Chapter 1

The moment Percival finished speaking, the entire Grand Avenue fell dead silent.

Then a deafening wave of screams erupted.

Princess Adelina pulled back the curtain of her carriage. Her expression shifted from shock to alarm and back again. A maid helped her down, and she stared hard at Percival.

"Young lord, you must be joking."

Percival flushed red, and then a smug look crept across his face. He planted both hands on his hips and raised his voice.

"Who's joking? My father is the Grand General of the frontier. He's got a hundred thousand elite troops under his command, and he holds the defense of the North Gate. When the time comes, we'll march out through the North Gate and strike straight at the palace!"

He turned toward Father and our elder sister, Cecily, who stood at the side of the street, and showed off, his voice grating with arrogance. "Father, Cecily, isn't that right?"

My heart sank. Without thinking, I glanced at Father and Cecily.

Father stroked his beard, shook his head, and laughed fondly. "This boy. We've spoiled him rotten at home. He'll say anything."

Cecily folded her arms, her eyes full of indulgence, and lifted her chin at the princess. "My little brother is young. He just wanted to catch Your Highness's eye, that's all."

Neither of them denied a word of it, and the people around us sucked in sharp breaths.

"The Arkwrights have guarded the frontier for three generations. Their record is unmatched. Those hundred thousand Arkwright soldiers don't answer to the King. They answer to the general!"

"And the Arkwrights hold the North Gate too. If they really meant to rebel..."

"Shh, keep your voice down! That's the kind of talk that gets heads chopped off!"

But not even the threat of the headsman's ax could quiet the uproar.

The talk in the crowd grew wilder by the second. Some were already claiming the palace was crawling with Arkwright spies and that the King was a king in name only.