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Chapters (76)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. PART I
  6. ONE
  7. TWO
  8. THREE
  9. FOUR
  10. FIVE
  11. SIX
  12. SEVEN
  13. EIGHT
  14. NINE
  15. PART II
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. PART III
  27. TWENTY
  28. TWENTY-ONE
  29. TWENTY-TWO
  30. TWENTY-THREE
  31. TWENTY-FOUR
  32. TWENTY-FIVE
  33. TWENTY-SIX
  34. INTERLUDE
  35. PART IV
  36. TWENTY-SEVEN
  37. TWENTY-EIGHT
  38. TWENTY-NINE
  39. THIRTY
  40. THIRTY-ONE
  41. THIRTY-TWO
  42. THIRTY-THREE
  43. THIRTY-FOUR
  44. INTERLUDE
  45. PART V
  46. THIRTY-FIVE
  47. THIRTY-SIX
  48. THIRTY-SEVEN
  49. THIRTY-EIGHT
  50. PART VI
  51. THIRTY-NINE
  52. FORTY
  53. FORTY-ONE
  54. FORTY-TWO
  55. FORTY-THREE
  56. FORTY-FOUR
  57. FORTY-FIVE
  58. INTERLUDE
  59. PART VII
  60. FORTY-SIX
  61. FORTY-SEVEN
  62. FORTY-EIGHT
  63. FORTY-NINE
  64. FIFTY
  65. FIFTY-ONE
  66. FIFTY-TWO
  67. PART VIII
  68. FIFTY-THREE
  69. FIFTY-FOUR
  70. FIFTY-FIVE
  71. FIFTY-SIX
  72. EPILOGUE
  73. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  74. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  75. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  76. Newsletter Sign-up

“King? Good God, I cannot think of anything I want less. If they put a crown on my head, I would put it on my horse. I would carve a hole in the throne and use it to shit. My father was king. My brother is king. Do you know what I’ve noticed? Nobody likes the king. Everybody wants to be the king, but as soon as you become the king all you do is spend your time dealing with the people who used to love you and now want you dead. Do you know how often kings die? Every time. I don’t think I’ve heard of a single king who has lived gloriously and ascended to heaven as a divine ruler, but I know of an awful lot of them that have muddled their way through ruling and died in one awful way or another. You can trust me, it’s something of a family tradition.

“Prince is fine with me. People love princes. Princes get gifts, I’ve noticed, and promises. As long as I am not the king, my life is spectacularly better. There is no chance that this would be happening right now, any of this, you, Waleran watching us, if I were not prince. Keep me prince. God keep me prince. And you know the real truth of it? I’d be terrible. I wouldn’t have a fucking clue what I’m doing. I tried in Ireland, I tried in France, I’m no good at it. I don’t want to be good at it. Richard’s good at it. If only he’d come back and just be a king, it’s all he ever wanted. He’s fucking it all up, being so far away, he should just come back and be happy. Fuck. Fuck.”

And the world disappeared. And when he was done, his body went limp, and he closed his eyes and let the breeze tickle his skin.

To hell with being a king, when being a prince is so much more entertaining.

Time was slower now, his limbs were heavy. All the muted colors of the world faded together. There was nothing but the beautiful grey that swallowed his thoughts. Few were the ways to quiet his mind. But it didn’t last as long this time as it had the last, and already his eyes focused on the land outside the tower. He wondered who would want control of it, what they would offer him for it, and what he could extract from that person’s enemies in exchange for doing the opposite. John’s flock of troubles came to land on his branches again.

“Alright, Waleran,” he drawled out the name, “make your sentence good.”

The earl breathed in heavily, licked his lips and stood, a sharp movement John had difficulty following. After a heavy pause, Waleran spoke directly and with purpose.