Page 44 of The Royal Gauntlet

“No, fuckyou. If you hadn’t been so incompetent, maybe Daphne wouldn’t have had to die, or Dad, or Galen. But you thought with your dick, and now there’s a body count.”

“But then I would still be stuck in a loop,” Cat points out, getting to her feet and setting aside the book she was reading. “Galen would never have stopped pursuing Daphne, and I think if he hadn’t been able to kill her, he would have done much worse. Sybil and Estelle would still be stuck too. The Fates—the very beings that you place all of your faith and belief in—would have stayed trapped. You can’t have it both ways. I’m so sorry you lost your father. I am so sorry that your brother is dead and that your family has changed, but I am here now, and you have Daphne back. You can’t just put all of this on your brother.”

My eyes mark every step Catalina takes until she’s standing beside Xavier, resting her hand on his shoulder. He goes still at her touch, as if he might startle her away by breathing. We had so many bombs dropped on our laps the night of the wedding that Cat being Xavier’s intended from the start has been mostly overlooked.

“Cat, I’m glad we have you and that Estelle and Sybil aren’t stuck with their mediocre jobs, but my father isdead.”

“And I’ve had to live through countless of my own deaths. I’m not expecting you to get over it in the approximately five minutes it’s been. I know you’re not prepared for immortals being able to die and all, but stop blaming that on your brother. He doesn’t deserve it.” Cat’s words come out fiercer each time she speaks. Warmth radiates off her in waves from her anger.

“The issue at hand still stands. Do we allow Galen to come back?” Finn asks.

“I don’t think this should be an individual decision,” Dion says, sitting up now. He rests a hand on Finn’s shoulder. Dion wasn’t here during the Calling to keep me from playing into Galen’s hands. Both he and Finn carry so much guilt about what could have been prevented.

“We can’t discount the fact that Posey sawed off Cassius’s head in front of all of Solarem,” I interject. “She’s losing her mind, and if Octavia is to be believed, it’s because she’s consuming the souls of the dead. Who knows what kind of repercussions that will have?” My heart feels flayed open as we discuss which is the worst of two evils.

“So, what? We flip a coin?” Kai asks with a laugh. The smile leaves his face immediately when his wife cuts him a glare. He coughs into his large fist.

“We vote. It’s the most diplomatic way,” I hedge.

“Wait, aren’t the Fates supposed to be able to tell you all about this? Isn’t their thing seeing the future?” Zara’s question is valid, and both she and Cat look at me expectantly.

“Posey saw the future,” Sybil tells us.

I remember what Luminara said about each Fate having a different role. Three sisters, one to spin, one to measure, and one to cut. It was Sybil to spin, Estelle to measure lives, and Posey to cut the thread of life.

I echo what I learned. “It’s how she knew which thread to cut and at what length. As Sybil spun each life, Posey saw their destiny spread out before her.”

“That’s convenient,” Cat mutters, moving away from Xavier and back to her seat at my side.

“It’s how she knew which threads would unwind the entire tapestry. She would cut the thread of mortal life. But that power wasn’t enough for her.” Sybil sounds sad when talking about their sister, and I realize that we’ve all lost something at the hands of Posey. Some of the losses are more tangible, like the deaths of Titus and Cassius, but Sybil and Estelle were betrayed by the person they were supposed to be closest to—their sister.

“There isn’t enough power in the universe for her.” Xavier turns his attention to his twin. “She takes and takes andtakes. You think I’m not mad, sister? I’m furious. She took my family, she took everything, so I’m sorry if saying her name feels like I’m invoking the devil herself.” Xavier drains his glass before pacing back to the decanter.

“Does anyone have any actual debate around resurrecting Galen? Do we even know how?” Finn questions.

“We know how,” Sybil and Estelle intone together. A chill skitters down my spine.

Essos leans over to me. “I so wish they would stop that.”

I squeeze his hand in agreement, and he smiles.

“I think him being a raging psychopath is reason enough.” Helene crosses her arms and drops onto her husband’s lap. His hand rubs circles on her back.

“I am the last person who wants to advocate for his return, but am I crazy? Doesn’t it make more sense to come at Posey with all we have? If that means bringing Galen back, then maybe that’s what we need to do.” My insides twist as I speak, like even they can’t believe I’m considering this. “At this point, he’s the devil we know. I certainly never would have thought Posey capable of cutting a god’s head off.”

I hate that my words feel like I’m advocating for Galen to be resurrected. Idon’twant him back.

“Who’s to say it will be faster with Octavia on our side? Titus was cut down in a heartbeat,” Finn says, getting up from his seat. Everyone is restless, like their bodies are looking for some way to escape this option. Watching everyone pace makes me want to jump up and pace alongside them.

“Daddy never stood a chance,” Helene points out. “She had all of us frozen and bewitched. You really can’t bring him back?” I don’t think a day has gone by that Helene hasn’t asked about it. Zara mentioned it while we were catching up, but I never wanted to let on to Helene that I knew. Her pride is precious to her, and she would hate to know we were talking about her behind her back.

“Helene, if we could, we would. Gisella is still looking to see if there is something, anything, we missed, but the only other person with the knowledge would be Octavia.” Sybil sounds sympathetic, but my eyes narrow on them and their new tune. This is the first time they’ve mentioned that Octavia might be able to help. I’d like to think it’s a new development, but there’s something I don’t like in their brown eyes as they glance about the room.

“So, you’re saying the only way I get my father back is to bring back my brother?” Helene sounds hopeful, and it crushes me that this hope comes at the expense of my sanity. I know I was the one arguing for doing it, but that doesn’t make the bitter pill of this situation any easier to swallow.

“It’s possible,” Estelle hedges, cutting a look at Sybil.

“All those in favor?” Helene asks, ignoring the caveat and thrusting her hand in the air.

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