Page 65 of Bonded Chaos

Ryker

The tension inside the throne room was stifling. The fact that we were having this conversation in the throne room instead of my father’s private study was telling in itself.

My footsteps echoed in the vast chamber as I made my way toward the dais. Every eye was trained on me, but I ignored them, keeping my attention fixed on the man ahead.

My father’s narrowed gaze tracked my movements as I approached him. Lord Barrington stood at his side, his features twisted into a sneer. The man was dancing dangerously close to death, but he was too foolish to recognize it.

I donned my usual mask and kept my face void of all expression as I stood before my father. With my chin raised, I stared him down, daring him to do his worst.

My father’s summons had been curt and public, leaving no doubt about the reason behind it. If that hadn’t been evidence enough, the soft whimpers coming from the families of the men I had killed would have washed away any lingering suspicions.

If he thought hauling me before the court to answer for my actions would rattle me, he was sorely mistaken. This little charade was for the people, not me.

My father and I both knew who held the real power between us, and he’d do well to remember it.

“Prince Ryker,” my father’s voice boomed in the silence of the room.

His words were bitter and cutting.

“Step forward.”

Obeying his command, I moved closer, but I refused to take a knee before him. I felt my father’s anger rolling off him in waves, even from a distance.

“Son, you disappoint me,” my father said.

His eyes were dark, and his mouth was set in a thin line.

Likewise,I thought bitterly.

“You understand why I have summoned you here?”

I gave a curt nod of my head in confirmation.

“Then tell me, what justification could there be for the brutal murder of your subjects?”

It amused me that my father was even asking this question as if he hadn’t ordered me to take the same action in the past.

“The men you killed were all from noble families. Respectable citizens of the Unseelie Kingdom, and the future representatives of the council.”

I could feel the eager eyes of the courtiers on me as they waited with bated breath for my next words. They weren’t foolish enough to demand I answer, but I felt the weight of their judgment all the same.

“It’s quite simple,” I said with a shrug. “They attacked a woman under my protection, and I responded in kind.”

My father’s eyes narrowed as he looked down his nose at me.

“You call tearing eight men to ribbons with nothing more than your bare hands, responding in kind?” my father scoffed.

I’d also used my fangs, but… semantics.

A soft cry pierced the air from somewhere to the left of me, but I kept my gaze locked on my father.

“They’re lucky that’s all I did to them,” I said, my voice low but deadly.

My father’s eyes widened in surprise, but he said nothing.

“They were trying to force themselves on an unwilling female, and they may well have succeeded had I not intervened.”

“Lies!” a woman screamed, and I turned to face her.

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