Page 5 of What Fury Brings
Canus had to turn around to hide his laughter.
“Don’t,” Sanos cautioned. “He will beat you within an inch of your life.”
“Worth it. I’m going to remember that look on his face for the rest of my life.”
It was a spectacular look. The king of Brutus was a proud, ruthless man, and to see him brought so low was, in a word,everything.
“I could kiss whoever did this,” Canus said.
“That would be the Amarrans,” Sanos replied. “Father went to fight them for Shamire once again. We’ve been exchanging battle briefs.”
“He must have been captured this time.”
“Along with his clothes,” Sanos couldn’t help but say, and Canus lost it again.
Andrastus, Trantos, and Ikanos looked horrified at the two of them and took a step away, likely because they didn’t want the king to think they were in on the joke.
When Atalius’s eyes swung to them, Sanos was quick to remove all signs of mirth from his face. He was the battle-hardened firstborn son.Stoic and lethal—his father wanted him to be just like him. But there was an unforeseen danger that came from instilling that level of brutality and ambition within the prince.
Sanos knew his father feared that he had designs on taking the throne early.
He didn’t, yet there was nothing that could assuage his father’s paranoia.
The king’s arms were unbound now, and two men held him against the post so he didn’t topple off-balance while the others were working on his legs. This kind of humiliation was worse than losing the battle against the Amarrans in the first place, Sanos knew. Whoever ordered it was calculating and conniving, and Sanos wanted to congratulate them personally for it.
Canus was right. It was worth another beating to see this.
Sanos let none of this show as his father continued to watch him. Since the Amarran general was not here, Sanos would be the one he took his rage out on. He always was.
It was going to be a very bad day.
The robe arrived at the same time the king fell from the post, collapsing in a heap of limbs, sore from being up there for however many hours. The soldier hovered near his liege, unsure what to do except hold open the robe and wait.
Atalius leaped to his feet, snatched the robe, and backhanded the soldier who’d offered it.
“You dare to look upon your king’s nakedness?” he seethed.
The soldier went to his knees and said nothing.
The king strode forward, now robed, magically managing a superior gait. When he got to Sanos and Canus, he said, “Come,” to his oldest son.
Canus gave him a look of sympathy as Sanos followed a step behindthe only man in the country who outranked him. The only man who could raise a hand to him. The only man who could best him with the sword. The only man whose opinion mattered. The one who held his future entirely in his hands.
“Report,” the king said as they walked.
“I have taken the cities of Eritus and Blathe,” Sanos said. “We’re pushing more into Ephenna and claiming its territory as our own. The campaign is going very well. The men are in good spirits and health.”Though more food rations would be welcome.
Sanos did not need to ask how the fight against the Amarrans went.
They arrived at the king’s chambers, and Sanos was made to wait as his father bathed and dressed. After two weeks on the road, Sanos wished he could bathe himself, but he knew better than to leave when his father had ordered him to stay.
The prince sent for food, and the king downed sausages and eggs as he eyed his son. Sanos remained stoic, waiting for the king to bring up what he really wanted to talk about.
The silence was agonizing. He might prefer shouting. At least then he would have some idea of what was on the king’s mind.
“I met the Amarran general,” his father finally said. “She’s a dishonorable wretch. Didn’t face me sword-to-sword. No, she threw a rock at my head while I took on a dozen of her best soldiers.”
That was indeed unsporting, but effective, if it resulted in his father’s capture. Of course, he couldn’t blame anyone for not wanting to cross blades with his father. Atalius was a beast of a man, bigger than any other Sanos had met. Only Canus grew close in size, but none were the king’s equal with the sword.
