Empire of Shadows

35.

Ketil sat back in his cell, refusing to sit on the bed that filled the majority of his cell. So he sat on the floor, his head between his knees. He tried to block out his thoughts, but they kept coming.

Olve kneeling and broken in the snow. Kaia, cold and lifeless. Kaspar sleeping soundly as he abandoned him in Runa's home. Vasco's body, broken against the white snow.

He thought about what the Order's deaths must have looked like looked like. It was probably long and painful and Aslaug would have made Anubis watch every moment. He wondered if they killed Lio in battle or in a torture chamber—Lio would've wanted to die fighting and he wouldn't have wanted Anubis to watch it happen. He didn't try to imagine the way Dante died. And of course Anubis...she would have watched it all in silence. He hated the thoughts but they couldn't stop rolling to the forefront of his mind.

He straightened up as soon as footsteps echoed around his cell.

"Hello, brother."

He looked into Aslaug's eyes and stood carefully. Rage and sadness shook his voice. "What do you want?"

She looked to the guards beside her, "I want to speak with him. Shackle him."

"But, your Imperial Majesty, his abilities—"

"My brother is not strong enough to injure me. I think that was made clear yesterday." She took a deep breath. She was wearing a bandage around her arm where the statue had pierced her arm.

Ketil smiled at that.

"Don't smile at me. You and I both know that you are no killer. And if you decide to pull a stunt like you did yesterday, I have a pistol. Ketil, don't make me blow your head off."

"You killed me once, might as well be the one to kill me twice."

"Can't you get over that one time? Besides, I am a lady and an Empress, I don't stain my hands."

"You did once."

"You would have died anyways from blood loss due to the sword that ran you through. So I see it as more of a mercy killing—along with the legal side."

Ketil stared into her eyes. "What do you want, Aslaug?"

"You haven't seen father's grave. I thought you would enjoy seeing his grave."

"I wasn't allowed to mourn him, or have you forgotten? As soon as he died, the guards tried to kill me."

Aslaug's face softened just a bit, "I did what had to be done. That's the thing about Østbergs—we do what is necessary. Isn't that right brother? You wouldn't have returned had you not thought it necessary. Because you are a coward, because you can't kill your blood."

"And you can."

"I am an Østberg and will do what is necessary. Killing you is necessary for this Empire to continue in prosperity."

He dropped his head, extending his hands through the bars of his cell door to be shackled. He let his hands drop back inside the cell, the cold metal heavy and uncomfortable.

The door opened slowly and Aslaug took him by the arm. "Come on, brother, there are things you need to know."

They walked down the paths they used to walk as children, Aslaug silent as they made their way to the indoor gardens.

"Mom used to love this place," Ketil whispered, staring at the light that filtered in through the large glass panes of the domed ceiling. It was warmer in here under the magnified light and the plants that normally would have only bloomed during the thaw season were bright with colored blossoms. A large tree stretched out in the center, branches bowing down and filled with sky blossoms.