Page 69 of Once Upon a Crown
Thatcher often forgot to keep his face guarded, and so before he could anticipate it, my fist collided with his nose, knocking his head back. Before he could recover, I gave him another hit for good measure.
He let out a grunt of pain or anger, maybe both.Just you wait, bastard. I’m only getting started.
He started to circle me, blood running down to his mouth. Conner was gone, but Elara still stood by the door, knowing that no matter how much she wanted to protect me, this was my fight, and I would have to see it through. I wondered if I would have been able to do the same, had our positions been swapped. Would I be able to stand and watch as she risked her life, fighting the person who’d taken almost everything from her? Her familyand her kingdom. A fight that we all knew could only end in death.
I eyed Thatcher, waiting for him to make a move.
“Well, come on then,” he spat out. “I know you want to kill me.”
Damn right I did.
“You betrayed everyone, Thatcher. Your king, your kingdom, your family. Did you even think about Gwen in any of this?” His poor younger sister, whose life would never be the same. She’d not only lost her brother, but also her home, and she would be labelled as the sister of a traitor for the rest of history.
“I am not her keeper.” He went to stab me again, this time in my stomach, but I turned, and the knife caught in my tunic and ripped the material. I used the opportunity to grab Thatcher’s arm and come down on it with my elbow.
He groaned in anguish, letting go of the knife and pulling his arm back.
“You killed my family. The people who treated you as if you were their own,” I cried out, still hoping, somehow, that after everything, Thatcher might say that he was sorry, that he regretted it.
“You don’t even know the half of it,” Thatcher stated with proud arrogance.
“Who do you think poisoned your father?” The words hit me harder than I would have liked. It was the equivalent of standing on a frozen lake and having the ice break beneath your feet. That initial moment when you’re submerged in the icy water and it feels as though your heart is going to stop. “Who do you think gave the servant the poison for your wine? Who do you think let Argon’s guards into the palace? It was right in front of you the entire time and you were too blind to see it.”
I’d thought and wondered about it for a long time, but hearing him say it, and hearing him confess to my father’s murder, was more than I could bear.
“You were never my king, Cai.” He managed to land a punch to my jaw. The pain shot through my face. “And you never will be.” Every word was like another blow.
I tried to go for his face again, but Thatcher was more prepared this time, blocking me. The only downside to my knowing all his moves when he fought was that he knew mine as well. And he had no qualms about taking advantage of my weak spots.
Another hit to my side, which I reciprocated. There was no version where this ended well.
“Believe me, it wasn’t easy killing your mother.”
I defended against his blow and hit him straight in the eye, causing Thatcher to stagger back a little.
“Right until the end she cried out for you.” It was as if all my nightmares had come alive before me. I could see my mother’s face in my dreams. Hear her voice. Hear her call out for me to help her before Thatcher slashed her throat. I would do anything, pay any price, if I could erase the mental images of Thatcher murdering my family. The people who treated him as their own son. My fists were up again, ready to strike once more.
“She seemed particularly attached to this.” I watched as he pulled a ring from his pocket. The ring my father had given my mother on their wedding day. The ring she never took off. After he passed, I would often find her sitting staring at it. Like it connected her to him, even in death.
“That doesn’t belong to you.” Fury surged through my veins.
“Doesn’t it?” he challenged. “I figured I own everything in the royal household, since I basically rule this part of the kingdom now.”
“You’re a fool if you think Aries will allow you any power. He’s using you.”
Thatcher twirled the ring in his hands as if to taunt me that he’d pried it off my mother’s corpse.
“That belongs to my wife,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Your wife?” He raised an eyebrow, sparing a quick glance at Elara. “I didn’t realise congratulations were in order.” I had no doubts in my mind. Elara was the only person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
“I believe Aries wouldn’t be opposed to the idea of an alliance with Everness. But only the marital sort, of course. Perhaps if he decides he doesn’t want her, I can take my turn to play with your toy.”
I lost it.
I tackled Thatcher to the ground with all the strength I possessed. We both hit the floor hard, knocking over some decorative armour in the process. I saw my mother’s ring skid across the throne-room floor.
Thatcher was quick to throw a punch to my side, hitting my ribs. He knocked me on the side of my head, causing the world around me to spin for a moment as stars entered my vision. It gave him enough time to shift our positions so that he was pinning me down.
