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Chapter 1The sounds of fighting filled my ears as I monitored my

classmate's movements. I should have been paying more attention to my own opponent, I knew. If Emil came back and found me barely blocking Kaku's blows, he'd rip me a new one, but the music of the thuds and the rhythm of synchronized bodies leaping forward and falling back would mesmerize a lesser mind than mine.

"Jaida! You're not even trying to beat me."Kaku finally spoke up about my inattention. Turning

around, I saw his annoyed face, clearly tired from the day's efforts already.

"Well you're not particularly interesting or difficult to beat," I retorted. His face screwed up in anger, and his fist came flying toward my head, but I was already across the mat, out of his reach. He charged me, but I merely stepped aside and watched him fall, landing just off our mat. He jumped up, ready to charge once more.

"Ah, Kaku and Jaida. What a perfect demonstration you're making. Into the ring," Emil said as he returned.

I walked into the middle of the room and slid into the boxing ring. Kaku clambered in on the other side and faced me, rage still evident in his features.

"Prepare yourselves!" Emil's shout calmed my nerves and readied my mind for this fight.

"Battle!"Kaku idiotically charged right at me again, too blinded

by pride to see his mistake. I calmly took a step aside and stuck my arm out, which he abruptly slammed into, knocking him on his ass. A bit dazed, he stood up and approached me more cautiously. I turned my head away, to give him the impression he could hit my blind spot. He drew back his muscular arm and launched a punch to my throat. Before he made contact, I spun around and grabbed his fist, adjusted my weight distribution, and flipped him over my back. He didn’t get back up this time and just laid on the floor, out of breath.

"Now what did he do wrong? Jaida?" Emil asked."He let his anger and pride take over.""And what is the golden rule of this class?""Never let your emotions control you," the class recited.

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"Very good. Class dismissed. Get up, Kaku."Everyone filed out of the dim room as I slid out of the

ring and headed to the door."Did you taunt him?""Of course. You know his temper. He'll never see combat

if he can't learn self-control, I was simply testing him for you. You’re welcome."

"You don't have to intentionally piss everyone off.""But who will, if not me?" I shot back. "Get out of here before I show you a real beating," he

said with a smile. I smiled back and turned to go. The smell of sweat overwhelmed my nose as I walked down the hallway connecting all the training rooms, but I hardly noticed it anymore. Sweat and the occasional metallic tinge of blood dominated my nearly two decades of training at the compound.

That small hint of blood wasn’t enough to knock me to my knees anymore—I’d recovered enough from the trauma—but I still got flashes of pooling red every time I smelled blood. It was its constant presence, the looming threat of violence, that made me want to leave. I wanted more than anything to get out of this compound, to escape this life of constant militant training and vigilance, but I knew that was a hopeless dream. There’s no way out.

Realizing suddenly how hungry I was, I turned down the hallway to my right and made my way to the cafeteria. I’d just sat down with my food when he walked up to me.

“Pitch wants to see you.”I looked up at him looming over me, startled. I

recognized him. He graduated with me three years ago. Demetri, I think. I nodded at him and rose silently from my seat, following him out of the room and feeling stares on my back.

“What’s going on? What does Pitch want with me?”He ignored me, staring straight ahead.“Oh, come on. You can’t tell me?”“It’s classified.”“Classified? Seriously? You’re making that up. Everyone

knows they can’t trust me with secret information.”He cracked a small smile but still refused to look at me.“You do have a big mouth.”

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“My mouth is completely average-sized. It’s my brain that’s the problem. I lack a filter, which makes it impossible to resist the impulse to spill classified information or tell Pitch it’s possible to use a smaller amount of hair gel.”

This elicited a genuine laugh from Demetri. It was quiet for a moment before I spoke again.

“So, you’re on the fast track to leadership, huh? I heard you chose it right after graduation.”

“Yeah, I never really wanted to do anything else.”“It seems very glamorous. Yelling at teenagers for

breaking curfew, fetching girls, picking up laundry. You’re a glorified errand boy.”

“At least I have a job. And don’t think I’m too good for everything and everyone.”

“There’s the Demetri I remember. Occasionally unafraid to call me on my shit,” I said as I laughed.

He opened his mouth but closed it again when we rounded the corner and spotted Pitch’s lackeys. More errand boys, I think to myself. These are the kinds of thugs that flock to leadership, hoping to be actually in charge someday, only to find themselves as assistants to the actual leaders.

“Jaida Cole to see Pitch,” Demetri announced.“Go in.”I walked through the doors as Pitch’s lackeys pulled

them open for me. Pitch had his head bent, reading some papers on his desk, which appeared to be pinned to the desk by the tip of a knife. I quietly cleared my throat, hoping to get his attention.

“Jaida, right?”“Yes, sir.”“It has come to my attention that you have yet to select

an appropriate career for yourself. You graduated three years ago and, normally, graduates are given a third of that time to pick something.”

He stood and walked in front of his desk, his military training, like mine, showing in his rigid posture. A look of sympathy came over his face, but it didn’t look quite right. It looked like a robot trying to pretend to be human, like he had to force himself to show emotion.

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“We in leadership understand your special circumstances, considering that incident four years ago. But everyone must move on and contribute to the greater good at some point; therefore, you’re being assigned.”

My shock must’ve shown on my face because he crossed the short distance between us and put his hand on my shoulder. After what happened with Lucca, I knew they’d been more understanding with me than most graduates who dragged their feet, but I thought they’d at least give me another chance to choose my own job, even if I didn’t want any of the ones they could offer me.

“And what is my assignment, sir?”“You’re being assigned to the royal family’s protection

detail for the upcoming social season. You leave for the capital in the morning. Once there, you’ll be briefed more fully on the assignment by the captain of the guards. Any questions?”

“No, sir.”“Dismissed.”I turned on my foot and walked out without looking

back, but that didn’t stop me from feeling his eyes on my back. I hoped to see Demetri standing on the other side. I needed to talk to someone, anyone, about what just happened, but the hallway was empty except for two lackeys I didn’t know.

I walked silently back to my room and settled into my bunk, happy to be alone. I knew eventually they would force me to pick a job, some way to contribute to the compound, but I didn’t want any of them. I couldn’t stand the thought of having to cause unnecessary death by my own hands, but I also didn’t want a job where I’d send other people to cause it.

I wished, for the millionth time since I was seventeen, that I could choose a path outside my caste. I wanted to move further away from all the death that comes almost daily in military life, but I couldn’t. Even if I could, I don’t have any skills that would translate outside of the military. I think, again, that maybe that’s the purpose of starting training within the castes so early. If they train us for one job from birth, we can’t even think of moving outside of

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our sectors because we don’t have the skills to survive anywhere else.

I didn’t know how to feel about being forcefully assigned—upset that they didn’t ask me what I wanted? relieved that I didn’t have to make a choice? —but I knew I was dreading spending the next four months protecting royal snobs from nothing. If they would let me, I’d probably turn this assignment down, consequences of staying be damned, but Pitch hadn’t asked me if I wanted to protect some royal ass. If I didn’t follow orders now, I’d be hanged for treason. At the moment, I was struggling to decide if it would be worse to stay and face a military tribunal or go and give in to this forceful assignment.

I only hoped I’d be able to complete this assignment easily and come home to select my own permanent position. I didn’t want any of the jobs the military sector could offer me, but I knew now that I needed to make up my mind. The only thing I knew after that meeting with Pitch was that they were done being polite. They would put me wherever they needed me, no matter what I wanted. The time for courtesy had passed. They were done waiting on me, so I needed to make a choice soon.

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Chapter 2The palace loomed in front of me as we drove through

the capital city surrounding it, imposing in its obvious extravagance. The hard bench below me and the cold truck wall at my back did nothing to stifle my growing dread at having to waste my entire summer standing around while the lords and ladies attempted to schmooze their way to favor among the royal family.

“Do you think we’re going to be allowed to wear our military uniforms?” I asked, turning to Demetri beside me.

“I hope so. I don’t think I could handle being required to wear some stuffy outfit all the time because of some stupid dress code.”

“Really? I think you’d look really good in a dress. It would highlight your delicate collarbones.”

He cracked a smile at me, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Even he couldn’t pretend he was excited about this assignment. Clearly neither of us were expecting anything interesting to happen.

“But only if it was something like blue. I would look horrible in yellow or orange.”

I looked at him seriously, pretending to contemplate his ideal color scheme.

“You’re right. It would wash you out. Stick to a sweetheart neckline too. It’ll highlight your chest. Maybe you’ll even leave with a nice marriage offer.”

He raised his eyebrows and smirked at me. It was quiet for a moment before I spoke again, voicing my concerns.

“Do you think they’re gonna make us clean or something? I don’t think I can stomach latrine duty for four months.”

“I don’t think they would’ve recruited people from the military sector to do something so menial, but I guess we do have people whose entire jobs involved cleaning up after a thousand elite warriors.”

“So that explains why they recruited you, but why would they choose me if they just wanted floor scrubbers?”

He shoved me lightly, and I laughed, only slightly relieved by Demetri’s assurance. I had no way of knowing exactly what we’d be doing at the palace, so I couldn’t

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shake my fear that it would be something disgusting or demeaning.

My dark train of thought came to halt just as the truck lurched to a stop. The doors to our compartment opened, blinding me momentarily as my eyes adjusted to seeing the sunlight again after being confined to the dimly lit truck for hours. I filed out and was immediately ushered into a door on the east side of the palace, clearly some kind of servants’ entrance. I followed the guard in front of me to a room with a long table. A man, I’d guess some kind of palace official, was engrossed in conversation with a taller, blonde man that I would wager was a guard captain, given his elaborate armor and stern expression.

I took a seat and turned to find Demetri settling down next to me, sizing up our welcoming committee. My neck snapped to the left when a loud thud echoed from the other side of the room.

“Hello and welcome to our lovely capital. My name is Rasmus Alton, and I am the head adviser to Her Majesty, Queen Vaera,” he spoke with an insincere smile plastered on his face, as the captain withdrew his hand from the table after getting our attention. “The gentleman to my left is Garrick Kennecott, captain of the royal guards.

“You’re all here because His Majesty King Augustus has decided it would be prudent to increase security in light of the upcoming social season. As you should know, Xandria’s crown prince, His Highness Prince Troian, is turning 25 next year and, as such, is required by custom to select a bride by the end of this court session. We’re expecting nearly twice the normal number of noble lords and ladies at court, which means the royal family requires increased personal security.”

Although our mutual military training prevented any of us from actually speaking in response to this surprise announcement, there was an almost visceral shift in the room’s energy. I certainly didn’t expect this. I knew the prince was getting close to coronation age, the age at which rulers in Xandria are replaced by their heir upon their marriage, but I didn’t realize that was why we were here.

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“The following information is confidential and must stay within this room: threats against the royal family have been uncovered among the upper echelons of Xandria. They were obviously never meant to be found, and our palace guards have discovered only a minute amount of information regarding these threats. Let me make one thing clear to you: you are not here to investigate this threat. The officials have the investigation under control. Your jobs are to protect their royal highnesses under all circumstances.”

We weren’t going to be cleaning anything. Thank the lords. A sense of relief immediately washed through me, followed by intense curiosity. Didn’t they have enough palace guards to heighten security? Who could possibly be threatening the royal family so terribly that they couldn’t trust their own guards and needed to bring in even more elite fighters?

“You’ll each be assigned to a member of the royal family, so please pay attention as I read your assignments. Captain Kennecott will give you your shift assignments once we’re finished here.”

I only paid enough attention to the list to hear Demetri assigned to King Augustus and myself to the man of the season, Prince Troian. I groaned internally, positive I’d be spending my time standing guard while he flirts through every woman in the palace.

******************************************************************

I followed the silent Captain Kennecott to the prince’s wing. We passed a number of noble ladies, apparently here to compete for the prince’s hand. One girl in particular seemed to be throwing the fit of the damn century at her handmaiden as we passed. Her screeching followed us all the way around the corner and made me actually feel bad for her maid’s eardrums.

As we reached the hallway where we, the prince’s guards, would be staying, quiet voices could be heard nearby. Looking ahead, a brown-haired man, tall and broad, was bent forward, arguing in hushed tones with a smaller, blonde woman. They were both dressed

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extravagantly, leading me to believe they held some kind of high position. Behind her lurked a dark-haired man roughly the size of a bear, with thick arms and a menacing glare.

As we neared, they both straightened and turned toward us with dazzling smiles with remarkable precision, the reaction clearly rehearsed.

“Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness,” the captain said as he bowed his head. I followed suit, understanding that the arguing couple was none other than Prince Troian and Queen Vaera. The queen stepped forward with careful poise and addressed us directly.

and your company enjoyable during your stays. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask any of our palace guards. They’re happy to help.”

I knew I should look at her as she spoke, a sign of respect, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the hulking man behind her. He had this truly dangerous look in his eye, like he’d kill you in an instant if it was convenient for him. He must have felt me staring because his eyes flashed to mine. I felt the shivers run down my spine immediately and had to look away.

The queen nodded to Captain Kennecott and her son before taking her leave. Thankfully, the mountain man went with her, although not before he shot me a malicious smirk. Great, already on a bad note with the scariest person I’ve ever seen in my life. Wonderful.

The captain grabbed our attention again as he began showing us into our individual chambers. The prince, clearly thinking we’d all stopped paying attention to him, let his guard drop for a moment and shot an annoyed look at the hallway his mother had just disappeared down. I stared at him, completely unabashed, and caught his eye. He looked taken aback for a moment, before flashing another smile for my benefit. I rolled my eyes and turned away from his surprised face just in time for my own room assignment.

Once dismissed, I brushed past the captain and entered my chambers, turning to shut the door and catching the eye of Prince Troian once more. I stared him down, refusing to be intimidated by him. To my surprise, he

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winked at me and turned away, leaving me alone to my thoughts.

I knew he didn’t mean anything by the wink and was just messing with me, but I nonetheless resolved to keep my head down, do my job, and go home. Nobody here needed to know me, and I didn’t need to know anyone else.

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Chapter 3I felt my attention wavering despite my best attempts at

professionalism. There just wasn’t anything interesting enough to hold my attention since I was required to stand behind Prince Troian at all times. The ballroom had been steadily filling for the past hour until, finally, the entire court of Xandria was present, which meant I’d been watching the lords present their daughters for over an hour. Their attempts to schmooze their way to a proposal were almost as nauseating as the young ladies’ attempts to seduce with their eyes. They all looked like they were having strokes simultaneously.

My attention was drawn elsewhere when a commotion sounded to my right. I took stock of the situation and immediately realized that three or four girls had cornered another young lady and seemed to be harassing her. That didn’t surprise me, given the fact that all these women were here to compete for the same thing, but I was surprised at the expression on the victim’s face. She looked positively bored, like she couldn’t be bothered to spare them a second of her time.

I nearly chuckled at the sight but was drawn away again when Prince Troian began moving through the room. Luckily for me, he walked even closer to the drama that was quickly escalating between the noble ladies. I moved quietly through the crowd until I could hear their conversation.

“What are you doing here? You don’t belong here.” A blonde girl, tall and willowy, appeared to be leading the charge against the other girl, although she definitely wasn’t intimidating her in the slightest.

“I was invited here. Just like you.”“None of us have ever seen you before, which means

you aren’t noble, like you claim to be. You’re not welcome here, and it’s only a matter of time before Troian finds out and kicks you out of the palace. Or, better yet, has you arrested for treason.”

Her voice became overly sweet when she said the prince’s name, which had me gagging. I figured it might be time to break up this little bullying session.

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“Seems to me the only person committing treason here is you,” I interjected. The antagonists all whirled around to face me, and I actually did laugh this time at the bewildered, then thunderously angry expressions on their faces, especially the ringleader’s. They schooled their expressions back into neutrality when they realized they’d attracted an audience.

“How do you figure?”“If existing as a noblewoman without drawing the

attention of such prissy ladies as yourselves is treason, surely behaving so rudely to the guest of royalty is treason as well,” I taunted with a smirk. I knew neither of those were actually a punishable crime, but I just wanted to get under their skin, if only to show them how it feels. I knew they were the types of people who had everything handed to them and, given the shock expressions even they couldn’t restrain, I knew no one had ever stood up to them before.

“You will regret this,” she whispered to me through her teeth. I leaned forward as well, more in an attempt to intimidate her and less to keep my voice down.

“You don’t scare me.”The noble ladies stalked off, shooting me a vicious look

in the process. I rolled my eyes at her inexplicable distaste for me before looking straight at the girl they’d targeted. She gave me a smile as she approached.

“Thank you for that, but you didn’t have to step in. Now they’ll just be nasty to you too.”

“I don’t give one single shit what they say to me. There’s nothing they can do to hurt me, so I would love to spend the entire season pissing them off.” She laughed at my candor, which prompted my own grin to spread across my face.

“I’m Alyse. Lady Alyse.”“Jaida.”“It’s lovely to meet you, Jaida.”We exchanged another smile before separating again,

her to mingle and myself to make my way back to Prince Troian. As I approached, I noticed him smiling at me. It was a genuine smile, unlike all the smirks he’d been

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shooting me today. For once, I actually smiled back at him. At least somebody appreciated my humanitarian act.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” The quiet voice actually startled me, and I turned

around to find myself face-to-face with Queen Vaera. I dropped into a deep curtsy, slightly ashamed she’d witnessed that debacle. When I rose, she surprised me once more by giving me a small smile.

“Your Majesty, I didn’t intend any offense to you or your family, I just—”

“You caused no offense. I did not mean to imply you should not have defended Lady Alyse. She is the daughter of a dear friend, and my only wish for her is to make friends. I meant that you should not have antagonized them here, in full view of court. People will talk and you will find your cause much more difficult for it.”

“My cause, Your Majesty?”“I have seen the way my son looks at you, like you are

his one chance at true happiness. You will need friends at court, if you hope to stand a chance.”

My shock must have shown on my face, as she chuckled lightly and offered me her arm. I took it, unsure where she was headed with this. How Prince Troian looked at me? She was obviously reading something into his flirtatious looks that I wasn’t seeing. I’d assumed he was just fucking with me, but his own mother thought there was something there.

“With all due respect, Your Majesty—”“You will deny it, I know. The idea is unfathomable to

you; nevertheless, what is misunderstood exists regardless of its nature. If you come to your senses and wish for an education on the ways of the royal court, you may call upon me.”

She drifted away elegantly, leaving me shell-shocked in her wake. She was offering to teach me manners? Because she thought her son had real feelings for me? I didn’t know what to think, but I couldn’t help throwing a glance at Prince Troian again. He was looking at me, concern and confusion on his face. I wasn’t sure how long he’d been staring, or how much of that conversation with his mother he may have garnered from our expressions.

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I unwillingly felt a blush creep up my cheeks, a fact which Troian seemed to notice as well, given the incredulous grin on his face. I willed myself to look anywhere except him, which I succeeded in doing for the remaining hours of this dreadfully long ball.

Staring directly ahead, I managed to keep my eyes from straying even once to the prince as we walked through the corridors to his chambers; however, my mind couldn’t be helped as it frequently drifted through thoughts of Troian and I and the queen’s remarks. I honestly thought it was just meaningless flirting, but she seemed to think there was something real in his gaze, something I hadn’t yet seen.

I stepped ahead of Prince Troian and pushed open the door to his bedchamber, still distracted in my attempts to avoid his distractions. I stood aside to let him pass and only then did I notice the shadowed figure standing near his bed. Wary but not quite threatened, I pushed him back toward the threshold and pulled my dagger from my belt.

“Who are you?”The figure said nothing, but the glint of moonlight off his

blade proved to me he didn’t have good intentions for being in the prince’s room this late. I stepped forward cautiously, and he whirled around, aiming his sword at my chest. I dropped to the ground and kicked my leg forward to knock his own from under him. He shouted but didn’t have time to hit the ground before I was pouncing on his chest, my knife poised at his throat.

He bucked his much larger body and threw me off. I grasped his tunic and attempted to pull him with me but felt the fabric tear in my hand. I rolled with the movement and landed on my feet in a crouch. He was two steps ahead of me as he ran out the door, but I caught up with him quickly and jumped in front of the prince just in time to catch his blade across my thighs as he swung low. I pulled a breath through my teeth at the pain but knew it had to be a shallow cut because I was still standing.

The masked assailant surged forward again but stopped abruptly when he heard muffled footsteps coming from the next hallway. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before fleeing in the opposite direction. I wanted nothing more

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than to pursue him, but I knew Captain Kennecott would have my head if I abandoned the prince after an incident like this.

The footsteps drew closer and a palace guard turned the corner, his eyes widening when he spotted us standing there, spattered with blood. He shouted for help before sprinting toward us and ushering both Troian and I into the prince’s chambers. I staggered, the pain of my injury finally catching up to me, but felt a strong arm around my back, helping to support my weight. Turning, I caught sight of Troian’s face, much paler than before, as he helped me settle into a chair.

My foot grazed something, and I bent down to pick up the small piece of worn, gray cloth. I turned it over in my hand and discovered the other side bore a strange symbol, something I’d never seen before. As I contemplated its significance, hurried footsteps could be heard outside, and I instinctively tucked the cloth into my pocket, unwilling to surrender it.

As a guard tended to my wounds, I stared at Prince Troian’s determined face as he discussed the situation with the captain. Yesterday, I wanted more than anything to be at home, training for combat I hoped I’d never have to face. I didn’t want to be a part of this assignment. I didn’t want to protect royalty because I thought there wasn’t a real threat. Now that I’d faced the threat head-on, I knew I could either turn tail and run away from this or I could stay. I could find out what was going on and save the royal family—save Troian—or I could save myself.

If I failed, I could still face a military tribunal for interfering in a palace investigation and Kennecott would have my ass for it. If I failed, Troian could die—I could die. So, I could stay or I could go.

Fuck. I have to stay.I’m all in.

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Chapter 4I slammed the dusty book shut and rubbed my tired

eyes. I had spent the last week in this library, and I didn’t have a fucking thing to show for it. None of the thousands of books could tell me what that symbol was, what it meant.

I pushed myself up and stalked away from the table, frustrated at another dead end. I needed to find some information on the symbol I ripped off of the would-be assassin’s tunic, but I couldn’t ask anyone in the palace. Rasmus, the palace official, had told us explicitly that we weren’t here to investigate the threats. Kennecott would have my head if he knew what I was doing, so no one could know what I was researching in the library.

As I pulled open the heavy doors, I stumbled onto an unpleasant sight—Lady Natalia swooning as she walked arm-in-arm with Prince Troian. A surge of emotion shot through me, but I wanted to get away, so I didn’t stop to analyze it. I shot a nod at the guard standing behind them, thankful it wasn’t my turn to act as his personal bodyguard, and tried to hurry past them without making eye contact.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough.“Jaida, where are you off to in such a rush?” Troian

asked, a teasing lilt to his voice. Caught in my attempts to flee, I turned and offered a quick bow.

“To the practice fields, Your Highness. I’m afraid my time in the palace has already made me soft. I must stay combat ready,” I retorted, a fake smile plastered on my face. He didn’t respond and merely raised an eyebrow at me. As our staring contest lengthened, I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, which prompted a genuine smile from the prince.

“What were you doing in the library?” Lady Natalia finally spoke up, her nose scrunched in displeasure at our exchange until Troian turned to face her. Her face smoothed out completely in an angelic smile, and I couldn’t stop from making a rude gesture at her.

“What anyone with a shred of intelligence does in a library. I was reading.”

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Troian laughed, while Natalia shot me a furious glare. The tension grew for a moment when we lapsed into silence but was broken when a messenger came rushing up to us. Assuming he was here for the prince, I bowed my head once more and turned to leave.

“Wait! Jaida Cole?”“Yes?” I responded, surprised he was addressing me.“Her Royal Majesty requests your presence in her

parlor.”My eyebrows shot up and my mouth hung slightly agape

as I scrambled to think of some way to get out of it. Not that I didn’t like the queen, but I was wary of her after our first interaction a week ago. Her scrutinizing eyes seemed to pierce right through even the strongest mental defenses.

I nodded at the messenger and followed him down the corridor. As we walked, I turned back and saw the envy on Natalia’s face and a strange kind of pride on Troian’s. I didn’t know what to expect as I crossed the threshold into the queen’s parlor, but I was a bit surprised that she wasn’t alone. That mountainous bodyguard—Ronan—was standing in the corner of the room as the queen sat perched on an uncomfortable-looking chair in the middle of the large room. My eyes were drawn almost immediately to the unusual tattoo on his bicep, a weird twisting of lines into some kind of knot.

The queen interrupted my focus with a quiet clearing of her voice.

“Jaida. Have a seat.” She gestured at the chair directly across from her, and I

settled into it, trying to find a way to be comfortable. I knew my effort was in vain. I couldn’t be comfortable with the queen’s ice blue eyes staring at me like she could see every mistake I’d ever made, Ronan’s black, inscrutable eyes drilling holes into the side of my head.

“I have called you here because I wish to discuss with you once more the possibility of taking lessons with me. I am aware you have spent quite a bit of time with my son, and I am aware of how you must feel now.”

“With all due respect, Your Majesty, I don’t feel anything for him.”

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“Now how are you going to convince me of that when you can’t even convince yourself?”

I wanted to deny it again, but her words made me pause. Did I feel anything for Troian? We had spent a lot of time together, and we had definitely been flirting, but I didn’t think it meant anything for either one of us. But the recent incident with Lady Natalia also made me pause. I didn’t want to admit it to myself at the time, but the surge of emotion had been—jealousy.

“What would these lessons entail?” I questioned hesitantly.

“You would meet with me two, perhaps three times a week, and I would teach you all you need to know about proper court behavior, speech, and manners. I would show you how to carry yourself and how to respond to the situations you’re likely to encounter if you intend to present yourself as an option for my son,” she responded with a small smile.

I pondered her offer for a moment, but we both knew I was going to accept. Even if nothing ever happened between Troian and I, it would actually be nice to learn the ins-and-outs of court life. Perhaps, I thought, I could even petition the queen to make me an official guard or some kind of palace hand at the end of the season, preventing Pitch from being able to use me for bloodshed. I refused to let myself hope for it, but I felt a bright flickering in my heart nonetheless.

“When do we start?”

******************************************************************

The silk felt soft and luxurious under my fingertips as I ran them along the bodice of my new gown. The pale blue exaggerated the red hue of my hair and the tan I’d acquired from training outside for the past month. It was also the exact shade of Troian’s eyes, a quality I’m sure was an intentional move from Queen Vaera.

I stood outside the doors to the great hall, suddenly nervous about making an entrance in something other

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than our guard uniforms. Vaera’s grip on my elbow tightened, almost like she could sense my trepidation.

“Breathe. Smile and breathe.”She nodded at the sentinel, and he pushed the double

doors open wide, exposing us to all the gasps and whispers of the gathered court. The titterings began immediately, and I felt the nausea grow in my stomach, but I pushed it down with a single deep breath and stepped forward with a bright smile on my face. It grew even larger when I spotted Troian waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs.

He stepped forward with his own smile and presented his arm to me, which I took happily as the queen drifted away to mingle with their guests.

“You look lovely, Jaida.”“Thank you, Your Highness.”“May I have this dance?”“Isn’t it horribly impolite to reject a prince?”His laugh bounced loudly off the walls as he led me to

the center of the room. I was immediately pleased the queen had spent so much time teaching me how to dance properly. I’d thought it was stupid at the time, but it was proving to be immensely useful, as we glided gracefully across the floor.

“Your Highness—”“Please, call me Troian.”“I bet you say that to all the girls,” I said as I finally

looked at him and not at the people around us. He was staring down at me, and, with the way the light was reflecting off his blue eyes, I was captivated.

“You may not believe me, dear Jaida, but I actually do not frequently get personal with noble ladies.”

“Then you should know that someone has spread rumors about your—ahem—personal interactions.”

I surprised a shocked laugh out of him before he grew serious once more.

“There may be a hint of truth to those rumors, but none of those girls knew anything about me that was not learned during their many lessons on wooing the prince. None of them were ever interested in knowing me beyond the title.”

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“And what makes you think I am?”I expected another laugh from him, but his eyes grew

more serious than I’d ever seen them as he contemplated my sarcastic question. I waited for his response, but it never came. The song came to an end, and I stepped away from him before he excused himself.

Looking around, I decided to search out Lady Alyse, hoping for someone at least friendly to talk to. I finally found her against the back wall, her eyes trained on Troian, who was across the room mingling with a group of noble ladies desperately grabbing at him. Her eyes snapped to me as I approached, and her mouth stretched in a grin.

“Lady Jaida.”“Just Jaida. I’m not a lady.”“Neither am I,” she responded with a smile. I laughed

loudly, which drew a few glares from the noblemen standing near us.

“You’re right. You’re not like any of the other snobbish ladies here.”

“Snobbish? Really?” The saccharine voice behind me scraped at my eardrums as I turned my head to see Lady Natalia and her gang of mindless followers. “As your future queen, I expect an apology for that insolence.”

“You’ll be waiting a long time, then,” I replied with a smirk. Her eyes narrowed.

“And what makes you think you’ll be future queen? Troian seems to have spent more time with Jaida than with you,” Alyse stepped in.

“Have you noticed that he always looks like he’s trying to escape her when she manages to coerce him into spending time with her? I’d say he’s rarely willingly in your company, Lady Natalia.”

Her face was slowing growing redder as her eyes grew even narrower. She looked ready to explode, which only encouraged the smirk Alyse and I shared.

“He’ll never choose you, you rude bitch. You’re nothing. You come from nothing, and you don’t belong here.”

Her words startled me for just a moment. She’d been shooting me glares since the queen had first called me into her chambers—apparently, she’d never had a private

21

audience with Queen Vaera—and my growing relationship with Troian wasn’t making her any easier to deal with.

She was obviously trying to make me sink to level. She was trying to trick me into yelling at her, hitting her, reacting to her in any way that would shame me because her jealousy was written all over her face, but I refused to sink that low. I could see both Vaera and Troian watching us from across the room, so I settled my shoulders back and held my head high.

“You might be right, but you’ll never scare me into leaving.”

My easy confidence shook her, and she resorted to the only thing she had left. Her hand came down toward my face, but I caught her wrist and squeezed. Not enough to leave any bruises but just enough for her to know I was serious. I looked for Vaera, hoping for a witness to what Natalia had just attempted, but I couldn’t find her again. She must have moved.

“I don’t know why you’d attempt that, Natalia. You know why she’s here. You know her skill set,” Alyse offered, coming to stand directly at my side.

“She was hoping I’d react physically so she could claim I attacked her. She was trying to make me look bad.”

“My thought exactly, Lady Jaida.”The queen’s quiet voice came from seemingly nowhere,

her uncanny ability to pop up silently coming in handy. The small crowd of noble ladies gathered around us scattered, and Natalia’s eyes popped open wide.

“Your Majesty, she’s hurt me. Look at my wrist.” She proffered her wrist, her perfectly smooth, pale wrist, to the queen.

“I see nothing, Lady Natalia, except your shameful actions. I expect better from you. Jaida is my esteemed guest at court functions, and you will treat her as such in the future. Am I understood?”

“Of course, Your Majesty. I’m terribly sorry, Your Majesty,” she babbled, scrambling to find some excuse that would put her back in the queen’s good graces.

“Lady Alyse, Jaida and I will be taking our leave. Enjoy the ball.”

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She linked her arm through mine, leaving me no choice but to go with her. I couldn’t tell if she was disappointed in me for that altercation with Natalia, but I expected she was.

“Your Majesty—”“I’m proud of you, Jaida. I know how difficult it must

have been to restrain yourself, but you’ve proven yourself capable of behaving in the proper way, even when goaded. You’ll do well as Troian’s bride.”

I sputtered at the mention of marrying Troian. Even in the deepest parts of my heart, I never let myself be that hopeful. I had hoped that maybe Vaera would invite me to stay, that she would save me from having to go back to my caste, but I’d never thought marrying Troian would even be an option. He had no reason to pick me and every reason to pick a noble lady that could actually bring him some kind of political benefit. I couldn’t always be gentle and proper and elegant, like Vaera. And yet, I couldn’t tuck away the idea that Troian might feel something for me stronger than his desire to marry well.

Maybe, just maybe, it was possible.

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Chapter 5“Chin up.”“What?” I said with a groan, struggling to concentrate

on both her instructions and the glass of water precariously balanced on my head.

“Keep your chin level with the floor. You will appear weak if you constantly look down.”

I drew a deep breath in and pulled my shoulders back, keeping my head level. I could feel my face burning with embarrassment. I felt idiotic. I couldn’t fathom how balancing a glass of water on my head would help me win anyone over. The door opened, and I whipped my head around, which was a terrible reflex. The cold water slithered down my neck as my cheeks grew even hotter when I noticed Troian standing in the doorway, a look of amusement on his face.

“Mother.” He stepped into the parlor and bent to kiss his mother’s hand, a moment I took advantage of by frantically wiping the water off me. He straightened and shot me a smile, which I returned almost giddily, happy to be past my blunder.

“Jaida, I didn’t realize you’d be here. Would you excuse us for a moment?”

I looked to the queen for the proper response and took my leave only after she’d nodded her assent. I knew I needed to get myself under control if I hoped to remain in the palace in any capacity after this court season. Neither Troian nor his mother would be willing to keep me around much longer if I was too unpredictable, and I couldn’t go back to my life of blood and violence any more. The thought alone made me queasy.

I was pulled from my own head by the looming presence of Ronan, who was standing just outside the doors. After finally noticing that something about the mountainous man put me on edge, Queen Vaera had banned him from attendance at any of our future lessons, but, ever the faithful lap dog, he never strayed too far.

He sneered at me, and I felt the chills down my spine run all the way to my toes, but I refused to show him how he affected me. I stared back at him until I turned my

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head, pulled my skirts around in a flourish, and marched down the hallway.

I couldn’t understand why someone has sweet and kind as Queen Vaera would keep someone like him around her at all times. This threat against the royal family must be even greater than I could’ve ever imagined, given her willingness to associate with such a barbarian.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a colorful tapestry mounted on the wall, but it wasn’t the craftsmanship that pulled me to really look at. It was the symbol, that mysterious braided knot that adorned the fabric still tucked beneath the loose stone in my chamber’s floor! I rushed forward to examine the tapestry closer but blew out a sigh when I realized every woven word was written in what appeared to be an ancient language I couldn’t even recognize, let alone read.

My fingers itched to rip the cloth down and stow it away in my room until I could decipher the language, but I knew that would draw attention to an investigation I shouldn’t be conducting. I studied the language for a moment longer before resigning myself to burying myself in more books, trying to at least identify the mysterious language.

I passed a window and, noticing the quickly setting sun, realized I was already running late. The queen had kept me much too long if she wanted me to be “appearance ready.” I sprinted to my chambers and managed to throw some make-up on and shimmy into one of the dresses Vaera had made for me, this one an emerald green silk. I left my hair down, liking the way the dress made the red color pop.

As I hurried down the hallway, I lifted my skirts to avoid tangling my dress in my legs. I approached the grand ballroom but froze when I noticed someone else standing before the doors. Natalia’s dark hair was carefully sculpted on top of her head, her imitation blue eyes were rimmed with kohl, and her pale-yellow dress was draped off her shoulder. She looked like an artificial cupcake.

She turned to me with malice in her eyes and reached out to me as I inched closer. I couldn’t fathom why she would be reaching for me, so I didn’t quite know how to respond. She put her hand on my shoulder, and I shivered

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at its chill through the loose silk. I could almost see the insanity in her smile as her hand crept down to my breast. I heard, more than felt, the delicate silk tear beneath her hand as she ripped my dress from bodice to shoulder, but I definitely felt the cool air on my bare breast as she leaned into my ear.

“You’ll never have him now,” she whispered before running down the hallway just as the doors flew open. My hand shot up to cover my breast just as the herald announced my presence to the entire court. Every eye turned to me, and the titters and snickers began immediately. My cheeks flooded with blood, and my eyes with tears, but I refused to let them humiliate me further, so I hightailed it out of there.

I turned whichever way I thought would take me far away, not paying any attention to where I was going. I could vaguely hear footsteps behind me, but I didn’t stop for even a second to discern who was pursuing me. My skirts tangled with my legs, and I threw my hands out to catch myself as I fell. My pursuer finally caught up to me, and I realized, to my utter embarrassment, that it was Prince Troian.

“Jaida! Are you alright?” He reached down to help me up, but I couldn’t give him both hands, so he had to practically pick me up by one elbow.

“I’m fine. Just go.” I pushed him away as I spoke, desperate to be alone.

“You’re not fine. Come on.”He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me to a small

alcove nearby, somewhere we wouldn’t be spotted. After studying me for a moment, his gaze inscrutable, he took his jacket off and draped it across my shoulders. I pulled it closer and fastened the buttons, happy I didn’t have to cover myself anymore.

“I’m sorry that happened. I’ll make Natalia regret ever doing that to you.”

“You don’t have to do anything. She already won. There’s no coming back from that.”

“What are you talking about? She didn’t win anything.”

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“You and I never had a chance. You’re always with her, and she always looks so poised and perfect. She’s highborn and—”

I’m cut off by his soft lips on mine as he pulls me closer by my waist. When we break away, he places one hand gently on my face and tilts it up to look at his.

“I only entertained her because her father is chief advisor to my father. She’s never meant anything to me. To tell you the truth, I can’t stand her. She represents everything I hate about this life, the entitlement, the pageantry, the condescension.”

I couldn’t stop the giddy feeling rising in my chest as I contemplated his impassioned speech. It wasn’t just my wishful thinking or the queen seeing things. He actually felt something for me, something strong enough to condemn Natalia, even though she would be a perfect political match for him.

“And trust me when I say, it was never a contest. I very much prefer your company. You have everything she doesn’t. Including me.”

I wanted to just accept his words and move on, to be comforted, but I knew I’d never be able to actually have a relationship with Troian if I didn’t tell him the entire truth. Natalia, and others like her, would obviously stop at nothing to prevent Troian and I from being together, so I needed to jump on this chance to tell Troian about Luca before they could use it to paint me as some kind of murderer.

“Troian, I need to tell you something. Something bad.”His eyebrows scrunched in concern, and I wanted to

kiss him again. He didn’t even consider that this bad news could be devastating to us and our budding romance.

“When I was younger, fifteen, I was training with my classmates. We were using throwing stars, and I was throwing at this target, and Luca—stupid, naïve Luca—walked in front of me and didn’t warn me and I didn’t know—”

I cut myself off when Troian leaned forward to gather me in his arms. He said nothing and just held me as I tried to calm my breathing down.

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“I needed you to know before someone brought it up to hurt me.”

“Thank you for telling me. I want you to know that this doesn’t change how I see you or how I feel about you. It was an accident. It wasn’t your fault, and I won’t let anyone use that to hurt us. You have me. Always.”

******************************************************************

The next day, however, I realized that just having Troian on my side wasn’t enough. The stares, the snickers, they followed me everywhere I went. Even as I kept my post by his side, the lords and ladies refused to discuss anything else. Troian glared at each of them, but even that could do nothing. I knew it was all for naught. There was no way they would ever take me seriously again. None of them would ever respect me, a fact that I knew to my core. Even hypothetically assuming Troian felt enough for me to select me as his bride, I could never be successful in this world of schemes and ceremonies because they would never again look at me and see anything but my hand covering my breast as my face filled with blood.

They would never move on from my humiliation, which meant I never would either.

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Chapter 6The judgmental stares followed my back as Troian and I

strolled through the rose garden, arm in arm. I was trying desperately to keep the blush from my cheeks as I imagined my humiliation, which I knew was on their minds as well.

“Your cheeks are glowing again.”His voice, warm like honey, brought the blush on for

another reason. He’d spent as much time with me in the week since the ball as he could spare between his princely duties. I knew that he was trying to comfort me and grow closer to me while also providing a show of confidence in me following Natalia’s sabotage. His arm, now a constant presence around me, served as a buffer against the snickers and glares from the proper courtly assholes who reveled in my misery.

Noticing my lengthy silence, he pulled me closer to his side and spoke again.

“Ignore them. It doesn’t matter what they think.”“But it does, Troian. If there’s any hope—”I cut myself off, suddenly aware that I was about to talk

about him choosing me during the selection ceremony next month. It wasn’t a topic we ever broached together, although Alyse and I had discussed it at length since our first kiss, and I didn’t want him to think that I was making hasty assumptions.

“Jaida, my dear, are you suggesting there’s a future for us yet?”

“Not if you keep teasing me.”His boisterous, almost boyish laugh echoed through the

garden, and I couldn’t help but laugh with him. He really did make me feel like nothing else mattered, like there could just be me and him, even though I knew that was impossible.

Our stroll through the gardens halted when an orderly rushed over and declared Troian was needed in his father’s office. I knew it wasn’t strictly necessary, given the guards constantly surrounding King Augustus, but it was my shift to keep watch over Troian, so I followed him to the office and took my post just outside the doors.

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I let my mind wander for a moment as I waited for Troian. His confidence in me never wavered, even as the entire court laughed at me. It really gave me faith that this could work out. Maybe he could really choose me. Maybe we could be together. I knew we both had strong feelings for each other, but was it enough?

The door to the king’s office opened, and Troian stepped out. I nodded at Demetri and followed Troian down the corridor toward his chambers. His silent face gazed ahead and made me wonder what his father had wanted to discuss with him. I kept quiet, hoping he’d bring the subject up himself, but, when we reached my chambers and he still hadn’t said anything, I decided I’d need to ask.

“Troian.”He turned to face me for the first time and looked

almost surprised to see me standing there. “What happened? You’ve been silent since we left His

Majesty’s office.”“His Majesty? When did you finally learn formal titles?”

He smirked, but it didn’t reach his eyes.“I’m being serious. What’s wrong?”“I—listen, Jaida—”A loud crash echoed from inside my chambers, cutting

Troian off from whatever he was about to say. His eyes widened as I pushed him away.

“Find a guard. Get help.”“I’m not leaving you.”“The best way for you to help is me to find help and

keep yourself safe. They’re not after me, remember?”He hesitated for a moment but took off in search of

someone. I pulled my dagger from my belt, pushed the door open, and crept slowly inside, my eyes searching the shadows. The darkness rushed toward me all at once, as a large person jumped at me, sword drawn. I swept low and sliced at his abdomen. He hissed and brought the hand clutching his sword down, slamming it into the top of my head. My ears rang as my body collapsed underneath me, and I hit the cold stone floor. I wanted more than anything to stay on the floor until my head stopped spinning, but I knew that wasn’t an option.

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I pushed myself to the left just as his sword struck the stone I had been laying on seconds ago. I rolled to the right, dodging his sword once more, and used my momentum to force myself into a standing position. Swinging around to face him, I struck out with my right hand, only to throw the dagger into my left and slice his cheek as he blocked my right hand.

His mask was slowly being shredded as we parried back and forth, and I sliced away at his face. He could barely land a swipe before I was on him again. As he turned to the wrong side—again—my hand shot out and grasped his mask, determined to at least know who was assailing us this time.

Torn between keeping his sword and his identity a secret, the unknown assassin scrambled to hold his mask, but he wasn’t fast enough. And the world stood still for an entire breath.

Demetri.I froze. Every single lesson I’d ever been taught about

keeping my guard up, about never losing focus was gone the second I recognized his hazel eyes and mop of sandy hair.

What the fuck?He took advantage of my shock and drove his sword into

my side. My eyes widened as the pain hit, and my mouth fell open, unable to process everything at once. My dagger slipped from my fingertips and hit the ground with a clang as he withdrew his sword from my flesh. I could feel the warmth of the blood—my blood—flowing down my side, but I was still stuck in the moment twenty seconds earlier when I realized my childhood best friend had betrayed me.

“Why?”I didn’t consciously decide to say anything to him, but

my mouth moved anyway. For just a moment, one split second, he let his guard down, and I could see the struggle in his eyes, but the moment passed just as suddenly as it arrived.

I hit my knees and knew he was raising his sword to take the fatal shot at my throat. It was a lesson we’d learned together. Don’t stop until you know they’re dead. I never imagined he’d use it on me. Especially after what

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happened with Luca. I remembered his arms around me as chaos reigned around us. I remembered his fingers stroking my hair as he whispered my name, keeping me calm as I stared at my bloodstained hands.

And now he’s going to kill me.Just before he swung down to kill me, I moved in a flash,

grasping the handle of my dagger and slashing through the sinew at his knees. He yelped and crumbled to the floor just as Captain Kennecott appeared in the doorway, Troian right behind him.

“Jaida!”His panicked face appears in my line of sight as I

crumble next to Demetri, finally succumbing to the intense pain in my side. The muffled sound of Kennecott and the guards who followed him taking Demetri into custody and escorting him to the infirmary hit me as I started losing consciousness.

Troian must have picked me up because I was in the air, moving inexplicably toward the corridor. I fixed my stare on my vanity, noticing in my pain-induced haze that my things had been moved. Must have been Demetri, I thought. And it occurred to me all at once.

If he was here to kill Troian, like the first assassination attempt, why was he in my room? Maybe he assumed Troian would be with me, but wouldn’t we go to his much nicer, much bigger room if we were spending time together?

Oh, I realized, he came to kill me.

****************************************************************

My hearing came back before my sight, as the shouting finally broke my unconscious state.

“We need to find who did this, Mom!”“We’re doing everything we can, sweetie. It’s not that

simple.”“Then make it that simple! Look at her!”“Honey, I know you’re upset that she’s hurt, but you

need to think about this rationally. Maybe we should get you another guard.”

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“What are you talking about? I don’t want or need another guard.”

“She could’ve gotten you killed. She nearly got herself killed. Maybe she isn’t as good as her superiors led us to believe. Maybe you need a new guard, a better guard. If you died…”

I opened my eyes but closed them abruptly when the dizziness started. I wanted to sit up, to jump into the conversation and explain what happened, but I thought I would throw up if I moved even a fraction of an inch.

Vaera blamed me? She thought I wasn’t good enough to protect her son?

It wasn’t until right now that I thought it might actually be my fault I’d gotten hurt. What if I hadn’t incapacitated Demetri before I passed out? He would have killed Troian. Vaera’s harsh words made me realize for the first time that I could actually fail Troian.

Worse than that, I already had.I’d failed him because I insisted on working by myself.

He wanted to help me, and I knew he’d had combat training, and I still sent him away. Demetri never would have gotten the drop on me if I’d just accepted some help. His help.

If I was going to stop this, if I was going to discover who was behind this, I’d need to find some allies. I needed help—and now.

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Chapter 7I stretched too far and the pain ripped through my side,

leaving me gasping for breath. I knew I needed to stop reaching so far or I’d rip the wound open again, but I also needed the book that rested outside my grasp. It was the most promising lead I’d had in identifying, and translating, that ancient language on the tapestry in the weeks since I’d first discovered it.

I would’ve rather been interrogating Demetri, but I couldn’t ask to see him without one of two things happening: 1) Kennecott finds out I’m investigating the plot and sends me packing or 2) Kennecott assumes I’m working with Demetri and am making sure he’s going to stay silent. Either way, it wasn’t an option for me. So, here I was, perusing the library again for information about that language and that symbol.

I was certain the library was empty except for myself and a guard a moment ago, and I hadn’t heard anyone opened the door or walk in, but when I turned around to ask for his help, Alyse was standing in the aisle next to mine, reading a book. Odd that I wouldn’t have heard the footsteps. I must have been so focused that I didn’t even hear her.

“Alyse! Can you help me for a second?”She hesitated for a moment but walked toward me and

reached above my head to grab the heavy book. “Languages of Xandria? Taken a special interest in

language?”“I’ve always been particularly interested in language. So

many of the lords and ladies at court speak a regional language as well as the common tongue, so my interest has been peaked.” The lie rolled smoothly off my tongue, but Alyse’s eyes flashed knowingly, like she knew I was lying but was content to let us both pretend we believed me.

“I share your interest. My father wanted me to be able to speak freely, and impress suitors, wherever I found myself, so he forced me to study intensely. He even forced me to study the dead languages.”

I tried to contain my surprise and excitement at her words. Maybe she knows the language. Maybe she can

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help me. I hesitated for a second to ask for her help but remembered Vaera’s harsh criticisms last night and my revelation. I needed help if I was going to beat these assholes.

“I’ll just take this to my chambers for reading later. Would you care to accompany me on a walk through the grounds?”

She hesitated for just a second, long enough that I wondered if I had offended her somehow. Maybe she was remembering the incident at the ball and didn’t want anything to do with me for fear of damaging her own reputation.

“I’d be delighted.”

I led Alyse on a casual walk through the grounds, careful to avoid the tapestry until she would think we just happened upon it. I was also careful to ask questions about the palace and its history as we went, so she wouldn’t suspect I was investigating. I wanted desperately to trust her, to have a true friend at court, but I couldn’t jump into anything, not after Demetri.

As we neared the tapestry, I slowed and pretended to study it. She halted next to me, and, out of the corner of my eyes, her hands fidgeted for a moment, like she was nervous.

“This tapestry is amazing. Look at the detail. Can you even imagine having to stitch something like this by hand?”

“It is gorgeous.”“Look at this language around the edge. Do you know

it?”She hesitated before bending to examine it, and I

noticed the shudder pass through her body. Why was she so nervous before? Especially as we’d neared the tapestry, her caramel skin had visibly paled.

Demetri wasn’t acting alone, he’d admitted that earlier. Maybe...I couldn’t even allow myself to think it, but I needed to. Maybe he had allies within court. Maybe Alyse wasn’t my ally, but his.

“I’m afraid I don’t,” she said as she straightened, her hands shaking once more.

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“Alyse, are you okay? You seem nervous.”I took a step toward her, and she took a step back,

eliminating any chance she had of denying her nerves.“Jaida…”I reached my hand behind my back and slipped my

dagger from its sheath. I wanted more than anything to be wrong, but I’d been betrayed—and almost killed—last time, so I wasn’t taking any chances.

I surged forward and pressed my dagger to her throat, determined not to let her get away if she was at all associated with these assassination attempts.

“What do you know?”“About what?” She shouted in fear as she

simultaneously froze when she felt my blade nick her skin at the motion of her throat. I pulled my hand back slightly, giving her enough space to talk without drawing blood.

“Bullshit. If you don’t know anything, why are you so nervous?”

“They just arrested that guy, that guard. He was from the military sector, like you, and rumor around court is the two of you were friends. I was okay being with you as long as we had guards near us, but then you took me into this abandoned hallway to this dark corner and—”

I dropped my hand and opened my mouth in astonishment.

“You’re afraid of me?”“No! Not afraid. Just—nervous.”“Oh my gods, Alyse, I’m so sorry. Demetri was my

friend, and, after what happened, I wasn’t sure who I could still trust. I didn’t even realize you might be thinking the same thing.”

I took a huge step back and slipped my dagger back into its sheath. The relief on her face was visible, and I knew it mirrored mine.

“And now I feel like an ass. I can’t believe I just held a knife to your throat.”

A tense silence surrounded us for a moment before her tinkling laughter broke through. My relief swept through me, and I couldn’t help but join her. We laughed together until I had tears in my eyes before we finally quieted.

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“It’s okay. I understand where you’re coming from. It’s Dravec, by the way. The language.”

“You know it?”“I do. I wasn’t sure if you needed to know for some

malignant purpose. Is this about the assassination attempts? Are you investigating?”

“Yes, but don’t tell anyone. Kennecott told us we’re not supposed to investigate what’s happening, but I just can’t help myself. These thugs, whoever they’re working for, they’re trying to kill me too. I can’t just let it slide.

“The symbol on this tapestry keeps popping up in this investigation. The first and second assassins were both wearing tunics bearing this symbol. I’m hoping whatever is written around the edge will help me shed some light on what it means,” I said as I pointed the symbol out to Alyse.

“My Dravec is a little rusty, but I might be able to help, if you want it.”

“I’d love some help. Thank you, Alyse.”She examined the words closer, and I could hear her

mumbling as she tried to translate and decode the dead language.

“I can’t read all of it. I’ll probably have to come back to copy it down so I can study it later, but I could read one thing. The Council of Ryken.”

“Do you know anything about them?”“They were an ancient group, almost a cult, that

perpetrated all these horrible crimes under the control of their Supreme.”

“Supreme? Like a leader of some kind?”“Exactly. A mastermind, if you will, usually someone in a

high position who had the means and connections to actually plan these elaborate schemes.”

A Supreme? Is possible these assassination attempts were being carried out by these ancient secret society led by someone in a high position? Like a member of the nobility? It wasn’t even far outside the realm of possibility.

But if it’s true, who could the Supreme be?

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Chapter 8The selection ceremony was finally upon us, and I

wanted more than anything to think that it could be possible that he would pick me as his intended, but my practicality won out every time I started thinking fanciful thoughts.

There was no way Troian would actually pick me. I could give him nothing but myself. I couldn’t bring him a strong political alliance. I couldn’t bring significant wealth to the crown. I couldn’t give that effortless elegance or eloquence the ladies who had been brought up in this world managed without a thought. All I had was me.

I knew I didn’t have a chance, but the queen and Troian had both invited me personally, so I was expected there regardless of my deep desire to be anywhere else. I didn’t want to watch Troian pick someone else, someone like Natalia, who could bring him the benefits a princess should.

As I left my room, I meandered through the corridors, wanting to avoid the ball, and my eminent heartbreak, for as long as possible. As I passed an alcove, the same one Troian had pulled me into after fleeing the last ball, I could hear muttering. I stopped and crept silently closer to the curtain, happy for my extensive stealth training.

The booming bass identified Ronan as one of the voices, but the other, softer one was much harder to hear. I waited for some understandable conversation with bated breath.

“Yes, everything is in place. There will be no mistakes this time. I made sure of it.”

My mind raced as I considered what he could be talking about—and with whom—but I didn’t have long to think about it given the footsteps coming toward the curtain. I sprinted down the corridor as quietly as I could and hid myself behind the wall just as the curtain flipped open. I was itching to take a peek at who Ronan was talking to, but I couldn’t risk being discovered, not when I was still healing. Fighting Ronan would be a difficult task even at full health.

I hurried on to the ballroom, determined to find something in Ronan’s behavior tonight to tell me who he

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was talking to. It was entirely possible that Ronan was just discussing a political move, but something about him had always given me the creeps. And he has far too much access to the queen to be trusted. If he was in on this plot to assassinate the royal family, Vaera was in imminent danger, and I needed to do something.

****************************************************************

I stood at the edge of the ballroom, my eyes bouncing to and from Ronan. Not enough that he’d catch on, but just enough that he never moved anywhere I didn’t see. So far, he’d been glued to Vaera side, which wasn’t exactly comforting. It would be easy for him to strike. But I comforted myself with the knowledge that he’d have to be a damn idiot to attack her here. Too many witnesses.

I watched him surreptitiously as he was approached by another man—a guard I recognized as one of Troian’s—but my view was obstructed when Natalia’s face appeared in my line of sight.

“I cannot believe you would show your face here. After what happened last time.”

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I could feel the stares on my face and knew I needed to behave. I needed to be more diplomatic than ever before.

“Of course, I came. I was invited by the royal family. It would be rude not to come.”

Her eyes narrowed in anger at my calm voice. She was trying to get a rise out of me, to force me to embarrass myself out of anger. But I wouldn’t sink to her level. Not today.

“He’s never going to select you. You don’t stand a chance.”

I ground my teeth in frustration. I wanted nothing more than to scream at her, but I couldn’t. Especially if I stood a single chance at being chosen, which I clearly did if she was still so determined to humiliate me. She obviously thought I was her biggest opponent, even now.

“That may be so. But he wanted me here, so I came anyway,” I said with a smile that I knew at least looked

39

genuine because it was the same smile I’d been practicing for the moment I had to watch Troian pick someone else.

She looked positively ready to burst out of rage, but she was interrupted when the man of the hour himself joined us with a grin.

“Lady Jaida. You came.” His blooming smile was infectious, and I couldn’t entirely suppress the shiver that went through my body. Natalia finally took her leave, and I took the chance to peer around the room to find Ronan again, but I couldn’t help being distracted by the gorgeous man in front of me.

“You sound surprised. I was invited personally by a prince. Of course, I came.”

“A prince, you say? Sounds like a handsome fellow.”“He sure thinks so. Quite arrogant, if you ask me.”He threw his head back and laughed. A smile spread

across my face as I contemplated his countenance. He seemed lighter somehow, like he had been struggling with something for a while, and it was finally resolved. He practically exuded sheer joy.

I realized suddenly that I’d forgotten to track Ronan. I stretched on my toes to find him once more, but he’d disappeared into the crowd. Odd considering he’s roughly the size of a volcano.

“Looking for your other suitors?”I found myself, almost against my will, engaging with

Troian again, rather than looking for Ronan. I needed to focus on my investigation, I know, but I just couldn’t with him standing so close to me looking every bit like a crown prince.

“Other suitors? I’d have to have a suitor in the first place for there to be more,” I scoffed. He looked at me then with something in his eyes I could have only dreamed I’d see.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about that. You see, Jaida, I love you and would very much like to announce you as my intended, if you’ll have me.”

My face must have shown my shock plainly because his morphed into one of anxiety with a dash of hope. He wanted me? To be his wife? To rule at his side? I couldn’t

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even begin to process that, if though I’d been hoping desperately for it for weeks.

“You can’t. I can’t give you anything but myself. I don’t have power or money or status—”

“I don’t want anything but you.” He interrupted my tirade with a calm voice.

“Why me?”“Because I love you. And because you’re the first woman

I’ve met at court who is capable of genuine change. In just the few months you’ve been learning from my mother, you’ve come so far. You’re learning about this life you don’t understand and may not even want to be a part of because you know it’s important to me and to our future. That conversation I overheard between you and Natalia earlier proves it. You didn’t rise to her bait because you know how important it is that you keep a cool head.

“You aren’t just pretending to enjoy my company or pretending to be interested in what I like. You actually like me because of who I am and not what I am. You are unlike any woman I’ve ever met. And did I mention that I love you?”

“What about what I told you? What if the court finds out that I killed Luca? Do you think they’d accept a princess who had killed a man, even if it was an accident?”

“First of all, it was an accident, and it was much more his fault than yours. Secondly, you know you aren’t that same person anymore. We’ve both seen it. You could’ve easily killed both of the assassins who attacked us, but you didn’t. Frankly, I wish more guards had your resolve to avoid unnecessary death.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. I knew, deep down, that he was right. I was much more careful now than I had been when Luca died, when I was fifteen. I was so anxious that I should never be responsible for another avoidable death again that it had pushed me to avoid picking it career. It had pushed me to seek a way out of my caste, with all its violence and bloodshed.

And yet, here was the best opportunity I was ever going to get to do just that, and be with the man I love, no less. But I was considering turning it down because of what happened with Luca’s death? Because I was reckless at

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fifteen and my friends were idiots and we just happened to have access to sharp weaponry?

No.I wasn’t going to let this ruin my life anymore. I wasn’t

that person anymore. I was better, stronger. I couldn’t help but think of the lives I could potentially save by accepting Troian’s hand, by placing myself in a position of power.

I knew Troian would protect me from myself, and I would protect him from everyone else. We were a perfect team. I knew what I wanted.

“Yes.”

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Chapter 9The night drew on, and Troian and I were inseparable. I

knew he was neglecting his princely duties, but I couldn’t bring myself to care when I was too busy reveling in our joy. Eventually, however, his neglect caught up to us, and he was swept away into the crowd to attend to other matters.

I looked around for Alyse, I needed an ally in this crowd of noble ladies who wanted me dead, but I couldn’t find her anywhere. Odd, where would she be? Everyone in the palace was here for one reason or another, so I couldn’t fathom any reason she wouldn’t be.

I couldn’t miss the actual selection if Troian was going to pick me, but I could see a group of younger lords occupying him at the moment, so he wouldn’t be announcing his selection anytime soon. I decided to go look for Alyse in her chambers, sure that she must be ill.

I slipped from the ballroom and set off at a brisk pace, sure that I needed get back to the ballroom quickly. I knocked on the door once I was outside her rooms, but no one answered me. Thinking she might just be asleep, I pushed the heavy wooden door open and gasped out loud at the sight that greeted me.

It wasn’t anything I hadn’t seen before, the signs of a struggle, a battle, but in this context, I couldn’t stop the shock that spread through my limbs. Her entire room was destroyed. The furniture in pieces, her clothes in disarray, the mirror lying in shards on the floor.

My eyes stopped on a dark liquid on the wall near her headboard. In my gut, I knew what it was, what it had to be considering the state of her chambers, but I couldn’t believe it until I stepped closer and swiped a finger through it.

Blood. I needed to find her, to get some help. I didn’t have the

foggiest clue what had happened here or where Alyse was, if she was okay, but I knew I needed more help, more manpower if I was going to investigate this.

I heard the footsteps coming quickly—running—down the hallway and immediately felt relieved. Someone must

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have discovered this before me and gone for some help. We’d find her. She’d be okay.

I turned around to address my aid but froze when I saw a dozen steel swords pointed in my direction. This brigade was led by none other than Captain Kennecott, who was giving me a solemn look.

“Captain!”He ignored my immediate ramblings that we needed to

find Alyse, we needed to help her. He grabbed my bicep and dragged me out of the room. I pleaded with him and the rest of the guards that we couldn’t waste any time. Alyse was hurt—badly—and needed our help, but no one would listen to me. They just kept dragging me along. Vaguely, I realized we were headed in the direction of the ballroom.

They pulled me into a side entrance, and I immediately saw Troian standing on the stage, Queen Vaera and King Augustus seated on their thrones behind him. The room grew silent as soon as the captain dragged me in.

He pulled me up the stage and let go of me for a moment to stoop and whisper in the king’s ear. His face grew grave, and he stood.

“Captain Kennecott has just informed me that a woman has been murdered.” He addressed the crowd, but not even his intimidating form could silence the immediate titterings.

I thought it was odd that Kennecott had dragged me forcefully all the way here. I would’ve come willingly if he had just taken a few seconds to tell me he was coming to inform the royal family and get help.

“This is a terrible tragedy, and funeral arrangements will begin immediately, but the captain has informed me that the suspect has already been apprehended.”

My eyebrows shot up. Why wouldn’t Kennecott just tell me that? It was wonderful! He’d apprehended the suspect, which meant it was only a matter of interrogation before he tells us what he did with Alyse. Maybe the captain would even let me have a crack at him.

“Jaida Cole, you’re under arrest for the murder of Lady Alyse Terrington.”

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The entire room, myself included, froze for just a moment before it erupted into chaos. My mind froze in panic and shock as Kennecott started yanking me down the stairs and out the door. Troian was frozen on the dais, his eyes wide.

I begged Kennecott to stop and listen. I tried to defend myself and yelled the truth until my mouth dried out, but he didn’t listen. He kept dragging me until we reached the dungeon, and he threw my head first into an open cell. I shouted after him until he reached the top of the stairs and shut the door with a final boom.

I paced the cell, trying to figure out how to get out of here and prove my innocence. I needed to talk to Vaera or Troian. They were my best bet for getting out of here. They could set this right.

“Excuse me,” I spoke to the guard nearest me. He ignored me. “I’d like an audience with Her Majesty.”

He continued ignoring me.“Even as a prisoner, I have my rights. I demand an

audience with the queen or Troian.”I was prepared to start screaming again if he continued

ignoring me, but I was interrupted by the scraping of the heavy door against stone. The very person I wanted to see was descending the staircase, Ronan behind her.

“Your Majesty, I didn’t—” “I know you didn’t, my child. Unfortunately, many of the

court do not share my assurance. You must go through with the trial.”

“What if they find me guilty?”She glanced furtively around and dismissed the guards

with a wave of her hand. After the door shut once more, she leaned in closer to me.

“Jaida, I have no way to tell how the court will vote. I do not want you to be found guilty for a crime I know you did not commit, so I’m going to offer you this. If you agree, I will arrange for you to be smuggled out of the palace to the borderlands. You can live out your life there, anonymous but free.”

It sounded appealing and, for just a moment, I entertained the thought that maybe I would accept her offer. I could leave. I could get out and never have to face

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this trial or a potential execution. I could find some kind of happiness on the fringes of society, and they would never find me. They can’t kill me if they can’t find me.

But I knew I’d never do that. Never seeing Troian again, never able to return to the palace or the compound or any part of Xandria. I couldn’t just abandon this, even if it seemed like the better option right now. I’d rather take the chance they would execute me than run from my problems like this.

“Your Majesty, thank you, but no. I can’t run. I’m going to face this and prove to everyone that I didn’t do this. I’m innocent. And innocent people don’t run.”

“I understand. And I respect your determination. We’ll solve this here, then.”

“What can I do to prove my innocence?”“Nothing. Stay here. Don’t give the guards any trouble.

Be a model prisoner, and I will take care of preparing your defense.  I am confident the truth will reign.”

Her answer gave me a little bit of hope but even more frustration. I appreciated her trying to help me, but shouldn’t I be doing something? Couldn’t she just release me and we could search for the truth together?

“Can I see Troian at least?”Her face fell, and I knew the answer before she even

spoke.“I’m afraid not. Since most of the attacks have been

targeting Troian specifically, His Majesty believes it wouldn’t be wise to allow Troian visitation with someone who is suspected of being involved in the attacks.”

I wanted to scream in frustration, but, honestly, I understood. If this was someone else down here, I wouldn’t let Troian see them, even if he wanted to.

“I will see you in the morning, Jaida. Get some rest.”As she and Ronan left, I finally sat down and thought

through everything I knew. I knew Vaera believed me. I knew Troian might still be on my side, but he wasn’t allowed to see me. I was trapped down here, in this cell, until my trial so there was no way for me to collect any evidence or testimony in my favor.

And, most importantly, the mastermind, whoever was behind all of this, needed to act now if he or she wanted to

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finish their goal before the end of the court season, before everyone went home. They needed to act now. And I wasn’t there to stop them anymore.

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Chapter 10Ever since Vaera had left me here to “rest,” I’d been

pacing my dank cell, trying to process everything, to think my way out of there.

Alyse was dead. I wanted time to grieve my friend, but I knew I didn’t

have much, and I needed to focus on clearing my name. I’d grieve her after I found out who killed her and saved myself because I knew exactly how this would proceed.

At first light, they’d summon me for a trial in the throne room. Ostensibly, it would be a fair trial, but it’s always much easier to kill an innocent person than spend the time actually investigating and lose the confidence of the elite. I’d be beheaded by breakfast.

My morbid thoughts were interrupted by the scratching of the door against the stone floor. I couldn’t see who it was in the shadowed portions of the dungeon, but the guards suddenly left again.

“Jaida?”“Troian! What are you doing here? Your mom said you

weren’t allowed down here.”He surged forward and knelt on the floor across from

me. He reached his arm through the bars and grabbed my hand, his thumb stroking the top of mine.

“I’m not supposed to be here. But I had to see you. I know you didn’t do this. You were with me for almost the entire ball. There’s no way you had enough time to kill someone and hide the body well enough that the guards still haven’t found it. I know you’re innocent. And I’m fighting for you.”

“Troian, I can’t tell you what that means to me. I love you.”

“And I love you.”The door opened once more, and Troian shot up, his face

scrunched in confusion. Kennecott pounded down the stairs and stormed up to my cell.

“Your Highness! Your father has strictly forbidden your being down here. He has also banned you from attending the trial tomorrow, for your own safety. You must return to your chambers at once.”

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“What? He can’t ban me from the trial. I need to be there!”

“Speak to your father, if you don’t agree, Your Highness.”

Troian shot me an apologetic look before leaving with Captain Kennecott. I felt better knowing he believed me, knowing he was on my side, but I was pretty confident that King Augustus wouldn’t allow Troian to be at my trial if he thought I was going to try to kill his only heir. Without his testimony, I might actually be found guilty. Without Troian, I’d be relying on whatever evidence Vaera could collect in this short time period.

The guards changed again, and I knew I was running out of time. I knew from my time guarding Troian that guards were changed every three hours. If I had to wager a guess, I’d say I was thrown down here about nine. The guards had just changed, so it must be roughly three. If I was lucky, I’d have until six before my trial commenced. If not…

I couldn’t think about that. If I dwelt on the passing time, I’d drive myself crazy and get nothing done. If I dwelt too long on the constant ache in my chest since Troian first gave me that sneer, I’d curl in on myself and never emerge. I needed to be shrewd if I was going to convince anyone of my innocence. I needed concrete proof.

Although I’d been at the ball, I couldn’t count on any of them to give me an alibi. I’d been by myself for half an hour before I went looking for Alyse, so Troian couldn’t, and wouldn’t, back me up. Plus, without a body to establish a timeframe, I could’ve easily murdered Alyse before the ball. I shuddered at having to think like that, but I knew it was necessary if I was going to solve this. Think like a killer.

I’d be stupid to think this wasn’t connected to the assassination attempts I’d been fighting against all summer. It was too large a coincidence in timing to be an accident. They were all connected somehow.

And it all connected to the Council of Ryken.Not for the first time, I found myself consumed with

trying to place that symbol. The one on the tapestry

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depicting a Council ritual sacrifice, the one I’d seen somewhere in the palace before that. I knew I’d seen it before, but I’d also explored the entire palace, so it could’ve been anywhere.

I thought back through the evening, trying to find something, a shred of evidence, the potential of an ally, but there was nothing. Troian thought I’d tricked and betrayed him. Alyse was dead. Vaera—

That’s it!The symbol. I knew I’d seen it before, but I couldn’t

place it because it wasn’t something I saw all the time and it wasn’t fabric, like the other two. It was ink and skin.

Ronan’s tattoo. It was the symbol.Ronan. It was all Ronan. He’s behind this.The guards moved up the staircase to change again,

unknowing of the revelation I was having in my cell. Even though I’d had a breakthrough, I still couldn’t prove my innocence concretely and, according to the guards’ routine, I’d be lucky if I got another two hours before they called me to trial.

Peculiar, though. Up the stairs went two sets of heavy footsteps, bodies burdened by steel armor. Down the stairs was descending one set of much lighter footsteps. It couldn’t be a guard.

The torches had burned down enough by that point that it was almost impossible to see who now stood in the chamber outside my cell until they stepped into the light themselves.

Alyse.My brain was in shock, and my mouth couldn’t form

words for a moment. She’s alive? How? What happened in her room? When my brain finally caught up, I managed to spit out one sentence.

“You’re alive?”“Yes, Jaida, I’m alive. And you’re in trouble.”

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Chapter 11The stone floor was cold and jagged as I fell to my

knees. I was reeling from the discovery that Alyse is alive—and standing in front of me—so I didn’t catch her words at first. I was caught up in my thoughts of getting out of this cell and proving my innocence. Now that Alyse was here, we could face the trial together and tell everyone what happened. Obviously, I didn’t murder her if she was standing here, so we could call the guards back and clear this right up. Finally, her words penetrated my swirling thoughts.

“Well obviously I’m in trouble, I’m sitting in this prison cell. But now that you’re here, you can tell them what happened and I’ll be fine! You can tell them I didn’t hurt you!”

Her face fell into the shadows, and, for the first time since she’d appeared in the dungeon, I started to think that maybe it was more complicated than that. Maybe I couldn’t just get out.

“I can’t do that, Jaida.”“What? Why not? If you just tell them what happened—”“I can’t do that. Because I’m not Alyse.”“Not Alyse? What the hell does that mean?” I asked, my

brow furrowed in confusion.“My name isn’t Alyse. Lady Alyse is a cover I took to

infiltrate the court and gain the trust of the nobles.”I couldn’t even begin to put the pieces together, unsure

whether not Alyse was placed here to help save the royals or to help kill them. Did Ronan hire her? This scheme seemed a bit far-fetched for him. The only thing he had going for him was his size. He was a few knives short of an armory, so this advanced planning didn’t seem like it was up his alley.

Unless it wasn’t Ronan. Unless he was just a cog in the mastermind’s machine.

But, then, who could be the mastermind?It could be—No. I refused to even think it. It couldn’t be her.“Who are you, if not Alyse?”“My name is actually Faye. Faye Shelton.”

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My mouth dropped open and my eyes practically bugged out of my head. I couldn’t believe it.

“Faye?”“Hi Jaida.” I wanted to smack the sheepish grin off her

face. She’d obviously had some kind of reconstructive surgery on her face. Last I’d seen her, she’d had a massive facial injury from fighting. I never even recognized her. I knew her stealth training had been greater than mine, she did serve in our military as a spy after all, but I’d never seen her in action before.  How could she come here and befriend me and never tell me she knew me from our mutual childhood in the compound? At least Demetri didn’t pretend to be someone else.

“What the hell? Why are you here? Why did you pretend to be Alyse?”

Her eyes implored me to understand, to forgive her.“Jaida, I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell you. And I’m scared to

tell you why I’m really here.”“It can’t be any worse than what I’m already thinking,

Faye.”She looked down, her face reflecting her sorrowful eyes.

I awaited her next words with increasing anxiety. Faye was never ashamed of anything when we were kids.

“The queen brought me here. I worked for her.”“The queen?” My instincts, the ones that told me Ronan

was too stupid to pull off an elaborate plot like this, raised once more, but my heart tried to squash the logical part of my brain, the part that was telling me the queen might just have played me.

“She’s behind this, all of this. She’s the leader of Ryken.”

My chest tightened as I contemplated what Faye was telling me. Vaera—I thought she wanted to help me. I thought she wanted me to be—it doesn’t matter what I thought. She wasn’t a good, benevolent queen. She was trying to kill her family. Why? Why would she kill her son and heir?

My eyes widened as I remembered the first assassination attempt, with the assassin who couldn’t possibly be Demetri. He was too big.

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“It was you. You were the first assassin.” I didn’t consciously decide to speak, but the words came out of my mouth anyway.

She nodded, her eyes sad, and I immediately shot up and took three steps back from her, knowing how easily she could incapacitate me when she was in such an advantageous position. And she’s the enemy. Why the fuck are all of my friends suddenly working for a murderous queen?

“Jaida, I’m not here to hurt you. We both know you’d kill me in a fair fight, anyway.” She chuckled at herself, and I couldn’t help the smirk that spread across my lips, remembering that the many times we trained together usually ended with her on her back.

“I’m here to help. The queen, she needs to be stopped. That’s why I faked my death. She found out I was helping you and wanted me dead. I never really believed in her cause, but she offered cash—so much money we could run away and never be found again—but it wasn’t worth it as soon as I realized who I’d have to hurt to get paid.”

She pulled a set of keys from her small purse and dropped the decorative bag on the stone floor.

“That’s why I’m here. I’m here to help. I’m here to break you out.”

*****************************************************************

We crept along the corridors, keeping to the shadows, in case we came across any guards. Luck must have been on our side because we encountered none. Come to think of it, the guards never came back to the dungeon. Where are all the guards?

Our plan was to ambush Troian in his chambers and force him to listen to the story. It wouldn’t be easy, convincing him his own mother was trying to kill him, but it needed to be done. We needed more allies for the coming fight, powerful allies.

Our plan was interrupted, however, by a loud commotion. I took off running toward the source of the noise.

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As we approached the room, Alyse yanked my arm and pulled me to a halt. She crouched underneath one of the windows and peered into the room. I followed her lead and found a sight that knocked my breath out of my lungs.

Troian on his knees, a sword to his neck. King Augustus by his side. A hefty number of the guards lying around the room, unconscious or worse. Vaera seated on her throne, a smug look on her face, Ronan and Demetri by her side. Of course, she released him. He was working for her.

“Jaida, we need to think this through. We need a plan—”She wasn’t done talking, but I was done listening. I

sprinted to the doors and threw them open. I heard her swear behind me, but she followed me into the room.

“Vaera!” I shouted, intent only on buying Troian some time. She turned to me and, for just a moment, her eyes bugged in shock, but she quickly schooled her expression into a smug look once more.

“Weren’t expecting me were you?” I taunted. “I’ll admit, I thought you would just die in that cell after

I took care of this, but it’s no matter. You’ll die with your love, then.”

She gestured vaguely toward us, and a small swarm of guards—obviously paid off—marched toward us, swords in hand. I knelt at the body of a guard next to me and grabbed his sword and another nearby. I threw one to Alyse—Faye—and she stood at my back, ready for the coming onslaught.

I had one last thought before the chaos of battle consumed me. Obviously Kennecott wasn’t in on this insane conspiracy, or he never would’ve chosen me for this assignment.

The first guard to reach me was swiftly on the guard with a slice at his unprotected leg. I saw another approaching from the side and turned quickly, hitting him in the back with the broad side of my blade. He went down, and I hit him hard on the head. I didn’t pause to see if he got back up, just cut my way through another two soldiers.

I knew Faye was handling herself by the thuds and grunts behind me, but I couldn’t see Troian or the king

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anymore, and I needed to get to them. I needed to make sure he was alright.

I sprinted through the fallen bodies, intent on one thing only. I nearly screamed when I heard a shout and a loud thud from the area I last remembered seeing Troian. My heart stopped in my chest, for just a moment. What if—?

My worrying stopped, and my heart restarted when I saw Troian’s chocolate hair raise, the king next to him. I slashed my way through three more guards and kicked another in the chest before I could finally reach him.

“Troian!”He turned to me, relief singing in his eyes. “Jaida!” I lost sight of him again as I was swarmed with another

three guards. I quickly dispatched one of them with a blow to the head, but another nicked me in the bicep before I ducked and swept his legs out from under him. He hit the ground hard, which gave me enough time to slash at his comrade’s legs and bring him down. I pounced on the armor of the second guard and punched him once in the temple, hard.

When I rose once more, I panicked for a moment, having lost Troian in the mayhem. I spun around at the sound of a grunt, and the sight that greeted me almost had me laughing in relief.

Troian and King Augustus had obviously grabbed the weapons of soldiers they’d incapacitated and were fighting their way to me. I knew they had to have some kind of combat training, being male members of royalty, but I guess I’d always thought it was more a competition fighting, more flash and less substance, but they were holding their own.

For the first time since the battle started, I could see the queen. I expected her to look panicked, at least a little, because we were having so much success, but she still had that same smug look on her face. It was then that I realized Ronan was nowhere to be seen.

A powerful blow struck my head, and I hit the stone floor hard. My head swam for a minute before it cleared, and I rolled to the right just as Ronan brought the handle of his large axe down right where my chest had been. He

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was much too top heavy, especially with that axe. I took advantage of this weakness and kicked out at his knees, bringing him tumbling down.

I grabbed the sword that had fallen next to me and pounced on him, intending to slash at his throat, but he threw me off him before I had the chance. I landed in a crouch on my feet, but I couldn’t help but feel like I’d lost my one chance to put a stop to him. He was too big, too powerful to defeat easily. I couldn’t overpower him, so I needed to outsmart him.

I looked around, hoping for anything that help me. I spotted the stone pillar just as he charged at me. I spun out and ran toward the pillar, confident Ronan would follow me. Sure enough, his pounding footsteps sounded behind me, and I couldn’t stop the smirk that landed on my face.

I hadn’t counted on him catching me, though. He grabbed my hair just as I reached the pillar, yanked my head back, and slammed my face into the rough pillar. I cried out in pain and the blood spilled down my neck as he pushed my face around the rough stone.

“Jaida!”The shout was almost lost in the din of battle, but I

could hear the pain in Troian’s voice. It strengthened my resolve to find some way out of Ronan’s strong hand. Out think him. I can’t be stronger, so I need to be smarter.

I went slack in his hand, and he made the fatal mistake of loosening his grip for a moment to adjust his hand. I grabbed his forearm and spun myself below and behind him, smashing his face into the pillar. He collapsed on the floor, his head bleeding profusely. I heard Vaera scream in anger as he collapsed, and I couldn’t stop my smile.

I gripped my sword once more and turned to face my next foe, only to find Faye, Troian, and Augustus had dispatched them all and were closing in on the dais where Vaera and Demetri still stood. She was almost crouched behind him, his sword in his hand, but he didn’t appear to be too concerned with the approaching fighters.

I moved around the bodies lying all over the floor and came between Faye and Troian, brushing his arm as I passed.

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“It’s over, Vaera. There’s no one left to save you.” I spoke as I climbed the stairs, my sword in my hand. She rose from her crouch, and I was suddenly reminded of the woman who had taught me about courtly behavior. Always keep your back straight and your chin up. Anything else shows weakness.

She’s scared but doesn’t want us to know. She knows it’s lost.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Jaida.”I was too sure she knew she was defeated that I didn’t

count on her final weapon. The cool edge of the blade on my exposed throat made me pause and glance at Demetri, his face passive and arm steady.

“Jaida!” Troian’s unsure voice rang out once more.“If any of you take another step toward me, she dies.”I started to panic, unsure how strong a hold the queen

had over Demetri. Sure, he wanted the money, but was it enough to make him kill a lifelong friend? I honestly didn’t know, and that scared me more than anything else.

“Demetri, you can’t do this to her!” Faye’s voice sounded behind me and, for the first time, his grip loosened a bit. I knew then that it wasn’t a lost cause. We could still get through to him.

“Dem, is this really worth it? If killing me and earning your money will make you happy, then do it. I just want you to be happy. Because that’s what it means to be a friend.” I whispered to him. His passive mask cracked, and I could see the conflict and confusion in his eyes for a moment before he rebuilt the facade.

The breath in my lungs stopped as the fear flowed through my veins. I couldn’t tell what he was going to do. Demetri had always been the best poker player. Nobody could tell when he was bluffing, not even me.

“Dem—”I was silenced by fear when I saw his arm swinging

around, but the blow never came. Instead, the blade came to rest against the neck of Queen Vaera, whose incredulous expression nearly made me laugh out loud. Her face morphed into a look of absolute fear as Demetri grabbed the sword with both hands.

“Wait, you can’t kill me!”

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“And why not? After everything you’ve done, all the pain you’ve caused, why shouldn’t I kill you?” Demetri said, his voice as steady as his sword arm.

“Because I’m pregnant.”

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Chapter 12The throne room was buzzing with activity following

King Augustus’s announcement. He’d decided to imprison Vaera pending a trial for her transgressions. Demetri had been all for killing her, but after the revelation that she was expecting another child, none of us were comfortable with sentencing an unborn child to die.

I didn’t know what to think or how to feel. I just wanted to talk to Troian, but he had gone with his father to interrogate his mother—in what had to be one of the most bizarre interrogations in the history of Xandria. He’d been on the dais with the king since then, and I wasn’t allowed up there. Not yet anyway.

Faye and Demetri were gathered near me, as we were all more comfortable hanging in the shadows. The details were still a little hazy, especially to the entirety of the court that had been asleep during all of the events of last night. They knew we weren’t being punished, but they weren’t entirely sure what any of us had done or not done.

A hand on my elbow pulled me from my own head, and I turned to find Demetri and Faye ducking out of the room. I followed them out into the gardens. We stood quietly for a moment before Faye finally broke the silence.

“I’m sorry, Jaida. We got lured in with the money, and she’s so convincing and manipulative, and Ronan is crazy intimidating. We royally messed up.”

She stopped herself and her eyes grew wide after her unintentional pun. The relief and her insane expression just tipped me over my sleep-deprived edge, and I couldn’t stop the laughter that spilled out of my mouth. Demetri joined me and soon enough we were clutching our stomachs and gasping for breath.

“What the hell, Faye?” I questioned between peals of laughter.

“You did always have a way with words, didn’t you?” Demetri joined in, a smile still gracing his face.

“Screw you guys.”We quieted down, and I knew that we weren’t perfect.

Things weren’t going to be great for a while, but they were getting back to normal. As I looked at these two now, I was reminded of all the time we spent together after

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class and after practice, just the three of us messing around the compound, being stupid.

“What will you guys do now? Will you go home or…?”Their gazes shifted inward as they contemplated their

options, and I found myself very much hoping they’d elect to stay here. Not that I had any actual authority to keep them here when they weren’t required for protection any longer, and I wasn’t even sure what would happen to them since they’d both been accomplices of Vaera, even though they’d fought with me.

“We’ll see what they let us do. We might both be imprisoned anyway,” Demetri said with his trademark snark. Faye smacked him, and I felt a deep ache in my heart for these wonderful people who’d made a terrible mistake.

They both quieted suddenly, and I turned to find Troian walking up behind us, a smile on his face.

“Mind if I steal Jaida away for a moment?”He put a hand on my back and steered me further into

the gardens.“How are you doing? I know it’s been crazy.”“I’m okay. How are you? It was your—” I paused.“I don’t know. I haven’t had the time to process this yet.

I haven’t had the time to think about anything. I’ve only had one thing on my mind since this all ended.”

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?” I smiled, sure I knew where he was going with this. I didn’t know what to do about the queen or the court or Faye and Demetri or anything else, but I knew what I wanted with Troian—the same thing I’d wanted since we met.

“You. I know my formal asking was interrupted before, but do you think—”

“Yes. Of course.”“You’d have to stay here, at the palace and probably

learn a lot of things you don’t care about and tolerate a lot of terrible people wanting to be around you all the time and—

I cut him off with a kiss, entirely confident in my answer. He grinned against my mouth as we pulled apart. I felt his warm hand slip into mine and knew he was trying to lend me his strength as much as comfort me when he squeezed

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tightly. I turned to Troian and looked into his pale blue eyes.

“Think you can handle all of that?”“I’m sure I can, as long as we have each other. We can

make it through anything.”I knew it wouldn’t be that easy. I knew we had a

veritable minefield waiting for us between the court, the problems with the queen, and the legal proceedings necessary for us to even get married. But I knew that I’d never stop trying. I’d never give up on Troian or on this new life that could be so wonderful and terrible. I never thought I’d actually have a chance to escape the old life that tortured me so much, but now that I had a new chance, and a chance with Troian, I’d never give it up.

And right now, that’s all we needed.

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