Page 12 of A Cage of Crystal

Finally, with a trembling sigh, he said, “I abdicate my claim to the throne.”

* * *

Larylis Alantenever imagined how awful it would feel to have his deepest desires come true. When he’d dreamed of earning the Alante name, he’d always imagined it would come about through perseverance, through gaining the respect of Queen Bethaeny, through his own merit. Not seconds before his father’s death—a fate that was delivered by his own words.

When he’d dreamed of being with Mareleau, he’d never imagined it would come through deception and lies. Never imagined the woman he loved would twist their forbidden ardor into a tale of some treacherous liaison. Never imagined he’d be offered a crown in exchange for their perceived indiscretions.

He’d never—ever—dreamed of being king.

The thought of being given a throne he didn’t deserve made his shoulders feel as if they bore leaden weights. There was only one reply he could give to Teryn’s outrageous statement.

“No.”

The word was shared with everyone else in the room, save Teryn and Mareleau. Verdian, Helena, and Bethaeny all looked at Teryn as if he’d gone mad. Teryn, meanwhile, stood taller, prouder, as if he’d already shrugged off the burden of their father’s crown. Was that why Larylis suddenly felt so heavy?

“I won’t take it,” Larylis said, as if his refusal could shift the weight back where it belonged. He caught Mareleau’s injured expression from the corner of his eye, but he couldn't bear to look at her. Not because he was angry. He certainlywasangry, but he was more concerned that—should he meet her eyes, should he remember the desire in them when they’d shared their last kiss, should he recall the sweetness of her lips—he might be tempted to play along with her lie.

“It seems the boy has some modicum of sense after all,” Verdian muttered.

“What I said stands.” Teryn’s voice was stern. “I abdicate, and that is final. I will gather Menah’s council to make it official, but I have made my choice.” In that moment, he reminded Larylis so much of their father, he thought his heart might shatter in two. Teryn held Verdian’s stare with the same conviction Arlous had demonstrated when he’d first referred to Larylis as an Alante.

It was too much.

His throat closed up, seared by blood, by battle, by the words that had condemned their father to die.

We refuse to surrender.

“This will not stand,” Verdian said. “You are King of Menah—”

“I’ve yet to be crowned,” Teryn said. “Larylis will be in my stead.”

“No.” Larylis ground the word through his teeth.

Mareleau took a step toward him, her expression begging him to be silent.

“No,” he said to her as well.

Teryn rounded on him. “I’m trying to fix this.”

“There’s nothing to fix.” His lungs felt too tight. He could almost smell the blood on the battlefield, could almost hear the clang of steel. Red filled his vision. His next words came out in a rush. “I will not be rewarded for killing him.”

He felt empty in the wake of his confession. It was the first time he’d spoken the truth out loud. That he’d killed King Arlous.

Teryn’s expression flashed with pain, but it quickly hardened. When he spoke, his voice was cold. “You don’t get to carry that burden on your own, brother. Father traded his life for mine.”

“But I’m the one who refused to surrender.” He hated the way his voice trembled. Hated how small he felt in that room, despite being one of the tallest there.

Teryn’s tone softened the merest fraction. “You did what I wouldn’t have had the strength to do. You made the choice only a king would make. That’s why Father put you in charge of that decision. That is why you will take my place.”

Larylis shook his head. “You don’t understand what you’re giving up. What you think Mareleau and I have done—”

“It doesn’t matter. Take the crown. I will not be swayed otherwise. If you won’t take it as your right, then take it as your punishment.”

His punishment.

There was something about that concept that silenced any further argument. There was a rightness about it. A cruel justice.

Perhaps it was what he deserved. To bear the crown of the man he killed. To win the hand of his beloved not through love but lies.

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