Page 110 of Ascendant King
Phelan was still staring at us expectantly. I had let the silence trail on too long.
“Not a guest. A gift. We found her breaking into our house.” I gestured. “She had some story about looking for the true Morrison heir.”
“Interesting,” Phelan purred. He glanced her over, shrugging dismissively before turning back to me and Cade. “So, what do the false king and the drug-dealing alpha want from me, king of the most powerful mage house?”
Glaring, I tried to keep my temper in check. Cade reached out, wrapping cool fingers around my wrist. The temperature shocked me before I said anything that put us at a disadvantage.
“We know you were working with Leon Lucas. We want to know where he is.” I waited, settling in for another silent staredown.
“Leon? King Bartlett, you mean?” Phelan pretended to consider. “I don’t agree with his methods. In fact, I strenuously disagree with his philosophy. It was a similar disagreement to the one I had with Howard.”
“Disagreement? Youkilledhim!” Elizabeth snarled.
“I proved to him that no mage should be so much more powerful than any other.” Phelan shook his head before turning to me. “You believe that werewolves deserve power.”
I blinked, the conversation having taken an unexpected turn. “I believe that werewolves should be on an equal footing as equal citizens.”
“Equal to who?” Phelan asked, the first sign of annoyance showing in his expression. “Humans, who waste their little lives serving only themselves and their desire for money and power? Or mages, who have institutions and power, potentially the strength of gods. No. Mages have spent too longsatisfiedwith our position in the shadows. We are so secretive, so tight-lipped, so quiet. And why?”
“Because we wouldn’t be any better at leading than humans are,” Cade said, his expression giving none of his feelingsaway. He looked almost bored. “So you want, what? A mage government?”
“No. I want mages to take our position as the most powerful beings on this planet.” He shook his head. “Mages can move mountains. In years past, we built cities from our power. But these days, too many of us suffer from a lack of magic. I believe that magic should be spread equally between all mages so that when we rule, it is from a place of racial power.”
“You want mages in power, and you want to use your magic technique to make sure that all mages have the same amount of power?” I asked. “Why?”
“Because humans are ruining this world!” Phelan said sharply. “Mages have spent too long fighting each other rather than fighting our true enemies.”
It was a comment that hit too close to home. I had said something almost identical to Ghost Pack about werewolves fighting each other. But hearing Phelan say it, a man with all the money, power, and prestige from being a mage king, made me wonder if I had been fooling myself.
When Phelan said it, it sounded like a powerful man trying to stay king of his mountain and claim the whole mountain range while he was at it.
Cade’s fingers tightened around my wrist, squeezing me back into the present.
“So you want a new world order?” I said. “And Leon stands in the way?”
Phelan’s face was pale, and he pulled his lips back in a sneer. “He wants power for himself and for House Bartlett.”
“Do you have him?” I asked.
“No. Is that all you have to ask?” Phelan’s face returned to its cool mask, but I was used to Cade, and he had nothing on my lover. Cade was a volume of poetry in his chilliness, exposing his every thought and feeling if you knew how to read for it.
By contrast, Phelan exposed what he was: a complete psychopath. He might be talking a good game, but the light in his eyes spoke of his true desires. Moreover, I could see the results of his “new world order.”
“You say that you want something new for mages,” I said. “You want them to be powerful. So why drain some? I saw what you’re doing. The power isn’t distributed equally.”
Phelan looked at me, shaking his head for a moment before his lips spread into a smile. “No. Not equally. But you have enemies too. Would you give them as much power as you would give your own pack? Why should I give magic to mages who run from their responsibilities, who refuse to cleave to any house? No. But soon, when House Morrison has acquired enough mages and the other houses are buckling under their own weakness, we will emerge with the correct solution.”
“But you killed Howard because of the risk of exposure,” Elizabeth said. She clutched the chains tightly, and I knew that if she wasn’t holding on, they would have fallen away.
“Incorrect,” Phelan snapped. “I killed Howard because he never believed in creating equality for mages or even in our ascendancy. He was willing to risk everything we were building for his crazydaughter. She was the most powerful mage in our house, and he refused to drain her for the betterment of his own people.”
“Don’t call her that,” Elizabeth said.
“Crazy? Why? She was. Everyone knew. Everyone except you.” Phelan raised his palm, and I started to move in front of Cade but was trapped, magic threaded throughout the park in a complicated netting. When had he had time to do that magic? “And you would have let him bring down our house before you acknowledged the truth.”
I tried to yank myself loose, but my hands were bound, the magic dragging over my arms, pulling hair and skin. I wrenchedmy neck and saw Cade equally trapped, his eyes wide. Black magic slithered off him, the tattoos growing like vines over Phelan’s violet magic, but it wasn’t enough.
Elizabeth laughed, and I heard the clatter of chains. Hopefully, she was getting free.