Just in case. Chaol had turned in his formal suggestions for his replacement to the king, and the announcement would be made tomorrow morning. After all these years, all that planning and hoping and working, he was leaving. He hadn’t been able to bring himself to leave his sword to his replacement, as he should have done. Tomorrow—­he only had to get through tomorrow.

But there was no way Chaol could prepare for the summons he received from the King of Adarlan to meet him in his private council chamber. When he arrived, Aedion was already inside, surrounded by fifteen guards Chaol did not recognize, all wearing those tunics with the royal wyvern embroidered with black thread.

The King of Adarlan was grinning.

•

Dorian heard within minutes that Aedion and Chaol had been summoned to his father’s private council room. As soon as he heard, he ran—­not for Chaol, but to Sorscha.

He almost collapsed with relief when he found her in her workroom. But he willed strength to his knees as he crossed the room in a few strides and grabbed her hand. “We’re getting out. Now. You are getting out of this castle right now, Sorscha.”

She pulled back. “What happened? Tell me, what—”

“We’re going now,” he panted.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” someone purred from the open doorway.

He turned to find Amithy—­the old healer—­standing there, arms crossed and smiling faintly. Dorian could do nothing as half a dozen unfamiliar guards appeared behind her and she said, “The king wants to see you both in his chambers. Immediately.”

64

In the council room high in the glass castle, Aedion had already marked the exits and considered what furniture he could use as a defense or as a weapon. They’d taken his sword when they’d come for him in his rooms, though they hadn’t shackled him. A lethal mistake. The captain ­wasn’t shackled, either; in fact, the fools had left him armed. The captain was doing his best to look vaguely confused as the king watched them from his glass throne.

“What an interesting night this has turned out to be. What interesting information my spies have brought me,” the king said, looking from Aedion to Chaol to Dorian and his woman.

“My most talented general is found to be sneaking around Rifthold in the dead of night—­after spending so much of my gold on parties he does not even bother attending. And he has somehow, despite years of animosity, become close with my Captain of the Guard. While my son”—­Aedion did not envy the smile the king gave the Crown Prince—“has apparently been dabbling with the rabble. Again.”

To his credit, Dorian snarled and said, “Consider your words carefully, Father.”

“Oh?” The king raised a thick, scarred brow. “I had it on good authority that you ­were planning to run away with this healer. Why would you ever do such a thing?”

The prince’s throat bobbed, but he kept his head high. “Because I ­can’t stand the thought of her spending another minute in this ­festering shithole that you call a court.” Aedion ­couldn’t help but admire him for it—­for yielding nothing until the king showed his hand. Smart man—­brave man. But it might not be enough to get them out of this alive.

“Good,” the king said. “Neither can I.”

He waved a hand, and before Aedion could bark a warning, the guards separated the prince and the girl. Four held Dorian back, and two forced Sorscha to kneel with a kick behind the knees.

She cried out as she hit the marble, but went silent—­the ­whole room went silent—­as a third guard pulled a sword and placed it lightly on the back of her slender neck.

“Don’t you dare,” Dorian growled.

Aedion looked to Chaol, but the captain was frozen. These ­were not his guards. Their uniforms ­were those of the men who had hunted Ren. They had the same dead eyes, the same vileness, that had made him not at all regret killing their colleagues in the alley. He’d taken down six that night with minimal damage—­how many could he cut down now? His gaze met the captain’s, and the captain flicked his eyes to the guard who held Aedion’s sword. That would be one of his first moves—­get Aedion a sword so they could fight.

Because they would fight. They would fight their way out of this, or to their deaths.

The king said to Dorian, “I would choose your next words carefully, Prince.”

•

Chaol ­couldn’t start the fight, not with that sword resting on Sorscha’s neck. That was his first goal: get the girl out alive. Then Aedion. Dorian, the king ­wouldn’t kill—­not ­here, not in this way. But Aedion and Sorscha had to get away. And that could not happen until the king called off the guard. Then Dorian spoke.

“Let her go and I’ll tell you anything.” Dorian took a step toward his father, palms out. “She has nothing to do with—­with what­ever this is. What­ever you think has happened.”

“But you do?” The king was still smiling. There was a carved, round bit of familiar black stone resting on the small table beside the king. From the distance, Chaol ­couldn’t see what it was, but it made his stomach turn over regardless. “Tell me, son: why ­were General Ashryver and Captain Westfall meeting these months?”

“I don’t know.”

The king clicked his tongue, and the guard raised his sword to strike. Chaol started forward as Sorscha sucked in a breath.

“No—stop!” Dorian flung out a hand.

“Then answer the question.”

“I am! You bastard, I am! I don’t know why they ­were meeting!”

The guard’s sword still remained up, ready to fall before Chaol could move an inch.

“Do you know that there has been a spy in my castle for several months now, Prince? Someone feeding information to my enemies and plotting against me with a known rebel leader?”

Shit. Shit. He had to mean Ren—­the king knew who Ren was, had sent those men to hunt him down.

“Just tell me who, Dorian, and you can do what­ever you wish with your friend.”

The king didn’t know, then—­if it was he or Aedion or both of them who had been meeting with Ren. He didn’t know how much they’d learned about his plans, his control over magic. Aedion was somehow still keeping his mouth shut, somehow still looking ready for battle.

Aedion, who had survived for so long without hope, holding together his kingdom as best he could . . . who would never see the queen he so fiercely loved. He deserved to meet her, and she deserved to have him serve in her court.