The King's Queen

Chapter 65

But this war would hurt more than just the kingdoms that controlled the Origen Association. It would result in unnecessary casualties. There had to be another way. A less destructive way.

***

All the preparations we made for the war couldn’t prepare us for the internal conflicts that cropped up over the next three days. Balancing the differences in personalities became a full-time task.

Emilio, who was painfully and brutally blunt with his words, clashed with Kiyoshi, who couldn’t care less about stopping the war. His only reason for being there was to stay by his brother’s side and keep an eye out for the tracker that he was certain would come after us. Then there was Jun, who mostly hung out with Micah and was still itching to fight Emilio.

On the plus side, Cyrena had made up with Duncan, which was good for both of them. She still had no interest in getting along with Sybil, but was no longer annoyed by her premonitions.

Circe had become a supporter of Harlow and Raúl’s clandestine relationship, and was rooting for Harlow to make the right choice once Raúl returned to Crysauralia.

CaVaughn spent most of his time alone, but he occasionally talked with me and Circe. I could hardly call his exchanges with Emilio conversations. He spoke fluent sarcasm while Emilio spoke fluent emotional damage.

“Where’s Key?” Raúl popped inside the house to ask me.

“What Key?”

“It’s Kiyoshi’s nickname,” he elaborated.

I see his last nickname escapade had done nothing to deter him. I arched a curious brow. “Does he know that?”

Raúl nodded with a grin.

“And you’re still alive?”

“I think the nickname’s growing on him.”

I followed him outside to find Kiyoshi, and was surprised to see him with Micah. Raúl and I froze mid-stride when we both saw the smile on Kiyoshi’s face. An actual smile!

The world must be ending. I didn’t think he could make such an expression. Micah smiled back like a lamb ignorantly frolicking around a wolf. Jun appeared a few moments later, using his body to separate the pair.

“What do you want with him, Kiyoshi?” An annoyed glare followed.

Micah’s eyes narrowed at Jun. “He’s letting me know that your family is waiting for you.”

Confusion clouded Jun’s features. “What?”

“Key says you’ll see your family again if you go home with him.”

I suppose Raúl’s nickname caught on.

“You have a family somewhere out there, Jun. I—” Micah stared at the ground, swallowing hard. “I don’t have that anymore. Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

“Because we’re in the middle of a war.” Jun glanced at his brother. “Don’t bring this up again.”

Micah walked away, exasperated, and Jun followed after him, explaining why he couldn’t drop his responsibilities to have a family reunion.

Kiyoshi gave an aggravated sigh as he watched them go.

“You should realize by now that Jun won’t leave unfinished business behind,” I said, walking over to him. “He won’t return to your homeland while there’s a war going on here. What were you hoping to achieve by telling Micah all of that?”