Renegade Cruex (Shadow Crown Book 2) by Kristen Martin

Author:Kristen Martin [Martin, Kristen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: young adult dark fantasy
Publisher: Black Falcon Press
Published: 2018-10-08T16:00:00+00:00

DARIUS TYMOND

THERE’S NO DENYING what Aldreda already knows. Too many people had witnessed the sudden appearance of Braxton at the failed execution, and whether or not Gladys was the one who’d told her is completely irrelevant at this point. She knows—and she’s beyond livid.

Darius stands at the entrance to his chambers, watching as Gladys removes Aldreda’s final belongings. He’d falsely assumed that perhaps she’d see his side of things for once, and that they’d carry on with their normal duties as king and queen.

Quite the contrary.

He hastily moves out of the way to allow Gladys to pass through the door, her arms chock-full of random items, but doesn’t pass up the opportunity to whisper, “This is your fault,” as she exits the room. The words don’t seem to affect nor startle her as she continues on her way, which makes him wonder if she’d even heard him at all.

He doesn’t bother to watch her round the corner as he slams the door to his chambers shut. There’s an irrefutable void in the room—a sort of hollowness that cannot be avoided. Any sort of décor or warm touch had been Aldreda’s doing, and with it all gone, the room feels cold—exposed somehow.

With a few quick strides, he arrives at the open window that overlooks Trendalath. The usual bustling of the town is hardly audible. Perhaps it’s just the time of day . . . or maybe everyone’s finally had enough of his tyranny that they’ve fled to one of the nearby towns. Even so, it wouldn’t matter because they’d still be affected by everything that happens in Trendalath, whether they like it or not. Almost every region in Aeridon depends on Trendalath for . . . well, everything. If he falls, they all fall, too.

It’s so silent. Too silent.

The last thing he wants is to be left alone with his thoughts and yet, here he is. He braces himself against the open window, allowing the cool evening breeze to ruffle his hair. With his eyes closed, he takes a deep breath of salty air. Even though the kingdom is quiet, from a distance, he can hear the ocean waves crashing against the shore. The sound instantly reminds him of his son, particularly when Braxton was younger and used to sneak off to go fishing along the side of the castle. Darius never went with him—just watched him from afar through one of the windows.

How had their family dissolved so quickly? As heir to the throne, he’d assumed Braxton would have been smart enough to stick around. While they’d never agreed on much—hardly anything, actually—at least he would have been given the opportunity to eventually run things his own way. The boy had given everything up before even having the wherewithal to get started.

A shame, really.

Perhaps Darius will have another chance with their newborn child—to teach him all the things he’d never been able to teach Braxton . . . to be there as a father figure and not just a sovereign of a kingdom.

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