29. Florian

Chapter 29

Florian

Oberon Gloombringer had been like a bear in human form. Not only tall, but broad, with a barrel chest and tree trunks for limbs. Physically intimidating was an understatement for how I’d thought of him. He’d worn a dueling sword at his hip like it was an extension of his being.

Not like me, who thought the thing was cumbersome and irritating, despite my stone-granted grace.

He wasn’t like Cove, who despite being taller than Oberon by quite a bit, was slender. He had muscles and wore his sword with ease and confidence, yes—he’d carried me up the stairs, so his strength couldn’t be doubted—but he wasn’t a brawny sort of man. Frost was a little heavier, more substantial than Cove, but I knew his heart. Both their hearts. They weren’t killers. They were both doing this because they had to, not because they gained some joy from it.

My father?

When he’d blown through the rooms in Gloombringer Castle after killing Oberon, he’d been practically high, grinning like a maniac, happier than I’d ever seen him. I hadn’t known what was happening at the time, what he’d done, but it had been positively off-putting, seeing him so fucking happy. When I’d learned later why he’d been so pleased with himself, it had been sickening.

Also, it was a little strange. He’d failed, after all. Verelle had escaped him. Hadn’t she been the whole point of the murder? Get control of a second of the four most powerful stones in all the Summerlands and start to take control of the whole continent. If he’d managed to bond Verelle, control her, who knew what he’d have been able to do?

But he’d failed at that and still been positively giddy.

“He enjoyed killing Oberon,” I told the others as we stood in the office, looking down at the satellite picture on Frost’s tablet.

Coral snorted. “Of course he did.”

“No, I mean?—”

She reached out and put a hand on my shoulder, her gaze surprisingly understanding. “We get it. You’re worried. Your father is a monster. You know him better than we do. You’re worried we’re underestimating his abilities and intentions, and you want to make sure no one is taken by surprise. You feel responsible for this disaster because he’s your father and you think you should have done something before now.” That was...well, it was fucking spot on. It felt like she’d reached inside my brain and tugged out the messy tangled thoughts, laying them bare for everyone, including me, who’d been having a hard time putting them into words.

“That’s ridiculous,” Frost said, frowning at her. “What was Florian supposed to do?”

That made Coral smile, and she held out her hands, palms up, in my direction. “And that’s the truth. No one expected you to control your father. Someone should have stepped in for you and your sister years ago. The world failed you, Florian. Not the other way around.”

“That would be my fault, at least in part,” Ivy offered. “I wish I knew why I didn’t do anything, but honestly, it sounds like until recently I was as much of an ass as any other member of my family.”

“That isn’t true,” I insisted, spinning to face her, reaching out in her direction. “You helped. You were one of the only people who was ever here for us. You just also had your own problems. I don’t know...I don’t know what they were, or what happened to them. But they seemed to disappear when you fell down the stairs. You’ve been helping us, though, Aunt Ivy. Always.”

From where she was sitting in Father’s desk chair holding Winnie, Fawn nodded. “You were the only one who stayed with us before. That’s why you’re Aunt Ivy.” She looked up at the wall clock and sighed. “But you have to go, Flor. You said you had to leave now. And the cousins are probably wondering where we are. Don’t worry, we’ll protect them.”

She met my eye, and the like they never protected us went unsaid. Sometimes, I wondered if Fawn was more grown up on the inside than she let on. It was easier to pretend to play with Winnie all day than to live with the reality we’d survived in all these years.

Maybe, if we stopped Father today, I would have a chance to find out.

So Cove, Frost, and I set out toward the lavender field past Aunt Ivy’s childhood home. I’d been tempted to call in everyone. To bring Ivy and Fawn and Coral and the household security and maybe even Aeryn and Poppy if they had agreed to come.

But with Aeryn and Poppy, they’d been avoiding the estate for years for a reason. With the security, well...I liked to think they wouldn’t side with my father, but I wasn’t naive. Sometimes people did things that weren’t in their best interests, because they thought they would be rewarded for them. Sometimes, people were just willfully ignorant.

Case in point, as we entered the lavender field, the first surprise Father had for us was waiting there: Courtney.

Oh, Father was there too, as well as Kit Emrys, but Courtney was standing at Father’s side, looking tall and confident and unbelievably fucking ignorant. Of course, that had always been who Courtney was, so was it truly a surprise?

The setting itself made a beautiful scene, completely inappropriate for a fight. A field of blooming lavender, with a path of pale gray paving stones that led through the loamy earth and flowers to a faded white gazebo, then off past an enormous willow tree to the side of the river. The scent of lavender filled the air, soothing in that odd medicinal way it had. I suspected I would never be able to approach the scent the same way, after this day.

Father and Courtney stood next to each other, impressive and imposing, in front of the gazebo, looking like nothing so much as father and son. It was strange to look at them that way, since everyone had always told me how much I looked like Huxley. I did, too. My features were similar to his, with the same hawkish nose and strong, high cheekbones. But I had never looked as much like him as Courtney did in that moment, even with his weak jawline, too-sharp chin, and small nose.

Behind them, lounging on the gazebo railing in his red suit, leaning against one of the support beams like a great crimson cat, was Kit Emrys.

Or, I supposed, like a red fox.

“I knew you’d betray the family,” Courtney sneered, and I was grateful for his outburst, because next to Cove, Frost was almost vibrating with energy. He wanted to speak to Kit, quite obviously, and I suspected Frost liked lying even less than he liked metaphors.

I lifted a brow at my cousin. “You think I’ve betrayed the family?”

“Obviously,” he spat back, waving a hand at Cove and Frost. “You were told to bring the Moonstriker so we could end him, and instead, you’ve prepared to fight us. It’s a good thing Lord Dawnchaser has arranged for a new heir.”

He drew himself up to his full height, which was not quite as tall as my father. That was good for him, I supposed. Father didn’t like when people were taller than him. I’d always been grateful to grow up rather average, since it had avoided pointless conflict. After years of working for the bastard, Olivier had a natural slouch that allowed him to seem shorter than he was, all because of my father’s ridiculous pride.

I tried. Really, I did. I pressed my lips together as tight as I could, held my shoulders still and tried to swallow it down.

But the laughter burst out of me anyway. It wasn’t a little thing, either. Not a single bark of disgusted laughter like my father favored. No, it was the catharsis of two fucking decades of being my father’s heir.

I wasn’t the heir anymore.

My father had replaced me with Courtney. Somehow, it was freeing in the way that his absence should have been but hadn’t. So I laughed until I had to struggle to draw breath, until I had to lean on Cove, gasping, tears rolling down my face. I looked up at him and managed to wheeze out, “I’m not the heir anymore.”

Cove smiled down at me, brushing his knuckles across my cheek. “You weren’t the heir anyway, love. You’ve been Lord Dawnchaser for weeks. You just didn’t know.”