“I have the feeling this has backfired somewhat,” commented Memenion as he approached Ash and me.
“They always find a way.” I sighed. “It just infuriates me that they can’t see the danger in returning Jenus from banishment. Who knows what evil flows through my brother’s mind? What form his revenge will take?”
Memenion sighed.
“I imagine they believe that you alone will be his enemy—the one who will have to bear the brunt of his wrath. In their mind, I imagine it is a win-win situation. Clearly they don’t know what he is capable of.”
I agreed with Memenion—that was probably what the fools thought, but I knew my brother and I knew his temper. I wasn’t afraid for myself. I had been coming up against Jenus for years. It was Hazel I was concerned about, and what might happen to her friends were my brother to gain power.
“He won’t get the chance,” Ash grumbled. “I won’t let him.”
I nodded, hoping that Ash’s rage toward my brother would be more of an incentive to beat him in the trials. I hadn’t forgotten that it was Jenus who had locked Ruby up in a cellar, and I was sure Ash hadn’t either.
“Let’s get going. If we’re going to reach him before sundown we need to hurry—I want to stop at the castle first.”
Ash and I left the pavilion, followed by Lithan and Qentos. The former was barely bothering to try to hide his delight at the outcome of the meeting. When we reached the birds, I commanded Lithan and Qentos to go on ahead—I’d had enough of their company for one day.
“Why did you keep Lithan on after your father’s death?” Ash asked, as the ministers’ birds rose up into the sky.
“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. If you rule in a kingdom where you are loathed, it is better that the men who intend to stab you in the back are kept in sight at all times.”
Ash looked surprised at my declaration, and I laughed.
“Did you think I didn’t know that I was hated?” I asked.
He looked at me for a few moments, as if trying to comprehend something that was a great mystery to him.
“Why are you doing this?” he asked after a pause.
I smiled.
“I know you think the worst of me, Ash. Perhaps rightly. But please believe me when I say that I have always tried to put the interests of Hellswan and Nevertide first. I want what is best for this land—and at the moment, that means the entity being stopped and Queen Trina staying well away from the seat of power.”
“And you think I am the best choice to accomplish that?” he asked skeptically.
Yes.
“You are a viable option,” I retorted.
Ash burst out laughing. “Right.” He nodded. “A viable option. And this has nothing to do with Hazel?”
“What do you mean?” I frowned.
Ash smiled in an irritating fashion. “I just thought that maybe she had an opinion on you becoming emperor. An opinion that was so strong it may have swayed you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I snapped. “We need to get going.”
“What’s up with her anyway?” he probed as we prepared the birds.
“Nothing I’m willing to discuss with you. You’re not king yet, kitchen boy.”
We flew back to the castle. Jenus’s location was out by the borders of Hellswan, but I felt it would be a better idea to take bull-horses than vultures. Jenus would be weak, but it was better not to risk him mind-controlling a bird mid-flight on our return to the pavilion. This would mean leaving Hazel alone in the castle for more time than I would like. I felt it wouldn’t be long till the hunger got to her, and if she lost her control around her friends, she would never forgive herself…or me.
Ruby
I had tried to keep myself busy. I had spent about an hour rearranging and changing all the bedding for the kids, finding more suitable locations for them to sleep, locations that would mean they weren’t constantly sleeping in the living room. It meant that I was now sharing my room with two others, but that didn’t matter much at the moment—it wasn’t like I was getting much sleep anyway.
According to Jenney, the kids had livened up a bit ever since Benedict had been possessed completely by the entity and had vanished off to the temple where Hazel said he was trapped. It made me feel slightly nauseous that he had obviously been syphoning off them while they slept with none of us ever knowing. Now the kids kept mainly to themselves, spending most of their time in the servants’ quarters or in the garden outside during the day, avoiding the castle as best they could. I was hugely grateful for Jenney—without her, they would have been completely abandoned in this strange place, and I doubted that many of them would be dealing with it as well as Yelena. She was a weird kid, but weird was clearly what was needed around here to survive.