Chapter 4

Percival went pale and shrank half a step behind Father without thinking.

Father inclined his head with an easy smile. "Commander, may I ask what business you have with my youngest son?"

Commander Thorne gave a cold laugh. "Your family declares rebellion in the middle of the street, and you ask me what business I have?"

Father froze for a beat, then burst into hearty laughter.

He reached out and ruffled Percival's hair, his tone absurdly indulgent. "You've misunderstood, Commander. The boy's just playing around. Surely you didn't take it seriously?"

He jerked his chin toward the princess. "My youngest has had his heart set on Her Highness for a long time. He was just looking for an excuse to get close to her. Every young man has to marry sometime, and this one's lovesick!"

Percival lowered his head bashfully. "Father—"

Lavinia stood beside Father and Cecily. The doting smile on her lips stiffened for a moment, and a forlorn look I'd never seen before flickered in her eyes.

She quickly pushed the feeling down and stepped forward. "Commander, this is all a misunderstanding. Percival is young and doesn't know any better. He was talking nonsense. I'm truly sorry to have troubled you."

Commander Thorne's face was thunderous. He stared at Percival and bit off each word. "Because you're young, I'll let today go. But if there's a next time, I'll have your head!"

Princess Adelina couldn't hold back any longer. She whirled on Percival and glared at him in disgust. "You have no shame at all! Spouting nonsense about something this serious!"

The crowd had been scared out of their wits, but now that the commander had let the matter drop, jeers broke out everywhere.

"So he was just talking nonsense!"

"He scared me half to death. I thought it was a real rebellion!"

"That Arkwright boy is way too full of himself, joking about something like that!"

"What an embarrassment. It's laughable!"

Percival's face flushed, then drained of color, and tears welled in his eyes.

Suddenly he bellowed, "I'm not joking! Our family really is going to rebel!

"There's a royal robe hanging in our family chapel, and Father tries it on every day!"

Commander Thorne's hand tightened on the hilt of his sword, his voice as cold as ice. "Men! Search the Arkwright house!"

Father's face changed drastically. "Commander, my son's only lashing out because he's upset—"

A blade came to rest against his throat.

Father's voice cut off, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

Two guards seized Cecily as well. She froze where she stood, not daring to move a muscle.

The whole street fell silent. No one dared make a sound.

Seeing that he had everyone cowed, Percival looked rather pleased with himself.

"Didn't the old King lose his royal seal a while back? It's in Father's study, in the hidden compartment on the third shelf!"

Commander Thorne's eyes narrowed sharply, and he stared hard at Father. "The loss of the royal seal is a state secret. How does your son know about it?"

Father's face went white as chalk, his lips trembling. "Percival, what are you saying?! There's no royal seal in our house!"

Cecily was sweating bullets. She growled at Percival, "Percival, stop talking!"

Percival only sneered. "What are you scared of? We've got a hundred thousand elite troops. Are we supposed to be afraid of one useless King?"

The minutes crawled by.

Half an hour later, the guards sent to search the Arkwright house returned.

The officer leading them shook his head.

Father let out a long breath. His back was drenched with sweat.

He forced a smile. "Commander, I told you. My son was only joking—"

Before he could finish, the rapid clatter of hooves drew closer.

A palace official swung down from his horse and raised a sealed royal decree high in both hands. His thin, piercing voice split the air. "A royal decree!

"The House of Arkwright has proclaimed rebellion in the open street and insulted the Crown with reckless words. This crime cannot be pardoned. The entire house is sentenced to death, the sentence to be carried out at once, without fail!"

In front of me, every last trace of color drained from the faces of all three Arkwrights.