Page 137 of Heartbreak Prince

“You knew Loxley was the Exemplar? And you didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t think it mattered. Knowing him, I was convinced he was only a puppet, as you said. And maybe…” Vawn hesitates, clearing his throat. “Maybe I wanted to hope that I was mistaken. He was one of my closest friends. Weren’t you, Loxley?” And he removes the mask from the Exemplar’s head.

But the face behind the mask isn’t Loxley. It’s Tolgan.

“Tolgan,” Vawn breathes. “The fuck?”

“You thought the Exemplar was Loxley? Really?” scoffs Tolgan. “That idiot couldn’t think his way out of a canvas bag.”

Vawn withdraws a step, the muscles of his jaw working, his eyes fractured with pain. “Why did I see this mask in Loxley’s room, then?”

“I left it there for safekeeping one night, before we went out,” says Tolgan. “I had just picked it up that day, and I didn’t have time to take it home. It was in a box. How did you see it?”

“I was always poking around Loxley’s things. I thought someone had given to him.” Vawn stoops, snatching up the unicorn scepter. He shoves it at Tolgan’s face with such violence that the other man whimpers. “What about this?”

“Loxley had that made for me a week ago.” Tolgan is trembling now, all his bravado gone.

“Where is he?” I ask.

“Probably in my suite, sleeping off last night’s libations.”

“So he finally slept with you,” Vawn sneers.

“Yes,” mumbles Tolgan. “Once I told him that I was the man in power.”

Vawn spins on his heel and stalks a few steps away, as if he can’t bear to look at the traitor anymore. His pain infuriates me, and I move in, tucking the tip of a knife beneath Tolgan’s chin.

“Power?” I croon. “What power? You never had any. Renfrow was always in charge. Except for him and Loxley, no one else knew you were on this throne, did they?”

“A few people knew,” Tolgan says defensively. “The craftsman who made my mask, a couple of servants, and my parents. Once everything stabilized and Belavrin became even more prosperous than before, Renfrow and I were going to reveal ourselves as the benefactors of the kingdom. It would have been glorious.”

“Maybe.” I poke the knife harder beneath his jaw. “But guess who is going to receive all the glory now? Your prince. He’s the savior of Belavrin, back from the dead.”

“Yes… I still don’t understand how he’s here.” Tolgan stares from Cordall’s picture back to Vawn.

“Cordall can explain it to you. Use small words,” I advise the artist. “And hurry, because I’m sure the prince would like to get this bastard into a cell.”

“A cell?” Tolgan’s voice rises with panic. “You can’t touch me. I’m the son of a noble house. I have allies, resources, guards… parents.”

He glances around the room, seeing that every Redeemer has been bound, subdued, and unmasked.

Vawn turns slowly and stalks toward the throne again. Each measured step of his makes Tolgan cringe lower in his seat.

“Vawn, my beautiful prince—we’re friends,” Tolgan begs. “So many good memories. Surely that is worth something…” But his words fade as he meets Vawn’s gaze.

Those eyes do not belong to a merry, debauched prince. They’re the eyes of a king, heartsick and betrayed, carrying the weight of two nations. When he speaks, his voice carries all the rage of grief.

“You see Renfrow, lying dead on the floor there?” He points to his former bodyguard, and Tolgan’s gaze follows the gesture. “That is your fate. I will serve it myself. If you showed any true remorse, I might spare you, but you’ve been sitting on my father’s throne playing king while your puppeteer chased me through my own kingdom, trying to capture me and kill the woman I love.”

“The woman you… what?” Tolgan’s lip trembles. In this moment, he is nothing but a selfish, spoiled child, shallow of heart and weak of will. The pawn of a greater and more vicious man.

“Vawn,” I say quietly. “Is he worth it?”

Vawn whirls on me, his eyes sparkling with tears. “This fool smiled in my face while plotting the death of everyone I love. Do not try to take my vengeance from me. I need it. I need him gone.”

His voice is shaking. He’s about to shatter in front of everyone, both enemies and allies.

I take his arm and pull him closer, angling him so that his back is to most of the soldiers in the room.