The Glass Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #2) - Gena Showalter Page 0,77

He suspected he would come back as part of his own familial line, so he created a law ensuring only someone with Skylair blood had the right to rule the avian. If there were multiple heirs, the crown would go to the worthiest male. If there were no males, the crown would go to the worthiest female. That is why your word will always supersede our mother’s, even though she’s a queen and you are but a prince. Without Skylair blood, she cannot truly rule. But you, the one who can, dare to consider sharing your reign with the witch who murdered you? That’s what you’re doing, isn’t it? Think, brother.”

Think? I’d done little else these past six days. “I have no plans to wed her.” Truth. Absolutely.

She clamped a hand on my shoulder, stopping me, and I rounded on her. “Fate has done you a great favor,” she said. “Leonora is back, yes, but she’s trapped inside a weak body. You have an opportunity to kill her before her magic matures and heals her defective heart. Let’s handle her right this time.”

“You will not harm her.” The words bellowed from me, as they always bellowed from me, the very idea of a dead or dying Ashleigh abhorrent. Not receive her comfort a second time? Not kiss her, even once? Breaths shallow, I shook off Tempest’s hold. “There’s something different about this incarnation. Before I make a move against her, I will figure out what it is. If—when—the time comes, I will be the one to end her.” Another absolute truth.

It must be truth.

“No, you won’t.” Tempest regarded me with disappointment. “You never do.”

“How do you know what I never do?” I asked softly. Dangerously soft. “You don’t even know me.”

Spots of red stained her cheeks. “Like I said, I’ve read about your pasts. Action always reveals character. I know you,” she insisted.

No. “You know of me. You know nothing about the reasons behind my actions.” The intent. The inner struggle. She didn’t know this absence from Ashleigh had been torture for me. She didn’t know I felt as if my blood were kerosene, a single spark able to ignite a wildfire. “As I’m coming to realize, a person’s actions never paint a complete picture.”

“Why do the reasons matter? The end result is the end result.”

A dangerous mindset. “Do you want to know what I’ve learned about your actions?” I stepped closer, getting in her face. “A month ago...a year ago...even three years ago at Queen Charlotte’s funeral, you were content to pretend I didn’t exist. Did you erase me from your heart out of loyalty to our parents or fear for the future? Both are forgivable. Or did you do it because you never cared about me to begin with? Which is it?”

She bowed up, going on the defensive. A shadow fell over her face as an avian flew above us. “What do you admire about the witch, hmm?” she asked. “Tell me. Is it the way she only ever speaks lies? Is it her ability to betray you every second of every day? Is it her death-toll dowry?”

“Enough.” The barked command came from our mother, who eased to the ground beside us. She focused her fiercest scowl on me. “It’s clear you don’t like us. And that’s fine. I don’t like you, either. But you are blood of my blood, bone of my bone, and I won’t allow you to show mercy to a foe.”

“You won’t allow me?” I uttered the words quietly, the frost in my tone unmistakable.

The queen doubled down in an attempt to wield authority she no longer possessed. “I will do whatever is needed to protect my king and kingdom, just as I’ve always done. When it comes to Leonora, you will stand down. That’s an order from your mother and your queen. The witch’s death might hurt you for a time, but pain fades. Better you hurt than die. Your next death might be forever. I won’t let you leave our people with a legacy of death and destruction for a third time, your sister burdened with the responsibility of creating the next heir.”

The sheer audacity of this woman. In every way that mattered, she’d turned her back on me, forever forfeiting the right to rule me.

“You aren’t my queen. You’re barely even my mother.” My voice possessed more smoke than substance. “As Tempest has reminded me, you lack Skylair blood. The avian will never be yours to rule.”

Like Tempest, she bowed up,