Page 13 of A Crown of Madness
Merrick
The afternoon came and went as I paced my bedroom floor reading and rereading Dalziel’s letter. I look for messages between the words he’d shared and try to picture what Violence’s life will be like once she is safely out of my father’s reach.
As the day gives to night, inky tendrils of shadow creep through my open windows and slither across my floor. I still as they move across the tile, no more than a whisper. The corner of my mouth twitches into a smile before it flattens back out as the acidic taste of my father’s magic burns on my tongue.
Long, wicked fingers of smoke curl around my ankles, prickly like a thousand thorns digging into my skin. They climb over my calves, my thighs, my hips. I clamp down on the wild fear any smart man would feel when faced with the king’s great magic. Power that will one day pass on to me.
That sharp-shadowed touch claws over my hands, my shoulders, my throat. It consumes me. Shrouds me in darkness. Until my next breath is like taking in water, and it drowns me.
But just as slowly as the magic had climbed my form, the needles pull away, fresh air soothes my searing lungs, and I stumble out of the shadow’s reach and into one of thousands of rooms in The Compound.
Dull iron walls and smooth concrete floors are only broken up by a single oversized black desk, the chair my father leans back into, and the red velvet seat directly across from him. I hold the letter delicately between my hands. Under his relentless gaze, I take careful steps to the seat and lower myself into it.
Though I know it would be of no use, I’m suddenly wishing that I’d kept a sword on my belt or any sort of weapon as my father drags his hands down his face. The shadows that had brought me here slowly pull themselves back into the king’s weary body. Darkness pulses around him. A damnable day. These are getting more frequent, more dangerous.
“I’ve been anxiously waiting to be invited back, Father.” I tip my head to him. My chair creaks as I try to relax into it.
“I’ve been busy.”
Under thick brows, his gaze travels from my face to the paper set in my lap. It takes all of me not to move under his scrutiny, and I have to stomp out the worry that he’ll send the letter up in flames before I’ve even gotten to read it to him.
King Melic takes a long inhale, folding his fingers over his black jacket. “What is it you want to tell me, boy? I can practically feel you crawling out of your skin with eagerness.”
Any wise royal would know never to give any information out for free. My mother taught me that.
A sadness so dark and lonely claws itself out of the box I keep putting it in. It stabs through my heart like a blade of ice. I almost choke on it before I’m able to pull the pieces back in and hide them away again.
“I have news; however, I’m still waiting for you to explain what you’re doing apart from stealing a dead Witch’s book for the ‘sake of our kingdom.’”
I want to know Violence’s part in all of this. I want to know mine.
He scoffs. “In due time, all truths will be revealed.”
“Don’t coddle me with old proverbs. Do you not think me old enough to handle this information?” I pause. “Does Basilus know?”
King Melic sits still in his seat, analyzing me. Tense silence stretches between us for several long seconds before he speaks.
“You are twenty-six. You are a child—”
“You were a king at twenty-six.”
“And I was a child.” His voice raises, hands curling to fists. Black tendrils of smoke curl from him in a flare, there one moment and gone the next.
“Basilus is only twenty-five.”
“There is a place for each of my children in this world, and as your father, I’m here to help guide you to your destinies.”
Destinies. HA! An amused grin plays over my lips before I can stop it, and my father’s gaze flashes with anger, but he continues on.
“Basilus knows his part.He’splaying it. But you have yet to learn, and I’ve spent my whole life protecting you from what you’re not ready for—”
“I am ready,” I snap.
“Donotinterrupt me again.” A muscle tics along his jawline. “You’re not ready, despite what you may think, for the burden that you must bear as king.” He closes his eyes. His face twitches like he’s battling something internally. “I am saving you. I am giving you and your siblings purpose. And I will be telling you what you need to know when it is time. So tell me what has had you pacing your room, Son?”
I’m pinned to my seat by brown eyes so dark, they’ve turned into two black holes that snuff out any and all light from existence.
Never give any information away for free.My mother’s voice rings again.
