VALIANT REIGN (The Royals Book 3)

by Brooke Sivendra

That caused Troy’s head to turn toward him.

  “I wanted to give you the chance to say goodbye to him,” Asher continued, watching his cousin carefully.

  “How kind of you,” Troy answered mockingly.

  Asher raised an eyebrow. “That’s more than you gave me. You took Noah’s life, and then my father’s, and didn’t give me a chance to say goodbye to either of them. The same would’ve been true for Abi and my mother if your plan hadn’t failed.”

  It wasn’t what Troy said, but it was the look in his eye. He appeared victorious, but he was in no position to be.

  “Do you know what happens to a truck going downhill when the brakes fail, Asher?” Troy asked, but he didn’t give Asher a chance to respond. He continued, “The driver realizes they’ve failed, but it’s too late to stop it. The truck is already in motion and there’s nothing you can do but sit and watch the wreck that’s about to happen. That’s what you’re looking at. Killing me won’t change anything.”

  “Oh, I won’t be killing only you. I’ll blow up that entire truck and kill everyone on it—including your father.”

  Asher saw the moment Troy realized what Asher had meant when he said his father was coming to say goodbye. “Your father is going to die with you tonight, and there won’t be a single thing you can do about it. Now you’ll know how it feels to have the people you love ripped away from you,” he said, his voice a deep growl.

  “I already know. You can thank Alistair for that,” Troy responded through gritted teeth.

  Asher cocked his head. “What does Alistair have to do with this?” he asked, wondering what else his brother could possibly be hiding.

  Troy scoffed. “You really know so little.”

  “I knew so little, but luckily for me I employed a very competent team. Soon I will know everything, and I will destroy every single person you’ve conspired against me with—and then, I’m going to take all seven kingdoms. The entire world will know Santina, and I have you to thank for that. I would’ve been content just to rule Santina, but not anymore. Now I will take kingdom after kingdom—starting with Adani.”

  Troy’s jaw almost fell open and Asher smiled at his response. “You underestimated me, Troy, and you were the one who should’ve known what I’m capable of. That is your greatest failure.”

  Troy looked away but Asher didn’t miss he was gritting his teeth.

  Asher heard commotion behind him and realized the teams had arrived.

  “Your father’s here,” Asher said, making sure Troy caught his smile before he turned and left, the guard locking the cell behind him.

  Asher

  “Uncle,” Asher said as he came face to face with the man he’d trusted—his father’s brother. His uncle’s eyes blazed and he looked defiant, not bothering to respond.

  “Cuff him to a bed. I have something I want him to watch,” Asher said.

  His uncle’s eyes narrowed and Asher raised an eyebrow.

  “Did you really think you’d get away with it?” Asher asked.

  The flash in his uncle’s eyes indicated he had thought exactly that.

  “Well, now you’re going to pay,” Asher continued. “You murdered two people I loved, two people whose lives were cut short because of your own selfish greed. Why did you do it?” he asked. “Was it the power? The money?”

  “Neither,” his uncle said, almost spitting on Asher. “I was righting the wrongs in this world.”

  Asher’s eyebrows threaded together. “What wrongs?”

  His uncle looked deep into his eyes. “Your father was unfit to rule. And you’re the same. You’re both too weak.”

  Anger blazed in Asher’s chest. “Weak? My father was not weak!” Asher said through clenched teeth. “I’m going to show you something now, and then you can decide if you still think I’m weak.”

  Asher looked at James, who stood on the other side of the bed with a needle in his hand, and nodded. James inserted the needle into his uncle’s vein—which was quite impressive given that his uncle was fighting against the restraints. Asher didn’t want to think about how much experience James had doing this.

  “Wheel him in. Make sure their beds face each other,” Asher commanded as he continued to watch his uncle.

  Asher heard the wheels of Troy’s bed, but he knew the moment his uncle saw his son, because his composure cracked.

  He turned his head, pleased to see Troy’s IV was already underway.

  “That’s a morphine bag connected to his arm,” Asher said, loud enough for them both to hear. “He’s going to die the same way Noah died, so you know how I felt. You’re going to watch him die—and then you’ll die too.”

  “You’re going to pay for this!” his uncle roared, his voice laced with panic.

  “No,” Asher replied coolly, “I’m going to be praised for executing the king’s slayers.” He raised an eyebrow, but his uncle’s fury continued to burn in his eyes.

  Asher put his hands on his uncle’s head, ignoring his protests. Asher angled his head and said, “Watch.”

  His uncle continued to fight against the restraints but it was a futile attempt.

  “Do you still think I’m weak?” Asher asked as he cradled his uncle’s head.

  When his uncle didn’t respond, Asher screamed, “Do you still think I’m weak?”

  “No, no!” his uncle began to yell. “No . . .” he continued, his voice trailing off as Troy became visibly sedated and the screen of his heart monitor confirmed he was beginning to fade.

  “It hurts, doesn’t it?” Asher said, his voice low and harsh. “It hurts to have the ones you love ripped away from you.”

  “No!” his uncle wailed again, but Asher forced him to look and James held a second scalpel ready to subdue him.

  Asher watched as the dips in the line became smaller and smaller, and then Troy flatlined.

  “No!”

  “Now you can burn in hell!” Asher said bitterly before looking at James, fire burning in his eyes. “Finish it!”

  He turned and walked out of the room before his composure cracked. His entire body was trembling and he felt sick to his stomach. He didn’t feel remorse, but he felt . . . angry, hurt. It was such a waste—Troy could’ve done so much good in this world, but he’d chosen the wrong path.

  “You okay?”

  Asher recognized James’s voice and he slowed his pace, allowing James to catch up to him in a few steps.

  “I don’t know,” Asher admitted.

  “Taking a life is hard, no matter whose it is. But they deserved to die, Asher. You have nothing to feel remorse or shame for. They chose their path and they were fully aware of the consequences,” James said.

  “I know,” Asher said, looking ahead. “I’m going to my suite.”

  James walked beside him but didn’t say another word. Security stood outside the suite, indicating Abi was inside.

  They opened the door for Asher and closed it behind him. No one followed him in—James must’ve somehow indicated to his staff that Asher wasn’t in the mood for company.

  “Asher?” Abi asked as she walked toward the door. Her smile fell when she looked at him. “What’s going on?”

  Asher ran his palms over his face. “I don’t know who I am anymore.”

  “Okay,” Abi said gently, not reacting. She took his hand, leading him to the kitchen. “Sit for a minute,” she said.

  She searched through the kitchen until she found a bottle of wine. Asher focused on her, watching every little movement, using her as a distraction from the darkness lingering in his soul. He wondered if it had always been there, dormant, waiting for the opportunity to expose itself. Or was he transforming into someone he couldn’t reconcile with the old Asher? He was scared he was losing himself. He’d changed so much in the last month; who would he be in a year?

  Abi placed a glass of wine in front of him and sat beside him.

  Asher took a mouthful as he tried to find the words to explain what had just happened. “They’re dead,”
he said, failing to find more eloquent words.

  She paused, and then her eyes widened. “Your Uncle and Troy,” she said quietly. Asher didn’t think she was surprised by what had happened but that he’d done it so quickly. His uncle had barely been in the palace five minutes.

  “It was so different than I thought it was going to be,” Asher admitted, bringing the glass back to his lips. “I thought I would feel . . . remorse, some guilt . . . but I felt justified . . . vindicated. My uncle called my father weak and said the same of me. Something inside me snapped.” He shook his head. “Over the past few days I kept wondering if Troy had been led astray.” Asher turned over his palms, pausing for a moment. “His behavior,” he finally said, “is impossible for me to reconcile with the person I knew.”

  Abi squeezed his hands. “If your father had asked you to lead a revolt against the King of Santina, your own blood relative, would you have done it?” she asked.

  Asher’s eyebrows threaded together. “No,” he said. “Of course not.”

  Abi gave a gentle, knowing smile. “Of course not. The truth we need to face is most often the ugliest truth,” she said, almost whimsically. “The person you thought you knew wasn’t real. Troy showed you a manufactured version of himself, one that he’d been grooming for many years. So don’t grieve the manufactured version, because he never existed. The man who died today was a cold-blooded murderer.”

  “Yeah,” Asher said, nodding. He rubbed his arms, suddenly feeling cold. “I don’t know what to do now.”

  “Finish that glass of wine, have a hot shower, and get some sleep. We’ll figure everything else out in the morning,” Abi said, threading her fingers through his.

  Asher brought them to his lips and kissed the knuckles of her fingers.

  “I’m worried about where Grace is . . .” Asher said, his voice trailing off with his thoughts.

  “Thomas Security will find her—it’s their job to worry about that. Tomorrow, you can release the news about the executions, and the people of Santina will love you for it. They need closure for the death of their king, and who better to give it to them than their new king?”

  Asher swallowed the last of his wine and sighed heavily. He looked at his hands, but the tremble had subsided. “Let’s go to bed,” he said, sounding drained even to his own ears.

  Asher stared at the coffee machine as a trickle of coffee filled his mug. He’d assumed he’d have trouble sleeping last night, but he hadn’t—he’d slept solidly all night and didn’t know what to make of that—he could contribute it to sheer exhaustion, but if he was being honest, he would admit a large part of being able to sleep came down to the executions. He felt at peace with it—no remorse, no regret, no shame. And the more he thought about that, the more it troubled him.

  He shook his head, forcing himself to concentrate on making his mug of coffee. When it was done, he carried it to his office. He sat at his father’s desk and put his mug on a coaster that had been buried beneath stacks of mail. Asher ran his hands over the desk. His father was not weak, and he would not allow the people of Santina to think that.

  Asher would protect his legacy.

  A knock at the door dragged him from his thoughts. James entered.

  “How did you sleep?” he asked, taking a seat opposite Asher.

  “Surprisingly good,” Asher said.

  James eyed him, seeming to watch him carefully, then nodded. “Good. We need to talk about what happens next.”

  “What does happen next? How is the revolt dismantled?” Asher asked.

  “Reed and his teams will stay behind for a few months to deal with this issue specifically. Samuel will monitor communications and we’ll keep tabs on people. Groups like this usually go two ways: they either tend to lose hope and usually dismantle when their leaders are killed, so when you announce the executions tomorrow that should do most of the work. Or, they’ll become martyrs and revenge their leader. We don’t know how widespread this revolt is, so it’s hard to say which way things will go.”

  Asher sighed. “Well, let’s hope it’s not the latter. But regardless, once the revolt is dismantled, what happens from there? Can Jesse’s teams maintain security?”

  “We’ll make that call soon,” James said, “but I seriously doubt it—Jesse needs more men than he has, and men without an interest in Santina would be ideal. Anyway, I have a hunch I’m going to get a request from one of my guys to remain here on the ground.”

  “What? Why?” Asher asked as he silently tried to guess who that might be.

  “Just a hunch,” James said with an odd smile. “Anyway, I just wanted to check in and make sure you’re doing okay. Give me a call if you need anything.”

  “Thank you,” Asher said again, and he really meant it. James Thomas had become a friend of sorts, and Asher had never made friends easily because of his royal status. Everyone had always wanted something from him, but he couldn’t think of anything James could want . . . except a paycheck.

  Asher grimaced at the bill that was coming—which reminded him to check his telephone messages.

  He saw the light flashing on the telephone system and sure enough there was one from the King Khalil.

  King Asher, we request an urgent meeting to discuss the contract of the Lithe Ruins and our oil wells. Please call me at your earliest convenience.

  Asher scoffed at the politeness of his tone of voice and marveled at the nerve of the guy. Lithe Ruins and our oil wells?

  They were Santina’s oil wells, and Asher was not giving them up. Either the Adani king hadn’t seen Asher’s speech, or he was a fool for thinking Asher was bluffing because Asher was not handing over the Ruins.

  Not at any cost.

  Abi

  Strong hands wrapped around her waist, drawing her in. She knew it was him from the touch of his hands, the smell of his cologne, and she sighed, dropping her head back to rest on his shoulder.

  “What are you doing hiding in the gardens?” Asher asked. “You’re a hard woman to find.”

  Abi chuckled. “Samuel couldn’t locate my security team for you? I’d imagine I’m pretty easy to find these days.”

  She felt Asher’s chest rumble as he gave a soft laugh. “I try not to ask him to do everything. At some point I’m going to have to run my life without speaking commands aloud in my office and things automatically turning on or occurring . . . that’s going to be a sad day,” he joked.

  Abi turned in his arms. She saw security loitering nearby, but paid them no attention. She’d thought it would take a long time to get used to being constantly watched, especially when she was with Asher, but the teams were surprisingly good at making themselves feel invisible, and true to their word, they weren’t actually watching Asher and Abi—they were watching everything happening around them.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” Asher said as he kissed her forehead, his lips soft yet strong.

  “What was the question?” Abi asked, struggling to think clearly.

  Asher chuckled. “What are you doing out here?”

  “Oh,” Abi said, grinning. “Just thinking. I’m worried about the second part of that tape,” she admitted.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Asher said without hesitation.

  “You can’t say that when you don’t know what you’re dealing with,” Abi said gently.

  “My plan is to never find out. I’ve just released a statement to the media, releasing the names of the two people executed in relation to the murders, and that will show I’m a man who fulfils every promise I make. I’ve ensured that the people behind the tape are very aware of what will happen to them if they try to blackmail me,” Asher said with a fierceness that made Abi look up and search his eyes.

  “How do you feel today?” she asked, searching his eyes.

  “Good,” he admitted, like he himself was surprised by that admission. “Thank you for last night. I felt like I was spiraling . . . into a dark place. You were a voice of reason and I don’t know how I wo
uld’ve handled last night without you.” He looked into her eyes and there was a sadness in them. “I’m at peace with the executions because the people I thought they were never really existed, and that’s the sad part. The fact that they are dead—two vindictive, conniving, murderers—isn’t sad.”

  Abi tightened her grip on him, drawing him closer. “You’ve given all of Santina a gift, but especially your mother. She lost a son and her husband, and now you’ve given her justice for them.”

  Asher nodded, planting another kiss on her forehead. “I feel like I can breathe a little easier. And like there’s two less people with guns pointed at my back.”

  Abi kissed his chest.

  “Come with me,” he said as he unwrapped her arms from his waist and took her hands, leading her inside. Security surrounded them, closer than usual.

  “What’s with the lack of personal space?” Abi asked under her breath.

  Asher’s lips turned up. “The news of the executions has broken, so they’re going to be extra vigilant today, just in case there’s any retaliation.”

  “How likely is that?” she asked Asher, then looked past him to Jesse.

  “We don’t know, it’s just a precaution,” Jesse said, seemingly at ease.

  “Okay,” Abi responded gratefully, and Asher gave her hand a squeeze as they walked back to the palace.

  The sun had fallen long ago and the palace was lit up. Abi didn’t think it had ever looked more beautiful. In that moment she fully realized for the first time she that she would never return to her apartment. She’d known that, of course, but the reality was just hitting her.

  The palace was her home now. Her home with Asher.

  She looked up past the tall stone walls of the palace to a sky littered with shining stars. The night sky reminded her of her first date with Asher at the Ruins, and marveled at how that seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had happened in such a short time, but with the murderers now dead, Abi prayed the coming weeks would bring a new fate for Santina.