Distinctly uncomfortable in the new, more formal attire, he went to the large double doors and stepped out into the hallway. One of the guards opposite smirked, but Alex ignored him, looking for Siren Mave instead. She was standing a short way down the hall, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. She looked up as Alex approached, an exasperated expression on her face.
“That took you long enough, didn’t it?” she remarked, tapping the clock-face of a gold wristwatch.
“I had to find something suitable,” Alex replied defensively.
She looked him up and down, evidently unimpressed. “Well, I suppose you’ll have to do,” she grumbled, setting off down the corridor. As she walked, Alex could hear her muttering to herself. “There were some beautifully tailored pieces in there. Such exquisite suits, and he chooses that? Young people these days—no fashion sense.”
He tried not to seethe as he followed her, feeling the anxiety building inside him as he hurried after the small, surprisingly swift figure. His new shoes squeaked when he walked, the stiff collar scratching his neck, the trousers slipping from his hips, being just that little bit too big. He was beginning to suspect it was all a ploy to make him feel as uncomfortable as possible before he met with the king.
At the end of the hallway, they came to a set of broad spiral stairs that seemed to go up and up to never-ending heights. Two golden statues of goddesses stood sentinel over the bottom step, and it was past these Alex and the toady woman walked, his heart sinking as he realized they were going all the way to the top. On the climb, they passed what seemed like a hundred other floors, some of them leading off to long hallways like the one Alex had come from, others simply stepping off at glass solariums where people could pause on the long walk up the stairs.
At long last, with Alex’s lungs burning, they reached the top floor. Ahead of them lay an enormous foyer with an arched roof made of glass, showing the beautiful azure sky above. Aside from that, there wasn’t much else in the room, just a solitary desk in the center and an imposing set of doors behind. A beautiful young woman sat at the desk, and she looked up as Alex neared. A fearful expression passed across her face, unnerving Alex even further.
“You must be Alex Webber?” she asked, her voice clipped and clear.
Alex nodded. “I believe the king is expecting me?” he replied, trying to steel himself against what he was about to endure.
She nodded. “Yes, His Royal Highness is expecting you. I would hurry if I were you—you are nearly late,” she whispered, her eyes wide with concern.
“Noted,” said Alex, before following the old woman toward the vast double doors at the far end of the extensive foyer.
Upon opening the door, Alex was met with one of the most beautiful rooms he’d ever seen. A glass dome rose over the center of what he guessed to be the throne room, considering there were two very large, very ostentatious thrones in the middle. They were similar to the ones he’d seen at Starcross Castle, though these were forged from intertwining vines of gold, silver, and bronze. One was raised slightly above the other, with a golden crown placed on top of the chair’s back. Julius was sitting in that one, lounging backward with a book in his hands, flipping the pages casually. The throne beside it had a smaller crown on top, sculpted from silver, and on the plush cushions sat the beautiful form of Venus, her eyes looking straight ahead at Alex, a welcoming smile on her face.
Fountains trickled crystalline water down into a small network of streams, with quaint bridges arching over them, which had to be crossed to reach the central island where the two thrones stood. In the water, beautiful fish swam lazily, their scales shining in a myriad of colors. On the walls, paintings and tapestries hung, depicting ancient battles and previous rulers. The face of Julius’s father loomed at the back of the room, surveying everything. Alex wondered how that must feel for Julius, having his father’s eyes on him wherever he went, considering it was Julius’s fault the man was dead. Alex had a feeling the king didn’t care.
Everything was decked out in gold and precious jewels, managing to be luxurious without looking gaudy. And the books—there were books everywhere. Rows upon rows flanked the walls, some of them kept away in locked cupboards, presumably for Julius’s eyes only. Even on the floor by the king’s throne, there were piles of tomes, stacked up, just waiting to be read. If this was the number of books in the throne room, Alex could not imagine what the king’s library looked like.
Alex glanced around for as long as he dared, finding the room breathtaking despite his unease. However, it wasn’t long before his attention was drawn back to Venus. If she was sitting there, Alex knew Julius must have found her at the windmill, but his worries rested not with the fact that she was back, but with the knowledge that someone had to die as a result of her rescue. As selfish as it sounded, he just hoped it wasn’t someone close to him—someone like Demeter or Ceres.
Once more, his mind trailed back to the chaos of Starcross. The sad truth of it was that responsibility for what happened lay at his feet; there was no escaping it. If he had listened to Hadrian, if he had listened to Ceres, if he had listened to what they had continuously tried to get him to hear, none of it would have happened. Starcross would have continued to be a secret, and all those who had died would still be alive… Storm would still be alive. In his foolish wisdom, Alex had thought he knew better, or that he could somehow whisk them away before Julius’s axe fell, but his misplaced confidence had damned them all. Worse than that, people had died, suddenly and painfully. Perhaps whatever was to come would be his redemption for the suffering he had unwittingly caused.
One thing that surprised Alex, however, was the presence of Virgil. The skeletal man stood a short distance away from Julius, his hands behind his back. His face was battered and bruised, his lip swollen to twice its normal size, congealed black blood covering the wound. As their eyes met, Alex saw that the whites of Virgil’s were covered in crimson ruptures where the vessels had burst. Julius had clearly begun his punishment of Virgil early. Alex mouthed the words “I’m sorry” in the Head’s direction, causing the sunken-faced man to look quickly away, wincing at the sharp movement.
“Darling, your guest is here,” Venus whispered, touching her husband’s arm.
“You think I don’t know that?” Julius snapped, not bothering to look up. “I will get to him when I am good and ready. I am almost at the end of this chapter.”
And so, Alex was left to stand uncomfortably while Julius finished what he was reading. Siren Mave had left, and it seemed nobody else dared to speak, though Venus kept her hand on her husband’s arm. Looking at the small, subtle motion, Alex realized he was likely only alive because of her strange skill—her keen ability to keep the king calm when nobody else could. Though, what had she said—if Alex were to fail on the second attempt, not even she could help him? The memory was foggy, but Alex was sure it had been something along those lines. Yet, here she was, holding her husband’s arm, helping him. Well, keeping him alive at least.
Slowly, she leaned into her husband, whispering something softly in his ear. Whatever it was, it seemed to do the trick. With a loud slam, Julius snapped the book shut and turned to face Alex. A moment later, he got up, prowling across the bridge to where Alex stood. Venus followed, never less than an arm’s length away from him.
“So, here he stands, the mighty Spellbreaker!” Julius taunted, eyeing him as if he were a piece of trash that had just blown in. “And here I was, thinking you a master of The Art of War. You certainly talked a good game, but it seems that’s all it was… talk. What a disappointment you turned out to be, Alex Webber,” he said in a low voice. “Quite the amateur, thinking yourself one step ahead of me, thinking I was trailing behind when, really, I was a dot in the distance, so far ahead of you, you couldn’t even see me!”
“I would never presume to—” Alex began, but the king cut him off sharply.
“You will not speak until you are asked to!” he barked, his eyes flashing with fury.
“You do not come into my house and presume to flap your mouth. Is that understood?”
Alex paused, not knowing whether to respond. “Yes, Your Royal Highness,” he said, after a long, tense silence. He had so much anger burning inside him that it was everything he could do not to strike out at the king and damn it all.
“I have had just about enough of you, Alex Webber. You are a thorn in my side, a snake in the grass, a pebble in my shoe, and I would have seen you destroyed, had my good lady wife not persuaded me against it, for the sake of the spell,” Julius continued, his mouth set in a grim line. Without warning, he darted toward Venus, violently grabbing her toward him, holding her face in a vise-like grip. “Isn’t that right, darling? You wouldn’t see him harmed, would you?” he snarled, so close to her face Alex thought he might bite something off. She didn’t flinch. Instead, she looked into his eyes, her mouth moving, though nobody but Julius could hear the words.
“I thought he could be useful to you, didn’t I?” Venus purred softly, her words louder now.
Julius nodded, his manner calmer. “You did, my darling,” he said, releasing his grip on her. When he removed his hands, reddened crescent shapes began to appear in her cheeks, where he had clutched her with all his might. Again, she showed nothing on her face, the beautiful blank canvas remaining steady. “Tell me, Spellbreaker, did you think you could run away from me and not have to endure any repercussions? Did you think you could steal my blood, defy my rules, and get away with it?” the king asked, stalking back toward Alex.
Alex cleared his throat. “No, Your Royal Highness. I knew I would have to pay for my insolence,” he replied, trying to be as polite as possible, knowing it might save his life, even if he wanted to tear the king’s throat out.
“Did you think I wouldn’t find your secret little hideaway, and all those aberrations? That vile creature Ceres certainly thought she could hide from me, stealing them from Falleaf for all these years, right under Hadrian’s nose—blackmailing him!” Julius spat. “I’ve only kept her alive because Hadrian wants to deal with her himself. After so many years of living in fear of her, he’s finally getting to be the man I always knew he could be, if he didn’t have that old maverick’s blood in his veins. See, why couldn’t you be more like Hadrian? He knows which one is the winning side,” he continued, flashing a smug look at Alex.
Alex tried not to let his puzzlement show on his face. Surely, he reasoned, Hadrian was scheming a way to get Ceres out of any predicament she might be in? If he had persuaded Julius to let him deal with his sister, surely it was because he was thinking of a way to spirit her out of there? Of all the royals Alex had met, he knew Hadrian wasn’t a turncoat. No, it had to be part of a bigger contingency plan, to save his sister, if it became clear he couldn’t save anyone else. Of that, Alex was convinced. Whatever Julius was spouting, it was all just smoke and mirrors made from the lies Hadrian had been feeding him.
“I don’t like to get involved in family feuds, Your Royal Highness,” Alex said, hoping to subtly back up Hadrian’s well-constructed subterfuge.
“And yet you’ve managed to shoehorn yourself into our royal business, haven’t you?” Julius chuckled bitterly. “First, you cause a whole world of trouble for this pathetic specimen,” he continued, flicking a wrist in Virgil’s direction. “Then, you eliminate Alypia—whom nobody can wake up from whatever trance you put her in, by the way—because she was on her way to tell me what you were up to. Thirdly, you work some voodoo magic on that old loon’s prison, and his own inmates dispense with him. I mean, what else were the prisoners going to do, if you gave them that slice of power? I may not have liked Caius, but he was a royal, and royal blood should not be carelessly wasted. Fourth, you bother Hadrian and try to bleed him for all he’s worth, corrupting Alypia’s daughter for good measure, and joining sides with that vagrant, Ceres! Then, you have the audacity to steal my wife and lock her up. I can only imagine what you planned to do with her,” he growled. Venus’s hand on his arm brought him back from the edge of losing his temper. He took in a deep breath. “All in all, I’d say you’ve gotten yourself pretty involved in our family business, wouldn’t you?”
Knowing Julius would probably want his head for what he’d done, Alex wanted to spew forth every angry word he’d ever hoped to say to the king. It took everything he had not to give in to that temptation. He wanted to shout that, if Julius hadn’t gone around ripping the life from young people, he would never have had to get involved, but he held his tongue, calming himself for an even response.
“When you put it like that, I suppose I have,” he remarked, with just a hint of bitterness in his voice.
Julius’s eyes flashed angrily. “Aren’t you missing something?” he barked.
Alex smiled. “Sorry, Your Royal Highness,” he said, his tone overly sincere.
“I suppose you’re wondering how I found your little hideaway?” Julius crowed, strutting up onto one of the bridges, where he leaned back against the banister, evidently trying to look cool.
“It had crossed my mind, Your Royal Highness,” Alex replied, giving little away.
“It was that dear friend of yours—the mad one I locked up years ago, at Kingstone Keep. After your escape from Falleaf House, she led my scouts there, carrying that pretty one of yours. All they had to do was creep in after you, and watch where you went. After that, it was a waiting game. I knew you’d go to try out the spell, though I didn’t know which haven you’d pick. My money was on Stillwater. Anyway, when my guards said you’d gone to Kingstone, that was my moment,” he explained. Although it confirmed many of Alex’s suspicions, and disproved others, it shed no more light on the ambiguity of Venus. It seemed she truly had suggested Kingstone because she believed it to be the least dangerous haven, but there was something about the beautiful woman that perturbed Alex. He simply did not know how much he could trust behind that beautiful, serene canvas. “You’ve probably realized by now, I’m a very patient man. Once I knew you’d gone, I sent my men through to make the first strike. Then, as you saw, I followed.” He grinned smugly.
“You took everyone by surprise, Your Royal Highness. I have to commend you for that,” Alex remarked curtly, wanting to punch the smug look off his face.
Julius frowned, clearly not knowing what to do with the compliment. “As well as a patient man, I am a fair man,” he said, prowling toward Alex once more.
This was the moment Alex had been waiting for. The king kept coming, until there were barely five inches between his face and Alex’s. In that moment, Alex wanted to laugh in his face, or lash out, but stern looks from Venus and Virgil stayed his hands. He certainly didn’t want to end up looking like the Head, his face a marbled mess of white, purple, yellow, and bluish black.
“Since you seem so keen to keep trying this foolhardy spell, and given the mess you’ve made of my essence system, I’m willing to overlook the little mishap we had at Falleaf,” Julius continued.
Alex knew he wasn’t really forgiven at all; it was simply more convenient for the king to rope Alex into doing the spell. If it failed again, Julius could come up with a new way of destroying lives for essence. If it succeeded, Julius would become the hero of the magical realm, taking the glory. Either way, Julius was still going to get what he wanted.
“However, as laid out in the previous terms of our agreement, your life is now mine.” The king paused for effect, but Alex gave him nothing. Evidently frustrated, Julius carried on. “You are to complete the final attempt yourself, in whichever place I see fit. Think of it as your execution, your punishment for all the trouble you have caused me. But, the perk is, you’ll be saving a lot of people in the process—well, if you manage it, anyway,” he taunted. With a look of disgust, he turned to Virgil. “Now, you may have the assistance of that wretch over there, but he won’t be doing the spell this time. As foul as he is to me, he is still a royal, and you know how I feel about wastage. All sound fair?”
Alex gave a sour smile. “I suppose
I’m not allowed to disagree?”
“Oh, you can disagree until you’re blue in the face, but you will still be doing this spell,” Julius hissed, lifting his hands to Alex’s throat. Gently, he pressed his thumbs down on Alex’s windpipe, until Alex felt lightheaded with lack of oxygen, the king having made him literally blue in the face.
Still standing by the throne, Virgil looked at Alex with an expression of sorrow. It was clear some choice words had been exchanged between Julius and his stepson, but Virgil seemed no less apologetic for what the king was making Alex do. In fact, he seemed more so, like he somehow felt responsible.
“Then… I… suppose… I agree,” Alex gasped, his eyes bulging.
Julius released him, a victorious smile upon the king’s face. “Glad I could persuade you so easily,” he taunted, though Alex ignored the bait. He had bigger concerns to think about now. For a second, he thought about asking after his friends, but he didn’t dare—not while he could still feel the imprint of the king’s hands on his throat.
With a sudden realization that smarted like a smack to the face, Alex understood the gravity of the situation. He was going to die, one day very soon. After everything he had done to try to avoid it, performing the spell was going to rest on his shoulders anyway. There was no escaping it; this place was too well guarded, and he knew he would be under constant scrutiny. With a bubble of furious sadness, he realized that none of the in between mattered.
I was always going to end up here, he thought to himself, his whole body going numb at the thought. There was no panic; that would come later.
For now, there was only dazed disbelief. The tide had brought him straight back to where he’d begun.
Chapter 22
However, it seemed Julius wasn’t quite done with Alex. Expecting to be dismissed so preparations could get underway, Alex was surprised that the king was still prowling around him, darting forward every so often, like a predator testing to see if its prey was broken enough yet to go in for the kill.