down at Thais—lost in her grief, unaware of the political hurricane about to descend—I knew he wasn't wrong. That made it worse.
"The others would challenge you," I said, trying to find holes in his logic even as I hated myself for considering it. "You're already a threat to the traditionalists. If they think you killed Olinthar?—"
"They'll move against me, yes. But I'm established. Powerful. I have allies, resources, centuries of political maneuvering to call upon." He gestured to Thais. "She has nothing but raw power she can't control and a target on her back."
"Exactly. We have allies who will?—"
"Do what, exactly?" My father's tone took on a cutting quality. "Stand guard over her every moment? Fight off the entire pantheon when they come calling?" He stepped closer, and I saw the cold calculation in his eyes that had made him second only to Olinthar for so long. "All of them will challenge her, Xül. One by one or all at once. And they will prevail."
"Then they'll have to go through me first. Every. Single. One."
"You're powerful, my son, but not that powerful. Axora alone could?—"
"Could try." My voice dropped. "I'll paint this temple with divine blood before I let them touch her."
Morthus studied me for a long moment. "You'd die for her."
"Without hesitation." I stroked Thais's hair as she trembled against me, my touch gentle even as my words turned vicious. "But I'd make sure to take as many of them with me as possible. Starting with whoever reached for her first."
"A romantic gesture. Also a futile one." His expression darkened further. "I won't allow another god to seize this opportunity."
His tone made my blood run cold. I tightened my hold on Thais instinctively. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that if I claim this kill, I need to be strong enough to hold it. Strong enough that no one dares challenge me." His eyes bored into mine. "Your marriage to Nyvora would split the traditionalists. Give me the alliance I need."
"Go fuck yourself." The words came out as a snarl. "I'm not trading Thais's life for chains."
The silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken threat. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft, dangerous. "Then I'll have to consider all options to maintain stability in the pantheon. Every option. Even ones I'd prefer to avoid."
A low growl escaped my lips. "You wouldn't dare."
"I've ruled Draknavor this long by doing what must be done," he replied simply. "Don't make me prove that to you now."
I rose to my feet, lifting Thais with me, cradling her against my chest. "You'd murder an innocent woman? Your own son's—" I couldn't finish. Couldn't put words to what she meant to me.
"To prevent a war that would destroy everything we've built? To stop the traditionalists from turning this realm into something even darker?" His eyes blazed with conviction. "Yes. And you know it."
Thais stirred slightly in my arms, lost in her grief, oblivious to her life being bartered over her head. The choice was no choice at all.
"You bastard," I whispered.
"Yes," he agreed without emotion. "But a bastard who keeps hisword. Agree to the marriage, and she lives under my protection. Refuse..." He didn't need to finish.
His expression shifted then, showing something deeper than cold calculation. "I will not abandon my goal for this, Xül. Not for her, not for you, not for anything. We've worked too long, sacrificed too much to let chaos destroy everything now. The pantheon must change. The old ways, the cruelty, the endless power games—they die with Olinthar. But that change requires stability first."
"The end justifies the means?" Each syllable stabbed the silence.
"When the end is a realm where children aren't harvested for divine amusement? Where mortals aren't pawns in immortal games? Yes. I've done terrible things to get us this far. I'll do worse if needed. Because the alternative is unacceptable."
He looked at Thais, and for a moment, I saw genuine regret cross his features. "She doesn't deserve to be caught in this. But none of us get what we deserve. We get what we can salvage from the wreckage."
I looked down at her—my fierce starling who'd carved her way into my heart—then back at my father. In his eyes, I saw the truth. He'd do it. For his vision of a better pantheon, for the prevention of something worse, for the greater good he'd pursued his entire existence. He'd add her death to his ledger of necessary sins.
The future I'd imagined shattered. All those stolen moments, her laughter echoing through the Bone Spire. The way she challenged me, defied me, made me feel alive for once in my life. The plans I'd barely admitted to myself—showing her the hidden corners of the realm, watching her grow into her power, maybe one day hearing her say she loved me too.
All of it crumbling to ash.
