Kaelen's POV.
The courtyard was cold, three gallows stood near the main gate, occupied by the Master of Coin, the High Priest, and the Minister of Trade.
I stood on the balcony overlooking the square, Fenrir's heavy cloak draped over my shoulders. Torin stood behind me, his hand on his sword hilt.
"The arrests are complete, Regent," Torin said.
"How many?" I asked.
"Forty-two supporters. All tied to Hecate's personal accounts or the Blue Moon smuggling ring. The city is quiet, but it's the not the good kind of quiet."
"Let them be quiet," I said. "Fear is more reliable than loyalty in a civil war."
"The people are calling you the Prince of Ash," Torin remarked.
"As long as they're calling me 'Highness' while they say it, I don't care."
I turned back into the war room. Maps were spread across the table, weighted down by daggers. I had spent the last forty-eight hours purging the bureaucracy.
The heavy doors at the end of the hall groaned open. I didn't look up to see who it was, all I expected another report of a fleeing noble.
"You look comfortable in that chair, Linus."
The voice was low, raspy, and dangerously familiar.
I froze, then slowly looked up.
Fenrir stood in the doorway. He was pale, leaning heavily against the frame, his chest wrapped in thick linen bandages. He was wearing a simple black tunic, his hair unkempt.
"You should be in bed," I said, leaning back in his chair.
"I wanted to see if I still had a throne," Fenrir said.
He walked into the room, his movements slow. He stopped at the edge of the table, looking at the maps and the list of executed names.
"You killed the High Priest," Fenrir noted.
"He was a traitor. I saved the Empire the cost of a trial," I replied.
"And the Master of Coin?"
"He died screaming. He had the names of the Northern cell leaders in his ledger. I used them."
Fenrir looked at me for a long time. He walked around the table and stopped behind me. He placed his heavy hands on my shoulders, his thumbs brushing against the base of my neck.
"Torin tells me you haven't left this room in two days," Fenrir said.
"The Empire doesn't run itself while you're busy barely even breathing," I said.
"He also tells me the nobles are terrified to blink without your permission." Fenrir leaned down, his breath hot against my ear. "I leave you for a few hours, and you turn my capital into a slaughterhouse. I didn't think you had it in you to be this," he paused. "Efficient."
"You didn't think I'd sit on your throne, either," I said, looking up at him. "Do you want it back?"
Fenrir let out a low, dark chuckle. "Keep it for now. I'm not in the mood for paperwork."
He pulled a chair up next to mine and sat down. "Tell me the damage."
"Hecate reached the Northern fleet," I said, pointing to the coast on the map. "She's declared a sovereign state in the North. She's calling it the 'New Fang.' She's claiming you are a puppet of the Blue Moon and that I've bewitched you with Omega pheromones."
"A bewitching?" Fenrir laughed, then winced, clutching his ribs. "She's desperate."
"And surprisingl, she's effective," I countered. "The Duke of Oakhaven and the Earl of the Silver Mines have already raised her banners. Half the iron production is gone. The Empire is fractured, Fenrir. It's not a coup anymore. It's a civil war."
"Then we march North," Fenrir said.
"We can't march anywhere yet. The Blue Moon is still massing at the southern bridge. If we move North, your 'father-in-law' invades the south. We're caught in a pincer."
"So we're trapped?"
"No," I said, leaning over the map. "We let the Blue Moon come. The southern bridge is narrow. Plus, we don't need an army to hold it; we need fire. I've already sent word to the alchemists. We're going to turn the river into a wall of flame. That buys us two weeks to deal with your mother."
Fenrir looked at the map, then at me. "You've already ordered for the alchemists?"
"Yesterday."
"And the Southern Legions?"
"Redeployed to the mountain passes. They're waiting for my signal."
Fenrir shook his head, a look of genuine wonder on his face. "I woke up expecting to find a palace in ruins. Instead, I find a King who has already won the first three moves of a war I didn't even know had started."
"I told you," I said, standing up. "I don't lose."
Fenrir grabbed my wrist, pulling me toward him. He looked at the mark he had left there, the faint bruising still visible. "I believe you, but you're exhausted."
"I'll sleep when Hecate is dead," I said.
"You'll sleep now," Fenrir commanded. "The Regent needs to be able to hold a sword tomorrow. That's an order, Linus."
"Don't use that tone with me," I said, though my body was finally starting to feel the weight of the last few days.
"I'll use whatever tone I want. I'm the Emperor."
"And I'm the one who kept your heart beating," I snapped.
Fenrir pulled me down into him, I was too tired to fight him. I leaned my head against his shoulder, his scent immediately filling my nose.
"You did well," he whispered. "The Prince of Ash. It suits you."
"I hate that name," I murmured.
"The people fear it. That means it's a good name."
We sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sound was from the wind howling outside the high windows.
Then, a horn sounded.
Fenrir was on his feet instantly, despite his wound. I grabbed my swords from the table and we ran to the balcony.
Outside the capital walls, the plains were covered in soldiers.
"They're here," I said, my grip tightening on my hilts. "They didn't wait for the bridge."
"How did they get past the scouts?" Fenrir demanded.
"They didn't," I said, looking at the banners rising in the front line. "The scouts probably joined them."
In the center of the enemy formation, a massive banner was raised. It was white, stained with a single red circle.
"She didn't just go to the North," I realized. "She brought the North to us."
A messenger sprinted onto the balcony, his face covered in soot. "Your Majesty! Regent! The gates are under attack! The city guards in the lower district have opened the side portals!"
Fenrir looked at me. "It seems your purge wasn't deep enough, Linus."
"Then we'll just have to dig deeper," I said.
I looked out at the sea of enemies. There were at least twenty thousand men and we had five thousand inside the walls.
"Fenrir," I said.
"What?"
"If we die tonight, I'm never letting you hear the end of it."
"We aren't dying tonight."
"Torin!" I shouted. "Man the battlements! Fire-oil on the gates! Now!"
"The hunt is over," I said, looking at the rising banners. "Now, the massacre begins."