Chapter 0124
#25 BONUS
“Growth?” Rainier repeats with a scoff. “Like that time he insulted the ambassador of Ruby Rivers by admitting to the man’s face that he slept with his wife, and she wasn’t good in bed?”
“That was a long time ago.” Why I’m defending him, I’m not sure.
“Or the time he stole a carriage that belonged to the Queen of Sardania and crashed it into a tree?”
“He’d been distracted by her beautiful daughter. And he had made sure to profusely apologize to Queen Olga after it happened.”
Rainier gives me a challenging look. “How about when he pulled a prank by forging your handwriting and sent a letter to your lead famer Cyrus asking for a hundred geese that he put in this very room?”
I grimace at the memory. Geese are more aggressive than anyone talks about. It took all the servants hours to gather the geese and get them out of the castle. All the while, Lex hid away in a tower and laughed at the chaos he’d created.
It was childish, but there was
no real harm done,” I say
“No real harm?” Rainier raises his dark eyebrows in disbelief. “Do you remember that time your father almost killed him for almost accidentally creating another vampire?”
“That was centuries ago. And my father punished Lex for that.
“What about when Emory was attacked in the library? He stood and watched as Opal and Jacob fed on her and threw her down the stairwell?”
The familiar anger at what Emory endured under my nose bubbles up. I am angry at Jacob and Opal but not more than I am at myself. I should have protected her better. It’s a mistake I intend never to make again.
“Lex is the only reason Emory is still alive,” I remind Rainier. “If he hadn’t gotten help, she would have bled out.”
“If he had grown a pair and told you what those two assholes had planned, Emory wouldn’t have needed to get hurt.”
“He claims he didn’t know they were going to do that. Besides, there’s no changing what happened t trust Lex to do the right thing this time. He has proven himself loyal before by giving King Peter false information to help us.”
“And what makes you think that when this little act of his gets boring that he won’t sell you out so he can be king instead?”
I remember what Lex’s words. Do you have any idea what it’s like living in your shadow?
“Nothing.” I answer. “But I choose to believe he won’t betray me.”
Lex
“You are lucky,” King Peter declares. “You get to live in luxury. Your whims will be catered to as what
Chapter 0123
+25 BONU
“I did. He was smaller than me, and punishment never worked well on Lex. I didn’t mind taking the punishments.”
“As you’ve said, Lex isn’t that little boy anymore,” Rainier points out. “Maybe you should let him be a and take accountability for his actions.”
man
“He has taken accountability for his actions. He practically volunteered to be a hostage. That is the most selfless thing he’s ever done.”
Rainier snorts. “Lex is not selfless. Everything he does is for his own self–interest. And he’ll never change. You’re giving him waaay too much credit.”
I cannot change Rainier’s opinion of Lex. He knows my brother far too well for me to even try. Numerous mistakes over the centuries have cemented what Rainier thinks of Lex. There’ve been times when I’ve wished the two of them could get along, but without Lex here now, it really doesn’t matter.
“I trust Lex,” I tell him. “You may not see his potential to be more than what he has been, but I do. I want to have faith in his growth,”
