Chief Basilius seemed satisfied by the answer. “Good. Then there is only the matter of you proving yourself to me in a way more tangible than words. Do this and I pledge to give this matter deep thought and have my final answer to you soon.”
“Prove myself through blood sacrifice.”
The chief nodded. “I want you to sacrifice something you care about very much, something over which you will mourn the loss.”
The king’s gaze flicked to Magnus. Magnus’s grip tightened on the edge of the table. His palms were damp.
His father couldn’t possibly agree to something so savage, not at the mere whim of this Paelsian peasant king.
“Tobias,” King Gaius said. “Give me your dagger.”
“Certainly.” Tobias slipped his plain, steel-bladed dagger from the sheath at his hip and handed it to the king hilt first. “If you need a suggestion, your majesty, there are several thieves in the dungeon currently awaiting trial.”
“Would that be acceptable to you, Chief Basilius?” The king rose from his throne on the dais. “Thievery is not a crime with a death sentence here. At the most, they would have had their hands severed. The unnecessary loss of any Limerian subject’s life would also be a loss to my kingdom, to my economy—and therefore to me.”
Basilius also rose. Magnus stayed right where he was, watching all of this with a mix of interest and distaste.
“I am underwhelmed by this choice,” the chief said. “There are those among my people who would sacrifice their own children for me.”
“And you’re fine with such a crime?” the king asked, his expression tense. “Family, to me, is the one thing I value more than anything else in the world. And children are our legacy, more precious than gold.”
“We’re finished here. I’ll think through what you’ve proposed to me today.” The chief moved toward the door. His tone no longer held the same enthusiasm at the prospect of an alliance as it had earlier.
“Tobias,” the king said evenly.
“Yes, your majesty?”
“I do regret the necessity of this.”
The king swiftly moved behind the boy, pulled his head back, and slashed the blade across his throat.
Tobias’s eyes went wide and his hands came up automatically to his neck. Blood squirted out from between his fingers. He collapsed to the ground.
King Gaius looked grimly down at him as the boy’s body went still.
Magnus fought with every ounce of his strength not to allow the storm of emotions inside him to show on his face. He commanded himself to wear only the mask of impassivity he’d worked hard to build over the years.
Basilius had paused at the doorway, casting a glance back at the king and the dead valet. His brows drew together. His guards had their hands placed over their own weapons as if ready to defend the chief, but Basilius waved them off.
“He was your valet, was he not?” the chief asked.
The king’s face was tight. “He was.”
“More than that, if the rumors hold true.”
King Gaius did not reply to this.
Finally, the Paelsia chieftain nodded. “Thank you for paying me such a great honor. Your sacrifice won’t be forgotten. I will be in touch with you very soon with my final decision.”
The chief and his entourage left.
“Clear away the body,” the king barked at a few guards standing by. Together they removed Tobias’s body from where it lay. Only a pool of blood remained as evidence to what had happened. Magnus forced himself not to look directly at it.
He made no move to leave, nor did he speak a word. He waited.
It took several minutes before the king moved to stand behind his chair. Every muscle in Magnus’s body tensed. While Tobias hadn’t expected his death to come at the hands of his own father, Magnus would never underestimate the king in this regard.
He nearly jumped right out of his skin when the king clasped his shoulder.