Falling Kingdoms

Cleo’s chest tightened. “His son is a vicious, evil creature. If I see him again, I’ll kill him.”

This didn’t bring a look of concern to Emilia’s face, rather one of admiration. “You have such boundless passion and determination. And strength.”

Cleo stared at her. “Strength? I could barely lift a sword to try to save my own life.”

“Not physical strength. Strength here.” Emilia pressed her hand against Cleo’s heart. Then she touched her forehead. “And here. Although up here is a part that you could probably work on a bit, so no more trips to dangerous lands will be in your immediate future.”

“I’m not strong,” Cleo insisted. “Neither heart or mind.”

“Sometimes you don’t realize how strong you are until you’re tested. As the youngest daughter in this family, you haven’t been tested very much in your life, Cleo. Not like me.” Emilia’s face shadowed. “But I believe you will be. Very soon. And you must draw from that strength. You must increase it. And you must hold on to it because sometimes that small glimmer of inner strength is all that we have to help us press forward through the darkness.”

Cleo clutched her sister’s hands. “And you must also be strong. I will send a guard back to Paelsia to continue my search. And he will be successful.”

Theon had promised he would go. Now she would have to find another to take his place. If Emilia had enough strength to leave her bed and come to Cleo’s side in the middle of the night, there was still hope for her recovery.

“I’ll try,” Emilia said, a weary tone to her voice. She turned her head to look out the window. “I’ll try very hard to be strong. For you.”

“Good.” The sisters were quiet for a moment. Emilia continued to gaze at the stars.

“You need to know that Limeros and Paelsia are gathering an army to enter Auranos in the coming weeks. They expect that Father will give up the moment they arrive.”

Panic swelled in Cleo’s chest. “He can’t give up.”

“If there isn’t an immediate surrender, they’ll fight to take the palace.”

An anger burned inside Cleo’s chest. “What will he do?”

Emilia’s grip on her hands tightened. “Had you been in the Limerian’s clutches, I think he would have done anything to save your life.”

“And now that I’m back?”

“Now,” Emilia said, gazing into her sister’s eyes, “if King Gaius is looking for a war, a war is exactly what he’ll get.”

Magnus had expected his father to be furious over his failure in Paelsia. He’d been prepared to face his fate after waiting for over a week. He stood by the thick iron railing as King Gaius entered the downstairs foyer upon his return. The king didn’t waste any time in getting to the point as he peeled off his riding gloves and a servant helped him removed his mud-encrusted cloak.

“Where is Princess Cleiona?”

Magnus looked at him unflinchingly. “I would assume she’s in Auranos.”

“You failed me?” the king roared.

“We were ambushed. My guards were killed. I had to kill the guard accompanying the princess in order to escape with my life.”

The king’s face reddened with fury and he stormed toward Magnus, raising his hand to strike him. Before he made contact, Magnus caught his wrist.

“Don’t,” he said, his voice dangerously low. “If you ever dare to hit me again, I’ll kill you too.”

“I asked you to do one simple thing, and you failed me.”

“And I barely returned home alive. Yes, I failed to bring you King Corvin’s daughter. But it’s over. You’ll just have to find another way to get what you want. Perhaps your own daughter will be all the assistance you need.” His face tensed. “Even though she’s not your daughter by blood.”

The king’s eyes widened a fraction—the only sign of any shock over Magnus’s words. “How did you learn of this?”

“Your mistress told me before Lucia turned her to ash. Then I confirmed it with Mother.” His lips twisted. “What do you have to say about that?”

King Gaius stayed locked in Magnus’s grip for another moment before he yanked his arm away. “I was going to tell you when I returned.”

“You’ll forgive me if I find that difficult to believe.”

“Believe what you must, Magnus. What Sabina and your mother told you is true. It changes nothing.” Finally his rage lessened and he nodded slowly. “But I trust in fate. We’ll have to go into this war without any guarantees.”

No apologies for a lifetime of lies, but Magnus hadn’t expected any. And so he would offer no apologies for his failure in Paelsia. “Were there guarantees even with Princess Cleiona in our grasp?”

“No. Only speculation.” He studied his son’s face. “You’ve learned from this failure and from recent truths offered from the lips of deceitful women. It’s made you stronger.” He nodded again and a grin stretched across his face. “All is well. Destiny smiles on us, Magnus. Wait and see. Auranos is ours.”

Magnus kept his expression stony and unamused. “I feel the sudden need to crush others beneath my feet.”

This only made the king’s smile widen. “Got a taste for blood, did you? For the feel of a sword piercing flesh?”

“Maybe I did.”