Lucas’ POV
Blood stained my fingers as I dragged the knife out of the body lying on the ground. I kicked the clump of a body. He ruined his life for himself five years ago. Viscount of Norway—“I–I wasn’t—” My boot landed on his face. Enough to shut him up, I’d heard enough from him.
He said he wasn’t part of the council, fled to Atlanta to hide from me. Now no innocent person would do that, would they? There was nothing any of my mother’s killers could do to escape me. A council of an indefinite number of officials. I planned to get to each and every one of them, savour their deaths, the way they did hers.
That plan was meant to be on hold till my third year in the academy, but Phillip always had his way of ruining my plans. Sentenced the Viscount of Norway, along with some of the other officials he worked with, to death. Punishing them for a crime he committed himself. He just had to choose some of my targets as his scapes.
“Killing two birds with one stone,” he said as he inhaled the smoke from the cigar he had on hand. Not a cigarette, a fucking cigar.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll get out of my hair,” I said.
“We’re friends, right? What’s a little favor?” And there he went, twisting my words.
“You really think you can do whatever you want.”
“I already am. I already have. That’s why you’re begging me for a place in the council and acting like the little orphan you are.”
“I’m trying to guess how you imagined I’d react to that. Don’t tell me you thought I’d get angry? You really thought your words would mean something?”
“Let’s get this straight,” I said. “A king, a prince, whatever, you’re nothing.”
“This nothing is much more than you,” he said.
“You know why you’re not dead yet. Keep this up and I might just reconsider my choices.”
“And we both know you won’t lay a hand on me,” he grinned. “Romeo is still too precious to you. Imagine how he’d feel knowing you killed his last living family.”
“Don’t test me,” I said.
“Chill off,” he laughed. “I was just joking; no one would ever think of crossing you. Not even me.”
“Sure,” I said. “See you in the Finnish palace tomorrow. Don’t mess things up.” I left him in the alleyway.
The dead body I had under me irritated me more than I let on. I left his body there. Then got myself a trip back to Finland. It was a three-hour journey by air.
When I did get back to Finland, I went straight to the academy. But this time, for help.
The kind of help I needed was the kind Gerald offered. Gerald could be found in the library with August, but he’s not been there much this year.
So I went underground; that was where he lived. Beneath the academy, he just didn’t like people going there.
I followed the paths I remembered being shown a year ago, which led to the main door. Platinum iron with a retinal scanner; the door opened after scanning my eye.
Gerald stood in thick, grease-smudged coveralls, helmet down, a welding torch hissing bright light and scattering sparks that lit up the workshop.
He dropped the torch, then lifted his helmet. He opened his mouth, almost forming words, then closed it again before he said, “You’re… you.”
“Who else am I supposed to be?”
He removed his helmet next, then asked, “Did anything happen?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I need a new gun.”
He removed his gloves, then said, “Two conditions.”
“What are they?”
“I did not make it.”
“What else?”
“Don’t kill yourself with it.”
“Noted.”
He walked to the door of an inner room which I believed was his bedroom. He punched in a bunch of numbers, twenty-three numbered long.
He went in and came back out almost immediately, gun in hand. He handed it to me.
He asked after, “That’s all, right?”
“Yeah.”
I left the room, and Gerald went back to soldering his newest project.
Still in the academy, next stop was the dorms. To the room assigned to me, the room where I never stayed in, to see my roommate.
I knocked on the door to our room. Romeo opened it. He was fully dressed, but his hair had water dripping from it; he just got out of the bathroom.
His curls were a mess, partly dry, partly still wet, sticking out in loose, uneven loops. I don’t remember the last time I saw them like that or in curls at all.
“Come in,” he said. I went in. “I’ve got waffles,” he went on.
“I don’t want waffles.”
“Alright.”
And the question the day was about came next. “Have you seen Phillip recently?”
I still hated the fact that they were brothers.
“No, not really.”
“He’s been out and about.” My hand went behind my back; I brought the gun out and placed it on the table. “Keep this with you.”
“What if they find it with me?”
Authorities hadn’t eased up on the armory ban.
“Then blame it on me; I’ll handle it.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t be afraid to use it if you ever need to.”
“Sure thing.” He looked around the room. “Do you want some tea? I have some of the games we used to play too.”
“Maybe some other time. I have some things I need to finish up.”
“Oh, alright. I’m free whenever.”
I left the dorms. A little bit more reassured on his safety.
I could do whatever I wanted with or about Phillip, without Romeo being factored in.
I was getting soft.
The day reminded me who I really was. Tainted with the blood of my enemy, I would finish what I started before letting myself erode.
Drinks that brought me closer to my mother.
A man I shouldn’t have let into my space.
I was really getting soft.
I hadn’t reached out to Nicholas since the last time I saw him. He hadn’t either; maybe we were going through something similar. Snapping back into reality.
In twenty-four hours, it would be time for the meeting I made Phillip get me into. Phillip’s job only because I couldn’t get myself to ask Nicholas for anything political.
The palace still came next; the day blurred to nothing, and I was wearing a suit for the meeting the evening of the next day.
That was going to be my first time in the Finnish royal palace. And it was not so different from the Norwegian one. Royalty will be royalty.
Phillip and I, with three other nobles in Norway, were led to a room which was called “The Inner Court.” The room held the Baron, Marquess, and Earl, with an apprentice.
After we got in, the Emperor and King came in next. Also the first time I’d seen Finnish royalty up close, at least the ones I didn’t kiss.
The apprentice came forth, the only woman amongst every other person in the room. “And the 98th Finnish–Norwegian meeting begins,” she said.
“Isn’t your prince meant to be here?” Phillip asked.
“Isn’t the next heir meant to be here?” the apprentice shot back. Phillip had already been made a king; next in line was Romeo. Neither of us wanted him there.
“How old are you, boy?” the Emperor asked.
“He’s twenty-five,” the Baron, who I realised I was familiar with, said. An unimportant fellow from my childhood.
“Don’t be alarmed by his ruggedness, Your Highness. He’s young.” The Marquess bowed; so did the Baron, Earl, and apprentice, with the other two officials Phillip brought along and Phillip. I didn’t see the need to.
“Who is that?” the Emperor pointed to me with his finger shaking, such a frail old man. “He looks familiar,” he said.
“The Viscount’s son.” I sometimes forgot I was the carbon copy of my father.
“Why is he here?”
“He is also the representative of Norway.”
“How am I just finding out?”
“He was only made so last year.”
“Son, what do you want?” he said. Son, not boy anymore. I didn’t come for the theatrics, but Phillip was definitely going to add stealing his spotlight here to one of the reasons he hated me.
“Nothing, Your Highness,” I said with a little bow.
The meeting went on with talking about land ownership, slave trades, drug expeditions. Things I thought had been discontinued. And the end of the meeting came with the advent of part two.
If I can just continue this way, I’ll be able to reach the end. Soon.
ns216.73.216.141da2
and then Add to home screen.