The mansion was much more active today than at any other time. Not surprising. It wasn’t every day that the heir to the throne was taken captive. From what I could see, every dragon shifter within a six-hour flight had come to Cassius’s aid. Noblemen and women, servants, and security patrolled the halls and spoke in hushed murmurs, though they tapered off as soon as the three of came near. Still, I caught a few snatches of conversation.
“Rumor is, the prince is already dead.”
“The king is holed up in his room, preparing for negotiations.”
“War. We’re going to war.”
“The wolves will be launching some sort of attack any day now.”
“Lady Brielle is safe, but what of the prince? How could they leave him behind?”
“Lord Beatrix has said the only way out is through a preemptive attack.”
It grew tiresome, and I led Rasp and Vince to a quieter part of the house, away from the whispers and rumors.
“These people have no idea what they’re talking about,” I finally said when we were in the old castle. “All they’re doing is repeating bullshit rumors.”
“Some are.” Vince shrugged. “Some have heard true intel from court members.”
“Really?” Rasp asked. “Like what?”
“War,” Vince said without hesitation.
I spun to look at him and saw the embarrassment slowly dawn on his face. He wasn’t supposed to say that-not to me.
“Really?” I said. “The king is going to war? How? Your numbers are too small.”
He opened his mouth, but I waved him off before he could speak.
“Screw it,” I said. “Let’s go to the source.”
Before either of them could say anything, I stalked off toward the throne room.
I found exactly what I knew I’d find: all the members of the dragon court huddled in the room, and a haggard-looking, exhausted King Cassius in his chair, listening to the chorus of voices arguing, pleading, and demanding.
“This is not to be taken lightly,” Benedictus said, slamming a fist on the table. “How dare the wolves take Aurelius hostage? No. We can’t sit back any longer. We must attack. If they want war, then war they shall have.”
“Lord Benedictus,” another man said in a conciliatory tone. “You understand what that would entail, don’t you? The wolves outnumber us to a massive degree. Rumor is they’ve been making inroads with other less powerful shifter races as well. Bears. Panthers. You know they have little love lost for us. Not after how things went when we first arrived from the old world. It will be a bloodbath.”
“I don’t care.” Benedictus clenched his teeth so hard that tendons stood out on his neck. “A single dragon is worth half a dozen other shifters. I don’t care if they bring a hundred grizzly shifters to the battlefield. Bears burn just as well as wolves do.”
There was a hearty round of agreement with his statement. I couldn’t gather enough excitement to even pretend to agree. A thirty-foot-long fire-breathing dragon was a hell of a fighter, but even a rattlesnake could be taken down by a swarm of fire ants if the swarm was big enough. The numbers were not in favor of the dragon king’s forces. If they were right about my family trying to recruit other shifters, then the battle would be bloody and violent, but in the end the wolves would win. Not only that, but the dragon numbers would be so depleted that it would take centuries to get back to where they are now-if they ever did. What it most likely would mean was the end of the dragon race altogether.
“Benedictus,” Cassius said with a sigh. “I know you want what is best for our people, and I trust that you have good intel. If war is to happen, then we mustn’t rush into battle. We need to wait while we gather our forces.” The king glanced across the room at me, giving me a slightly weary smile. “As some have said, the wolves aren’t all we should be worried about. We have the humans to account for as well. This must be undertaken with high caution.”
“Caution be damned!” Benedictus jumped to his feet. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, they have taken your son
?-“
“Do you think I don’t know that?”
Cassius roared, standing from his own seat.
His rage was terrifying, and I took a step back in fear. Cassius looked like he was about to breathe fire into the entire room.
“Aurelius is my son, and I love him above all else. Regardless of anything, I will not be lectured by a man who views his own as a broken thing, Benedictus.”
It was as though all the oxygen in the room had been sucked away. Everyone here knew the strained relationship between Vince and his father. Benedictus was a man who loved and wanted what was best for his son, but still thought he was lacking due to his peculiarities. It was an open secret in the court, and the king had finally voiced it, bringing it into the open for the first time. That could have been viewed as a lack of propriety, but after Benedictus’s outburst, Cassius was well within his rights to call down a member of his own court.
Benedictus blanched and gaped at the king. He glanced around the room, as if only now realizing where he was and who was in attendance. His eyes swept around until they locked on Vince’s. The big man shifted uncomfortably and rocked forward and backward faster than ever before, obviously embarrassed.
Benedictus swallowed and looked at the king again. “Your Majesty… I’m, uh, I apologize. I should not have spoken out of turn.” He threw Vince another glance. “I’ll leave you and the rest of the court to, uh, discuss further action.”
Without another word, Benedictus swept out of the chamber, looking for all the world like a scolded child running to his room after being told off by his parents.
Cassius sighed heavily and sat, looking around at everyone in attendance.
“Lord Beatrix is correct. The Laurents have Aurelius. There is no changing that fact. Send word to all the houses of the world. War is coming. Now is the time for everyone to step up. Send emissaries to the other shifter races as well. If the Laurents are courting them, then we must as well. Be gone,” he said, sweeping a dismissive hand toward the door.
Rasp touched my shoulder and bent low to whisper in my ear. “We should go. He’s not in a great mood, obviously.”
He was right. Titus, the king’s head of household sat beside his lord, both men speaking in low, angry whispers as everyone funneled out of the room.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
Vince walked with a more subdued nature as we left the throne room. Both Rasp and I kept quiet, not wanting to mention what had happened. It had been interesting, though, to watch Benedictus. He was almost like my brother Bastien in a way. Both were hungry for war and aggression, but in different ways. Bastien wanted glory and power, while Benedictus wanted what was best for his people. Did Benedictus act like an asshole about it most of the time? Sure, but at least he hadn’t become a murdering war criminal like Bastien had. I doubted I’d ever be friends with him, but that was fine. There were lots of people I agreed with but didn’t like personally.
My brother was a different matter altogether. Always scheming and conniving. Even when we were children, he’d been jealous of my being the oldest and the heir to the family title. He’d been a little shit since coming out of the womb and had been elated when it was discovered I had no inner wolf. I think, even at that young age, he knew the end result would be my banishment. He had a lot more in common with my mother and father than I did. My parents had hidden that pretty well in my younger years, but once they’d seen what I was, the masks had come off. They’d been distant and uncaring toward me ever since.
“I want to go back to my room,” I said.
“Are you turning in early?” Rasp asked. “It’s not even dinner time yet.”
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