Page 51 of The Blade in the Ashes
When exactly was the last time I’d seen him?
The Peace Ball, maybe? Gods, that felt like an eternity ago.
“Can I offer you a drink?” He asked, moving towards me and clapping a hand on my shoulder affectionately.
“No, thank you.”
He wasn’t my family—not really. He was a grandfather to my half-sisters, but nothing to me. By the time my father had married his daughter, I’d already fancied myself a man and spent most of my days either with the army or getting into trouble with Rankor and Kent. I knew he loved my sisters, though. I could only hope that love for them would go far enough to ensure an alliance between our peoples.
He gestured towards the table, and we sat in unison. I took my seat two down from him, enough to leave a space between us if necessary. One can never be too careful, after all.
I ran my fingertips against the shining wood. A circular table was an interesting choice. There was no head at this table—no position that offered more power than the others. A table like this wouldn’t have existed in Athenia when my father had ruled.
“You seem like you know why I’m here,” I surmised.
He nodded, staring blankly ahead at the table. “There have been rumors—whispers. I admit I was hesitant to believe most of them, but then I saw a golden dragon flying on the horizon, and it confirmed my fears.”
The old man’s breath was heavy; his shoulders slumped. The war had hardly even started, and he already looked defeated by it.
What chance did we stand if the world’s leaders all looked like this?
“We can fight back,” I implored him, unable to keep the pleading tone out of my voice. It didn't seem very kingly to come here with such a desperation in my voice.
My father wouldn’t have begged.
My father would have marched in here full of smug self-importance and insisted that his plan was the only logical path forward. He would have insulted, outsmarted, and killed his way towards the Republic’s army. If allies wouldn’t come willingly, he would have just killed them and taken their resources by force.
Was that the kind of king I was destined to be? Would I follow the path he had so purposefully carved out for me?
It wasn’t what I wanted, of course, but my crown meant nothing if we didn’t defeat Hyrax. This wasn’t just Athenia’s war. This war belonged to all of us. So, I had to do whatever it took to secure allies. We all had to do whatever it took to win.
I just had to convince President Jonan of that.
“Fight back against a High God?” He lifted a brow at me, twirling his wineglass by the stem.
Sitting the glass down, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of parchment from his breast pocket and tossed it casually on the table in front of me. I didn’t need to look at the new seal to understand what sat in front of me.
“They summoned me toHyrax’scastle to stand before His Holiness and pledge my loyalty.”
Fuck me.
If he had one of those missives, then others had gone out as well. How many leaders had already put down their swords at Hyrax’s feet?
“Why shouldn’t I be flying to Athenia right now to do just that?”
I held back the growl building in my chest, adjusting my position in my seat to allow me to lean forward and fold my hands together in front of me. “You know who he is. You know what he’s done.”
“Of course I do, but to stand against him is to risk the lives of everyone in my land. You are a king now, surely you understand the weight of that choice.”
I didn’t, though. I hadn’t had the opportunity to make a choice like that before Hyrax had already made it for me. There wasn’t a coronation held to commemorate the start of my reign. I hadn’t even sat on my own throne yet. Hyrax had stolen my kingdom from me before I’d even fully adjusted to the burden of being its one true leader.
So, no, I didn’t understand the weight of having to decide how to best protect my people. The only way I could protect them was by defeating the God of the Dead.
“What of my daughter?” Jonan asked, voice cracking softly.
I glanced over his shoulder, looking out the too-large windows. A cloud had come in, so thick that nothing was visible through the glass panes. It was as if everything else had completely faded out of existence.
“I cannot know for sure,” I admitted almost painfully, terrified that the potential loss of my stepmother could be what drives him to Hyrax’s feet. “Pasnia had already taken over the castle before we arrived. We assume those who did not flee with us have either pledged their loyalty or—”
