Beyond the fortress walls are hovels with animal pens. The architecture resembles the dwarven keeps from the Old World I’ve read about in texts. A vast city scales into the side of the mountain. Our captor leads us through the large, curved gates of a fortress wall. Now that we’re at the basin, the sky is nearly black, and it looks as though it’s night. The closer we get, the darker the land becomes. Several hours pass, but eventually, we approach the mountainous base of the volcano. But what I do know is that I’m never stepping a fucking foot on that spider-infested desert ever again. I sigh and say, “How are we supposed to get back? I need to return to Laenberg.” “My name is-” I try to protest, but he nudges me, which makes me stop. “If you ask me, none of those things are exactly bad things, Cas.” I’m untrained in combat, I’m awkward around the nobleman and courtiers, and I refuse to wed a bride,” I chide. I’m the prince, sure, but I don’t invoke passion or pride for the people. “I don’t think I’ll be enough to unite the people of Edonia for a full revolt. I sigh, struggling to say the words of doubt that swim in my mind constantly. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks, astonished. “I think she has a point, but I don’t think it’ll work,” I confess. “What do you think?” Nova asks, which shocks me because through everything that’s happened, even before I met Nova, no one has asked me about my opinion. Aunt Mabel believes that if I’m at the forefront of the rebellion, it’ll spark a massive wave of support from the kingdom citizens.” I haven’t been able to look at my father for a very long time. The things the queen.the things my father have done is despicable. “But how do you know about aunties proclivities? You strike me as a loyalist, not an insurgent.” “Uncle Barlot and aunt Mabel are leading a rebellion against the capital,” I confess. That’s the first time I saw how evil she could be, and it was merely the start. The injuries so severe it took her a year to return to the palace, and even then, she was tasked with remedial tasks. It wasn’t until a servant had served slightly undercooked eggs for breakfast, an honest and occasional mistake, that the new queen became a torrent. When I met Morda, she appeared kind with her delicate features and her ever-lasting smile. Part of me appreciated it actually because it meant my mother is the only woman he could truly love. He didn’t remarry out of love but rather for policy.
After my mother’s death, my father became an empty shell, swimming through the motions of monarchism.
I was only a child, and I lost my mother a few weeks before. I think back to the first time I met queen Morda. “She’s cruel,” I say because it’s true, “or maybe she’s figured out that I have magic.” The question surprises me, but the soothing sensation of his body so close to mine calms me. “So why does step-mommy-dearest want you dead?” Nova asks.
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