Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
Which was why I was feeling what I was feeling coming off of Aleksei.
He was reacting to the fact an old friend, a former lover, and his ex-fiancée put a hit out on me, and maybe him.
“That isn’t concrete proof she’s behind this,” I tried.
“I’m telling myself that,” he replied. “It’s becoming hard to believe.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.
He moved us to a seating area I’d yet to use. A charcoal velvet couch with an oval curve back elegantly edged in silvered wood, flanked by two blue velvet club chairs. These were situated around a silver and black marble table about ten feet from the foot of the bed, close to the wall that closed the room off from the downstairs.
“Activate fireplace,” he called, and I stood in stunned silence as I watched the entire wall fold into itself, exposing a window with more of a view of Nocturn, but also the living area of the level below.
In the lower portion of the wall, purple and blue flames sprang up, and when they did, they danced high across the entire wall. Which meant, the wall was a fireplace.
Freaking mega.
I was sensing I should ask Aleksei to give me the full tour, rather than relying on the one I took with Comet, because I’d been missing things.
I decided against this because discovering them like I just did was a whole lot more fun.
“Service engage. Deliver whisky, three fingers,” he went on as he seated us cozied together on the couch.
I curled my legs under me.
Aleksei looked down at me and lifted his brows.
“I’m on almondine sours,” I told him.
“And an almondine sour,” Aleksei said to the room.
“Um…” I hummed rather than asking the question about why he was talking to the room.
“I don’t use the bots for personal service unless I can’t be arsed to go get myself a fucking drink. And right now, I can’t be arsed.”
I nodded, noting his mood seemed to be worsening.
Aleksei brooded at the fire.
I let him.
A bot arrived with our drinks on a tray.
Once we took them, its mechanical voice asked, “Anything else for now, your royal highness?”
“No, but stand ready.”
“Yes, sire,” the bot replied, and walked out.
Aleksei drank.
I drank.
He launched in. “As I told you, Anna and I were friends. We became lovers. I should have taken pains to keep it a secret. I fear this wouldn’t have worked, because Anna had no intention of doing so. My mother heard of it. She told Germaine. Germaine told Rytalf, the political advisor to the royal family. Rytalf brought my father into it. My father spoke to Dagsbrun. He spoke to their political advisor. And all of them decided, in the current climate, an alliance between realms would be a good thing.”
“My first question is the easier one,” I said. “And it is, why was that?”
“The magisterial system of Sky’s Edge is a quagmire. A panel can make a decision, and if a barrister can poke a big enough hole in the reasoning behind their decree, it will go to another panel for a new decision. I honestly have no idea how they get anything done with this kind of setup, but demons love nothing more than to argue and pit themselves against things. So maybe it’s that. In the years since King Riland’s death, Tanyn has had six panels rule in favor of his question of succession. And Arnaud’s barristers have found big enough issues behind the reasoning to call another panel.”
I wasn’t sure why we were talking about Sky’s Edge, but I didn’t ask.
I sipped my drink and listened.
“Now, Tanyn has jumped through enough hoops, his case is being prepared to go in front of the Premier Magistrate, and their decision will be final,” Aleksei shared. “Arnaud will have no choice but to accept it, and it is in no doubt the decision will be his immediate abdication, and Tanyn will take the throne.”
“This is good, isn’t it?” I asked.
“It would be good, if our intelligence wasn’t telling us there’s an alarming rift in their military. There are those who back Arnaud. There are those who back Tanyn. But right now, Arnaud is king. So those who are found to back Tanyn have been disciplined, ousted, or even tried on trumped up charges and imprisoned.”
Dear Lilith!
“This for sure is not in the media or on the tapes,” I stated.
“This is because Arnaud is keeping it very quiet, and Tanyn has learned to caution his supporters to be covert. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t planning for the eventuality that Arnaud will refuse to abdicate, and that will mean he’ll need to be forcibly removed. Which could mean he’d call on his supporters, and Tanyn will absolutely call his, and there’ll be civil war.”
This was not good news.
But I still didn’t know why he was talking about it.