Caelan knew this. Why, then, would he use this to shame me?
“Answer me, Mother!” Caelan’s voice grew colder as his gaze locked on mine, his intensity unrelenting. “Shall he live, or shall he die?”
If I said he should die, would it bring him peace?
But Alistair was the Regent, and killing him would plunge the realm into chaos.
If Caelan was to reclaim the throne peacefully, Alistair couldn’t die – not by his hand.
“You cannot kill him!”
I bit down on my anger and spoke through gritted teeth.
I wanted to explain my reasoning, but before I could, Caelan’s sword flashed, and Alistair’s head fell to the ground.
“Mother,” Caelan’s smile turned to a sneer, “you’re nothing but a shameless... disgrace.”
His words struck like a blade to the heart. Was this truly the child I had sacrificed everything for?
My vision darkened, and the next moment, I collapsed to the ground.
Before I lost consciousness, I thought I heard him call out to me, his voice panicked.
I had never once guarded myself against my son.
Even if he was a child I found abandoned in the cold.