The Stains of the Crown

Chapter Forty

Trigger warnings: discussions of sexual assault of a main character (there are no details mentioned,) details of past torture, heavy drinking, mentions of drug abuse.

Vita and Sevas don't come for another week. Each day, Vix comes to stand at the gate, whether or not we agree to talk to her. More than once, her visit ends in an argument.

Vita and Sevas arrive early, while we're all still eating breakfast. It's tense and awkward, and I know Jovi told them they were here so that we could all talk. But we sit in silence until a guard announces that Vix is at the gate. They all share a tense look as I hand Aiden to Queen Amira.

"I'll meet you guys in the sitting room." I walk outside, seeing Vix frowning at Vita's carriage.

"I didn't realize you had guests," she mutters.

"Come inside. We need to talk." She follows me in, walking slowly as if she's dreading it. It's not until I've closed the door of the sitting room that she seems to realize whose carriage it was.

"Vita, Sevas, what are you two doing here?"

"I asked them here," Jovi says, "because we all need to talk. No more lies, no more secrets." I sit down between Jovi and Finley. Vix sits next to Sevas. "Who wants to start?" They all share a look before Vix sighs.

"I killed Damia in an attempt to get her to tell me who she was working for." I see Vita roll her eyes, but she doesn't say anything. "She wouldn't tell me. But the way you looked at me when you saw, I just couldn't bare it. So I went home. My dad, when I finally told him what happened, told me that I still needed to protect you. I realized he was right, so I started asking around. Eventually, I was told who the boss was, and now that he's dead, I'm back." Vita scoffs, looking almost disgusted.

"Vita?" Jovi asks.

"Why won't you tell them the truth?" Vita asks, staring Vix down.

"Vita," Sevas warns.

"No, I can't let her lie anymore. This was only supposed to be a secret until it was handled."

"Vita-" Vix starts.

"No! Tell them the truth, or I will. I'm done covering for you." Vix groans, putting her head in her hands.

"You know why I can't do that," she mutters.

"You don't have a choice, Vix," I say. "I'm finding out the truth one way or another and I'd rather hear it from you." There's a long pause before she sighs.

"This isn't going to be easy for me to say, so I need you all to stay, and for there to be no interruptions. I need you to promise." I feel a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, but promise anyways. Once everyone else has made their promises, she continues. "Damia was talking to me about Mazus, and all the things he did, things Echo never told us. I asked her how she knew about any of it. She was playing a game of some sort for a while there and wouldn't tell me, but eventually she said that the person she was working for was Mazus." Jovi growls, Finley sighs and looks at the ground.

"I ended up going home, but not because of the way you looked at me. I went there to get help. My dad helped me plan. Your cousin joined me and so did a few of my friends who'd left the Guard. The first place we went was the Seotus kingdom. Caero was in a panic. Said that Mazus had somehow healed and escaped. So we went after him. He'd assembled a pack of some kind, and we couldn't fight them on our own. So we went to Dalla. She tried to send me home, but I wouldn't leave." She takes a deep breath. "We caught Mazus. He's in a reinforced dungeon in the Seotus kingdom."

"Why is that bastard not dead?" Jovi growls.

"Did you know he has a daughter?" Vix asks.

"Wait, that doesn't make sense. He told Echo he was getting her pregnant because he needs an heir," Finley says.