Page 112 of The Throne's Undoing

"More and more guards arrive every day."

"Is the king preparing for something?" Myra asked. She had not seen Domitius since he had delivered Rian.

Laurince halted and looked at her, his brows drawing together as if he had just recalled she was there. "Huh?"

Myra cleared her throat. "You said there are more guards than before. Is the king preparing for something?"

"Oh," Laurince muttered, raking his fingers through his hair. "It seems that way, yes. No one quite knows the reason for the gathering yet, but there's a nervous energy in the castle."

Myra twisted her fingers together, Laurince's words sinking in. Domitius was indeed preparing for something. The only question was what.

"Has there been word about the princess's whereabouts?" she asked.

Laurince shook his head. "We cannot concern ourselves with her right now."

Myra nodded. He was right, but she still hoped for Kallie's safety. The king no doubt had expected her to return by now or at least hear word from her. Myra had twisted Kallie's emotions so much that she would have felt an intense need to return to him immediately.

But if Kallie hadn't returned, perhaps that meant Myra had failed.

She could only hope.

Laurince's voice broke through her thoughts. "I can manage to get the keys and get Rian out of the cell. But then we will need to get out without being seen."

"Have you...have you heard about my brother's whereabouts?" Myra asked lowly.

"No, but I have narrowed it down, for the king only visits a select few cells himself. It has to be one of them."

"Why haven't you confirmed which one yet?"

Laurince scoffed. "I barely trust you as it is. The fewer people who know about our plan, as small a plan as it is, the better. We cannot afford to let your brother know. We do not know where his allegiances lie."

Myra's lips parted, a rebuttal on the tip of her tongue, but Laurince clocked it immediately and spoke before she could.

"Do not feign to be that ignorant. From what you have told me, your brother has been under Domitius's hold for nearly a decade. He may be a prisoner like you, but you have been allowed to form your own opinions. We cannot be certain that your brother feels the same way."

"But you just said so yourself! He is a prisoner. Why would he relay our plans to the king?" she challenged.

He gave her a pointed look. "All your brother knows is this life. Even a dog would hesitate to bite the hand that feeds him."

Laurince's words sat between them, a heavy weight that pressed against Myra's chest. She did not want to admit that he was right, but she also could not admit that he was wrong either.

"Even taking him with us is a risk," he added.

Myra stood, her hands curling angrily at her sides. "I will not leave him."

"Then what assurance can you give me that he will not betray us?"

Myra held her breath as she glared at Laurince. The answer was on the tip of her tongue, but she hesitated to speak it aloud. While Laurince had been kind, she still did not know him well enough to trust him completely, especially with a secret she had guarded for her entire life.

Her parents had told her to keep her ability hidden, for that sort of information could be dangerous in the wrong hands.

Yet Domitius still had discovered the truth, hadn't he?

Perhaps secrets did more harm than good...

She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "If it comes down to it, I can change his mind."

"How can you possibly do that? We might not have the time for you to spin some sob story that will--"

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