Zelman, accustomed to being surrounded by people invisibly serving his needs, blinked and took note of their absence for the first time. He did sharp pivots, first right, then left, searching for people only to not find them.
“They’re not here because you’ve lost their loyalty.” Hendrix spread his hands in an open shrug. “You’ve lost, King Zelman. Step down gracefully. If you don’t, you’ll be facing more than political exile.”
Zelman threw his head back and laughed but the sound was full of false bravado. “Like you have the power to do so! I know your weakness, boy. MADDOX!”
From a side door, the first prince of Iysh entered. Directly at his side was the one woman they had been searching desperately for—Bria.
Hendrix and Edvard let out a gasp of surprise and relief in unison, lengthening their stride to go for her, when Maddox caught Bria by the arm and drew her sharply toward him.
Riana felt that drawing her bow might be too much of a head’s up for Maddox. He might be able to injure Bria before she could get to him. Instead she put a hand in a hidden pocket, ready to draw a dagger and aim for Maddox’s eye. The grip he had on Bria was not life threatening but she didn’t feel comfortable leaving the girl at his side. Besides, the way that Ash, Edvard, and Hendrix acted, if Bria was there for three more seconds, someone’s temper was going to snap. Riana preferred to step in before one of those three came within Maddox’s reach.
Just as she was pulling the dagger free, Bria caught her eye and gave a minute shake of the head, a clear warning in her eyes. Don’t move? Why? Riana hesitated, but Bria’s look in her direction didn’t waver and she didn’t look at all afraid. What was going on?
::Ash, Bria says do not move.::
Her wizard stopped dead in his tracks and gave her an incredulous look. ::Say what?::
::She’s giving me a pointed look to not move. I don’t know why either but don’t jump into the fray. I think there be something else going on.:: In fact, the look on Bria and Savir’s faces made her confident that there was another plan in play here.
Good brother that he was, Ash still was of a mind to jump in—she could feel the emotional struggle. But he also trusted her judgment, and so didn’t lunge for Bria like he wanted to. Instead, he put a hand on Edvard’s arm and gave him a pointed look that carried the message over to him.
Edvard didn’t look happy about this—in fact, he looked like a mother storm on the verge of erupting—but he also kept his temper and impulse in check. He, in turn, grabbed Hendrix before the prince could do something, the same warning look being passed along.
“Ha!” Zelman crowed. “I thought that would stop you in your tracks. You’re too weak, boy, you focus too much on the affairs of the heart. It’s why you’ll lose.”
“Your callousness towards humanity in general has already caused two of your dukes to rebel, create their own countries, and now the rest of your people have revolted so thoroughly they basically let my army in through the front door,” Hendrix shot back sarcastically, “and you dare criticize my leadership abilities?”
Riana lost focus of the argument as Zelman exploded—an easy thing to do, when he was enraged, she could barely make out one word in five—and chose to watch Maddox with an eagle eye. The twin princes were a study in opposites. Maddox was tall and broad, as muscular as Savir was slim, with hair more brown than black, skin tan from so many hours in the sun. If she had not known they were twins, Riana would not have even mistaken them as brothers. They were most definitely not identical twins. Maddox kept shifting from foot to foot, giving Savir impatient looks, although the reason why escaped her. He looked oddly as if he were waiting on some cue from his twin.
Savir was not in a hurry. In fact, his manner seemed almost lackadaisical, as if he were simply biding his time. Having interacted with him as much as she had, she knew good and well that he was always up to something. This lack of interest didn’t fool her at all.
Just what was he planning?
Zelman’s breathing was shaky and all over the place, indicating that apoplectic rage had taken over his common sense. He whirled to Maddox again. “Don’t stand there like a statue! Do something!”
Maddox put a hand on the hilt of his sword but did not draw. “Such as? There’s a wizard, two kings, and a very skilled archer in front of me. All of them armed. This is not a good defensive position, Father, even with your wizards.”
“I DON’T CARE!” Zelman screamed, spraying spit as he did so.
Bria flinched and wiped a few flecks from her cheek, her expression one of absolute disgust.
“I want her dead—” Zelman stabbed a finger in Bria’s direction “—and after you’ve taken care of that wench, kill Hendrix. With that traitor gone, their so-called rebellion will be done with, as they have no other candidate to replace him with. Don’t be so difficult, Maddox, and move!”
“I have never once threatened any member of my family,” Hendrix protested, voice rising in octave as he spoke, “and you’d have my fiancée killed? And then me? By my own brother’s hand? Are you mad?!”
“You’re the one that brought this upon yourself!” Zelman snarled at him, nearly shaking with rage.
“You exiled me over nothing!” Hendrix riposted, his own temper dangerously at a breaking point. “The only thing I did was support Savir when he declared he had no intention of taking the throne! You punish me for no reason and now that I’m here, you want my own brother to kill me?!”
Zelman’s face turned ice cold, for all the world as if he were speaking to an insect instead of his own son. “If he is to be king, he must deal with contenders.”
Silence fell so thick and heavy that Hendrix’s breathing sounded like war drums. Riana was floored by this declaration. Even to their faces, Zelman had no remorse in dealing with a “contender.” Was this man’s heart made of stone?
The queen had been silent all this time, but she finally spoke, breaking the silence with a simple question, spoken calmly and evenly: “Hendrix. What was your plan, if you were able to remove your father? What did you intend to do with me, Savir and Maddox?”
Hendrix croaked, “I would never harm a strand of hair on your heads if given the choice. If you backed me, I’d leave you where you are. If you weren’t willing to do so, I was going to offer you a choice in exile.”
“I see.” The queen’s face softened a little. “I’m glad.”
“Mother, please,” Hendrix pleaded openly. “Don’t force my hand on this. Don’t make me your enemy. I am not yours.”
Maddox shot another impatient look at his twin, the fidgets nearly uncontrollable. Riana’s hand twitched for the quiver. She had no idea what the twins were up to, but there was definitely some other plan in play.
Her attention on Savir and Maddox was so absolute that she nearly missed the back door of the throne room opening a crack. Her eyes darted that direction and saw a brief burst of light as a spell flew out with unerring accuracy. Ashlynn had snuck in through the back. Almost before Riana realized what had happened, Ash spun on his heels and flicked out his own spell, hitting the other enemy wizard who wasn’t guarding himself well.
Both enemy wizards fell bonelessly to the ground, felled by the twin wizards.
There was abrupt silence, everyone a little stunned by the speed and efficiency of the attacks.
Sometimes Riana forgot that Ash’s fighting skills were battle-honed, and even in situations like this, he knew how to get the drop on his opponents. She gave him a quick smile. ::Nice shot!::
::Why thank you, dearest.:: He gave her a swift smile before refocusing.
Zelman stared at the downed wizards for only a brief moment before he snapped his fingers at Savir. “Grab one of the shields, be useful for once. I won’t stand for this treason in my own palace, in my own throne room; it’s unconscionable. Maddox, I demand that you do something.”
Shooting another look at his twin, Maddox drew his sword. Savir gave him a minute shake of the head in response. To Rian
a it was clear: Maddox wanted to move, Savir was saying to wait. But wait on what?
Zelman grinned nastily at them. “Finally, you’ll get what’s coming to you.”
“Father?” Maddox asked, taking a step in front of the king.
“What?” Zelman snarled.
“I abdicate my right to the throne.”
For a moment, Zelman looked like a landed fish. “Wha—What did you just s—?!”
Without even batting an eyelid, Maddox rammed the sword into his father’s chest, cutting the king off mid-word.
The room froze all over again, staring in disbelief as Zelman slowly crumpled and fell backwards. He wasn’t even able to do more than gurgle before his eyes glassed over.
What…just happened? Even though Riana had seen it with her own eyes, she couldn’t process it, couldn’t take it in. Had Maddox just killed his own father?
“Got tired of his ramblings and playing along with him,” Maddox stated to the room in general. He retrieved his sword, cleaning it against his father’s robes with a casual swipe before sliding the sword back home again.
Growling in frustration, Savir gave his twin an aggravated look. “Mad-dox.”
Shrugging, Maddox looked deliberately elsewhere.
Hendrix croaked out a sound, cleared his throat, and tried again, “I don’t understand.”
Maddox gave him a shrug and a slight, enigmatic smile.
Barking out a short laugh, Edvard slapped a hand against his thigh. “You were never on Zelman’s side.”
With a nod of confirmation, Maddox elaborated, “Had to play along, though. After what happened with Hendrix, we knew he’d throw us to the wolves as well if we didn’t.”
Bria, strangely, wasn’t as surprised as the rest by Maddox’s actions. Instead, she stared down at Zelman with an oddly clinical study. “You’re going to get in trouble. You messed with Savir’s plan.”
“Didn’t feel like waiting for the rest of the audience to show up. Besides, he’s used to me doing that.” Maddox grinned at his twin.
Hendrix dared to cross the room and wrap his arms around Bria, an embrace she readily returned. “I’m alright,” Bria said softly, her words meant for Hendrix alone and so barely audible to everyone else. “I, too, was just playing along. Maddox needed me to be a trophy to Zelman, prove to him he was trying, to buy more time.”
Riana stared at the dead king, the realization slowly sinking in that with his death, they had won.
They had won.
She let out a breath and felt like the world itself was lifted from her shoulders. “We’ve won.”
Ash spun and caught her up in a hug that lifted her feet off the floor, his feelings of relief and victory a perfect mirror for hers.
Edvard slung an arm around them, one held out to accept Ashlynn too and she joined in on the impromptu hug. Broden was right behind her; Riana and Ash shifted arms to incorporate them into it, their joy so intense that they bounced a little with it.
“I’m so glad that you found a way to sneak through the back,” Edvard congratulated Ashlynn. “Those wizards were a bit of a problem. For that matter, I’m glad you and Ash are so in sync that you could tell which wizard he would aim for.”
“She always goes for the left one,” Ash explained absently, still basking in their victory.
“I do not,” Ashlynn objected, still smiling. “I go for the right opponent first.”
“My right, your left,” Ash objected without truly paying attention to the argument.
“You mean my right your left,” his sister corrected.
Edvard hastily interrupted, “Not a twin argument now. Please. Let’s bask in the victory for a while. Hendrix! I think I’ll go outside and announce our victory, we have a great many people anxious to hear from us.”
“Let us all go,” Hendrix countered. He took two steps toward the door before he stopped and offered his free arm to his mother. “Mother?”
The queen was staring down at her dead husband with sad eyes. “Not one will mourn his death. Not one will grieve him.”
Hendrix crossed to her, putting an arm around her shoulders. In the gentlest tone that Riana had ever heard a man use, he asked her softly, “Are you sorry that he’s dead?”
Looking into her son’s eyes, those eyes that were so like her own, she gave him a small shake of the head. “I do not. And that is the saddest thing of all. He was a terrible king, a worse father, and an equally terrible husband. The best I can say for him in this moment is that he was never abusive to me. I hope, my dearest son, that you never follow in his footsteps.”
“Guide me,” Hendrix requested, a heartfelt plea, “so that I do not fall into the same pitfalls.”
“I will,” she agreed readily, a tenuous smile blooming on her face, “but I don’t think I need to worry about you much. You are good at taking counsel and that was the one thing your father could never learn how to do. You have good people that stand with you.” She looked at all of them, smile firming. “People that will walk through fire with you. As long as you have them, I know you will be fine.”
Riana felt the same. A man that could take counsel, that could be teachable, would never end up like Zelman.
Her eyes falling on the king’s corpse once more, the queen said with quiet authority, “I have heard Savir and Maddox’s declarations to abdicate the throne. They are so noted. The king is dead.” Lifting her eyes to Hendrix, she declared, “Long live the king.”
Epilogue
Quite the crowd gathered at the palace steps. People from all walks of life were there, speaking to each other in low tones, antsy and excited. Riana stood on the steps leading up to the dais, in a more formal getup than she thought appropriate for the situation. Hendrix insisted that everyone be in formal attire, as this was a coronation ceremony, but did that mean she really couldn’t have her bow? It was low odds at this juncture, granted, but there could still be loyalists hanging about, wanting to take a shot at the kings. The situation made her nervous enough that she had once again strapped every stiletto dagger and weapon she could in hidden pockets and as hair ornaments. This time, she was not the only woman to do so.
The entire royal family, from both countries, stood arrayed on the dais. If there were less than a thousand people in the palace’s main courtyard, Riana would be very surprised. They were crammed into the space like sardines and she knew that many more people were outside the palace walls, trying to listen in. Several sound spells boosted peoples’ speech so that as many people as possible could hear the proceedings. A few wayward boys had even figured out how to climb up on the roof of a nearby building so they could get a better view of the proceedings.
They had spent two weeks reforming matters, re-instating lords, ladies, and government officials that had been dismissed due to Zelman’s stupidity. Axley and all of his cronies were rotting in a dungeon cell, as Savir had more than enough information on them to prove them guilty of numerous crimes. Considering their characters, Riana hadn’t been the least surprised to learn about it. General Quillin had happily written a statement saying he had no intention of taking the throne and then offered to take the palace guards in hand until they were able to sort things out. Under his capable leadership, they had enough guards loyal to Hendrix standing in the palace now to offer some measure of safety. If that wasn’t enough, they had four wizards nearby to ensure it. Still, Riana felt very nervous about this whole situation. Undoubtedly because the first coronation ceremony she’d ever attended had been an unmitigated disaster.
Savir took a side step closer to her and whispered, “What has you so on edge?”
“The last time we had a ceremony like this one, it was an assassination attempt,” she groused.
“Ah. Well, this one isn’t. Relax.”
Easier said than done. Seeing that people were still milling about a little—although what the holdup was, she couldn’t imagine—Riana dared to ask a question that had been plaguing her for the past two weeks. “The empty treas
ury. You’re behind that, aren’t you?”
Blinking innocently, Savir pointed a finger toward himself as if to say, Sweet little innocent me?
“I thought so.” Riana had gotten to know him a little better now that his mask was off and was happy to see he felt easy enough around her to tease. “Hendrix said the country isn’t actually bankrupt, but he didn’t get a chance to explain more than that.”
“He’s been a little busy,” Savir explained cheerfully. “I could go into a long-winded explanation, but here’s the gist of it: I cooked the books.”
Riana choked on a laugh. “What!”
“I have been for about two years now, ever since Edvard Knolton declared Estole’s independence. I had an idea of where all of this was heading and I saw a chance to get both Maddox and I safely out of the line of succession. Really, we both knew we weren’t suitable for the job and felt like Hendrix was the better choice, but Father wasn’t easy to maneuver around. After Edvard won the first battle, I knew this day would come eventually. So I started sneaking small amounts out of the treasury with every transaction. A little here, a little there, but the country spends a lot of money on a regular basis. It added up to a considerable sum after a while. I stored it all in my personal vault and Maddox’s, as no one would dare to look there. After this ceremony is complete, we’ll give it all back, minus some interest.” Seeing her flabbergasted look, he defended himself mildly, “I’m not generous enough to help my brother completely for free, you know.”
Apparently not. “You really managed to empty out the treasury just doing that?”
“Well, no, Hendrix moved a mite faster than I anticipated. So I bought a few supplies and shipped them to Estole, as I knew you needed some, and I still had money left in the treasury, so I hired some Overan mercenaries. Riana kept going about telling everyone she’d met them, after all; why not turn the lie into a truth? That, finally, did the trick.”
Arrows of Revolution (Kingmakers Book 3) Page 31
