Page 117 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
Myra nodded. She had to believe Kallie was safe. Right now, she couldn’t afford to think otherwise.
"Can we get to the point of this little meeting?" Rian asked, tapping his fingers along the side of his untouched drink.
Laurince scooted toward the edge of his seat, the serious captain returning in an instant. "What’s the status inside?"
Bax ran his fingers through his short, sandy brown hair and grimaced. "How much time do we have?"
"Not much, so make it quick," Laurince said.
Bax nodded and began. "Since you’ve left, groups of soldiers have been disappearing left and right. None of us knows where they’ve gone. Sebastian’s been running a tight ship, and the men in his favor are keeping their lips sealed shut."
"Of course they are," Rian mumbled.
"Money and security is all it takes for some to switch their loyalties," Laurince mused.
Myra nodded in agreement. For her, security and safety were the main reasons she had stayed silent for all those years. She now understood the actual cost of her compliance.
"Some are probably getting some money, but I don’t know. Sebastian’s been strategic. He knows which soldiers he can lead astray and pull to his side. At first, many of us believed the lies he was spewing, the kidnapping and treachery. However, lately, he’s become more vocal about his opinions on how to rule and the direction the kingdom will turn in the coming months. KingDomitius has been around more frequently, and if he’s not here, then Sebastian’s visiting him. But something feels off. He’s been sending troops to villages, raiding homes, and dragging civilians back to the castle for interrogation."
"Domitius and Sebastian have declared war," Laurince whispered. "Raids and interrogations are unsurprising, unfortunately."
"They’ve been bringingchildren, Laurince," Bax said, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the mug. "Sebastian claims a group of traitors who sought to hurt the Crown led the attack the day of the wedding. He says he has it on good authority that the people who had attacked were not working alone. He has ordered a kingdom-wide search of civilians’ homes to snuff out anyone who holds any ill-will to the Crown. Men and women, old and young—it does not matter. Dozens upon dozens of people have been taken. Some have returned after having been deemed loyal, but others remain missing. Children have been ripped from their parents. Some children have been left abandoned and forced to live on the streets." Bax shook his head, and color flooded his cheeks in anger. "It’s not right."
"You said soldiers were disappearing?" Myra asked, feeling sick.
Bax nodded.
She looked at Laurince and Rian. "Do you think…?"
"It’s possible," Laurince said, rubbing his jaw.
"What’s possible?" Bax asked.
Laurince glanced at Myra. She understood Laurince’s hesitancy. Few would believe the truth about the experiments if they hadn’t seen it themselves. But if they wanted to take back Rian’s throne, they needed people on their side.
"Tell him," Rian ordered, spinning his mug between his hands. "The people deserve to know who they are following."
"You haven’t saida single word, Bax. Spit it out already," Laurince said, leaning back in his chair.
They had finished telling Bax everything they knew. Or almost everything. Laurince primarily focused on the drakonis experiments, leaving out the fact that some people, like Myra, harbored unique abilities. She hadn’t expected Laurince to sway away from that or hide it from Bax, but she appreciated him not relaying something as private as her gift to another without her consent. Even without the knowledge of the powers, the drakonises were already hard to wrap one’s mind around.
Bax grabbed the pint and took a small sip. His throat dipped as he swallowed, and apprehension seeped from his pores. He scooted closer to the table and glanced at Rian. "You truly did not know about any of this before?"
Rian shifted in his seat uncomfortably, but didn’t retreat. "I will not lie to you. A day or two before the wedding, Sebastian presented one of his experiments to me as an early wedding gift of sorts. I should have known then that his intentions were not pure. I should have asked more questions."
"Why didn’t you?" Bax asked, his voice taking on a sharp edge.
With creased brows, Laurince moved to speak, but Rian held up his hand, halting the captain.
"I do not admit my failure lightly," Rian stated. "For a long time, I was sick with grief after my father’s passing, but that is not an excuse. I had a duty to protect this kingdom, to protect you all, and I failed every single one of you. Because of my mistakes, many of those I care about have been injured or put under a needle against their will.Ihave been under thatneedle." Rian’s throat dipped as he glanced at Laurince. The two exchanged a look before Rian continued. "I aim to make that right. Sebastian is no king, and he must be dealt with."
"That’s going to be harder than you think. He has turned many of the guards to his side," Bax said, looking nervous.
"Which is surprising. No one even liked him before he was on the throne," Laurince mused.
Bax shrugged. "Money and power, Lo."
Laurince hummed in agreement.
