Chapter 7
We rode through the night.
There was no time left for hiding.
Harrow had created a false Lucien.
If the council accepted him, Adrian could be declared compromised.
Abducted.
Unfit.
Possibly dead.
Then Harrow would crown a puppet.
Again.
Lucien rode beside Adrian.
The brothers looked enough alike that anyone seeing them together would understand the truth.
But seeing them was the problem.
Harrow controlled the palace gates.
So my mother suggested something insane.
"The bridal trial."
Adrian looked at her.
"What?"
"The second trial is tomorrow."
I frowned.
"The competition is still happening?"
"Harrow won't cancel it."
Lucien understood first.
"He needs normality."
Helena nodded.
"He needs the city to believe the Crown remains stable."
The queen trials were public.
Thousands would gather outside the palace.
Nobles.
Merchants.
Foreign diplomats.
Witnesses.
"If Adrian appears there," I said, "Harrow can't claim he's abducted."
"And if Lucien appears beside him," Helena added, "the false prince collapses."
Adrian smiled.
"I like it."
I didn't.
"That means entering through the most guarded place in the kingdom."
"Yes."
"You like that?"
"Very much."
Lucien looked at me.
"He's always been like this."
"You were four."
"I remember enough."
By midday, the capital appeared ahead.
Royal banners covered the walls.
Crowds filled the roads.
We separated.
Helena and Lucien entered through old aqueduct tunnels known only to the First Crown.
Adrian disguised himself among Rowan's soldiers.
I had the worst role.
Contestant.
Again.
Apparently, saving the kingdom did not excuse me from wearing another ridiculous gown.
My mother had packed one.
Of course she had.
Blue this time.
"Why do you own this?" I demanded.
"I plan ahead."
"You planned my dresses?"
"I planned everything."
Terrifying woman.
I entered through the women's gate with the other contestants.
Lady Eveline Harrow stood near the front.
Her arm was still bruised from the platform fall.
When she saw me, her face tightened.
"You're alive."
"Disappointed?"
"My father said you kidnapped Prince Adrian."
"Your father says many things."
Her eyes flickered.
Something strange.
Fear.
Not hatred.
I lowered my voice.
"Do you know what he's doing?"
She looked away.
That answered enough.
"Eveline."
"Don't."
"He's using you too."
Her jaw trembled.
"You know nothing."
"Then tell me."
She turned.
"My father doesn't lose."
Neither did mine.
I kept that to myself.
The second trial took place in the palace amphitheater.
A judge presented disputes.
Each contestant had to rule.
Wisdom.
Fairness.
Judgment.
Harrow sat where Adrian should have been.
Beside him stood the false Lucien.
He looked vaguely royal.
Dark hair.
Similar height.
But not enough.
Not to me.
Harrow saw me.
His face barely moved.
Impressive.
"Lady Elara."
I curtsied.
"My lord."
He smiled.
"How surprising."
"I hear that often."
The first dispute involved two farmers arguing over land.
Lady Eveline ruled according to title ownership.
Cold.
Legal.
The crowd remained quiet.
My turn came.
A widow and a merchant stood before me.
The merchant claimed the widow owed him her home because her husband died with unpaid debt.
The papers supported him.
But something felt wrong.
I questioned him.
Then her.
Then the clerk.
The merchant grew angry.
"Her husband signed."
"With which hand?"
He blinked.
"What?"
I looked at the widow.
"Was your husband right-handed?"
She shook her head.
"He lost his right hand in the border war."
I held up the document.
The signature leaned from a right-handed writer.
Forgery.
The crowd erupted.
Harrow's smile vanished.
"Enough."
I looked toward him.
"Do I pass?"
Before he could answer, trumpets sounded.
Not ceremonial.
Military.
The western gates opened.
Captain Rowan entered the amphitheater.
Behind him rode Prince Adrian.
The crowd exploded.
Harrow stood.
"No."
Adrian removed his hood.
"Miss me?"
People shouted.
The false Lucien stepped backward.
Harrow recovered.
"Your Highness! Thank God. Lady Helena abducted you—"
"No."
Adrian rode forward.
"She saved me."
The crowd quieted.
Harrow pointed toward me.
"This girl has poisoned your mind."
Adrian looked at me.
"Frequently."
Despite everything, I laughed.
Harrow turned red.
"Seize him."
No guards moved.
Some still belonged to Harrow.
Others hesitated.
Then another figure entered through the eastern arch.
Lucien.
The crowd became silent in a way I had never heard before.
Two brothers.
Same blood.
Same face around the eyes.
One raised in a palace.
One hidden in exile.
The false Lucien looked terrified.
Real Lucien stopped beside Adrian.
Harrow's mask finally shattered.
"No."
Lucien smiled.
"Apparently that's the family response to seeing me."
Adrian almost laughed.
Harrow pointed wildly.
"Impostor!"
My mother appeared on the upper gallery.
"No."
Every older councilor recognized her.
Lady Helena Vale.
The traitor.
The exile.
Alive.
She lifted the seal of the First Crown.
"I carried Prince Lucien from this palace the night Duke Harrow ordered his death."
The crowd erupted again.
Harrow shouted.
"Lies!"
Then Lady Eveline stepped forward.
"Father."
He turned.
She was crying.
"Stop."
His face changed.
"Eveline."
"You promised no one would die."
The amphitheater froze.
Harrow stared at his daughter.
She covered her mouth.
Too late.
Adrian heard.
I heard.
Everyone heard.
"What did he promise you?" I asked.
She looked at me.
"My marriage to Adrian."
Harrow shouted, "Silence!"
Eveline flinched.
Then something inside her hardened.
"He said the trials were arranged."
Adrian's face darkened.
"He said I would become queen."
She looked toward the false Lucien.
"And if Adrian refused, there would be another prince."
Harrow rushed toward her.
Rowan's soldiers moved.
Chaos broke.
The false Lucien tried to run.
Lucien caught him.
Adrian reached Harrow.
For one second, I thought he would kill him.
Harrow smiled.
"Do it."
Adrian froze.
Harrow wanted violence.
Proof the prince was unstable.
Even now.
Adrian lowered his sword.
"No."
Harrow's smile faded.
Adrian looked at the crowd.
"You don't get an easy death."
Rowan seized him.
The amphitheater erupted into cheers.
I exhaled for the first time in what felt like an hour.
Then a palace bell rang.
Slow.
Heavy.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Everyone stopped.
Adrian's face went white.
He knew before anyone spoke.
A royal guard appeared at the gate.
Tears covered his face.
He bowed.
"Your Highness."
Adrian whispered, "No."
May you like
The guard lowered his head.
"King Aldric is dead."
