“Don’t get too cocky,” Roan said in my ear, and I realized I was grinning. “No one holds a grudge quite like Yana.”

My smile vanished as Talin, Zadie, Adriel, and I followed him toward the dungeon, where the prisoner was being held. Yana and Hoff were also in attendance, while the rest of the councilmembers stayed behind.

At least there were windows, I thought, unlike the New Castle dungeon. But it was still a prison, designed to hold people in, not make them comfortable, and I couldn’t stop the memories of my own captivity from flooding back. I’d spent days alone in the dark, living in my own filth, subsisting on moldy bread and thick, metallic-tasting liver stew. Ceren had come to visit me only when he wanted more of my blood. And the last time he’d come, I had only managed to escape by stabbing him.

Ceren’s guard sat in a heavy wooden chair, restrained with leather straps. His skin was sallow and gray. We were doing him a favor by taking away the stone, though with the way he screamed and struggled as soon as Roan touched the necklace, it was clear he didn’t think so.

Fortunately, the straps held, and the prisoner’s color began to return almost as soon as the stone was off his skin. Roan, who wore thick leather gloves, immediately dropped it into a metal tray, where it couldn’t influence anyone else.

The guard blinked and shook his head as if he was waking from a dream, exactly as Talin had said.

“Where am I?” the man asked, looking from Talin, who stood directly in front of him, to Zadie and me. He seemed to relax a little when he saw there were women present.

“You’re in Galeth,” Talin said calmly. “You were captured and imprisoned when you attempted to follow us across the border.”

He stared blankly at Talin, as if the words meant nothing to him.

“What is the last thing you remember?” I asked, coming to kneel in front of him. It must be terribly disorienting to find yourself restrained in a room full of strangers, and so far, he wasn’t even struggling.

He closed his eyes. “I was in my village. The king had come to test all the strongest men, to see if we were worthy of being chosen.”

“Chosen for what?” Talin asked.

“To be a member of his guard. To receive one of his bloodstones. He told us they would bring us unimaginable power.” His face colored as he glanced between us. “I know it sounds foolish, but I’d seen the king before with my own eyes. He’d always been weak and sickly, but he looked like a completely different person. He said it was because of the stones.”

“And you were chosen?” I asked.

“Yes. So were my brothers. I haven’t seen them since.” He squinted a bit, looking at Talin. “You’re the king’s brother.”

“I am.”

The man bowed his head. “Your Highness. The king told us we were to find you and capture you. I don’t remember why.”

Talin sighed. “I’m fairly certain he didn’t actually give you a reason.”

The Ilarean sagged a little in his restraints. “Am I going to be executed?”

“Of course not,” Talin said. “You weren’t in control of your actions. We just need to know a few things.”

He licked his lips nervously. “What kinds of things?”

“Everything you know about the bloodstones and my brother’s plans.”

The man looked crestfallen. He seemed eager to cooperate—or at least to not be punished. “I don’t know.” His eyes darted from Talin to Roan. “The king wore a crown full of stones like those,” he said, glancing at the necklace in the tray.

“He placed that on me himself,” the man said. “That’s the last thing I remember.”

“How many stones has he given out?” Talin asked.

“I wish I knew. Hundreds, at least. Ours wasn’t the first village he visited.”

“And he’s only recruiting men?”

“I—I believe so?”

Zadie appeared at the guard’s side so quietly I hadn’t seen her move. She held a cup of water to his lips, and he drank eagerly, nodding in thanks when he’d finished.

“Did he tell you why he was growing his army?” It was the first time Roan had spoken.

“He said he was going to restore Ilara to its former glory,” the man said. “That we would no longer allow territories to secede, like Pirot and Meradin. That we would defeat the so-called woman king. He said he wouldn’t allow us to remain weak, that he wasn’t like his father.”

Talin’s mouth flattened into a line. “Was there anything else?”

The guard couldn’t meet Talin’s eyes. “He...he promised us that those who stood in his way would be executed, but those who served him would be rewarded with land and other riches.”

“I can’t speak for my brother,” Talin said. “But I believe it was his intention to let you all die, if need be. I’m sorry. It seems he controlled you completely while you wore that stone.”

Rage and disgust for Ceren coursed through me. Once, he had used his power to intimidate others. Now, he could literally control them like puppets, and he did so remorselessly, with no regard for anyone but himself. How many people could he control at once, I wondered? A hundred? A thousand? An entire army?

I could see the guard was on the verge of tears. “What became of my brothers?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” Talin placed his hand on the man’s shoulder. “What’s your name?”

“Jerem.”

“I hope we’ll find your brothers, Jerem.”

Roan stepped forward. “We’ll need to vote, but as far as I’m concerned, you can leave Galeth with Talin and his men.”

Talin nodded his thanks. “You’ll be free once we reach Ilara. You can go your own way, or you can join my side and fight against my brother. It’s your choice to make.”

The man’s eyes darted around the small room, taking us all in as if he suspected this was a trap. “What is your side?” he asked finally.

“I fight for the woman king,” Talin answered, and Roan’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. “And I am here to ask the Galethians to join me.”

* * *

Yana looked like she was ready to kill Talin, but Hoff managed to escort her back to the meeting room while Roan led us to another part of the fortress. There was a large sitting room decorated with tapestries and carved furniture, similar to what I’d seen in New Castle. Roan collapsed into an overstuffed chair and flicked his hand at us, indicating we should all sit.