Page 32 of Royal Rebel

After the whippings, King Henri appeared, stepping out of the crowd with his guards. The soldiers—both young and old—who had gathered to watch the punishment stared at the king with varying expressions of awe and terror as he walked among them.

Henri stopped just in front of Commander Zaden and Grayson. “You are the future of Ryden,” the king said to the rapt crowd, his voice deep and resonating. “You will pave the way to victory. Your ferocity will lead to the destruction of our enemies. You will be impervious to pain. You will not fear sacrifice. We will crush those who oppose us. We will no longer remain huddled in the snowy mountains of our homeland. We will conquer Mortise and Devendra and enslave all survivors. Lands and estates will be given to the deserving warriors in my army, regardless of rank or station. Ryden will know a new age of victory and prosperity!”

The commanders in the army led the cheer, and the soldiers joined their voices—some more strongly than others. Beside Grayson, Reeve shouted with them, and Grayson’s blood chilled at the roar of sound. He didn’t join the cheer. His jaw was immovable, his eyes so dark no one bothered to reproach his silence.

Liam had known. About the boys, about the increasing size of Henri’s army. As the spymaster of Ryden, he had to have known. He knew the danger Henri posed to all of Eyrinthia—Ryden included. That’s why he’d made plans to bring down their father. He’d been trying to stopthis.

Grayson hadn’t agreed with Liam’s methods, but in that moment, he wished his brother was with him. Liam was the only other person who could understand what it was like for a son to defy King Henri Kaelin.

Standing in the middle of a cheering army, Grayson felt wholly alone.

Much later, when he finally made it to his horse, Grayson rechecked the saddle out of pure habit.

Footsteps approached, and from the corner of his eye, he saw Tyrell striding toward him. His brother was bristling with too many emotions. Anger. Confusion. Hurt.

“Did you know?” he demanded, his voice a low hiss.

Grayson faced him. “Know what?”

Tyrell’s eyes flashed with irritation. “About Mia. Who she was.”

“You heard Father. No one knew.”

His nostrils flared. With a muttered curse, he turned toward his own horse.

As Grayson resumed tugging the fastening straps, the words he’d been holding for hours finally came out. “No matter what games our father plays, Mia will never be yours. I will never allow that to happen.”

Tyrell’s hands paused; he’d been checking his saddle as well. When he twisted to meet Grayson’s gaze, his eyes were dark. “She’s not yours to control.”

“No. But I will protect her from you.”

Tyrell’s expression darkened. “Careful, Grayson. We’re heading into war. Nothing makes the fates so thirsty for blood as a battlefield.”

Grayson gave his brother the cool edge of a smile. “Is that supposed to be a threat?”

Tyrell didn’t get a chance to answer.

Carter, Peter, and Henri joined them. Grayson swung up onto his horse, the burn on his face throbbing and his vision blurring briefly as pain swelled.

By the time his sight cleared, Henri was also mounted, and he ordered them to move out.

Tyrell wheeled his horse around, moving to ride on Carter’s far side.

As far from Grayson as possible.

Grayson didn’t miss the flash of satisfaction on Henri’s face as he glanced between his two youngest sons.

Hatred for his father spiked. He had forced Tyrell and Grayson to become rivals over the years, driving them with meticulously planned tortures and forcing them to engage in violent fights. But this was a fates-blasted nightmare. He’d put Mia between them, manipulating all three of them. Because, as much as Grayson hated to acknowledge it, he knew Mia’s feelings for Tyrell were real. She cared about him. And Tyrell wanted her. He wasn’t going to stop wanting her once Mia and Grayson escaped.

He would come for her.

Grayson wanted to protect Mia—always. But he wasn’t going to be able to protect her from this.

In the end, he was going to have to kill Tyrell. He knew it, and Tyrell had clearly reached the same conclusion about him. And no matter how that final confrontation played out, Mia would be hurt. Which meant neither he nor Tyrell could ever truly win.

Chapter 7

Desfan

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