Only One Could Survive

"With the king not being the true king, the land seemed to die, something that had never happened in the past." Dion explained. "It was as if the same black slime that oozed from the crown was poisoning Merlen."

Nicholas nodded as he listened to DIon.

"People were dying from famine and illness, the people of Merlen were about to revolt. That's when King Maximillian discovered a very gruesome solution to his problem." As Dion said this he flipped the page.

On it was an image of King Maximillian stabbing a younger looking man who had similar features to him, except his black eyes.

"King Maximillian accidentally killed his half brother, Prince Orin of the Ganti clan, that's when he felt the surge of power." Dion explained to the prince.

Nicholas looked at the man in the drawing and recalled the number of names listed in the previous page. Not only were there a hundred other princes, but they had families of their own as well.

"Of course, he was curious as to the reason why that had happened. He tested things out, he had his people capture several mages, most were not of Cruor blood, but he did capture three of his brothers and two sisters." Nicholas frowned as he realized where things were going.

He knew that as Cruor princes they didn't have a choice, the only way they could survive was to kill one another. But King Maximillian was different, he had no idea what killing a sibling would do.

"As you can assume, nothing happened when he killed the ordinary mages, the next ones he killed were his sisters." Dion frowned at the mention of the murder of the princesses. "Again, nothing happened when the females of the Cruor line died by the king's hands, but when he killed his brothers, he felt the magic surge into him. That's how he knew."

Nicholas nodded as he realized what the king did next.

"When the king has a child, Cruor magic is passed on to them, but not fully." Dion explained. "As you know, only males of the Cruor line can carry Cruor magic. But that does not allow them to marry and have families, their sons could carry Cruor magic, making them a threat to the sitting king and his sons."

"That's why kings marry their own sisters or have them made infertile." Nicholas realized as he frowned at the thought.

"King Maximillian killed every single sibling, nephew, niece, and even in-law he had for good measure." Dion turned the page to show an image of a broken king, sobbing as dead bodies of the old and young lay at his feet. Hundreds were killed for him to be king, for him to save Merlen.

"Back to your original question, Edward will go after the easiest prey. One that he can siphon power from in order to have an advantage over your brothers." Dion said as he frowned at Nicholas.

He knew the prince would be able to figure it out on his own.

"Marcus." Nicholas gasped as he shook his head. "They will all go for Marcus first."

"And so should you, Prince Nicholas. He trusts you. If you want to be king you must take his magic first. Only you can give him a proper death, one that does not end in shame or tortute." Dion told the prince.

Nicholas nodded as he considered what Dion had told him.

No matter what happened he would always have to kill Marcus, and letting him longer or to allow him to die by the hands of another prince was an even worse fate.

Nicholas knew that none of his older brothers loved Marcus, Owain and even Zeph hated him.

Edward would probably be the kindest when it came to death, he would deal Marcus a swift blow, but knowing Marcus the young man would still fight. He wouldn't allow Edward to take his life so easily.

With Nicholas he was more likely to let his guard down, and Nicholas was sure there was a way to make his death as painless as possible.

"Your highness, your grace?" Regina called from the other side of the door.

Dion quickly closed the book that lay open on Nicholas' desk and placed it back on the shelf.

Nicholas tried his best not to laugh, he had never seen his chief minister move as fast as he did when securing the book.

"You may enter, Regina." Nicholas called out as he leaned back on his seat and allowed thoughts of murder and power leave him temporarily.

As always, Regina looks stunning in her guard's uniform. It may have been made for protection, but it accentuated her assets perfectly.

Nicholas couldn't help but stare a little bit too long.

"Is anything the matter, Regina?" Dion asked, pulling Nicholas' attention away from Regina's flattering figure.

"Minister Glynda and Minister Connor are waiting outside, they wish to have a word with you and the prince." Regina announced, making Nicholas perk up a little.

"It must be about the plan for my memories." He told Dion as he waved for Regina to let his two other ministers in.

"Your highness, your grace." Connor and Glynda both said as they bowed deeply in Nicholas' and Dion's presence.

"You have news?" Nicholas asked eagerly as he heard the door close behind Regina whom he assumed returned to her post outside the door.

"We found it, your highness!" Glynda victoriously announced, the smile on her face said it all.

"It was on an ancient book at the Corporali Library back in our clan lands. The clan leaders sent the book over as soon as we requested it be sent over." Connor explained to Nicholas.

"We studied it and we found a way to repair memories, there is a spell and a technique that details how it is to be done." Glynda said as she continuously smiled at the prince, clearly excited that he would be back to his old self soon.

"When can we start the procedure?" Nicholas asked before Dion could ask any more questions.

"Tonight, we can do it tonight." Glynda said with full confidence while Connor looked hesitant.

"What's wrong Connor?" Nicholas asked his mentor and minister.

"We might not have enough mana to complete the procedure, but my wife is right, tonight would be the soonest and it would be the best time to do so." Connor said as he nodded at Nicholas.

"Very well, we will do it tonight." Nicholas nodded in agreement, smiling as he looked forward to the return of all his memories.