Page 17 of Microburst

I mentally winced when Sagan physically did. That was almost cruel of him to say because she would feel guilty about doing that… But he wasn’t wrong. One of our idiot family members might still take the job and they would make a mess that toppled the monarchy. Probably in less than a few months.

I cupped Sagan’s cheek. “You are better than Rhys ever was, poppet.”

I smiled when her eyes flashed shock at the cute name I’d secretly called her when she was really young. Rhys and Amelia hated it, so I would tease her with it when we were alone. It wasn’t even a popular term for children in Thovudin, but when she was really little and no one was watching she used to make popping noises as she played. Just skipped around and popped her lips.

It was beyond adorable. I had an image of that tiny girl, and it killed me how my own brother had hurt her beyond repair.

“You fixed everything he couldn’t and so many of his mistakes in meremonths, poppet,” I whispered. “Fuck, Rhys. He wasn’t worthy of beingyour father. That’s the truth. I don’t know—I don’tcareabout his insanity anymore but honestly, all I see is jealousy. That’s all I can think is he was jealoushewasn’t the special one from the gods with two dragons.”

“You can’t really think that,” she hedged.

I ran my tongue over my teeth, hating to lie to her, but also not sure it was a lie. “Nothing was bigger than his ego. If you crushed that, then he would… I don’t know. We’ll never really know, and Amelia couldn’t ever really know either since it’s onlywhat he told her, not his own thoughts.” I gave a half shrug. “What I do know is you are who the gods wanted.

“I know you are the ruler Thovudin needs. I know you are amazing already and the world will lose out if you quit because your dead parents were fucking lunatics and didn’t want you to be queen. Fuck them. Like… Fuck them, poppet. I say that as someone who feels the same about his parents.” I kissed her forehead. “Prove them wrong. That’stheirpunishment.”

I wasn’t sure it was the right way to handle this, but I couldn’t have her quit and me be king. More than that, I couldn’t have Rhys and Amelia win and Sagan lose what was supposed to be hers. They couldn’t break her.

But as I pulled away and saw darkness in her eyes, her dragons moving behind them, I wondered if maybe I’d made everything worse and lit the fuse on something even graver.

5

Sagan

Everything changed after that night.

Everything.

There was no going back after learning what I did and the extra Belinda told me she read later. I’d woken drunk, and after I found my uncles and aunt passed out having drank my wine, I got her to confess the passage she’d read to them.

Then what happened with Benson and… There was no going back, and everything had changed.

However, I did agree with Fraser.

Fuck my parents.

Fuck what they had wanted.

Fuck what they had thought of me.

Fuck… Everything.

I didn’t know why I was given two dragons, but the gods did, so clearly it was what they wanted.

I was born the rightful heir.

I was queen.

I was the boss.

I was the one who kicked out the elders and cleaned up the financial ruin my parents were in. I got the dirty guards out and more.

Had I made mistakes?

Yes… But mostly to protectthemand their fucking legacy. Their memory of being so perfect.

No more. They didn’t love me and I wasn’t going to fall on any more swords protecting the truth of how incompetent of a ruler Father had been. Nor what horrible parents and people they were.

Fuck them. Fraser definitely got that right.