Chapter 86: The Return of the Idiots

Cassian looked Leonidas up and down, his eyes cataloging every detail. He noted the pallor of his cousin’s skin, the grayish undertone that spoke of blood loss and sleepless nights.

"You look terrible," Cassian said.

Leonidas frowned. "Charming as always, cousin."

"We came as soon as we heard the news." Cassian’s voice dropped. "The raven reached us at Shadow’s Edge. Dorian. The attack. The—" He stopped, jaw tightening. "We’re sorry we couldn’t get here in time."

Leonidas nodded slowly. The movement hurt. Everything hurt. He had stopped cataloguing the individual pains hours ago and simply accepted that his entire body was now a single, unified scream of protest.

"I know," he said. "Thank you."

The words tasted strange in his mouth.

Gratitude. Toward Cassian. Toward the cousin he had spent years resenting, years competing with, years measuring himself against and always, always finding himself lacking.

Cassian blinked, clearly caught off guard by the lack of hostility. He opened his mouth, closed it, and settled for a curt nod.

Leonidas’s eyes moved to the snake King. "Your son is in the nursery," he said. "I’m sure you can find your way around."

Zarek nodded as well, narrowing his ryes. "Where are you off to?"

Leonidas swallowed hard.

"I’m leaving for Shadow’s Edge."

Cassian raised a brow up. "What?"

"I’ve been away too long." Leonidas stated calmly. "My people have been abandoned by someone who’s supposed to be their king. They’ve been attacked. Frightened. Left to wonder if their King even cares whether they live or die."

He laughed sadly.

"Thank you for taking care of it while I was away."

Cassian said nothing.

He wanted to. It was so easy to poke and make fun at a man he had derived so much pleasure from annoying the past decade.

But he couldn’t.

Not now. Not after what he had suffered.

So Cassian said nothing.

Leonidas turned to go.

He made it three paces before he stopped, turned back around and smirked.

"You’ll have to excuse my cousin, Zarek," Leonidas boomed. "It seems he has a crush on the empress."

Cassian froze.

"What?" The word came out strangled. "No, I don’t."

Leonidas chuckled. "Denial is an ugly look on you, Cassian. Always has been."

"I do not have a—"

"See you around, cousin."

Leonidas turned and walked away, his footsteps fading down the corridor, leaving Cassian standing there with his mouth open and his face slowly turning the color of a ripe tomato.

Zarek glared at him. "I thought you said—"

"He’s lying," Cassian cut him off, awkwardly turning his face away.

Zarek gritted his teeth. "I’ll deal with you later."

~

The nobles were still talking.

Karina had stopped listening somewhere around the fourth repetition of the word "concerning." Lord Vellworth had been droning on for the better part of an hour, his voice rising and falling. Lady Mira had chimed in twice, both times to agree with whatever Vellworth had just said, as if her agreement carried any weight at all.

Beside Karina’s chair, Lady Delphine stood with her hands clasped in front of her, her expression a perfect mask of neutral attentiveness. She had been taking notes for the past twenty minutes, though Karina suspected the notes were less about the meeting’s content and more about which nobles were revealing themselves as problems.

General Aldric stood by the doors, arms crossed, his blue eyes fixed on the assembled nobles with a patience that preceded violence. His wounds were still healing, but he had refused to be anywhere else.

"Your Imperial Majesty," Vellworth said, leaning forward in his chair. "You must understand. The Council is deeply concerned about the... instability of recent weeks. The attack on the palace. The deaths. The presence of multiple Beast Kings within the capital. It gives the impression of a throne in crisis."

Karina took a slow sip of her tea.

"A throne in crisis," she repeated. "How so?"

Vellworth glanced at his fellow nobles, clearly expecting them to back him up. Several nodded. Lady Mira’s head bobbed.

"The Empress," Vellworth continued, "has been seen in the company of not one, but three Beast Sovereigns in recent times. The nobility is concerned that the crown is being....shared."

Delphine’s quill paused mid-stroke.

Karina set her teacup down with a soft clink.

"I see," she said. "So your concern is that I am being shared."

"Not in those words, Your Imperial Majesty—"

"But in those words." Karina tilted her head. "You are concerned that I am allowing myself to be passed around like a party favor by the very men who were forced upon me by my father’s dying decree. Is that correct?"

Vellworth’s face went red. "That is not what we meant—"

"Then what did you mean, Lord Vellworth?" Karina leaned forward, her red eyes sharp. "Because from where I am sitting, it sounds like you are questioning my virtue. Which, I must remind you, is not your place. You are a noble of the realm. You are not my father, my husband, or my keeper. You are a man who pays taxes and occasionally attends council meetings. Nothing more."

Lady Mira cleared her throat delicately. "Your Imperial Majesty, with respect, the concern is not about your virtue. It is about the perception of the throne. The people need to see a stable, unified—"

"The people," Karina interrupted, "were under my protection from a plague that turned their neighbors into rabid monsters. The people watched me bury twelve guards who died defending myself and my children. The people know exactly who is protecting them. And none of them, not a single one, has complained about my husbands."

Delphine’s lips twitched. Aldric’s eyes glinted satisfaction.

"But you," Karina continued, looking at each noble in turn, "you are not ’the people.’ You are the aristocracy. And you have spent years, years, undermining me. Spreading rumors. Sending letters demanding my resignation. Questioning my competence. And now, when I have finally ended a threat that could have destroyed us all, you come to me with concerns about my reputation."

She stood up.

The nobles flinched.

"I have had enough," Karina said. "I have had enough of being treated like a child who needs to be guided by the wisdom of men who have never done anything useful in their lives."

She turned to Delphine.

"Lady Delphine. How many of the nobles in this room have outstanding debts to the crown?"

Delphine didn’t even need to consult her notes. "Seventeen, Your Majesty."

"And how many have been found guilty of tax evasion in the past five years?"

"Twenty-three."

Karina nodded. "And how many have received land grants, titles, or stipends from my father’s estate since his death?"

Delphine’s eyes flickered with admiration. "All of them, Your Majesty."

Karina turned back to the nobles. "There it is. Every single one of you owes your position, your wealth, and your comfort to the crown. To my crown. And yet, here you are, treating me like an inconvenience."

She walked slowly down the line of nobles, her heels clicking against the marble.

"Lord Vellworth. How much do you owe the crown in unpaid taxes?"

Vellworth’s face went pale. "Your Majesty, I—"

"The exact amount, Lord Vellworth."

He swallowed. "Twelve thousand gold pieces."

"Twelve thousand." Karina nodded. "I think we can arrange a payment plan. Perhaps monthly installments. With interest."

She moved to the next noble.

"Lord Ashworth. I understand your son was caught smuggling contraband through the northern border last spring. The charges were dropped. I wonder why that was?"

Ashworth’s jaw dropped. "That was—that was settled—"

"Was it? I don’t recall signing any pardon."

She continued down the line, one by one, until she had touched every single noble in the room. Every one of them had something. A debt. A crime. A secret. And she named it.

When she reached the end of the line, she turned back to face them.

"So. Does anyone else have concerns they wish to raise?"

No one spoke.

"Good. Then we are finished here." She turned to Aldric. "General. Please escort our guests to the doors."

Aldric inclined his head, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "With pleasure, Your Majesty."