Page 24 of Empire of Death
“Why?”
“Because I don’t.”
“Everything I said is valid. If my father can find a way?—”
“Listen to me.” He didn’t have to raise his voice to command my silence, to command the entire room. “My eternal imprisonment is not your responsibility to fix. I understood the terms when I made the deal, and I proceeded anyway. The last thing I’d ever want is for you or your family or your dragons to try to fix a problem I caused.”
“When we met, you were angry that my father found a loophole.”
“Not angry,” he said. “Jealous. Very jealous.”
“Then we’ll find a way to set you free?—”
“No.”
“Why—”
“Because there is no way, and even if there were, it would come at a great personal cost to you, and I would never risk yoursoul for anything.Anything.” His angry eyes bored into mine. “It is too powerful and precious and beautiful. I’m not worth it,Xivin.”
“I disagree.”
“With the fate of your father’s life and the Southern Isles in your hands, there is no time for anything else. I don’t want to speak of this further, or ever again, and if you broach the topic again, I’ll leave.”
I inhaled a sharp breath like he’d slapped me.
“Temporarily,” he added, like he didn’t want his intentions to be misunderstood.
“I just want to know why you feel this way.”
“Xivin.” His tone suggested it was my final warning, that he would disappear if I uttered another word on the topic.
I hated his absence even when we parted on good terms. To feel him leave again when we were strained was too much, especially right now when I needed him most.
When the silence continued, his angry stare waned. The tension in all his muscles softened, and he tugged me a little closer to him, pressing a kiss to my forehead like I was still precious to him. “What happened with Hawk?”
I told him about the argument we’d had on the terrace, his reaction to my newfound powers. “I’ve felt closer to him these last few days than I have my entire life, and now that’s gone again.”
“He should be more concerned with your tryst with a god than the fact that he lost the crown. His greed is a much biggerproblem than your deceit. I believe his love for you is genuine and pure, but I believe his desire for power easily distracts him.”
“I don’t know what to do about it.”
“Issue no apology. You would have bested him with the blade even without my strength.”
“You think so?”
“Yes. You’ve improved greatly with my feedback. His size eclipses yours, but your intelligence dwarfs his. And even if that weren’t the case, it shouldn’t matter. Your father unequivocally selected you as his heir, and he continues to contest that. Your father would be disappointed in him if he knew this was still an issue with everything that hangs in the balance.”
My eyes dropped to his chest when the sadness overwhelmed me. “I had the Keeper of Skull Island ask for volunteers to fight for the Southern Isles…no takers.” I told him all the details of that encounter. “Going to battle for them with Zehemoth and Movack seems like an unfair trade for what I’m asking.”
“Or exactly equal,” he said. “Why do you expect them to fight for you if you won’t fight for them?”
I shifted back slightly so I could look into his eyes. “Are you saying I should do it?”
“I’m saying you need as many allies as possible,Xivin. You can always trust the word of a pirate over the promise of a king. King Ithaca may have a greater militia, but his intentions are unclear. In some ways, you need the Brigandine Empire more because you know you can count on them.”
“It feels wrong to ask my dragons to kill men who haven’t wronged them.”
“Then don’t ask them.”
