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“I see you’ve trained him well already.” His gaze was uncomfortable, something preternatural about the way his eyes moved. “It couldn’t have been difficult though, given you look likethat.”

I cocked my head, a bolt of annoyance cleaving through me as I took a step forward. “Are you suggesting that the reason I’ve found myself in this position is not my divine power, but the way I look?”

Kauvras let out a chuckle, a knowing smile setting his face alight. “Men will do a lot for a great pair of tits.”

Steel rang as Belin lurched forward, pulling his sword from its sheath, poised to strike his father. Not even a second passed before the guards on either side of Kauvras found a defensive stance. Tension even greater than before pushed against the walls as the men stared at each other, each daring the other to make a move.

“I serve Petra because she is the rightful ruler of all of Astran,” he spat through a tight jaw. “I serve Petra because she is the rightful ruler of the entire realm.”

Kauvras looked unbothered as he stared at his son, at the broadsword he had raised in front of him. He gave a curt nod to his guards, the men resheathing their blades and stepping back. Belin’s tense figure remained for an extra moment before relaxing, though he dropped his sword to his side, leaving it unsheathed and ready.

“I’ve heard you’ve amassed yourself an army,” Kauvras cooed after a moment, turning back to me.

“Your army.”

“Magnificent.” His face broke into a smile, something unhinged and unstable about the expression. “You truly are a queen in your own right.”

I furrowed my brows at the man. He didn’t seem angry. He didn’t seem even the least bit irritated. His face was etched with that same childish wonder it had been since I met him. “You no longer have control of the Vacants,” I stated, each member of my court tensing in anticipation of what could come next.

“I heard,” he answered nonchalantly, unbothered.

Nell’s head turned just slightly, and I knew what expression would greet me if I could see her face. Belin, Miles, and Whit would all have the same look.

“You’re not angry?” I asked, trying not to betray the confusion I felt.

Kauvras sat back, a laugh erupting from his throat and echoing off the throne room walls. He looked almost sane in this moment. “Angry? I never wanted an army. I even tried to outlaw the use of leechthorn. I simply wanted peace for Cabillia. I wanted to make the world a better place as the Saint of New Beginnings, as Savior of the Realm. The Saints told me it was possible.” He crossed an ankle over his knee, his hand propping his chin up like we weren’t discussing the fact that I just dismantled his entire military. “It was Castemont’s idea. I was just his puppet.”

I almost rolled my eyes at the name. Of course it was Castemont’s idea. “You know his true identity, right?” I asked. I felt everyone in the room freeze, waiting in anticipation for Kauvras’ answer.

“I have an inkling.” I raised a brow at the Rebel King. “A man can be only so obsessed with the words of a prophecy before the people around him begin to question the meaning behind them.”

“And you went along with his plan,” I stated, not a question. “You did the bidding of the Saint of Pain.”

Kauvras leaned forward, all traces of sanity gone, his eyes once again too wild, his movements too jerky. “I didn’t have a choice, sweetheart.” The smirk that marked his face was expectant. What was I missing?

Belin’s voice sounded from behind me. “A Bloodsinger.” He stepped up beside me, his lips pressed into a hard line as he faced Kauvras again. “Castemont took your blood too, didn’t he?”

The Rebel King sucked his teeth, the veins in his neck protruding, his eyes falling to his lap where he picked at a loose thread that wasn’t there. “Well aren’t you perceptive?”

“Unbelievable,” Belin whispered. “Un-fucking-believeable.”

Confusion rocked me, but I kept silent, observing the interaction between father and son. Kauvras’ smile was too wide as he stared back at me. “That’s what Castemont does. He wants to be ruler of the realm, and he’ll do anything to achieve that. The throne of Widoras is only the beginning.”

The Saint of Pain as ruler of the entire realm…

Belin’s shoulders visibly tensed. “So that’s why he tried so hard to get me to the throne. Not because he wanted me to find Petra and kill her, but because he wanted the throne forhimself. He wanted me to get rid of the only person who had a legitimate claim to the ultimate throne.” His words were clipped, almost like they were painful to speak. “Then I’m sure he would’ve usurped my position. I was a stepping stone.”

“We all were,” I remarked, my eyes meeting Belin’s to see a pain so deep that it looked like a blade had been driven through his heart. Resolve settled within me suddenly, steady and calm. “I’m done.”

Everyone in the throne room turned to stare at me. My bones began to grow hot, the energy vibrating through me like the earth was shifting beneath my feet.

“I’mdone. He’s ruined countless lives. No more,” I fumed. I knew he needed to die, but now it felt real. My teeth gnashed together at the thought of him sitting in the highest turret of the Eserenian castle, surrounded by the Vacant army he created, the Vacant army he now commanded. “I have in front of me the monumental task of finding and saving my mother and father. He is going to complicate that ten-fold. It has to be now.”

Kauvras cocked his head at my words. But he didn’t question what I said about Katia and Rhedros like I figured he would. “What are you proposing?”

“I’m going to Eserene. And I’m going to kill him.”

Silence fell again as Kauvras surveyed me, his normal look of instability falling away, a flash of something thoughtful showing for a split second. “And how will you get to him?”