Reu's messenger dropped off a coded note for Red moments before he entered his brother's meeting. Red gave a nod, and the messenger immediately disappeared into the deepening shadows.

Red opened it and scanned it before feeding it into a nearby torch.

A hand tried to grab it from him, but the dragon perched on his shoulder started hissing at the interloper.

"Doesn't that monster belong to your Russus?" Akkad screeched as he snatched his hand and examined it for burns.

"It's taken a liken to me," Red said. Oddly enough, the days spent trying to starve and maim the thing had endeared the two to each other. "I wouldn't go digging through fire, Akkad."

"You shouldn't be burning strange things," Akkad said with narrow eyes.

Red snorted and walked into the room, ignoring Akkad.

The other man made an exaggerated noise and charged after him into the room. It was the only room in the palace with no windows and only one door. It was a horrible place for the royal heirs to meet, but it had made his generation honest with each other.

The dark black walls were barely lit with torches, and there wasn't a single decoration in the room. In the middle of the room was a table Merin would have called the squatter's hobble. To him, it was expected to have tables on the ground with cushions for seating. Red could feel his lips tug as he recalled the first time she saw how their dining experience was supposed to go. One would never guess how she used to fuss over it—considering how she now loved to lounge on cushions and stuff her face.

Three of his seven brothers were already seated at the table. The Sosia was at the head of the table, sitting on what Merin called a bench. It brought a bigger smile to his lips because now he could only see the throne as a bench.

Hushed conversations were going on, but no one spoke to the Sosia. All of his brothers even avoided eye contact with the puppet.

Red sat down and ignored the cup of wine before his seat. None of his brothers had touched their drinks either. Even Akkad, the bold, sat down and ignored the offered cup. Only the Sosia drank openly from his cup.

"Is Father attending this meeting?" Emir, the middle brother, said.

There were hisses of disapproval as glances were shot toward Red.

"I already know," Red said. Then, with a taunting expression, he picked up the wooden cup and took a long sip.

Voices rose as countless arguments and past grievances were tossed around. The rest of his brothers joined the fray, making the already noisy room impossible to enjoy.

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"Silence."

The one word sent a chill down Red's spine. The hairs on his arms rose, and he lifted his eyes to look at the Sosia.

This eerie voice was how his father was supposed to sound. The Sosia was close but couldn't weld fear as effortlessly as their sperm donor.

The Sosia's face was calm and collected. The air around him seemed to shift as his body was filled with the energy of its creator. The spine was straighter, the posture was more relaxed, and the expression was derisive.

Red noticed how his brothers snapped their mouths shut and sat their butts down. No one uttered a word. And no one looked directly at their father, who had taken over the Sosia's body.

Red could feel his heart race as excitement and apprehension battled within him. His father was finally close enough to touch, but killing the Sosia would do nothing to his father. The Emperor would just implant a fresh puppet to wear the robes and sit on the bench.

"Who called this meeting." His father said.

"I did, father," Cem said. His mouth was audibly dry. Red watched under his lashes as Emir gave Cem a sneaky shoulder pat.

"Why." Their father said.

Cem launched into his talking points but was cut off by the Emperor.

"Just kill them." He said with a bored voice. "Why all this fussing like the squalling Russus? If they want a fight, go and put an end to it."

"The--"

Cem was cut off again by the Emperor. "Aram will accompany you."

Red stiffened and raised his eyes to see his father eyeing him with a calculating smirk.

Red wanted to bring his father out using Merin as bait, but he needed to be around for that to happen. His father was sending him off to war to leave Merin undefended.

Before he could protest, the room shook, and the torches went out.

Merin chewed on the stiff jerky with annoyance. "It tastes great." She said after she composed her expression.

The cub was not fooled, and Merin sighed.

"I can't share my tender meat with you and Acuzio! There's just not enough to go around." She said, but the cub was pawing towards her, making the cutest noises. Merin, feeling like a sucker, handed over the juicy, soft meat and turned her head away in shame.

"Hey, idiot!"

A new voice drew Merin's attention from the cub to a man. He had curly brown hair that looked a bit familiar. That was where the familiarities ended. The man was dressed in all red, and the color shocked Merin. Habrin was very sensitive about ownership of that color, so who was this man?

She took a defensive stance and moved the cub and the sleeping pangolin behind her.

"Where's my dragon?" The man said.

Merin blinked rapidly as she reevaluated the man. His eyes, which shone like embers, dropped sparks onto the marble floor. Mordecai said he would look even better when he came back. The boy before was cuter, but the man was scarier. Her definition of better was vastly different from his own take on his appearance.

Merin pointed silently opposite the direction that Red had taken off towards. The man said something nasty before vanishing in a cloud of smoky flames. She watched briefly as, instead of completely disappearing, the firey cloud shot toward the direction she had pointed. It reminded her of a flaming arrow, and that comparison worried her.

Merin scrambled to get up. Her misdirection wouldn't last, and she needed to get to Red before Mordecai found him and Acuzio.

Merin forgot that she was wearing her home silks when she ran outside her home. Her home silks were silvery blue, which looked best on her. She received looks and confused comments from servants and guards, but she ignored them.

Red had told her a bit about the room he was going into. The guards that should have been in front of the door were missing in action. Merin was used to Habrin customs by this point. There were door ushers and guards at every door. Royalty wasn't supposed to touch the door handle because they were supposed to opened for them.

Her mouth was dry as she swung open the door and looked inside.