Cassius was stunned. He blinked several times, trying his best to look innocent. “Wh-who, who would ever seek to dethrone you, the rightful ruler, Queen Rona?”Her eyes penetrated into his like two beams of light cast down from the heavens, though not ethereal in any way. “I’m not sure. But I believe there is someone. Perhaps you know.”“I don’t know anything, my Queen. In fact, when I thought I saw the duke, I went to the guards, your guards. If I was in cahoots with your husband, why would I do such a thing?”She had to ponder that for a moment, which seemed like a win to Cassius. But then, her line of questioning took a sharp turn for the worse. “Let me ask you this, Cassius. What if it is my daughter who seeks the crown before it is her time? What would you do then?”“Princess Katrinetta?” He did his best to sound shocked. “Your Majesty, your daughter is completely loyal to

Kit’s eyes doubled in size. Cass was in the dungeon? Had he really been implicated in the revolt, or was this simply her mother’s way of getting him out of the picture? More tears slid down her cheeks as Kit fought to breathe. “That can’t be, Mother. You know he is loyal to you. He’s Grandmother’s favorite by far.”“And yet, when I asked him directly about his loyalty, he was defiant to my face, saying he no longer supported me as queen.”“But... who does he support then?” Kit asked, praying that her prying didn’t explode in her face. Just what did her mother know of their efforts?Rona looked pained. “A woman who currently resides in Antoinetta. She’s been making plans to claim the throne for years. You’ve inquired about the state of our citizenry, poor roads, poor pay, subpar living conditions. All of the crown’s funding has been used for years to keep her at bay, b

Wrenbrook seemed almost as deep as it was wide as Kit followed Eli through secret passages, down winding stairwells, and through labyrinths so dark at times she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. With Jate and Landon directly behind her, and Reeve following several steps behind them to make sure they were not being followed, she felt relatively safe for the moment. But the closer they got to the dungeon, the more Kit’s stomach sank as she thought about what she might discover there. The possibilities of an angry mob attacking her for the sins of her mother, or the guards alerting the queen of their insurrection, were both possibilities.The odor of mildew infiltrated her lungs as the floor evened out and they stopped descending. Then, another smell caught her attention. It could only be described as human waste mixed with the body odor of hundreds of people who had not been clean for some time, with notes of decay and rot. Kit tried not to gag; she didn&r

The one who’d sworn his allegiance to the queen charged at Landon as the others gave a roar and moved forward as well. Landon overpowered him easily enough, knocking the sword from his hand and forcing him backward until he was nearly within reach of dozens of arms straining to lay their fingers on him. The guard held his hands up and waited as the others attempted to succeed where he had failed.Eli took on two of the guards at the same time, but neither was a match for his sword. Within seconds, one was bleeding from his right arm, and the other had a large gash in his side. They, too, dropped their weapons easily enough.One guard flew at Jate with his sword pointed at his gullet as another advanced from the other side. Jate blocked the quicker of the two but barely swung his weapon around in time to stop the second. Kit held her breath, wishing she’d taken the sword earlier after all so she could be of some help. Jate was kept busy with one man, then th

Seeing the floor swallow him up was so unsettling, Kit forgot she was supposed to be counting. By the time she remembered, Landon and Reeve were behind her with Cassius. “You’ll be fine, Princess. We won’t let any harm befall you,” Reeve promised.Kit smiled at him, but she had no idea how that might be possible if she was falling through the ground, and he was here. “Be careful,” she warned. All three of them nodded, and then she positioned herself on the lip of the hole and slid down so that she was sitting on the edge.“We’ll see you soon,” Landon assured her.Kit didn’t pull her eyes off of the opening to acknowledge him. Instead, she counted to three, crossed her arms over her body, and moved off of the edge of the floor into nothingness.The drop was far steeper than she had imagined it would be. At first, she wasn’t even touching the floor of the shaft as she sped down into what seem