Cassandra's POV
The hand over my mouth was strong, but I was ready for this.
I'd been expecting an attack ever since I agreed to meet Prince Adrian in the East Garden. Queen Seraphine had eyes everywhere. Someone must have seen us.
I drove my elbow backward hard, aiming for ribs. Connected. Heard a grunt of pain.
The hand loosened. I spun around, my fingers reaching for the small knife hidden in my sleeve—
"Wait! Lady Cassandra, wait!"
A young woman stood there, clutching her side where I'd hit her. She wore servant's clothes, but her eyes were too sharp, too aware. This was no ordinary maid.
"Who are you?" I demanded, keeping my knife ready.
"My name is Lyanna," she said quickly, glancing down the corridor nervously. "I'm a friend. Well, I want to be a friend. Can we please go somewhere private? Anyone could see us here."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Because I know you met Prince Adrian this morning. I know you're planning something. And I know Queen Seraphine is about to make a move against both of you." She met my eyes. "Please. Five minutes. That's all I ask."
Everything in me screamed this was a trap. But Lyanna's fear looked real. And if she was telling the truth about Seraphine making a move...
"Five minutes," I agreed. "But if you try anything, I'll gut you."
"Fair enough."
She led me to a storage room filled with old furniture and dusty paintings. Once the door was closed, Lyanna turned to face me.
"I've been watching you," she said. "For three years, ever since your father was executed. I watched you sell everything your family owned to pay his debts. I watched you fight to keep your little brother out of debtor's prison. I watched you study poisons in secret, planning revenge."
My blood ran cold. "You've been spying on me?"
"I've been protecting you," Lyanna corrected. "Twice, assassins came to your house. Both times, they mysteriously got food poisoning before they could finish the job. That was me."
I stared at her. "Why?"
"Because my father was executed too. Five years ago. Prince Marcus's tutor." Her voice shook. "They said he was careless, that he let the prince go hunting alone and Marcus died in an 'accident.' But it wasn't an accident. Marcus was murdered. And my father knew too much, so they killed him too."
Prince Marcus. Adrian had mentioned him. Another one of Seraphine's victims.
"Who killed them?" I asked.
"Queen Seraphine. She's been eliminating anyone who threatens her sons' claim to the throne." Lyanna leaned closer. "Your father discovered she poisoned Queen Helena. My father discovered she arranged Prince Marcus's death. Both men were silenced."
My hand tightened on my knife. "Do you have proof?"
"No. That's why I need your help." She took a deep breath. "I heard about your alliance with Prince Adrian. I want in. I can gather information, spy on the Queen's servants, help you plan. I've been working in the palace for three years, learning everything I can. I know which guards are loyal to whom, which servants can be bribed, which corridors have secret passages."
"And what do you want in return?"
"The same thing you want. Justice for my father. And revenge on the woman who destroyed our families."
I studied her face. Saw the same burning rage I felt every day. The same desperate need to make someone pay.
"If you betray us, I'll kill you myself," I said.
"I'd expect nothing less." Lyanna smiled grimly. "So do we have a deal?"
Before I could answer, footsteps echoed in the corridor outside. Multiple sets. Moving fast.
"Guards," Lyanna whispered. "Looking for you. Someone reported seeing you with Prince Adrian after the announcement."
"I need to leave the palace. Now."
"Too late. They've sealed all the exits. Queen Seraphine ordered it personally—said she wants to 'ensure everyone's safety' after the Succession Trials announcement." Lyanna grabbed my arm. "But I know a way. Follow me. And stay quiet."
She led me through a maze of servant passages I'd never seen before. We moved quickly, pressing against walls whenever we heard voices. My heart pounded the whole time.
Finally, we reached a small door hidden behind a tapestry.
"This leads to the lower city," Lyanna said. "It's an old smuggler's route from when the palace was first built. The guards don't know about it."
"How do you know about it?"
"I make it my business to know escape routes." She pushed the door open. "Go. Get somewhere safe. I'll get word to Prince Adrian that you're alright."
I hesitated. "Why are you really helping me?"
Lyanna's expression hardened. "Because I've watched you survive three years of hell without breaking. You're strong. Smart. And you're not afraid to do what needs to be done. People like us need to stick together." She paused. "Besides, if Prince Adrian actually manages to win the Trials, we need someone like you beside him. Someone who knows what it's like to lose everything and keep fighting anyway."
Something about the way she said it made me think she was right.
"Thank you," I said.
"Don't thank me yet. Just survive." Lyanna glanced back nervously. "And be careful tonight. I overheard something—Queen Seraphine is planning something for the midnight bell. Something involving Prince Adrian."
My stomach dropped. "What?"
"I don't know. But it sounded bad." She pushed me gently toward the door. "Go. Warn him if you can."
I slipped through the door and down the narrow stone stairs. They twisted and turned, going deeper underground than I expected. The air got colder. Damper.
When I finally emerged, I was in an alley in the lower city, far from the palace. The sun was setting. I'd been in the palace all day.
I pulled my cloak tight and started walking. I needed to get home, check on my brother, and figure out how to warn Adrian about whatever Seraphine was planning.
But as I walked through the crowded streets, I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me.
I glanced back. Nothing. Just normal people going about their business.
I kept walking, faster now.
That's when I saw him.
A man in a dark cloak, following me. Keeping his distance but definitely following.
I turned down a side street. He followed.
I ducked into a marketplace. He followed.
My hand went to my knife. If this was one of Seraphine's assassins, I'd fight. I'd survived this long—I wasn't dying in some random alley.
I led him into a narrow passage between two buildings. Empty. Quiet. Good place for a fight.
I spun around, knife ready. "Alright. Show yourself."
The man stepped into the passage. Pulled back his hood.
It was Prince Elias.
Adrian's brother. The second prince. The one who always looked guilty about something.
"Lady Cassandra," he said, raising his hands to show he wasn't armed. "I'm not here to hurt you. I need to talk."
"About what?"
"About my brother. About Adrian." Elias's voice cracked. "About what I've done to him."
"What are you talking about?"
Elias looked like he might cry. "I've been poisoning him. For two years. Queen Seraphine ordered me to do it. She said if I didn't, she'd kill me too. She said Adrian had to die slowly so no one would suspect murder."
The world tilted. I'd suspected Seraphine was poisoning Adrian, but hearing confirmation—and that his own brother did it—made me sick.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.
"Because I can't do it anymore." Tears ran down Elias's face. "I watched him get weaker and weaker. I watched him suffer. And he never did anything wrong—he was just born fourth in line and that made him disposable to our father and dangerous to our stepmother." He grabbed my shoulders desperately. "You have to help him. You have to save him. I'll do anything—I'll testify against Seraphine, I'll give you evidence, I'll help you both escape. Just please, help me save my brother before it's too late."
I stared at this prince, this privileged royal who'd spent two years slowly killing his own brother, now begging me for help.
Part of me wanted to stab him right there. He was a coward and a murderer.
But another part—the strategic part that had kept me alive for three years—saw an opportunity.
A guilty prince desperate to make amends was useful. Very useful.
"Tell me everything," I said. "Every detail about the poison. About Seraphine's plans. About who else is involved."
"I will. I'll tell you everything. But first—" He glanced around nervously. "We need to get to Adrian. Now. Tonight."
"Why tonight?"
"Because Seraphine doesn't just want Adrian to die from poison anymore. She knows something's changed with him. The way he acted today, defending you, announcing he'll compete in the Trials—that's not the Adrian she's been controlling."
My stomach knotted. "What's she planning?"
"Tonight at midnight, she's sending assassins to his chambers. Five of them. The best killers in the kingdom." Elias's voice shook. "They're going to make it look like an accident. A fire, probably. Or he'll 'fall' from his balcony."
"Tonight?" I grabbed his arm. "We have to warn him!"
"We can't get back into the palace. The guards are under Seraphine's control. They won't let me back in without alerting her." He met my eyes desperately. "But you—you know the city. Is there another way? Any way to reach him?"
I thought about the smuggler's passage Lyanna showed me. But I didn't know where it connected inside the palace. It could take hours to navigate, and we had maybe three hours until midnight.
"There might be," I said slowly. "But we need help. Someone who knows the palace inside and out."
"Who?"
I made a decision. "Come with me. And if you're lying about any of this, I'll kill you myself."
"I'm not lying." Elias looked broken. "I've been lying for two years. I'm done with lies."
We rushed through the lower city streets, heading for the small apartment I shared with my brother. I had contacts—information brokers, former palace servants my father had befriended. Someone would know a way in.
But even as we ran, my mind raced with horrible possibilities.
What if we were too late?
What if Adrian was already dead?
What if this was all a trap and Elias was leading me into an ambush?
We reached my building and climbed the stairs two at a time. I burst through my door—
And froze.
My little brother Thomas sat tied to a chair in the middle of the room. Blood dripped from his nose. His eyes were wide with terror.
And standing behind him, holding a knife to his throat, was someone I never expected to see.
Lord Viktor Ashford, one of the most powerful nobles in the kingdom.
"Hello, Lady Cassandra," Viktor said with a cold smile. "We need to have a chat about your new alliance with Prince Adrian. And about whether your little brother keeps breathing."