The crown upon his head weighed a ton.

And even if he was aware that it couldn't be possible, Kale Pengranton, going by his former navy name of Cage, was sure blood still covered it, trickling down his temple.

He'd scrubbed it himself even after palace staff had made sure to clean it. He still washed it every time he had to put it on. And yet, it seemed to drip blood whenever he placed it upon his head.

If he didn't need it, he would toss it into the abyss and never place it upon his head again. Unfortunately, he didn't have that luxury. For it was precisely the crown of blood which allowed him to stand in the stateroom of the Grand Palace in Valona, his hands placed upon the table which contained the map of Iride, and glance upon it without fear that he would be seized and imprisoned at once.

"Cage?" Jazz's voice was patient but firm.

Cage tried to shake out of his stupor, ignore the vivid sensation of blood sliding down his face, and focus on the map again. It didn't hold anything new because he hadn't changed anything on it. All the pins and flags were in the exact same places he'd established two weeks ago, when he'd started his reign.

"So no word from Endir." The conclusion was poor, since Malcom had mentioned that much only minutes ago.

"No, your majesty," Malcom confirmed. Again.

Cage heaved a sigh and straightened, his gaze moving from the map to the captain of his guard. "What of the patrols in the mountains?"

"They report no unusual activity from Endir. However..." Malcom hesitated for a few moments. "As before, the mines seem to be overrun by kobolds. It's nothing we cannot handle, but we have never seen so many of them."

Cage nodded, all the while clenching his fists and keeping them under the table. The matter of magic was still a sore subject and he hadn't gotten around to giving any new directives regarding it.

Even if he was filled to the brim with it, he was aware that he couldn't remove the ban on magic at once after over thirty years in which the people of Iride had been indoctrinated to fear it above all else. His subjects would still see him as a monster if they knew he was cursed. Very few people knew.

"There is one more thing." Malcolm shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "There are... Strange tracks in the border forests, heading for the Grey Mountains."

Cage tilted his head. "Strange how?"

"Birdlike, but huge."

The image of such a track flashed to the forefront of Cage's mind. He'd seen such a track himself, in the snow that spring, when he'd traveled from his castle near Darkwood to Valona. He'd been intrigued and touched it. The moment he had, he'd seen a strange creature. A goblin.

"And they're heading towards the border with Endir?"

"Yes, they seem to. But we've never seen anything like them before."

Cage wasn't sure if he should share his knowledge. Unlike kobolds who were seen as pests, goblins were truly magical creatures. It might alarm Malcom and his entire army and he surely didn't want to do that.

"Thank you, Malcom," he said, his voice even. "I'll keep that in mind." And with a wave of his hand, dismissed the captain of his guard.

Malcom didn't seem convinced that he'd done all he had come to do, but he bowed and left the room. Cage could finally let out the groan building inside his chest and lift his hands. Tendrils of lightning coiled around his forearms as his frustration fueled the magic inside him.

"Well, it's not obvious that you hate this at all," Jazz observed, his black eyes still fixed on the map on the surface of the table

"You knew this." Cage took the crown off his head and threw it on the table. It clattered dully on the marble surface. "This atrocity doesn't belong to me."

"It actually does." The former mercenary captain grabbed it off the table and shoved it back at him. "And you'd better get used to wearing it."

Cage didn't put it on, just placed it on the edge of the map next to him. "It still feels as if it's bathed in blood."

"Fherras' blood, or your father's?"

Or Ferdinand's. Cage's failure to rescue his younger half-brother still felt like a dagger lodged into his heart, and the knowledge that this crown should have adorned his head made it feel even heavier.

"Too much blood either way," he mumbled, returning to the map. "I hate this silence."

Jazz hummed. "It's only been two weeks, Cage. The scouts need more time to return."

He knew that. But that didn't mean he hadn't expected Kat to act by then, regardless of his scouts. The thought of her sent another pang into his already abused heart. He had no idea what had happened after she'd sent shards of ice flying in all directions and destroyed Jazz's ship, almost killing them all. According to Cecile and to his own apocalyptic visions, she'd gone to Endir to claim her throne and would wage war upon them any day now.

Nothing had happened, and the wait was slowly chipping away at his sanity. This paired with the hollow feeling inside his chest made it very hard to focus on anything.

"Can you see anything useful?" he asked Jazz.

"You know I can't."

"Could you try again? Please?"

Jazz hesitated for a moment, then his eyes turned deathly white as he used his curse to see the strings of fate. In mere seconds, he winced and shut his eyes. When he opened them, they were once again black.

"Nothing new. Still the image of a terrible war and of Kat on her icy throne."

Cage hated that image. It was so hard to accept that Kat would do that, that she could be anything but kind and sweet. But this knowledge was distorted by the emptiness he felt inside his heart. On an intellectual level, he knew he loved Kat, that what had happened to them when Cecily broke their bond had been brutal. However, ever since the magical link between them had been severed, he was numb and couldn't feel anything. On some days, he could barely remember how Kat used to be before she let her magic consume her.

He sometimes had trouble remembering her smile, the feel of her touch, the way her laugh sounded or how her hair shone like gold in the sunlight. Her kindness, her bravery, her innocence...

What had happened to him? To her? To their love which should have been beyond magic and the games of fairies?

He didn't know, and he refused to think too much about it, because he needed to act and keep his people safe. Safe from Kat. The thought had him shutting his eyes tightly for a few moments before trying to focus on the map again.

"Cage..." Jazz's tone was kind and it only pissed him off more.

"Fuck this! We have work to do."

"You can't just ignore what happened. You need to talk about it."

"Talk about what part, exactly?" he asked, turning to face Jazz, his fists clenched. "How the woman I love or loved or whatever almost killed us all? How I can barely remember her, let alone feel anything real for her because that damn fairy somehow cursed my feelings away? How Trix is still in a catatonic state? How I had to kill the king, who happened to be my uncle, and take his crown? How my mother and my little brother are terrified of me because I have magic? Tell me, Jazz, which part would you like to discuss?"

Jazz narrowed his eyes, obviously not impressed. "Whichever you'd like to start with."

"How about the Talian envoy knocking on our gates, asking for your head?"

"Oh, yes." Jazz didn't even flinch. "Those annoying bastards. Well, I don't really have a say regarding that. It's your choice whether you'd like to hand me over or not."

"You do know I can't put them off forever."

"I do."

But he also knew Cage would never hand him over to his own people who apparently wanted to execute him for running away instead of facing the consequences of his own actions. The real reason Cage hadn't done anything about it yet was because he hadn't had the time to figure out how to tell them to fuck off in a diplomatic manner. With war upon them, antagonizing one of the free cities of Talia was not an option.

"Look," Jazz said, for the first time sounding a little impatient. "As much as you want to, you can't carry this burden by yourself."

"Talking about it won't pass some on to you or anyone else."

"No, but it will help you process what happened and heal. It's been two weeks and all you've done is reorganize the kingdom and the army."

"There's much to do after Fherras."

And the first thing he'd done was check who was imprisoned and released anyone who didn't deserve to be there, followed by a substantial lowering of taxes. The treasury was as full as the jail cells, and there was no real need for all that gold if they didn't trade with anyone. Fherras had been sitting on top of it like a grotesque dragon.

Next on his list was opening the borders with Talia and Annora, which had led the envoy from Napoletta right to his gate. He'd anticipated this issue, but opening trade again was of the utmost importance.

Then there was the matter of magic, but that would be much trickier to undo.

"If you want to carry something, carry this fucking crown."

Jazz gave him a blank stare. "No thanks. I have one of my own, but I doubt the envoy from Napoletta is carrying it. Look, I don't deny that you've had your hands full. But you need some time to yourself. You're of no use to the kingdom if you break down."

Time to himself was what Cage didn't want. He'd had enough of pain and sorrow and it was all that awaited inside his mind. "There is still much to do."

Jazz groaned, but any further argument was interrupted by the door opening. Jinx entered, pushing both doors, a belligerent expression on her face. The guards behind her seemed baffled and Cage could immediately guess that she'd pushed them aside and told them to back off before she slit their throats.

It was so strange to see Jinx wearing dresses, but ever since she'd come to court, she was forced to abide by the Iridian custom. Even if she'd huffed and puffed, Cage had pointed out that she was already perceived as an intruder since she was from Endir, so she shouldn't be making it harder. Her green dress was much simpler and more practical than what her supposed status of Endirian ambassador required, but she was obviously still annoyed with it.

"Cage, we need to talk!" She let the door slam in the face of the guards who now looked appalled that she dared speak to their king that way.

"Alright," he said with a smirk.

"Don't look so damn pleased with yourself."

"I'm really not."

She halted for a few moments, her green eyes narrowed and surveying. She seemed to realize that he wasn't in a joyous mood because she let out an exhausted sigh.

"Jazz, I'd like to speak to him alone."

Jazz narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"Don't get huffy and jealous on me," she said, waving him away.

"Oh, I'm anything but jealous."

"I won't kill him either, so don't be overprotective."

"I'm more astonished that you have secrets from me than anything else."

Cage watched their exchange, affection for both of them filling his chest. He had always found them fascinating in the way they treated each other. There were no games of class or status, just an honest, open relationship between two people. It was the kind of relationship he had wished to build with Kat and for a few glorious moments, he thought it could be possible. But then he and Kat were torn apart in the most violent manner, and it all ended.

He massaged his chest, trying to ease the pain inside him. Jinx noticed at once because she dropped arguing with Jazz. "Please, just let me talk to him."

Knowing looks passed between the two of them and Cage was sure he was in for another lecture on sharing his feelings. It was probably what convinced Jazz to exit, leaving him in the company of a woman who could appeal to his senses in different manners.

⚜⚜⚜

Welcome, welcome, welcome to Crown of Blood!

I decided two things with this story. One is to keep parts much shorter to allow the good peeps of Wattpad to read with ease. So expect parts that won't go over 2.5k unless it's an emergency.

The second is to post on Wednesday seeing as I'm still posting the other story on Sunday, so this way they will be spread apart.

And now that we're back into the story... Cage is not having a good time. When he took the crown he didn't want, he couldn't predict all the administrative mumbo jumbo. Poor guy thought he would be doing interesting things, like going to war. Instead, he has to wait.

I hope you'll join me for this new adventure filled with court intrigue, politics, magic and... Well yes. Potential war!

See you next week!