Behind me, one of the guardsmen gasps. Maybe more than one. I don’t know if it’s a gasp of defense or betrayal, but it’s a clear break from rank, and it does not go unnoticed.

Karis Luran smiles. “You have done quite the job creating an illusion. I must admit, you have impressed me, boy.”

I glare at her. She’s guessed too accurately on too much of it. “What will it take for you to withdraw your forces from my country?”

“There is nothing you can offer me that I cannot take on my own.” A pause. “I am not a heartless monarch. I will allow you to give your people one week’s notice to flee your lands.” That cruel smile again. “That should give them plenty of time to reach the mythical Disi.”

I take a step forward before I can stop myself. I don’t know if it’s the impending change or my own fury driving my steps, but her guards draw their weapons. Eerily, they do it in unison.

Grey draws his sword.

Karis Luran raises a hand. They all stop.

Nothing drives home her “boy” comment quite like this moment.

“I will stop you,” I snap.

“You are welcome to try.” Her expression does not change. “I was surprised when your father stopped paying the tithe, you know. That is how I know this is a farce.”

I go still.

I know of no tithe. Especially not one paid to a country such as Syhl Shallow.

Karis Luran continues, “At first, I was confused. Was this an act of aggression? A precursor to war? Your father knew the penalties of nonpayment. When the borders were closed, I was more certain. But when my spies began to report that no one was being admitted at court, I grew suspicious. Then rumors of a monstrous creature rampaging Emberfall began to surface. Months passed, then years. No one had seen the king in ages. No one had seen the royal family. It was said that the king had fled the lands and was ruling from afar. So I sent in a regiment of soldiers to take over a small city. To see what the response would be. Do you know what they discovered?”

They discovered that my cities had been left without defense.

I was lost before I began.

“Why was my father paying you a tithe?” I ask her.

“You will have to ask him.” Her eyes flash with danger. “If you can.”

“If he is no longer paying it, what harm could come from admitting the reason?”

“I no longer need to speak with you, boy.”

“If you are so certain my father is dead,” I snap, “you will address me with the proper respect due the King of Emberfall.”

She laughs and turns away. “How certain you are that you are the true heir to the throne of Emberfall. Of all people, you should know your father’s proclivities. How fickle his taste in women. When your grandfather would not allow him to marry that sorceress, do you truly believe he allowed her to be led to slaughter?”

“She was killed,” I say. “There are records—”

“Indeed there are. There are records of his first marriage as well.” Her eyes narrow. “Where do you think he wed? Where do you think the marriage was consummated?” A pause. “There was a male heir. Your grandfather ordered him killed as well—but your father tried to send him to me. I refused. A halfling child? In Syhl Shallow? Never. I saw the torment your father went through. Your grandfather’s greed allowed those people to breed in your lands, and look where it got him.”

And look where it got me. I’m frozen. Nothing about this meeting has gone the way I wanted it to.

As always this season, there is never enough time.

I follow her out of the castle. “What child? Where is it now?”

“Does it matter?” She turns with another thin-lipped smile. “Truly? You have lost your country, boy. Does it matter who the true heir to your father’s throne is?” She climbs into the carriage, then stops her footman from closing the door. “When you flee, head north. I would give you a position among my castle staff. I believe my ladies would enjoy a new plaything.”

“I will not flee.” I bite the words out through clenched teeth.

“Then we will take you by force.”

“You will not take Emberfall easily.”

“No,” she says, and any amusement drains out of her voice. “Lives will be lost on both sides. Regardless of whether you are the true heir to your father’s throne, there is a key difference between your actions and those of a ruler. You know how to rally your people. You have built a force to stand against me. But you do not know you’ve lost. They do not know they’ve lost. It is one thing to build your people up. Entirely another to hold them together.”

With that, she slams her door.

I want to order my soldiers to stop them. To set this carriage on fire and destroy her guards.

Anything I do to her will only hasten war.

Especially if there are spies among us.

“She could be baiting you, my lord,” Grey says quietly.

“Of course she’s baiting me.” I watch her carriage bounce along the cobblestones. “It’s working.” I sigh. As with last night in my drawing room with Grey, I have no idea how to move forward from here.

Flee.

Fight.

I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to tell my people to do.

After what Karis Luran just said, I don’t even know if I’m the right person to tell them anything.

By nightfall, I sit alone in my father’s strategy room. I’ve been staring at the maps of Emberfall all day, wondering if there’s any way possible to arrange my meager army into a formation that will stand against a force from Syhl Shallow.

Harper called this a game once, and she’s right. In a way it is.

A game I am destined to lose. Karis Luran holds most of the pieces.

“You look troubled, Prince Rhen.”

Lilith speaks to me from the shadows.

I don’t look at her. “I shouldn’t be surprised that you would find me now.”

“You’ve been too busy for me.” Her tone of voice tells me she’s pouting.

I ignore her. Harper’s idea of luring soldiers into the mountain pass was a good one, an easy way to thin their ranks and pick them off more effectively. If Karis Luran hasn’t sent the bulk of her army through the pass yet, it could be possible. Her existing soldiers would put up a fight. People would die. But if my army could survive enough to launch a second wave, we could eliminate her forces as they tried to move through the pass.

I could lead half my army to death on the hope of stopping Karis Luran.

And for what? I’ll likely be a monster in a matter of hours.

Slender hands land on my shoulders from behind, stroking upward. “So troubled.”

I whirl and smack her hands away. “You will not touch me again. Harper is gone. I have failed.”

She steps away as if she meant to let go of me all along. “I found your meeting with Karis Luran to be quite amusing. Who knew your father’s taste for random women could have left an heir languishing somewhere in your kingdom?” She puts a finger to her mouth. “A halfling! I must admit, the idea of a forgotten relative somewhere in Emberfall almost makes me want to save your poor country. Though it would likely be fruitless. The poor man probably has no idea what he is. And truly, stopping an invading army sounds like such a bore.”

I hate that her comments burn at me. “Go away.”

“But I have your leash ready, Prince Rhen. Do you care to see it?”

Leash. The word coils around my throat and jerks tight. “No.”

In that moment, I realize what I have to do. Karis Luran was right: I’ve rallied my people. There is only one way to hold them together.

I turn away from Lilith and stride toward the door.

She follows me. “I should visit Karis Luran for a little chat, just to be sure I’m not misunderstanding. I’ll bring you along on a chain to make sure she’s forthcoming with information.”

Grey is waiting outside the door and he looks alarmed when he sees Lilith following me.

“Ignore her,” I tell him, and keep walking.

I head for the stairs.

She follows. So does Grey.

I bypass the third floor and head for the stone stairs leading to the turreted walkway at the top of the castle. A guard stands there: a lookout. His name is Leylan. I order him to stand down.

He hesitates, then glances at Lilith and Grey curiously.

“I gave you an order,” I snap. “Stand down.”

He obeys. We’re alone at the top of the castle, standing under the stars. The moon shines a wide beam down on my lands. The air is cold, promising winter soon.

For the first time in three hundred twenty-seven seasons, snow may fall on Ironrose.

I think of my family.

“So very troubled,” Lilith murmurs. “What are your intentions here, my dear prince?”

I turn to Grey. “Your sword, Commander.”

As ever, he does not hesitate. His eyes are pools of black, dark and shining in the moonlight. He pulls the sword and lays it across his hands, offering it to me.

I take the weapon and hold his eyes. “Thank you for your service,” I say to him.

Lilith claps her hands, delighted. “Have you promised to put Grey out of his misery before you change?”

“I have.”