Page 29 of Sinner
“How did you get this?” He pulled them free, and something slipped out from between the pages, drifting to the floor between his feet.
He stared down at the golden-edged ticket with his name printed on it, frozen in place.
“Someone tried to kill my son,” Demitrious said. “You didn’t think I’d have ways to find that out?”
“If you’re about to launch into some false narrative about how you keep tabs on me, save it. We both know I’m unimportant in your eyes.” West snatched up the ticket and held it in the air. “What is this?”
“You’re a liability,” he stated. “You put yourself at risk and therefore left Lake open to attack. Then, instead of using all of the advantages at your fingertips, you chose to hide this from me out of pride.”
Ah, so that’s what this was about.
It wasn’t that West had believed for even a second that his father was actually upset on his behalf—Demitrious was probably more annoyed they’d failed at killing him than anything else—but he’d still thought perhaps this was really about him this time.
Of course not.
It was always Lake. His father’s universe revolved around the future emperor and no one else, not even his own flesh and blood. Hell, if Demetrious somehow got his hands on a poison like the one used on him, he’d probably dose West with it himself just to get him out of the way.
“You hate that he confides in me and not you.” It was an unspoken truth, an infallible fact they were both aware of but never brought to light. But West didn’t have to hold onto uncomfortable truths anymore. He had Nix. More importantly, Nix had chosen him.
Lake had forced his bite, but West?
West’s had been a gift.
He wasn’t delusional. He saw the way the two looked at one another, knew there was something special between Nix and Lake, something unique. But that’s how it was with everyone. No two relationships were ever exactly the same. Even his friendships with Yejun and Lake differed. What mattered was that he loved Nix, and Nix—
Love.
Wow.
The word sent him momentarily reeling, but he didn’t have long to dwell on that massive realization, not while in his father’s presence.
“Don’t be absurd,” Demitrious scoffed, and for a split second, West thought he was talking about being in love with Nix, before he recalled what he’d said. “Lake goes to you forchildish banter, but he needs me. I’m the one who paved the way for him. I taught him—”
“Rewriting history now?” West rolled his eyes. “His parents prepared him for his role. They taught him what he needed to know about becoming an emperor, and anything else after that? That wasn’t you either.”
Lake was as independent as they came. No one could take credit for how he’d turned out, and if someone tried? It was going to be either West or Yejun. Certainly not Demitrious.
“This is exactly what I mean. You’ve clearly forgotten your place, son. Your rebellion stops here, before you can influence Lake any further. I had thought this began with the appearance of that Phoenix Monroe boy, but apparently it runs deeper than that.” Demitrious motioned toward the medical file. “This happened months before his arrival, after all. He’s still a problem that needs dealing with, but first, it’s obvious to me that I need to go straight to the source of this discontent sewn between Lake and me. I already spoke with the Sangs. They’ll be sending their son off-world as well. As for you, you’ll take that ticket and board the first ship to Drax within the next two hours. Your things will be sent after you. I’ve taken care of transferring your records to Hype University. Finish up the rest of school there, and then we’ll reevaluate and see whether or not you’re fit to return.”
Yejun had taken a call from his older sister last night, but when West had seen him this morning at breakfast and asked about it, he’d shrugged and said not to worry about it. Had that been the topic of conversation?
Demitrious really didn’t know them at all, did he? Or, at least, he didn’t know Yejun or the relationship he had with his sister.
She was the only one in his corner, the one who Yejun felt comfortable enough talking to about his future and the thingshe really wanted and didn’t want. She would never force him to relocate, even if their parents insisted.
West didn’t have that. All his life, he’d struggled with pleasing his father. With wanting to earn his respect and gain his affection. It wasn’t even love he was after—he’d given up on that as a child—but his attention? His praise? He’d still wanted it. Badly enough, he’d turned on his best friend and made everything between them a never-ending competition.
Lake wasn’t the problem here, though. He had never been.
“Since you made the foolish mistake of biting that unworthy filth,” Demitrious continued, “I’ll have to navigate that situation more carefully. We can’t have a commoner like that in our family register, let alone on the throne next to Lake. A Royal Consort can’t just be anyone. I’ll have him placed somewhere we won’t have to worry about him drawing attention, and I’ve already contacted the best plastic surgeon in the galaxy. They’ll take care of removing the marks and—”
West never argued with his father. There simply wasn’t a point to it. In the end, he always rolled over and did as he was told, because they needed Demitrious’s influence and backing to ensure Lake kept his place in the line of succession.
The fact that Demitrious never noticed him enough to be able to tell if he agreed with something or not factored in. He didn’t care about West, didn’t care about what he wanted, who he was as a person, or how hard he’d worked to prove himself.
He’d always treated Lake like the son he’d always wanted, and West had been embarrassingly jealous over that.
But Demitrious was sitting here now, talking about how he was going to rip Lake’s chosen mate away from him, despite the claiming mark. Demitrious was going to do as he pleased because he believed he knew best.
