Crush the King (Crown of Shards #3)(121)
I shrugged. “To make you queen of Morta.”
Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. She still didn’t understand what was going on and the cruel, cruel thing that I’d done to her.
“Felton told me how badly Maximus used you and your bastard relatives to carry out his dirty work. I knew how strong you are in your lightning magic, and I couldn’t imagine why you would ever let anyone treat you like that. And I saw a way to potentially get rid of Maximus for good.”
Maeven kept staring at me, although understanding was slowly beginning to creep into her eyes.
“So I decided to play a game with you,” I said. “I didn’t know if anything would ever come of it, but I decided to try. When I spoke to you through the Cardea mirror after all your schemes fell apart at Glitnir, I told you that you had two choices—die or leave Morta. What I didn’t tell you was that you had a third choice—that you always had a third choice.”
Her face paled, even as more understanding filled her eyes.
“Every time we’ve talked in the mirror since then, I’ve been playing my long game with you. Preying on your fears and your pride and especially your rage at Maximus for all the cruel things he did to you and your Bastard Brigade. And then you brought Leonidas to the Regalia. Maximus was even crueler to your son, which was something else I used to my advantage. And my plan worked, and you actually did the one thing I wanted you to do all along.”
“Kill Maximus,” she whispered. “You wanted me to be the one to kill him. But . . . why?”
“So you would be queen.”
“But why would you ever want me to be queen?” Maeven threw her hands up. “Now I have more power, more money, more resources. Now I can fully devote myself to destroying you and Bellona.”
I shook my head. She still didn’t understand what I’d done to her. Not yet—but she would.
“Sullivan once told me that I didn’t really know what it meant to be queen, and he was right. I didn’t know just how demanding the nobles would be until I was actually queen. My nobles might not have expected me to be queen, but they’ve started to accept me. I doubt that your nobles will do the same.”
I gestured at the people still gathered around Nox and Leonidas. “You might have killed the king and the crown prince, but there are still some legitimate royals left, including Nox, your partner in crime. How long do you think it’s going to be before he or one of the legitimate royals challenges you for the throne? Or one of the wealthier nobles? You might have killed Maximus and Mercer, but in everyone’s eyes, you’re still just a bastard pretender. That’s the Morricone tradition, the Mortan culture, and that pretty little crown on your head doesn’t change any of that.”
The last dregs of her smile slipped off her face, and she stared at the nobles as if she had never considered that they wouldn’t be on her side—and that they might already be plotting against her.
Maeven shook her head. “It won’t matter. I’ll give them you and Bellona and Andvari, and they’ll support me.”
I laughed again, the sound much harsher and far more mocking than before. “No, you won’t. Think about everything that’s happened over the past few days. I freed Maximus’s strixes, along with that caladrius. Even if you had Maximus’s ability to absorb magic and could have actually stomached drinking their blood, those creatures are long gone, and their power along with them.”
Maeven didn’t respond, so I kept going.
“Maximus slaughtered the rest of the strixes your guards brought with them, and I killed your bastard relatives on that ship in the harbor. These might have all seemed like small defeats at the time, but they’ve added up to quite a bloody mess. In the space of three days, I’ve cut you to pieces,” I snarled. “You’re going to have to travel back to the Mortan capital by land, which will take weeks. And once you finally do arrive, I imagine that you’ll have quite the struggle to secure your new throne. Why, I’d be surprised if you ever even get to sit on it.”
“You lying, scheming, treacherous bitch!” Maeven hissed.
I arched an eyebrow. “Me? I didn’t do anything. You’re the one who killed the king, your own brother. Face it, Maeven. You won’t be invading Bellona or Andvari or any other kingdom. You’ll be too busy trying to hang on to your own. If you’re lucky, you might avoid a civil war with the legitimate royals. But I wouldn’t hold my breath about it.”
Maeven kept staring at me, thinking about all the ramifications of what she’d done, of what I’d tricked her into doing.
“You told me yesterday that you made me queen. You were right about that, so I decided to do the same exact thing to you.” I smirked at her. “I bet that amethyst crown doesn’t feel so light on your head now.”
Her hand drifted up, as if to touch the crown to make sure it was still on her head, but then she realized what she was doing, and she dropped her hand down to the side. “This doesn’t change anything.”
“Oh, it changes everything,” I hissed. “Because while you’re in Morta, fighting for your crown and most likely your life, I’ll be in Bellona, building up my army and navy, securing my borders, and negotiating alliances with the other kingdoms. And by the time you finally kill all your rivals, or they kill you, I will be ready for anything that you or anyone else can throw at me. And then I will fucking crush you, just like I crushed Maximus and his magic.”