Page 90 of The Forsaken Heir

brIELLE

T he day of the meeting was upon us faster than I’d thought possible.

At first, each day had slid by with painful slowness, then, as if God himself had hit the fast-forward button, the days flipped past so quickly that it made my head spin.

When the sun rose on the morning of the meeting, I met it head-on, with open eyes, since I hadn’t slept at all the night before.

Sunlight tracked across the floor of Aurelius’s room, moving closer to the bed with each passing second.

Aurelius rolled over, and from the look in his eyes, I could see he hadn’t slept much either.

There was no dullness or squinty-eyed sleepiness on his face, though.

All I could see was that intense, burning determination in his eyes.

“Are you ready?” he asked, sliding his hand into mine.

I nodded, putting on a brave face and trying desperately not to think about how terrible the last meeting went. “I’m ready.”

He flashed me a brief smile, then threw off the covers. “Well, let’s go ahead and get this day started.”

After we’d showered and dressed, we went to the throne room to meet with Cassius. The king looked as if he’d slept about as well as we had. He sat at a table just off the dais, a plate of bacon, hash browns, and an omelet cooling in front of him. He hadn’t taken a bite yet.

When we entered, he brightened and plastered a smile on his face. “Good morning. Have you spoken with the Hikshil envoy yet?”

“No,” Aurelius said as he plucks a strip of bacon from his dad’s plate. “We woke up a few minutes ago, actually.”

Cassius chuckled at his son and pushed the plate toward me. “You eat. You need the energy more than I do.”

“Are you not hungry?” I asked as I took a seat beside Aurelius.

Cassius shook his head. “I can’t really muster much of an appetite. A lot is riding on this meeting. More than I ever would have dreamed.”

Word had spread across the world about this meeting to validate the identity of Bastien’s prisoners.

In shifter and fae circles, many lines had been drawn and sides taken.

Some believed that Bastien did have Aurelius, and those who did also bought into the stories of his terrorist activities.

Others, however, believed that Bastien did not have Aurelius, and that the real prince was the one who lived within the dragon castle.

The man who sat beside me now, munching on his father’s breakfast as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

I kept getting the feeling that Aurelius was trying to be as calm and steadfast as he could for my benefit.

As though, by acting like nothing could rattle him, his confidence would bleed over into me.

While I appreciated the sentiment, it wasn’t working.

If Bastien could convince everyone that whomever—or whatever —he had in his possession was Aurelius, then it would strengthen his claims against us.

Though, I wasn’t entirely sure how he planned to explain away the fact that the real Aurelius was most definitely not in his dungeons.

Would he simply lie like he had with me?

Tell everyone he was a skinwalker or some other kind of shapeshifter?

If his imposter really was that believable, and if the real Aurelius gave anyone even the slightest reason not to believe he was who he said he was, then God only knew what would happen.

“I can’t blame you,” I said. “I don’t have much desire for food either.”

Cassius cleared his throat. The only other time I’d seen him so tense was when Aurelius had been taken prisoner. That same fear I’d seen then shone in his eyes now.

“The Hikshil will be using their magic to transmit the meeting to anyone who wishes to watch. No television or cameras, of course. They try to limit their use of human technology, and we wouldn’t want the humans to pick up on the broadcast. The last thing we need is for this meeting to end up on the internet somehow. ”

“Really?” I asked, intrigued. “How will they manage that?”

Cassius pointed across the room to a small crystal orb that sat on a carved marble plinth.

“Viewing crystal. It’s a fairly simple magical device.

That’s where humans got the idea of crystal balls.

Some random person must have seen one in use centuries ago, and it turned into something that allowed you to see the future or speak with the dead.

In reality, it’s nothing but a communication device.

Though,” he added, with a shrug, “only the fae can send messages through it. I can’t.

All an owner can do is wait for something to come through.

They aren’t used much anymore except in special circumstances.

Even though they are a slight drain on the wellsprings, cell phones can’t be beat. ”

I eyed the shimmering globe. “So, the whole magical world will know if Bastien is lying?” I said.

Cassius nodded, but he didn’t look relieved.

“Yes. The issue is, your brother accepted that caveat with no hesitation. Whatever he has, he believes it will pass any test the Hikshil put it through. In that case, then the whole magical world will think he’s telling the truth, and that Aurelius is an imposter. It’s kept me up all night.”

“It’s all going to be fine,” Aurelius said. “There’s nothing Bastien can do to make it seem like I’m not who I say I am. He’s drunk on power and decided to pull the same shit he thought we were pulling with Elle. Simple as that.”

He took another bite of the omelet, and I admired his confidence, though I still had the feeling he was doing it mostly on my account.

“I’m glad you feel that strongly about it,” Cassius said. “I’m sorry the rest of us are a bit terrified.”

Aurelius put his fork down and gave his father a look so full of love, it made me a bit uncomfortable. Like I was an intruder, spying on a connection that could only happen between a father and son.

“I’m not going to let him win,” Aurelius said. “Not after what he put me through, and not after what he’s tried to do to Elle. I refuse .” He patted his father’s arm. “And your son is coming home this time. Count on that.”

Cassius nodded, but there was no relief in his eyes, only more fear. “I know you’ll come home. I just wonder if it will be on your feet, or if your friends will be bringing home your body. You have no idea what Bastien is capable of. None of us do.”

“True.” Aurelius leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “But we won’t be alone. We aren’t dumb.”

“Fair enough,” Cassius said with a sigh. “Who’s to be in your entourage?”

“Vince and Rasp, of course,” Aurelius said. “Also, Delphine has refused to be left behind. Octavius will be there with me, and Elle’s brother Freddy will be going as well.”

Cassius’s brows rose, and he pinned me with his stare. “Do you think it’s wise for your little brother to be there?”

That was a good question. Though, what Cassius didn’t know was that Freddy had intel we might need.

Information Bastien would have killed him for had he known he had it.

It was a secret he’d revealed to me and Aurelius the night before, and we knew we couldn’t deny him the chance to face down Bastien.

We’d decided to keep it between the three of us to ensure there was absolutely no way it might be passed along to Bastien.

“He’s done a lot for us,” I said at last. “He got Aurelius out. He’s a good fighter as well, as he’s shown when helping me train. If things go…” I hesitated, uncomfortable with the truth. “If things take a bad turn, he’ll be a good ally in a fight.”

Cassius chewed on his cheek and glanced back and forth between Aurelius and me before he finally nodded to himself.

“It sounds like we’ve done as much planning as we can. I truly wish I could join you, but, alas, a king must stay on his throne. These aren’t the old days when kings and emperors would ride into battle with their armies.”

“That, and Titus would throw a fit if you even suggested it,” Aurelius said with a chuckle.

“This is true,” Cassius said, finally smiling again before waving us on. “Go on. You need to find your people and prepare. I’ll meet you on the roof for your departure.”

Our people were actually a few steps ahead of us.

They’d already assembled in one of the antechambers near the topmost floor of the castle, brought together by Octavius.

He’d been with us that fateful night at my family’s mansion.

He’d lost several good men that night and had been thirsting for another chance to go against my brother and his men.

When we walked in, he was speaking with Sahalie, Achakos, and Kaskawan. They stopped speaking at our arrival.

“Is everyone ready?” Aurelius asked, glancing from Octavius to the others. Delphine and Freddy were on the couch, and Rasp and Vince were huddled in the corner, worried but determined looks on their faces.

“I think so,” Vince said. “No reason to put off bad stuff if it’s going to come no matter what you do.”

“A good sentiment.” Sahalie smiled at Vince. He grinned and quickly lowered his eyes when his cheeks flushed.

Titus entered the room behind us, looking pleased that we were all assembled.

“Good morning, everyone,” he said. “Are we ready to depart? The agreed-upon location is roughly an hour flight from here, so we do need to be on our way if you are to arrive on time.”

“I think we are,” Aurelius said, glancing around the room. “Any last-minute needs or requests?”

His question was met with silence and a few shaken heads. It seemed everyone was as stressed as I felt.

Titus led us up to the roof. Cassius was already there—a heavy fur cloak wrapped around him—to ward off the cold.

Outside of the gala, I hadn’t seen him wearing anything that made him look like a king.

He had a regal look on his face that hadn’t been there earlier.

Most likely a show for his people so they didn’t see how worried he was.