Page 149 of The Throne's Undoing

"Hush," she hissed, holding up a finger to her lips, her chains rattling.

"What--" Laurince began before Myra shushed him, too.

Loud footsteps sounded down the hall, rushing past the cell.

Laurince straightened, and Myra could sense the panic rising within him as he realized how close they had been to being seen.

When the sound of the boots disappeared, Laurince turned to the woman. But before he could ask her the question that was no doubt sitting on his tongue, the seer spoke, "Do not fret. They do not know that the handmaiden and the king have slipped free from their cells. The beasts held captive deeper in the dungeon have grown increasingly restless and will serve as a distraction for the time you require to escape."

"The beasts? What beasts?" Laurince pressed.

"The king has been raising an army thanks to the woman standing beside you."

Myra straightened as everyone turned to her, but she had no defense to offer. She knew what she had done, but it wasn't until now that she felt the true weight of those actions.

"Do not blame yourself, child. You had no choice. If you hadn't assisted, he would have found another way," the woman said, calling their attention back to her. "Kage always does."

"Who is Kage?" Laurince asked, confused.

The woman released a heavy sigh, a strand of hair fluttering in front of her face. "King Domitius. His first name is one that he wishes to wipe from existence, though our past has a way of following us no matter how much we try to escape it." The woman shifted, her chains rattling slightly. "But it is not namesyou wish to discuss. Unfortunately, the answer you seek is not the one you wish to gain."

"What do you mean?" Myra asked, stepping further into the room.

"The boy is out of reach," the seer said with a flick of her wrist.

Myra gasped. "My brother is gone?"

The woman cocked her head to the side, her eyes narrowing slightly and growing unfocused. Then, she straightened. "In a manner of speaking, yes."

"Where?" Myra asked, rushing forward and falling to her knees before the seer. She snatched the woman's hands as panic rose in her throat. The seer's fingers were frail in her palms, and Myra quickly softened her hold on them, afraid of breaking them.

"Where is he?" she demanded.

The seer shook her head. "It does not matter where he is, for his mind is the thing that is truly gone."

"What? What are you saying?" Myra demanded. "He's alive. He's--"

"Gone, my dear," the seer interrupted. Pity soaked her countenance. "He's been gone far longer than you think. If you would only open your eyes and let yourself see, you would know this already."

"Speak sense!" Myra shouted.

She faintly heard Laurince hiss her name, begging her to be quiet, but Myra did not care. She needed to know where Mynhos was.

"The king promised to keep him alive if I did what he asked," Myra said.

"Being alive andlivingare two different things," the seer replied, her voice sounding far away. "You were not the only gift Kage received that fateful day your parents died."

"What are you saying?"

The seer offered a sad smile, one that struck Myra in the chest. "Kage does not keep people alive for no reason."

"What are you talking about? This has nothing to do with--"

Myra's words were cut off, though, as the seer gripped her hand with surprising strength, a look of horror brandishing her eyes nearly stripped of their gray hue.

"He kept you alive because you served a purpose," the woman hissed. "For years, you have kept the princess loyal to him. But why is your brother still alive?Thatis the question you should be asking."

"What is she talking about?" Laurince asked, still standing near the door. "We did not come here for this."

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