Page 26

Ryker

The tension inside the throne room was stifling. The fact that we were having this conversation in the throne room instead of my father’s private study was telling in itself.

My footsteps echoed in the vast chamber as I made my way toward the dais. Every eye was trained on me, but I ignored them, keeping my attention fixed on the man ahead.

My father’s narrowed gaze tracked my movements as I approached him. Lord Barrington stood at his side, his features twisted into a sneer. The man was dancing dangerously close to death, but he was too foolish to recognize it.

I donned my usual mask and kept my face void of all expression as I stood before my father. With my chin raised, I stared him down, daring him to do his worst.

My father’s summons had been curt and public, leaving no doubt about the reason behind it. If that hadn’t been evidence enough, the soft whimpers coming from the families of the men I had killed would have washed away any lingering suspicions.

If he thought hauling me before the court to answer for my actions would rattle me, he was sorely mistaken. This little charade was for the people, not me.

My father and I both knew who held the real power between us, and he’d do well to remember it.

“Prince Ryker,” my father’s voice boomed in the silence of the room.

His words were bitter and cutting.

“Step forward.”

Obeying his command, I moved closer, but I refused to take a knee before him. I felt my father’s anger rolling off him in waves, even from a distance.

“Son, you disappoint me,” my father said.

His eyes were dark, and his mouth was set in a thin line.

Likewise, I thought bitterly.

“You understand why I have summoned you here?”

I gave a curt nod of my head in confirmation.

“Then tell me, what justification could there be for the brutal murder of your subjects?”

It amused me that my father was even asking this question as if he hadn’t ordered me to take the same action in the past.

“The men you killed were all from noble families. Respectable citizens of the Unseelie Kingdom, and the future representatives of the council.”

I could feel the eager eyes of the courtiers on me as they waited with bated breath for my next words. They weren’t foolish enough to demand I answer, but I felt the weight of their judgment all the same.

“It’s quite simple,” I said with a shrug. “They attacked a woman under my protection, and I responded in kind.”

My father’s eyes narrowed as he looked down his nose at me.

“You call tearing eight men to ribbons with nothing more than your bare hands, responding in kind?” my father scoffed.

I’d also used my fangs, but… semantics.

A soft cry pierced the air from somewhere to the left of me, but I kept my gaze locked on my father.

“They’re lucky that’s all I did to them,” I said, my voice low but deadly.

My father’s eyes widened in surprise, but he said nothing.

“They were trying to force themselves on an unwilling female, and they may well have succeeded had I not intervened.”

“Lies!” a woman screamed, and I turned to face her.

A man, most likely her husband, tried to quiet her, but she refused to heed his warnings.

“My Lucas would never do such a thing!”

In a blur of movement, I was standing in front of her before she could blink. I allowed my shadows to encase my eyes and tilted my head to the side as I studied her.

The woman paled, realizing the mistake she’d made.

“Please,” she whimpered.

“Your Lucas,” I snarled, remembering the dark-haired man who struck my mate, “was the ringleader of the group.” I leaned closer, invading her space. “If I had my time again, I would have ensured his death lasted days for touching what belonged to me. He would have suffered until he begged for me to end him, only to discover I’m not that merciful.”

The woman fainted, collapsing into her husband’s waiting arms, who bowed his head before he carried her away.

I fixed my gaze on the rest of the families standing between the stone pillars. “Does anyone else have something to say?”

They remained silent, their heads lowered as they studied the floor.

“Leave us,” my father commanded.

Feet shuffled around me as courtiers rushed for the door, desperate to escape the tension permeating the room.

“Ryker,” my father rumbled.

I turned to face him and noted that Lord Barrington still stood at his side. I closed the distance between us, baring my teeth.

“You are a prince, Ryker. Heir to this throne. You need to prove yourself worthy to the people you just threatened. One day, you will come to rely on their influence. Everything you do must serve to better the kingdom.”

“Is that what you do, Father?” I scoffed. “Work for the betterment of the kingdom?”

“Who is this woman?” he asked, ignoring my question.

“She is not your concern,” I growled.

“I knew you were keeping a whore of sorts,” he said dismissively. “But this is an overreaction, even for you.”

I was moving before I was aware of it. My fingers tightened around my father’s throat as I glared at him.

“Call her that again, Father, and it will be the last word to ever pass between your lips.”

My father’s eyes widened in fear, and Lord Barrington recoiled.

“I am your King,” my father spat.

“Be grateful that you are. If you were anyone else, your head would already be on the floor.”

Releasing my father, I stepped back and descended the dais.

“She is your mate, isn’t she?”

His words stopped me in my tracks. When I turned, triumph was written all over his face.

The fear that I had glimpsed only moments before was long forgotten as he eyed me.

“What about my daughter?” Lord Barrington demanded.

My father relaxed against the backrest of the throne, his posture confident.

“Ryker will marry Celeste, won’t you, Son?”

I curled my palms into fists as I inwardly cursed my stupidity for playing right into his game.

“Careful, Father,” I warned. “Lest you forget what you stand to lose.”

Namely, your head.

“Oh, I know exactly what’s at stake here, Ryker,” he smirked. “And so do you.”

“I hope you’re not threatening me, Father. That would be extremely unwise.”

My father chuckled without mirth. “There’s no need for threats, my son.”

He leaned forward and steepled his fingers under his chin.

“As long as you obey my commands, you don’t have to worry. No harm will come to your pretty little mate.”

A low growl erupted from my throat, and I stalked toward him.

“What makes you think I won’t end your reign here and now for even entertaining the idea?”

My father smirked up at me.

“This kingdom has your loyalty, Ryker, though they don’t know it. But I do.”

My father gripped the armrests of his throne, and his voice became hard and cold.

“I know the lengths you’ve gone to in protecting the Unseelie. Killing me now would only plunge the kingdom into civil war. I’m betting on the fact that you don’t want that.”

I wanted to throw my head back and laugh at his foolishness. He had no idea what motivated me. I had gone to extreme lengths to defend the kingdom, but not for the Unseelie Fae, as he so arrogantly assumed.

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Father. It might just be worth it.”

He lifted his shoulder in a half-shrug, calling my bluff.

Silence stretched between us, and the longer I didn’t tear him limb from limb, the more confident my father became.

“I don’t care if that woman is your mate. You will marry Celeste, and soon.”

“You will live to regret this day, Father,” I sneered.

“Perhaps,” he mused. “But today is not that day.”

I studied the man before me, searching for the father he had once been.

But that man was no longer living.

He had died right alongside my mother.

I turned on my heel and marched out of the throne room. I’d painted a target on Cadence’s back, and I would need to do everything in my power to keep her safe.