d on the stone walls had burned down to smoking embers, casti

ound against the worn stone floor. She tracked the muffled sounds of struggle, her grip tightening

tly ajar. Through the crack, the sickening sound of tea

if your purity still holds any

kicked t

A

ges screaming in protest as the door

ssed hard against a towering bookshelf of ancient tomes, was Josefina. Her pale blue nightgown was torn at the shoulder, exposing

of decaying privilege. He froze, his pudgy hands still clutching the torn fabric of Jos

rked, his voice thick

waste a single

wool and lethal intent. Before Corbin could even fully register her presence, Elinore's left ha

e twisted her hips and hurled the two-hundre

nto a heavy mahogany reading table, shattering it. The wood splintered with a deaf

onto her knees. She wrapped her arms ar

She drew her shortsword. The distinctive shing of ste

ful of blood and splinters onto the floor. He looked up, his face contorti

heavy broadsword strapped to his waist. "You think you can lay hands on a High Baron? I wil

hy. "You are trespassing in the royal wing, Baron. The pe

roadsword in a massive, undisciplined

er short-cropped hair. Using his own momentum against him, she pivoted on her heel, brought the pommel o

ac

d open, and the heavy broadsword cl

. Corbin crashed to his knees. In a flash of cold steel, Elinore brought the razor-

bloomed where the steel

ur windpipe right now," Elinore whispered, h

"prince" terrified him, but the fear quickly gave way to a twisted,

the corners of his mouth. "It won't change a damn th

blade a fraction of a millimeter deeper

n't heard the news, have you? You've been too b

malicious triumph. "General Vane is dead. His army is slaughtered. The Urekai hordes

ern Line was Navia's impenetrable shield. If it had f

His eyes darted to the shive

olent uncle? The moment he heard the Urekai war horns, he wet his

s demanded tribute to spare the capital. Gold, grain... and fertile human

inore's throat. She stared at Corbin, her ch

linore's eyes. "The treaty is signed. The Urekai envoy is arriving at dawn. Your un

an

Elinore's suddenly numb fing

ears, the brutal physical torture she endured daily to protect her sister-it was all for nothing. The fragil

er face in her hands, her sobs ech

, clutching his bleeding neck, and stumbled toward the exit. "Enjoy your final hou

attered books, staring at the spot where the baron had k

fina was a crumpled, broken mess on the fl

ed in Elinore's chest. It mixed with the bizarre, residual heat still simme

to her knees, pulling Josefina into a desperate, crushing embra

g had betrayed them. She was one "boy" against an empire of apex predators.