They spent the next few hours catching up and plotting, but none of them had any new ideas. In the end, they were no closer to a solution for the Lord, and if they didn’t find one soon, he would destroy them all.
Every passing day was one more that the power of the throne ate into the increasingly rancid brain of the man sitting on it. But they still had no idea how to stop him.
This fact was becoming increasingly annoying. Cole felt as if they’d done nothing but talk about it for years, and, in truth, they had.
There had to be some weakness they were missing, but this Lord had learned from the mistakes of the other mad kings who came before him. He wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes that allowed others to be destroyed.
Cole was preparing to rise and send a crow to Lexi when a knock sounded on the door. They exchanged a look before his father set down his whiskey and rose. It was a clear rule that they were to be left alone when they were in the solar.
His father strode with elegant, fluid grace to the door and opened it to reveal Sindri on the other side. The helot’s black eyes glittered in the dim light.
A couple of hundred years ago, Sindri made the mistake of gathering an army to try to dethrone Tove. That army was ruthlessly slaughtered, but Tove kept Sindri alive. He had the dark fae’s powers bound by a coven of witches and forced Sindri into servitude.
The coven was depleted for weeks afterward, but Tove gave them enough carisle to make it worth their while. He also allowed them to stay in the palace until they were strong enough to travel again.
No one in the palace trusted Sindri, but he was a neutered dog, and this punishment was far worse than death. Every day, Sindri repeatedly endured the humiliation of his defeat as he waited on the man he’d sought to depose.
“What is it, Sindri?” Tove demanded.
“There is a messenger here from the Lord, milord,” Sindri murmured as he bowed his head.
The irritation vanished from Tove’s face. “Then send him in.”
“As you wish, mi—”
Sindri didn’t get a chance to finish speaking before a warlock pushed past him and barged into the solar. The abrupt action and the audacity of the warlock caused Cole to set his glass down.
Rising, he braced his legs apart as he surveyed the haughty-looking vamp who practically sneered at his father.
This fucker deserves a beating.
Cole flexed his hands. No one entered his father’s private room in such a way.
Beside him, Brokk also rose. The warlock seemed not to notice the increased hostility in the room as Tove kept his face expressionless, but Cole didn’t miss the fury in his father’s eyes.
“The Lord will speak with you,” the messenger stated.
“Of course,” Tove said. “Tell him that I will join him in the morning.”
“He will see you now. You”—the warlock’s eyes flicked to Cole— “and your eldest son.”
Cole shoved aside the uneasy feeling the words created in his stomach. They’d never been summoned to the Lord in such a way, and Cole was never ordered to attend with his father.
He’d traveled to the Dragonian realm with his dad before, but he’d never been commanded there. After the events at the marketplace, this could not be good.
It took a few seconds for Tove to respond, and Cole heard the crackle of ire in his voice when he spoke. “Of course.”
Beside Tove, Sindri smiled smugly, and his shoulders went back a little. Cole contemplated punching that smile off his face, but he couldn’t reveal his anger to this warlock.
Once this was over, he would discuss destroying Sindri with his father. The man had served his punishment, and they were all better off without him in the palace.
His dad turned toward him and plastered on a smile that many wouldn’t recognize as fake, but Cole saw through it. “Let us go, Colburn. Brokk, stay here and see over the realm.”
“Of course, Father,” Brokk murmured.
Cole glanced at the crow sitting on the windowsill. If he sent a message to Lexi now, the Lord’s minion would report the crow's departure, and they might try to discover where the bird went.
The Lord could not know Lexi existed. He glanced at his brother, but he couldn’t ask Brokk to look after her without the others overhearing him. And not in the mood to deal with Brokk’s questions and teasing, he hadn’t discussed what Lexi was to him with Brokk, so his brother wouldn’t think to check on her.
She had to know he might be gone longer than he planned, but he didn’t know how to tell her without revealing too much, and in the end, her safety was the most important thing to him. As he followed his father out the door, he could only hope they would return soon.
However, he had a bad feeling they wouldn’t be returning soon… if they returned at all.