CHAPTER SEVEN

I stared at the banners. The red crescent moon on black silk, the same symbol that marked my face. Hundreds of soldiers on horseback, all wearing that mark.

“What the hell is this?” I whispered.

Louis was grinning, actually grinning despite the blood soaking through his bandage. “My insurance policy.”

Nasir’s face went white. “That’s impossible. House Rashad has no army. The bloodline was destroyed.”

“Not destroyed,” a woman’s voice called out from the approaching army. “Just waiting.”

A rider broke from the formation and galloped toward us. She wore armor that looked ancient, ornate, covered in the same crescent moon symbols. When she got close enough, I could see her face. She was maybe forty, with sharp features and eyes that looked exactly like mine.

She dismounted and walked straight past Nasir like he didn’t exist. Stopped right in front of me.

“You have your mother’s eyes,” she said softly. “And her fire, I’m told.”

“Who are you?”

“General Safiya. I served your grandmother, Queen Yasmin. When your mother went into hiding, I took what remained of the royal guard and went into exile. We’ve been waiting for this day.” She knelt. Actually knelt in front of me. “For you, Princess Khalifa.”

“I’m not a princess. I don’t know what I’m doing. I can barely hold a sword.”

“You killed two trained assassins today with no formal training.” Safiya stood. “Your mother would be proud.”

Nasir finally found his voice. “This changes nothing. You’re still traitors. The king’s army is coming.”

“Let them come,” Safiya said calmly. “We have five hundred soldiers. All loyal to House Rashad. All ready to die for the true bloodline.”

“You’re outnumbered,” Nasir spat. “Father has thousands.”

“Does he?” Louis stepped forward, wincing. “Because I’ve been doing some math, brother. Half the army is stationed in the southern provinces. Under Prince Khalid’s command. And he’s not exactly rushing to help you, is he?”

“Khalid supports me.”

“Does he though?” Louis smiled. “I had a very interesting conversation with him two weeks ago. He’s tired of being the middle child. Tired of watching us fight over the throne while he gets ignored.”

I grabbed Louis’s arm. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I’ve been planning this for months. Ever since I found out about you.” He looked at me. “Your mother didn’t just hide you, Khalifa. She left clues. Hints for people who knew where to look. I found General Safiya six months ago. Told her about you. About the mark.”

“You knew about me for six months and you never said anything?”

“I was protecting you. If Nasir had found out any sooner, you’d be dead.” He swayed and Lady Amara caught him. “I needed time to build alliances. To bring Safiya’s army back. To convince Khalid that supporting you was his best chance at power.”

“I don’t want power!”

“Too bad,” Safiya said bluntly. “Because right now, you’re the only thing standing between this kingdom and civil war.”

The horns from the city walls blew again, louder this time. The king’s army was getting closer.

Commander Hafiz looked at Louis. “Your Highness, what are your orders?”

“We don’t fight my father,” Louis said firmly. “That’s not the play.”

“Then what is the play?” I demanded.

“We talk to him. Show him the truth. Show him what Nasir’s been doing.”

Nasir laughed. “He won’t believe you. I have evidence. Witnesses. Everything points to you leading a rebellion.”

“Actually,” Lady Amara said quietly, pulling something from her pocket. A small leather pouch. “I have something better.”

She opened it and pulled out a gold ring with a red stone. The same ring I’d seen on the spy master’s finger.

“I took this off one of the assassins we killed in the garrison,” Amaya explained. “This is Prince Nasir’s signet ring. The one he gives to his personal assassins. And guess what’s engraved on the inside?”

She held it up to the moonlight. Even from where I stood, I could see the tiny inscription. Orders to kill Prince Louis.

Nasir’s face went from pale to red. “That proves nothing. Anyone could have forged that.”

“Could they though?” Louis asked. “Because this ring has your blood seal on it. The one Father gave you when you turned eighteen. The one that’s magically bound to you.”

Silence. Even Nasir’s men looked uncertain now.

“So here’s what’s going to happen,” Louis continued. “We’re all going to wait right here for Father to arrive. And when he does, we’re going to show him this ring. Show him the truth about who really tried to start a war.”

“And if I refuse?” Nasir’s hand moved to his sword.

“Then General Safiya’s five hundred soldiers will make you,” Louis said. “Your choice, brother.”

Nasir looked around. At Safiya’s army. At Commander Hafiz’s soldiers. At his own men who were now backing away slowly.

“You think you’ve won,” Nasir said softly. “But you have no idea what’s coming. This is just the beginning. There are forces at play that you can’t even imagine. People with more power than you, more money than you, more patience than you. And they want her.” He pointed at me. “They’ll never stop coming.”

My blood ran cold because something in his voice said he was telling the truth.

Louis looked at me. “Do you trust me?”

“I barely know you.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

I thought about the last twelve hours. How he’d protected me. Fought for me. Bled for me. How he could have handed me over to Nasir a dozen times but didn’t.

“Yes,” I said finally. “I trust you.”

“Then trust me when I say my father is a better man than Nasir thinks. He’ll listen. He’ll see the truth.”

The horns blew one final time. Through the darkness, I could see torches. Hundreds of them. Thousands. The royal army cresting the hill.

“He’s here,” Commander Hafiz said.

A single rider separated from the army and rode toward us. Even in the darkness, I could see the gold crown on his head. The royal standard flying behind him.

The king.

He was older than I expected, maybe sixty, with gray in his beard. But he sat straight in the saddle, commanding, powerful.

He stopped his horse twenty feet away and looked at all of us. At Louis bleeding and exhausted. At Nasir smirking. At the two armies facing each other. At me.

His eyes locked onto my birthmark and I saw something flash across his face. Recognition? Fear?

“So,” the king said, his voice deep and tired. “Someone want to explain why my capital is burning and my sons are about to start a war?”