Page 12 of Fearless

I blink at the endearment in his voice. It sounds so foreign coming from the man I left to find our father’s murderer. But this isn’t that broken, crazed man the kingdom gossiped about. This is something else entirely.

“Hello, Kitt,” I return slowly. “You seem… well.”

He chuckles slightly, setting his papers aside. “I’ve definitely felt far worse. You would know.” The look he wears now is familiar, like a hint of the grin he used to give me so often. “I’m sorry for being so… distant before you left. But I’ve grieved. I feel lighter, if that makes any sense.” A shake of his head, blond hair rippling. “I’ve learned a lot in these past few weeks.”

I hum softly, unsure what it is I’m supposed to say. After a beat of silence, I settle with, “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“More like myself,” he adds with a small smile. “Oh, and this…” He rifles through the assortment of parchment in search of something. “This belongs to you.”

He sets that something on the only sliver of wood peeking out from beneath the blanket of paper. I stare at my Enforcer’s ring and the large crest atop it. Two lions frame a banneredA, our family seal and sign of strength.

I wish that is all I see when looking at it.

No, I see every horrific thing I, and all the Enforcers before me, have done in the name of that crest. Every drop of blood spilled to secure our family’s power. Every order obeyed because that banner has me bound for life.

But I slide it onto my finger anyway, feel the bite of cold steel against my skin. I flex my hand. Decades of death are wrapped into the band clutching my skin, and I don’t dare to even flinch.

“So,” I mutter softly, eyes never straying from the ring. “I earned it back.”

He shrugs slightly. “You brought her to me, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

And I regret it more than anything.

“I’ve got to hand it to you, Kai.” He slowly leans back in the chair, mimicking yet another one of Father’s movements. “I wasn’t sure she would make it back here.”

Reading between the lines is rather difficult when they are blurred. I’m no longer sure if it is my brother speaking, or the king he’s become. “And you worried that would be my doing,” I say smoothly, voicing the words he avoids.

His smile is tinged with an amused sort of sadness. “I thought you might let her go.”

“Why didn’t you tell me of your plan with her?”

The question flies from my mouth, far harsher than I’d rehearsed in my mind. He blinks at me, bewildered for a moment before his newfound composure returns. “I honestly wasn’t sure what to do with her myself. Not until I started listening to Calum’s counsel. Found the records with Father’s letter.”

“So Calum told you to marry her?” My voice is low. Lethal. “Better yet, why the hell are you listening to him in the first place?”

“Because he opened my eyes to so many things,” Kitt fires back. “Suddenly, I was thrown into the role of king, ridden with grief and anger. And when Calum told me his story, what was really happening in the slums, I realized how little I knew of my own kingdom.” His chest heaves, though his voice is steady. “So I listened. I learned. And for the first time in my life, I came to my own conclusions. So call me crazed like the rest of the kingdom, but—”

“I don’t think you’re insane.” My quiet words cut through his own.“I think you’re right. If Ilya is in danger, then you are doing what you must to save it. Hell”—I huff out a laugh—“the Ordinaries should be welcomed back into this kingdom even if it wasn’t needed to survive. Because I also learned quite a few things on my journey. Like the lies we were told and who it was that spread them.”

Kitt opens his mouth, but I push on. “I’m not here to discuss politics or the Elite kingdom Father built atop decades of deception.” I brace my hands on the desk, leaning over the worn wood. “I’m here to talk about her.”

He stands slowly to his feet, nearly leveling our gazes. “Easy, Brother.”

“Marriage, Kitt?” I almost shout, shaking my head. “What the hell are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking,” he says stiffly, “that I don’t have another option.”

“You’re the king!” This time, I do yell. “You will always have another option. Always have a way out, unlike the rest of us.”

“Fine, you want another option?” Challenge rings in his voice, smothering any sign of the composed king I returned home to. “My way out is killing her. That is what I was going to do. How does that sound? Are you happy now?”

We stare at each other, chests heaving. Shock slackens my jaw; terror tightens my chest. His words are nearly as paralyzing as the unspoken ones hanging in the air between us. Because what is worse than her dying is me being the one forced to kill her.

“If I don’t marry her,” Kitt breathes, begging me to understand, “I have no choice but to kill her. She murdered our father, Kai. But as my bride, she can help restore Ilya.” He braces a hand on the desk, leaning in with each word. “This is a mutually beneficial agreement. I would protect her. Twist the truth about what happened between Father and her. And in return, she would be my symbol of peace to the other kingdoms.”

I comb a hand through my hair. I’m not sure when I started pacing,but my feet now set a swift tempo up and down the worn rug. I laugh then, bitter and unable to stop the sound from bubbling out of me. “Please help me understand, because when I left, you seemed plenty enraged and ready to have me plunge a sword through her chest.” My steely gaze searches his. “So what changed?”

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