Page 76 of Ascendant King

“It’s not a perfect solution, but Ihaveto save them. If it was wolves instead, what would you do?” Cade lowered his voice and looked me straight in the eye, his gaze as sharp as his words.

He was the king I knew he could be.

I swallowed down my anger. Now wasn’t the time. “How do we do it?”

“The house—the idea of it, but also the members—are tied to ley lines, as I told you. It allows our family to access the magic, to grow stronger than unaffiliated mages.” Cade gestured between him and Sonja. “Theoretically, if it works, then everyone in our generation should be as powerful as me and Sonja.”

“But Isaac said that generations were being born weaker and weaker.” I pointed between him and Sonja, following the path his finger had taken. “You two being the exception.”

“Yes.” Cade agreed. “Either way, the only person with the power to remove the pact is the king of House Bartlett.”

We all sat with that for a moment, struggling to think of a way around our current problem. Looking over Cade’s face again, I said, “Youarethe real king. You have always been the legitimate king. Leon is just a pretender to the throne, and what he’s done to the house proves it.”

Cade’s eyes fixed on mine, his throat working, but he didn’t say anything.

Sonja struggled to stand. “Miles is right. My prince, you are the legitimate heir.”

“No,” Cade said, but it was more a sharp exhale than an actual denial. “A king is accepted by his house. Akingisn’t sentenced to death by his own family.”

“A king can’t be betrayed?” I raised my eyebrows. “A king can’t be deceived?”

“No,” Cade snarled. “I am not here for the throne. I’m here forvengeance.”

“But you want to save everyone in House Bartlett,” I pointed out. “Even though they betrayed you. If all you wanted was revenge, you’d be happy to let them die.”

As Cade shook his head, I approached. “You are theonlylegitimate heir. You have the ability to do this, Cade. I know you can.”

“What is this, a war party or a girls’ sleepover?” Declan snarled. “Jesus, why don’t youbraid each other’s hair. If he doesn’t want to be king, then let him paint his nails black and play Hamlet to his heart’s content.”

I couldn’t help the snarl as I turned to face Declan, but when I saw him, I stilled. Cade grabbed my shoulder, a silent question.Sonja looked confused as I stared past her to where Declan was framed in the dark window. Thick branches grew from his torso, each green leaf dripping with honey-colored sap.

Turning away, I caught Cade’s eyes. “You are the king.”

The air around us snapped with electricity.

Blue magic swirled, and both mages reacted quickly, Cade putting up a latticework of black tattooed vines, Sonja dragging Tyson behind her, gritting her teeth and extending her hands until a thin line of red surrounded her and Tyson.

The blue magic fell away, snow drifting to the ground, and Petrona stood in the center. Her eyes gleamed, more aware than she’d been when we last saw her. She looked over the situation.

Wolves rushed back to the room, but I waved them back. I didn’t want Petrona turning her powers on them, and I didn’t need them attacking her if she was here on our side.

“Petrona,” Cade said cautiously.

“Prince Bartlett,” she said. “Have you defeated Leon?”

The silence in the room stretched as we looked at each other, trying to determine how much she needed to know. Was she living in some distant past or imagined present?

“No,” Cade said. “We haven’t been able to find him. Do you know where he is?”

Petrona shook her head, exhaling through her nose unhappily. Cade glanced at me, the question on his blank face only clear because I knew him so well.

“What are you doing here, Petrona?” I asked.

“The other mages, the ones who went into hiding after Leon began acting unpredictably alerted me that you were traveling through House Bartlett grounds. They thought perhaps you’d been successful.” She blinked, her eyes going sleepy again, like they’d looked at the dryad village. She jerked her head sharply, her white hair coming loose from the braid down her back.

“And you’re here to help Leon?” I asked when Cade crossed his arms, the chill so visible that I was surprised icicles weren’t dripping from his nose.

“I’m here to reinstate the king of our house.” Petrona dipped her chin and looked up at Cade. “KingBartlett.”