Feigning sleep even though he had yet to close his eyes, he frowned at her. "What?"
"Estes is dead. He appears to have died in his sleep. Get up and dress, you worthless dog! We need you."
He drew a ragged breath and got up to bathe and dress.
By the time he joined his family, his mother was kneeling on the floor next to Estes's side, wailing with a grief he knew she didn't feel. His gaze went to Ryssa, who knelt beside their mother. She had tears in her eyes, but he knew they weren't for Estes. It was Acheron on her mind.
Xan narrowed a suspicious glare at him that told him the Atlantean prince knew what he'd done, but didn't dare make the allegation without proof.
"Where have you been?" Phanes, his father's oldest advisor, demanded.
Before Styxx could answer, he felt the air leave the room as all eyes went to the door behind him.
Turning, Styxx saw his father there with a stern glower as he took in the sight of everyone standing over his brother's cold, naked body. Without a word, his father rushed to the bed and touched Estes's shoulder. He winced in pain.
"Leave us!" his father roared.
Ryssa helped their mother to her feet and they made a hasty retreat.
As Styxx moved to follow them, his father stopped him.
"Not you, boy. I want you to stay."
Fear pierced his heart as he closed the door behind the others then returned to his father's side.
"What happened?"
"I don't know, Father. I just found out about it myself."
Tears flowed down the king's face as he reached for Styxx and jerked him into his arms to hold him. Violent sobs shook his father's entire body. Stunned, Styxx couldn't move while his father wept against his chest. Never in his life had his father shown so much emotion over anything.
But what cut deepest were his father's thoughts of the childhood he'd shared with his beloved brother. How much he'd loved the man the son he held had killed.
Styxx stiffened. Anger welled up inside him, demanding he shove his father away and tell him what his brother was really like. What Estes had done to him and to Acheron, and what he'd planned to do to Ryssa. But he knew his father would never believe him. Just as Ryssa would never believe Styxx was capable of any good deed, his father would never believe Estes was capable of a bad one.
And he would never forgive Styxx for killing him.
After a few minutes, his father pulled himself together and straightened. He wiped his tears and cleared his throat. "We shall give him a state funeral. Then we'll have to see to his affairs in Atlantis."
Styxx inclined his head to him. "What of the pending war?"
His father glanced back at his uncle and hung his head. "You're right, boy. We'll need to hurry this. We'll have Estes buried tonight in our crypt and leave for Atlantis first thing. Have your sister and mother oversee the body preparations."
Styxx hesitated before he complied. "I'm sorry, Father."
The king pulled Styxx's head down and kissed his brow. "Pack lightly."
"Excuse me?"
"I don't want to travel alone to Atlantis. I need you to go with me to do this. You will be my strength."
His fear and remorse turned to cold rage. For his father's benefit, Didymos could be left without a king on her throne.
But when he'd needed to go with his father ...
There had been no way in Hades it could happen.
Had you once considered my needs, you bastard, your brother would still be alive. Styxx glanced to the bed where he'd been tied and wanted to tell his father the truth. He wanted to see his father's face when he learned his own brother had turned both of his sons into whores.