The False Prince (The Ascendance Trilogy #1)(58)

Roden opened his mouth to speak, but Conner hushed him and walked over to me, never taking his eyes off the coin in my hand. “Where did you learn to do that?”

I shrugged. “Any pickpocket can do it.” To demonstrate, I dropped the coin in Conner’s coat pocket. With my thumb and forefinger I withdrew the coin, then rolled it over my knuckles and into my palm. “It’s a good way to steal a coin because you can sneak it away without having to make a fist.”

Conner turned to Roden. “Can you do it?”

Roden shook his head. Tobias also shook his head before he could be asked.

“I notice you do that with your left hand,” Conner said. “Just as you prefer to use a fork or write your letters. Can you do it with your right?”

I tossed the coin to my right hand and demonstrated the knuckle roll with equal agility.

“And can you write and eat with the right hand as well?”

“When I was young, my father insisted I learn to use my right hand for everything. He didn’t want me to appear different in that way. I was out of practice before but have remembered that habit since coming here.”

Conner walked toward his office. “Sage, I will speak with you in private.”

It was an order, not a request, and I followed him into his office, where he shut the door behind me.

“You don’t have to lie for the rest of your life.” There was a desperation in Conner’s eyes I’d never seen before. “There is another way.”

“Oh?”

“Claim the throne now as Prince Jaron. Be him for a year or two, any respectable length of time. Then assign the throne to anyone you want. You may leave and return to a private life, albeit one of wealth and luxury.”

“What are you asking, sir?” I knew, but I wanted to make him say it.

“Be the prince, Sage. I’m convinced now that it can only be you.”

“What about Roden?”

“Prince Jaron was famous for his ability to roll a coin over his knuckles. As I’ve rehearsed this plan in my mind, I anticipated everything the regents might ask in accepting or rejecting you. I considered qualities of his personality and what might remain in his character as he grew and changed. Jaron was trained throughout his childhood in the royal tradition, so my choice would have to display some semblance of that training as well. But until I saw you there, I forgot that this coin roll was an occasional habit of his, a parlor trick, but one few others could do as well. Sooner or later, the regents would expect to see the prince do that.”

I sat down in one of the chairs and crossed one leg over the other. “Roden can be taught to do it.”

“Not in time, and not as well as that. He’d look like he’d just been taught. Sage, you must be the prince.”

I didn’t answer right away, admittedly partially because I knew how desperate Conner was for my response. Finally, I looked back at him. “No.”

Conner exploded. “What? Has this all been a game to you? Just a test to see if you could get this far and then reject me?”

“No, sir. But I got to thinking last night while we were in the tunnels. Veldergrath’s men would have killed me if they’d found me, right? Somebody did kill the king and queen and Prince Darius. They’ll kill me too, eventually. I don’t want power or wealth, Conner. I want to stay alive.”

“Veldergrath won’t dare harm you once you’re seated on the throne. If the high chamberlain, Lord Kerwyn, accepts you as Prince Jaron, then Veldergrath will too. As for the royal family, you don’t have to worry about the same threat.”

“Why not?”

“They were killed for political reasons. If you use different politics, there will be no motive.”

My eyes narrowed. “How do you know that, Conner? Do you know who killed them?”

“Is that an accusation?” he boomed, then lowered his voice, struggling to keep his temper. “Regardless of who killed them, I know who their enemies were and they’re no threat to you. I can guarantee your safety on the throne, Sage. And I’ll guarantee your death here if you refuse me.”

“You won’t kill me,” I said. “I’m the only hope for your plan to succeed. Let’s not pretend otherwise.”

Conner sat in the other chair facing his desk, his eyes pleading with me to accept his offer. “Sage, no harm will come to you upon that throne, and you can reign only for as long as you want to.”

“Then I can hand the throne over to you.”

Conner’s face reddened and he stood, yelling again. “Hand the throne to anyone you choose, just make it to someone you trust. I am not a villain in this story, no matter how many times you’ve attempted to frame me that way!”

“Are you a hero, then?”

“I’m just a man trying to do what I think is best for my country. If I’ve made mistakes along the way, they were made out of a desire to do the right thing.”

“I have terms,” I said.

“You’re insufferable,” Conner said. “Have you waited for this moment since we met? To force me into a situation where I must give in to your whims or else see everything I’ve worked for all this time go to waste?”

“Tobias and Roden must accompany us to the castle.”