Chapter 0119
“Not yet. He’s been in meetings all day.”
“No doubt dealing with that obvious mole Peter has sent to bother us.”
Seeing Lord Alistair scurrying about the castle is a common occurrence. More than once, he has tried to go into areas he is not allowed in only to be deterred by a guard or servant. He has even tried to bribe whoever caught him in the act, but Kane fires whoever gives in and replaces them immediately. Kane complains about how easy it seems to bribe people in the castle, and it’s becoming an epidemic.
Kane
“We could just kill him,” Lex suggests not for the first time. “And then deal with the consequences later.” “And this is why you’re not ruling this kingdom,” Rainier quips. “We’re trying to keep King Peter from attacking us, not give him another reason to give the marching orders.”
Lex gives him an annoyed look. “How do you propose we deal with Alistair? He tried to bribe his way into the dungeons this morning.”
“Well, fuck. If he sneaks Jacob out of the castle-”
“I doubled the security guarding Jacob,” I cut in. “I also have the servants collecting any letters he has that might be interesting.
“It’s still not enough, Kane,” Rainier points out. “Peter already knows about Emory’s pregnancy.”
I sigh and lean back in my seat. The stress migraine I have been fighting off all day makes me feel like my brain is going to explode. I slide King Peter’s latest letter across the table for Rainier and Lex to read.
As soon as King Peter found out about the baby, he proceeded to threaten me with telling all the vampire kingdoms about it. In his eyes, I not only got his precious daughter pregnant and refuse to claim her spawn as my own, I have defiled her honor even more by getting another woman pregnant. And it’s a wolf shifter to boot.
“He wants you to declare Emory’s baby is a bastard that will never inherit your throne and that Opal’s baby is your rightful heir?” Rainier looks furious and astounded. “Is he insane? You can’t agree to this!”
“I already told him no.”
I don’t care what King Peter threatens me with. I will never forsake Emory and our child. He can just add this onto my list of perceived sins against him and his family. I’m quickly losing my last vestiges of patience with this man.
“He wants a hostage,” I continue, “Since I won’t let Jacob go, he wants his own leverage.”
Political hostages are an old practice dating back to my grandfather’s time. A royal child from another kingdom would come to stay with the kingdom they’re warring with to ensure peace at the cost of that child’s life. A political hostage would be treated well and raised among the other kingdom’s royal children but would never truly be a part of the family.
My mother’s brother, King Cyrus, had been a political hostage for another kingdom when he was a child
+25 BONUS
Chapter 0119
and was only released as an adult after his father died, and he became the new king of Cerise Point. My mother told us how it had been a lonely and unhappy time for my uncle. My father managed to secure peace with our neighbors so that neither I nor Lex had needed to be hostages.
“Who would you even send?” Rainier questions. “Your child is still in the womb. Does he want you to send Emory?”
“Absolutely not,” I tell him resolutely.)
I will burn down Scarlett Thunder before letting them get their grubby hands on Emory.
“You can’t send Mother. She hates him,” Lcx points out
I can’t look at my brother. “I know.” He was in King Peter’s possession once and managed to trick the king into thinking he was more useful here, but now, well.. maybe there’s another option.
There’s a silence as the only option is blatantly obvious to all of us. I have no children to send. What I do have is a brother. The spare.
“You want to send me,” Lex concludes.
