Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms #3)(56)

Alexius regarded the prince patiently. This boy was full of bluster, full of doubt and fear and pain. So sad to know that he’d imagined himself in love with Lucia, simply because she’d shown him the kindness that he didn’t receive anywhere else in his cold, lonely life.

He held no jealousy toward Lucia’s adopted brother, nor did he feel that Magnus was a challenge for Lucia’s affections. In fact, he pitied the prince.

And Magnus would be wise to stay out of his way.

“Alexius is important to me,” Lucia said, boldly hooking her arm through his.

Perhaps she wasn’t that tentative after all—at least not when it came to him. Melenia would be pleased to know that Alexius was already working his way back into the princess’s good graces after such a long absence.

“Important, is he?” the king echoed. “How so?”

Alexius couldn’t read King Gaius’s expression, but he knew enough not to underestimate him. The king would never allow Alexius anywhere near his daughter if he believed him to be nothing more than a suitor visiting from another land.

“Melenia sent me,” he said, pleased to see the king’s eyes immediately widen at mention of her name.

“Melenia?” Something sharp and dangerous then slid through his gaze, something that could easily intimidate someone less determined than Alexius. “What do you know of Melenia?”

Alexius loosened the ties on his shirt and bared his chest, showing the royal family his golden mark, the evidence of his heritage. And of his magic. The scars from Melenia’s spell had already healed and vanished, but they were still branded on his soul. “She sent me here because she has been unable to contact you. She apologizes for any confusion she may have caused you, but wants you to know that she holds true to her promises and, going forward, I am to be her representative in the mortal world.”

Magnus stared at him as if he were a six-legged, horned beast that had just walked into the room. “You’re a Watcher.”

“I was.” A flicker of pain distracted him—emotional, not physical, this time. Two thousand years he’d spent in the Sanctuary . . . and now the rest of his days were reduced to the lifespan of a regular mortal. He could no longer soar as a hawk. He could no longer dreamwalk, save for when Melenia called upon him.

If only it had been his choice to come here, rather than one made for him.

But it was done, and there was no turning back now.

“He’s telling the truth,” Lucia said. “When I was asleep for so long, he visited me in my dreams. He showed me his home.”

Magnus frowned at her. “You never told me this.”

“And when would I have told you?” she asked sharply. “You’ve been avoiding me like I have some horrible disease.”

“With something this important, I would have thought you’d seek me out.”

“I didn’t know for sure it was real. That he was real.”

“And yet, here he is,” Magnus said, eyeing him with distaste. “In the flesh. And now what are we to do with him? Put him up here at the palace? Feed and clothe him? All so he can sit there and look pretty and relate orders from the Sanctuary?”

Alexius gave the insolent prince a tight smile. “I can certainly do more to earn my keep. Melenia has suggested that I become Lucia’s elementia tutor. I’m certain that I’m much more knowledgeable than any of her other tutors.”

“This was Melenia’s idea?” The king’s skeptical expression remained fixed.

This could all go very wrong. The king was unpredictable. He seemed furious, so disappointed in Melenia for ignoring him for so long that he might have Alexius thrown in the dungeon to keep him from Lucia’s side.

He could certainly try, but he wouldn’t like the consequences.

There was only one outcome to this story, and it had been scored into his flesh with Melenia’s magic.

“It’s an excellent plan.” Lucia nodded enthusiastically. “Alexius would make a wonderful tutor.”

“I don’t like this,” Magnus said. “Any of it.”

“What do you like? Ever?” Lucia’s eyes flashed. “Can’t you, just once in your life, try to think beyond what you like? What you want?”

He flinched as if she’d struck him. Then coldness spread across his features. “Apologies, sister. I’m only trying to look out for you.”

“Don’t bother,” she replied.

Oh, yes. They certainly had a complicated relationship.

The king assessed each of them in turn, his gaze finally falling upon Alexius’s swirl of magic once again. “We will talk, you and I. I want more information about Melenia. About all of this.”

“Of course, your majesty.”

“But can he stay?” Lucia asked, her voice filled with hope.

There was a long stretch of silence in which the king scrutinized Alexius even more closely. “Yes. And I agree wholeheartedly with Melenia’s plan. Alexius will make an excellent tutor. If I’m not mistaken, I think he and I have the same goals for your magic.”

The king believed that he and the Watchers were collectively after the Kindred, and that he would be the one to possess and control their magic, making him a god.

If only he knew the truth.

“We do indeed have the same goals, your majesty,” Alexius said.