Page 136 of Ascendant King

Leon actually laughed, the corner of his eyes crinkling, his chuckle genuine. “Eager, aren’t you? No. We’ll wait until the end of dinner for the ceremony. The good members of House Bartlett are hungry.”

As he spoke, he raised both hands, clapping once. Golden magic swirled in front of everyone and plates appeared, with the salad course.

Cade glared at Leon. “We will not participate in this farce, Leon. Tell us what we’re doing here.”

Both of Leon’s eyebrows went up, and genuine concern tinged his voice. “Cade, are you feeling well? We can put this off, but now that you’ve reached your majority, I thought it was time.”

There was no deceit in his gaze, no sly hint that he knew exactly what was going on. Instead, he looked at Sonja, who had gone pale. She shook her head, indicating she had no idea what was going on.

“This isn’t real.” Cade spoke quietly, his voice intense, and Leon leaned forward to hear him. “So you might as well tell us what the point is. You might as well admit defeat now. Because we will tear this place apart.”

Leon’s face paled, his mouth falling open in shock. He turned his head slightly, directing his question to me, the first time a mage had spoken to me since we’d arrived.

“Is Cade ill? We should have him seen to. Why didn’t you call for the doctor?” Leon’s voice rose in anger. “This is my heir. His health is nothing to be petty about. I should have you whipped for the disservice you did to your master.”

I stared at him in surprise before saying, “You might as well give it up, Leon. You aren’t going to fool us. This isn’t even a good replica. Is this really what you imagine it would be like in your ideal world?”

The room dropped to silence, and Leon reddened, his cheeks puffing out, eyes wide. “What did you say to me, consort?”

“I said, you might as well have fought us back at the Zoo. Because I don’t care what your imagination conjures. I willneverbe a slave.” My voice became a roar, the anger and fury bursting out of me.

“Get me a whip.” Leon glared at me. “I’ll show you exactly what your place is, consort.”

“Go ahead and try.” I forced my voice down, compacting all my rage, all my frustration into one pure moment of clarity. “Because we both know that last time you only won because you shot me full of drugs.”

Leon’s genuine bafflement broke through his anger, and he blinked at me. He looked at Jesaiah, both eyebrows going up. I turned and saw Jesaiah against the wall. His mouth hung open, his eyes pale white, his skin gray. Then I blinked, and he was back to normal, warm flesh, brown eyes.

There was movement on the opposite side of the table, chairs scraping, and Cade’s parents rose, rushing from their seats to Cade’s side.

“Son, what are you talking about?” Alexander asked.

Chloe pressed both palms to his face, tilting it down so they were looking eye to eye. “Cade. You look ill. Let’s get the doctor.”

“No.” Cade’s voice was raw flesh dragged across gravel. “No. Howdareyou? How dare you care about me, care about my well-being when you left me?”

“Is this about moving quarters?” Chloe cooed. “Son. That’s just part of growing up. It’s natural to outgrow your parents’ home.”

“This is about youdying!” Cade pulled away, drawing himself free from his mother’s embrace. “This is about you leaving me all by myself! How dare you? You were supposed to protect me. You were supposed to keep me safe and instead left mealone.”

“We’ve never left you alone,” Alexander said, his brow creasing. “Never. And we never will. We are going to be here forever with you, Cade. Because you are our son. And we love you.”

“Yes.” Chloe put her hands on top of Alexander’s, and they turned to face Cade, their expressions pure bliss. “Cade, you are our son. We are going to be here with you, protecting you, keeping you safe. Loving you.”

Cade took a step back, and I caught his shoulders. “Stop it. Just stop it. You’re dead.”

“No. We aren’t.” Chloe smiled again, reaching forward for Cade.

“Here, you are the rightful prince of House Bartlett. My heir. Someday, you will be king.” Leon smiled, all anger gone from his expression. “We are the most powerful house in the world, you can live in comfort, in strength, with your consort at your side.”

“Say yes, Cade,” Sonja said, her expression so mild that I didn’t even recognize it. There was none of her sharp intelligence in her gaze, none of the bird of prey in her smile.

“What are youtalkingabout?” Cade trembled, but I held firm, gripping him tightly. I needed him to say no. I needed him to deny this because I couldn’t fight them on my own. I couldn’t fight him if he wanted to stay.

“We are talking about what’s yours for the taking,” Alexander said.

“Comfort. No fighting. A crown.” Leon extended his hand, and the circlet that we’d left in the room appeared in it, gleaming silver, the sapphires sparkling like ocean water.

Cade stilled, staring at the crown, and then he drew himself straight, and my stomach plummeted. What would I do if he reached for it? How was I going to get out of this on my own?