No, the fault fell upon his sire's shoulders, who struggled to remain standing before Zirene. His inner shadow lashed out, controlling Zirene's steps as they advanced on the older male.
"Submit!" he snarled, his deep voice filling the room with a sinister echo from his inner shadow self. "Submit now!"
"Never . . ." the Aldawi Sovereign gasped, refusing to pull his amethyst eyes from Zirene. ”You’ll have to make me."
"My pleasure," Zirene purred.
He lunged, gripping his sire's mane as he threw him to the ground. His fighting instincts took over as the older male used their momentum to flip him onto his back. Holding each other an arm's length away, they grappled, rolling across the floor as both light and dark Aldawi males fought for the upper hand.
Snarling. Biting. Clawing.
The two dominant males fought recklessly to make the other submit, no longer caring about their own wellbeing.
It was no longer a battle for control of the room, nor a battle to get his Nova back—but both were connected to what was indeed at stake.
Zirene's control was gone. The light in his darkness was missing, stolen away by his own flesh and blood, right from his own ship. He had no guidance—only his feral instincts drove his actions.
He had stood back and allowed this weak, deranged male to have power over him, his family, and the empire.
Too many years had gone by while he looked the other way because he didn't want the responsibility of ruling an empire, chained to a throne in the royal palace.
Not anymore.
The universe would be purged of this unfit ruler, and his empire cleansed of his unjust laws.
Zirene growled, pinning his sire to the ground as he glared at the one who had stolen everything from him.
"Do it," the Sovereign spat. "You don't have the—"
He never finished his sentence as Zirene sank his teeth into the corrupt male. He had gotten away with way too much because no one had been strong enough to oppose him.
Until now.
Ripping out his sire's throat, he spat the chunk of flesh onto the tiled floor and roared.
He locked his gaze on the paling amethyst eyes as he dug his claws into the old leader's chest. Ripping it open, he grabbed his prey's heart and yanked. He lifted the still-beating heart into the air, showing the room his prize before shoving it into his mouth and eating his claim.
"I have followed traditions and won this challenge. Therefore, I have conquered the throne. By eating the heart of the old Sovereign, I have claimed him unfit to rule. I represent the flesh and blood of the royal line, both from within my veins and my stomach. As one, I shall now rule as Sovereign Zirene Darcaw of the Aldawi Empire.”
Satisfied, he reeled in his aura, feeling his brother do the same.
Without missing a beat, Royak approached Zirene, who remained crouched over the old leader’s dead body, and bowed deeply, exposing his neck.
“I, Prince Royak, acknowledge you, Sovereign Zirene, as ruler.”
Chapter Twenty-Four Kaede
Today was the worst day of his life.
Not only had it been a constant struggle to keep up with the changes and demands, now he lay on the floor between Selena’s unconscious Favored, their joined blood seeping into his clothes and their appendages strewn haphazardly around him. Their bleeding had slowed as their bodies recovered from the initial shock and began rapidly healing.
All he could do was stare at the gruesome battle before him. The Sovereign’s actions had rendered him unable to process a command.
What bothered him most was how his drones hadn’t defended Selena or triggered their video feed as she was kidnapped. He’d only gotten a glimpse of Selena being taken away when someone had smacked into an inactive recording drone, enabling its power.
Kaede couldn’t fathom what he had seen.
Selena had been unconscious and dragged by familiar crew members of a craft he knew so well.
Q’s cruiser.
There had been no mistaking it. The marks on its hulls and the new pricks that he’d hired, who Kaede despised even more than he hated Q.
It all made sense now.
Q hadn’t joined his sisters on their mission to find Xenak because he’d been too busy on a trade run for a wealthy merchant.
The question was: who was the merchant? The Aldawi Sovereign, or someone else?
He would kill them all once Zirene reestablished his hold on the throne room.
Kaede knew he’d been right to leave the cubs behind. Selena had rightly left behind her Circuli princes too, but as much as he hated to admit it, he wished Oeta was here. Somehow, he had a feeling that she would be able to help, even just by neutralizing the thick Aldawi dominance aura coating the room.
Selena’s Favored were fighting for their lives, and Zirene‘s control had just snapped. Kaede had only gotten the privilege to see that a few times, and thankfully he’d never been on the other end of it, at least not intentionally.
He’d watched in stunned awe as Zirene slew his sire in front of the whole royal guard. Seeing him eat his father’s heart had sent chills down his spine, reminding him not to ever piss off his boss.
He’d grown confused when he’d heard him claim the throne. His voice was darker, more growly, with a slight echo to it. As if two Zirenes were talking at once, one deeper and a fraction of a second behind.
Oh, Stars, what happened?
Zirene never wanted the throne; he had always talked about supporting his brother Royak’s rule instead. But somehow, the roles had reversed. Why hadn’t he passed the throne over to Royak right away?
Kaede had felt the two remaining dominant auras fade away and instantly shot to his
