Screaming, the young man came at Thanos, the tip of the spear pointing straight toward Thanos’s heart.
Thanos spun around and hacked the spear out of his opponent’s hand. The young man slashed, but missed, and before the young man could withdraw his arm, Thanos had sliced it open.
“I do not wish to kill you!” Thanos said again, taking a cautious step back. “Walk away and you will live.”
“Anything from an Empire soldier’s mouth is a lie!” the young man said.
The young man cried out and his jaw clenched, and in no time he was back at Thanos, jabbing.
“I know you are Prince Thanos!” the young man said, stabbing toward him.
“Correct. And who are you?” Thanos asked, blocking.
“That I will tell you once I have run my sword through you,” the young man said.
“I must warn you, I have yet to lose a duel.”
The young man’s eyebrows rose, no fear present in his face.
“There must always be a first!” he yelled.
The young man sped toward Thanos, their swords crashing then, a power struggle, blade against blade. Shoving with a roar, Thanos pushed him away, but the young man was at him again. He was powerful, Thanos noticed, rage, anger, and passion for his cause probably fueling his strength.
The young man stabbed toward Thanos, but missed as Thanos swerved out of the way.
Thanos didn’t want to kill him, but it would seem the young man would not stop until one of them was dead. In a split second, Thanos decided he would try to outrun him.
However, before Thanos could remove himself from the duel, the young man drove for Thanos’s heart, but Thanos shifted so the young man tumbled forward.
And as he did, he fell, the blade ending up buried in his own abdomen instead.
The young man fell to the roof with a grunt, and as he drew the sword out of his stomach, he screamed.
Thanos took a few steps toward his enemy.
“Kill me,” the young man said, a tinge of fear in his eyes.
Thanos gazed at the young man for a few moments, a feeling of sadness overwhelming him. He slid his sword back into its sheath and turned to walk away.
“I am dying,” the young man grunted.
Thanos felt overwhelmed with sadness for him. He shook his head.
“You are,” he said, seeing how grievous the wound was, realizing nothing could be done for him.
“I didn’t tell you my name,” the boy gasped.
Thanos nodded, waiting.
“Then tell me,” he said, “and I shall make sure it is known that you died an honorable death.”
“My name,” he gasped, “is Nesos.”
Thanos stared back in horror. Nesos. Ceres’s brother.
And as Nesos fell down, dead, Thanos knew his life would never be the same again.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
When Thanos entered the throne room, he noticed the tension right away, the king screaming at General Draco, the dignitaries arguing in their seats, gnashing teeth, and the queen spewing obscenities to an advisor. Everyone was here, he saw, even the princes and princesses who weren’t usually at meetings such as this. And for good reason.
On his way back, Thanos had seen the slaughter. Houses had been burned to the ground, and citizens – men, women, and children – were left butchered in the streets, stray dogs eating at their flesh, crows pecking at bodies. A few poor souls had been nailed to the trees, while others hung from nooses. But so many Empire soldiers had died, too, and the revolutionaries weren’t any kinder, torturing, desecrating bodies in vile ways and even dismembering them.
He knew this was not a war he wanted to be a part of. Not now. Not ever.
“The rebellion has grown beyond what anyone imagined it could, and now the few revolutionaries have become a monster, that if not slain soon, will vanquish the Empire,” General Draco said, standing in front of the king and queen.
Once Thanos reached the bottom of the stairwell below the thrones, the room slowly grew silent.
The king did not reply to the general, but turned his attention to Thanos.
“I send my nephew out on one assignment,” he said. “One measly assignment, and what happens? He fails miserably, embarrassing himself and the entire royal family in less than an hour. What have you to say for yourself, Thanos?”
Thanos pinched his lips together, in an attempt to prevent himself from telling his uncle he had failed on purpose.
“It was not just him,” General Draco said. “Many failed. As I told you before, we must call in more soldiers from the north. If not, you will lose more battles and we will have a war on our hands.”
Thanos was surprised that General Draco stood by him.
“If we don’t keep losing, we won’t have to bring in more troops,” the king said.
“Perhaps, but it doesn’t change the reality that we are bleeding more men than what the rebellion is birthing,” General Draco said.
The king thought for a moment, running his fingers through his beard, and Thanos was glad the attention was no longer on him.
“I hesitate to call in the troops from the north. It will be days before they arrive,” the king said.
“With all due respect, sire, what else can we do?” General Draco asked.
“Are there any other proposals?” the king asked, an open question to the dignitaries in the room.
“We should poison the wells in the city,” one said. “And only supply water to the peaceable citizens.”
“That might work, but the revolutionaries would only become angrier,” the king said. “Perhaps we can offer a deal, a sign of good will, and that will calm their rage.”
“Open the king’s food storage vaults. Feed them,” another said.
The king paused for a moment before nodding.
“Perhaps,” he said. “Any other suggestions?”
“Might I speak a word?” the queen asked, eyes cunningly watching Thanos.
All gazes in the room slid toward her.
The king gestured with a hand, allowing her to speak.
“I propose a union between a commoner and a royal, a nuptial between the people and the Empire,” she said.
“What did you have in mind, exactly?” the king asked.
“A marriage between Thanos and Ceres,” she said.
Gasps went through the throne room, expressions of horror and disbelief painting the advisors’ faces.
Thanos was stunned by the queen’s suggestion as well. Of course he would have no qualms about marrying Ceres, but for political purposes and to be a puppet in the king and queen’s play? He didn’t like that one bit. He didn’t want them to defile the one thing that was the most precious in his life.
“I think that is an excellent idea,” the king said. “A union between a lowly commoner and a royal. The people will love it.”
“Thanos was promised to me!” a girl’s voice boomed through the room.
Thanos swiveled around, and way in the back of the room stood Stephania, her body rigid, yet her eyes wounded.
Stephania walked down the hallway toward the thrones.
“You may not approach!” the queen yelled. “Go back to your seat and close your lips for the remainder of this meeting.”
Stephania stopped in her tracks and looked at Thanos, her cheeks glistening with tears, he could see.
Not until now did he feel sorry for the princess. He had never wanted to marry her, but even she was just a pawn in a game they could never escape.
Thanos nodded at Stephania and gave her as empathetic a look as he could. Perhaps now she would back away, knowing it was not Thanos’s decision to wed someone else. Perhaps it would finally set her free.
Stephania turned around, her feet hesitantly taking steps away from Thanos. Then she sped up and continued out the bronze doors at the end, running, her sobs vanishing as the doors closed behind her.
“I think it will put an end to the feud. At least for now,” the king said. “Are you in agreement, Thanos?”
The king stared at Thanos, his eyes intense with power, as if with a warning: if Thanos didn’t accept, it would be the dungeon for Ceres and him. The king knew his weakness was Ceres, and Thanos was furious with himself for having been so open about it. He should have hidden his affection for Ceres, should have known the king would sooner or later take what was most precious to him and use it against him.