Page 97 of Legacy of Glass
The pain subsided enough for him to roll forward, but Zane was already bearing down on him, an ugly light in his eye. Apparently, he had decided that he could take on the prince even without a hostage.
Julius scrambled to his feet, relieved that Zane was still coming after him rather than chasing after Olivia. He couldn’t see her any longer, but he hoped she had already fled for the relative safety of Cade and Daphne.
Zane lunged for Julius’s neck, both hands outstretched, and Julius only just evaded him, seizing his forearms and holding the other man at arm’s length. The two struggled, swaying in place, until Julius’s foot slipped on the dirt at the edge of the cliff, nearly plunging off the edge.
Zane tried to push him further in that direction, but Julius let go and ducked away at the last second. Zane cursed and spun, ready to lunge at him again. Julius danced backward out of reach.
With a second’s breathing room, he shot a quick glance behind him, trying to catch sight of Olivia and make certain she was safe.
She hadn’t run as he had hoped. She still stood further along the top of the slope, although now she held a dagger. Her eyes were fixed on something behind him, and as he watched, they widened in shock.
He swung back around, realizing his mistake a moment too late. While he had used the momentary space to look for Olivia, his opponent had used it to arm himself.
Julius had stood across from Zane’s blade a hundred times before, but never like this. Despite his fury, he couldn’t entirely shake off the dissonance—the history of all their shared mornings in the courtyard overlaying the current moment.
Zane lunged toward him, dagger out, and Julius jumped backward. But his retreat had taken him too near the cliff’s edge. He dodged again, this time moving along the cliff, parallel to its edge. He couldn’t go far in that direction, though. He couldn’t risk letting Zane drive him too close to Olivia.
Julius wished he still had his sword—or even his dagger. In a fair match, he could have disabled Zane with or without an adjacent cliff. But Zane’s blade unbalanced the scales, and Julius had no choice but to dodge for a third time.
His movement swung him briefly toward Olivia, who had placed herself behind a pumpkin that had grown at the very top of the slope. As soon as his gaze fell on her, she gestured wildly for him to get down.
He only had a second to grasp her intentions and respond, but it was enough. He dropped low and threw himself under Zane’s blade, aiming for his ankles. Zane hastily sidestepped, taking himself nearer the cliff just as Olivia gave a final shove on the pumpkin and set it rolling. It careened wildly along the top of the slope, bouncing as it came.
Julius—still on the ground—rolled sideways out of the way. But Zane, too focused on his opponent, caught sight of the incoming threat too late.
Like a ball hitting a skittle, the pumpkin collided with him at full speed. He fell backward straight off the cliff.
His shout sounded briefly before being cut off by a solid thud. Julius lay still for a second, his own breath harsh in his ears as he listened for sounds of life. A low groan floated upward. Zane had survived the fall.
Julius slowly stood and dusted himself off. Olivia met him at the edge of the cliff, both of them peering down at Zane’s prone body.
After confirming he was still alive, although apparently unable to stand, Julius looked in the opposite direction, searching for Cade. How would he react to his brother’s fall?
But Cade had moved, and it took Julius a moment to spot him. When he did, he realized that Cade had found a place where the cliff leveled out, sloping down more gently and giving access to the lower ground below.
Julius followed him as swiftly as his tired body would go, the two girls on his heels. None of them spoke.
They reached Cade as he stood over Zane, staring down at him.
“Brother,” Zane said, his voice edged with pain. “Help me.”
“You must be out of your mind if you think I’ll help you now.” Cade’s voice was ice cold, despite Zane’s injuries. “You held Marigold for months, Zane.Months! And you made me complicit in doing it. It makes me sick to think I’ve been benefitting for years from your criminal behavior.”
“You never did value your family.” Zane managed to put poison in his voice, despite his pained, gasping breaths.
“No, you’re the one who didn’t value your family.” Cade’s ice had melted, and he just sounded sad. “Look at how you always treated Mother and me. The only thing you ever valued was the family name.”
Zane stared at his brother, but he must have realized he had no hope of convincing him because he turned his head to look toward Julius.
“Julius.” His tone was conciliatory, although it looked like the effort pained him. “We’ve been friends our whole lives. And what have I done that was so very bad? I’ve never killed anyone. I think one of my legs is broken, and isn’t that punishment enough? Let me leave the capital quietly, and you’ll never see me again.”
“You speak of our friendship,” Julius said, “but you ended that the second you attacked my betrothed.” His eyes narrowed. “No, you ended it the first time you abducted one of my subjects for your own gain. You traumatizedchildren, Zane, just to grow your own, already vast, wealth. You destroyed families and businesses—people who had never done you any wrong. You’ve clearly never cared who you hurt, and now you can face justice just like anyone else. You’re no friend of mine.”
“It should have been me born the prince,” Zane burst out. “You’ve always been too soft. You waste the endless opportunities before you.”
“Because unlike you, he isn’t selfish,” Olivia snapped. “And that’s why he’s exactly the person who should be prince.”
Warmth spread through Julius’s chest, but he directed a final comment at Zane. “You are far from the kind of leader Sovar needs.”
