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"Of course you do You killed Veldergrath’s , and I adive up control In a very short time, you will become the leader of Carthya Before that happens, I need to ement will be between you and me"

"No lared at Mott, clearly annoyed But he lightened the pressure of his knife and said toestions for you You will obey them without question or hesitation If you do not, I will expose you as a traitor to the crown, and believe er to ive the coed in the town square for treason Princess Amarinda, if she is your wife by then, will be expelled from Carthya, to forever live in humiliation, and if you have children, they will die of starvation and shame Do you believe I can make this happen?"

I still did not e He reared back and, with his free hand, punched ut Mott still bracedI could do but bite down on the gag and groan in muted pain He hit me two more times, once in the chest and once on my shoulder Then he ripped me away from Mott and threw me on the floor He knelt besideother than what I have h on my threats to other royals Attempt to betray me and meet their fate Do you understand?"

I nodded and he liftedposition He said, "In your first act as king, you will reent Tell the court you suspect Veldergrathto do with your faent in the court Your second act as king will be to install rath with, though as your prient, I am happy to recoree to this?"

I nodded again With his knife, Conner cut the ropes bindingon my mouth As soon as he did, I spat at him He wiped the spit off his face, then slapped me hard across my cheek

"This would be easier if you accepted that what I want is a better situation for us both," he said "You are the lowest for Stop fighting e, and let us be friends" He seeave him no response, then he stood and said to Mott, "Clean hi to eat very soon Do not leave hihtened his jacket, and left the room

As soon as Conner left, Mott was byme up off the floor and onto the bed I rolled ontomy side

"I think he cracked a rib," I said "He punches a lot harder than you do"

"To be fair, Your Highness, I was holding back," Mott said

I wanted to laugh, but over the past teeks, I’d learned how much that could hurt So I just closed my eyes while Mott unbuttoned the rest of ht detect

"Why didn’t you letto find out soon enough anyway, and you could have saved yourself all this pain"

"He’d never have believed it," I said "He should knoho I am better than anyone, but all he can see is the boy froe That’s all he’ll ever see of me"

"Perhaps so," Mott said "Other than a tiny cut on your chest, I can’t see any dae"