Lia Mara frowns. “I believe you can only push people down so far before they will rise up and rebel.” She pauses. “You spoke of the curse feeling like an eternity. Even if Rhen was not cruel, I think it must have been a relief to escape that duty.”

“Yes. It was.” The words are almost a relief to say. Despite everything we endured together, there was an element of relief to finding myself in charge of my own future.

I could have told Rhen what I knew. Right then, right when I learned it from Lilith. I didn’t.

We settle into silence again. The window is full of moonlight. My fight on the field with Nolla Verin feels like a lifetime ago. I want to wish for another path but wishing solves nothing. The minutes tick by, bringing us ever closer to the moment when I must leave.

Lia Mara eventually looks at me. Her fingers drift over mine. “I’m glad you came, Grey.”

I close my fingers around hers, and she pulls me toward her again. She kisses me gently, her lips drawing at mine. Her fingers tangle in the hair at the nape of my neck, and the kiss becomes anything but gentle.

“I should have climbed up here days ago,” I say.

“Ahh. Fell siralla.” She rolls her eyes and kisses me again.

“Nah,” I say, offering the same words she spoke on the veranda so many days ago. “Fell bellama. Fell garrant.”

She blinks, then laughs in surprise. “You’ve been practicing!”

“Fell vale,” I say. I kiss her, whispering against her lips. “Gentle man.”

She blushes hotly, then presses her face against my chest. I hold her there and breathe.

The lock at her door clicks.

Silver hell. I all but leap through the window. The rope finds my hands by little more than a whispered prayer to fate. My feet fight to grip the wall as the rope swings wildly. My breath is a wild rush in my ears, the palace wall cold as ice in the night air.

Or maybe that’s Iisak, soaring through the air to land against a ledge fifteen feet above me. His black eyes peer down at me. “Problems, Your Highness?”

I stare daggers at him and shake my head vigorously.

My breathing needs to steady. I have no idea where the guards are in their patrolling, so I cannot remain against the palace wall too long—but I also don’t want to leave Lia Mara in danger. I will my frantic heartbeat to slow, then ease up a few feet to listen.

Karis Luran’s voice. “… are progressing nicely. You see now why I have kept you confined to your room.”

“Yes, Mother.” Lia Mara’s voice seems so small.

“I admit, I was worried he would attempt to turn his magic against us, but I have witnessed his attempts on the training fields. Perhaps his half-blood will work in our favor. He is not the threat the magesmiths once were.”

I can’t even scowl. She’s not wrong. And I don’t trust her. Why should she trust me?

My forearms strain against the rope.

“We have received word that Rhen’s forces are divided between cities, and we have no time to waste. The Royal Houses would like to have a gathering to offer their blessings to our generals.” Karis Luran pauses. “After your display at the last fete, I would like to demonstrate to the Royal Houses that there is no conflict between you and your sister. I would like to demonstrate that Grey is devoted to this alliance, and to Nolla Verin. You will not attend. You will keep your distance.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“You will not disappoint me again.” The threat in her voice is clear. I remember Cortney saying, The Stone Prison is not full of loyalists.

Silence.

I have to shift my weight, but I don’t want to risk it. I stare up at Iisak. He leans down a bit, until I’m not sure how he’s maintaining his balance.

My forearms are screaming. It’s surely been too long. The guards patrolling the grounds will spot me soon.

Suddenly Lia Mara’s face appears above me. Anguish fills her eyes. A tear slips free and strikes my cheek.

I pull myself up a few feet until I can brace on the window ledge.

“You must go,” she whispers.

“Lia Mara—”

“Please,” she whispers. Another tear slips free.

I reach out to brush it from her cheek. She takes a step back, out of reach.

“Go,” she whispers.

“Please. Wait.” I swallow. “We have so little time—”

She swipes tears from her face and straightens. “Please. I told you I do not matter.”

Above me, Iisak says, “Your Highness. The guards are beginning to turn back this way.”

“I can rescue you,” I say. The words come from my lips without hesitation. “This instant.”

“I don’t need rescuing.” She chokes on her breath. “Please, Grey. We knew what was at the end of this road.”

I wish for more time. There is none.

My life is full of wishes that never come true.

“This is your choice?” I say.

She straightens and wipes the tears off her face. When she speaks, her voice is unwavering and strong. “This is my choice. For my people. For yours. You said you would obey my order, and I gave it. Leave me. Be a good king.”

There is no path here. I feel as though the curse never ended. The players simply changed.

Her expression is unyielding. She gave an order, and I said I would obey.

“As you say.” I set my jaw, loop the rope around my boot, and rappel down the wall.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

GREY

Karis Luran arrives at my door at sunrise with a full contingent of guards. Nolla Verin is at her side, her eyes narrow and guarded. “Prince Grey. We have brought new armor befitting your station, for you and your men.”

A servant shifts forward and bows to me, then others move forward to flank him, holding out armor so freshly minted that I can smell the leather and oil. The black leather of the breastplate is lined with green, the colors of Syhl Shallow, but the crest emblazoned in the center is the gold and red seal of Emberfall: a lion and rose entwined, with a gold crown embossed above it, signifying royalty.

I trace my finger over the crest. The same insignia once appeared on my Royal Guard uniform—without the crown.

“Our colors together will let your people know you stand for unity,” says Karis Luran.

I meet her eyes. “Will your armor bear the colors of Emberfall as well?”

Her lip curls ever so slightly. “No. It seemed foolish to go to the expense of outfitting the entire army.”

So I will look to be allying with her—while she risks nothing.

I have nothing with which to bargain, though. “You have my thanks.”

She smiles, and she looks like a viper. There is no love lost between me and this woman. I would cut her down right here in the hallway if Lia Mara begged for release.

“The Royal Houses will gather on the training fields,” she says. “They would like to offer a blessing for our journey. I would like for you to demonstrate your magic, to show our advantage over Rhen’s people.” She pauses. “And you will keep that creature on a chain.”

Behind me, Iisak hisses.

I don’t even turn around. “No.”

“You swore that you would maintain his year of service. You said you would require him to do my bidding. This is my will, and you will do it.”