Page 140 of The Hunted

Yes, Zale had done awful things … but at one time, his intentions for doing them had been for the greater good. He’d hoped that with the trade of a queen, given to an obsessed prince on land, they would find a safer home and life.

Instead, it’d only gotten worse.

“No,” Mav finally replied. “I have not. I was promised a mate, Zale, and I intend to have her returned to me. Your court, they have demands, too. For some, it’s peace. For others, it’s a place where they can be free to live how they wish. And they deserve to be given what they want, too. So, no, I have not gotten what I wanted. Not yet.”

Liar.

Oh, his words sounded so good to the ears of those around him. Because yes, Zale had heard all of the whispers. Every little thing that Mav told those around him. How he promised a better life for the royal guard. How he assured the colony they would have both the sea and the land to live their life. How he made it sound perfect when he described the droves of children they would safely be able to have once they’d just done what they needed to do.

Overthrow Zale.

Take back the land.

Burn Atlas to the ground.

But him?

Zale wasn’t as easily manipulated as the rest of the people around him. Pretty words and promises meant very little to him when he knew a war with the people on land was not something that would be over just because they started it.

Other realms had done this very thing. One way or another, they suffered for it, too.

“What you want,” Zale said, standing from his throne, uncaring that the crown fell from his lap and rolled across the floor, “is to take this kingdom from me and keep it as your own. Deny it.”

“I have a kingdom waiting for me.”

That response sent Zale cutting across the floor in a flash. Too fast for the people to understand what had happened, but Mav only tipped his chin up as the king stopped when the two of them were face to face.

“But what would be better than two kingdoms?” Zale returned, sneering. “How long has your father been chasing the throne of Hades? How proud would he be if you handed over mine to him—how much closer would it get him to the realm he really wants?”

The tensing of the other man’s jaw told Zale he’d hit a nerve there. The right one.

“This is their home,” Mav murmured. “Let them take it back.”

“And what of you?”

“I want the mate I was—”

Zale didn’t give the man the chance to finish his statement before he was reaching for the blade at his back. He’d barely thought of the consequences that would come from him drawing a weapon on the man who his people were now following as though they were blind with no thought of their own.

He only wanted the Emerald prince dead.

Mav had apparently planned for that because Zale didn’t even get the chance to pull his weapon from behind his back before the prince reacted.

The staff with the green emerald that never left the prince’s hands came apart in two pieces. On either end were sharp blades that glinted when they caught Zale’s eyes. Mav smirked as he twisted those blades in his hands, unafraid and clearly comfortable with the weapons.

As though he’d been trained.

“Fifteen seconds,” Mav told him. “That is how long it will take you to bleed out when I finish the last slice. I have done it to better men than you, so just give me a reason to do it now.”

Zale snarled under his breath. “You—”

“I will let you run if that’s exactly what you do. I’ll do it for your mate and the grandchild she protects—I’ll let you both run, but you never look back. Give me your word.”

The king said nothing.

And then one blade met his throat.

“Give me your word,” Mav uttered, too low for the rest of the room to hear, “and the truth of what you’ve done to this kingdom and the queen who sat on the throne before you will never reach their ears. It’s my last option, and I will use it if you give me no other choice.”