Page 116 of A Crown of Lies

“Return to your quarters!” A guard pointed to the door.

With a curse, Isaac closed the door and immediately started getting dressed.

“What is it?” Kat asked.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Stay here and monitor Eris’s door.”

Kat nodded and retrieved Isaac’s sword, holding it out to him. “Be safe,” he said with a kiss.

“Always.” Isaac kissed Kat back and rushed out of the room, jogging down the hall.

The castle was alive and full of guards, many more than there should have been at that hour. Many were busy telling everyone to go back to their rooms, but the palace wasn’t on full lockdown just yet.

He slid down a side hall, avoiding a company of marching guards, and hesitated at the sound of swords clashing and men dying. In the next room, two groups of guards were fighting. Ostovan guards fighting each other?

A coup?Isaac wondered.What in the nine hells is going on in this crazy city?

He sped up a secondary stairwell that spilled into the royal wing. Two armed guards waited at the top. They drew their swords at the sight of him, so Isaac bared his.

“I come on behalf of my queen seeking news,” Isaac declared. “I don’t want to fight you, but I will defend myself if I must.”

The two guards glanced at each other before they lifted their swords. Isaac made quick work of the first, stabbing him straight through the neck. With a downward swing, he parried the other’s attack and kicked him back with a grunt. The guard hit the opposite wall. Isaac jammed his sword into the knight’s lower belly where the armor rode up too high. The guard’s eyes widened, and he let out a choking cry before Isaac jerked the sword free. The guard slid down the wall, leaving a bloody streak behind.

Isaac was about to sheathe his sword when Prince Michal stepped into the hallway carrying a bloody bundle. The prince stiffened at the sight of him, his hand going to the sword at his side. Isaac kept his drawn and out in front of him.

Slowly, the prince lifted his hand and strolled forward. “I mean you no harm, Sir Isaac.”

“What is this?” Isaac demanded. “Where is the king? Come no closer!”

Michal halted, gripping the bloody bundle tight. “The king is dead. He fell from a window in the queen’s chambers after trying to fling his own newborn son out the window.”

“What?” Isaac gritted his teeth. “You mean you pushed him.”

“Does it matter?” the prince said with a shrug. “Dead is dead. Only the gods know the truth of it. I need not answer to you.”

Isaac swallowed, eying the bundle in Michal’s arms. “Is he…?”

“Alive?” Michal smiled. “For now, my half-brother lives.”

Why?Isaac wondered. From Michal’s perspective, he had to kill the baby to secure his place as Ostovan’s heir. Why hadn’t he done it? Could it be there was still some shred of humanity left in the twisted prince?

“Give him to me,” Isaac said.

He couldn’t believe he was saying it, but what was Isaac supposed to do? Just let Michal kill him?

“Let me take him away from here,” Isaac continued. “I’ll find someone to raise him, someone who will have no idea who he is. They won’t even know he’s from Ostovan.Hewon’t even know.”

If Kat objected, they could find another couple to take the baby. Or maybe Mercia and Aryn would take him in. It didn’t matter. Isaac would not let an innocent child die because of one man’s scheming for power. Enough blood had been shed over that already.

Michal regarded him with a cold stare. “Are you a devout man, Sir Isaac?”

Isaac frowned. “Why does that matter?”

“Answer the question,” Michal barked. “You were raised in the Brotherhood, were you not? You took vows, even if you would later recant some of them.”

Isaac’s face burned with shame. It was the one regret he had. He wouldn’t have traded his marriage to Katyr for anything, but he had broken his vows, and he wished that was not the case. Guarding Eris was his penance.

Michal took a step forward. “Do youbelieve?” Michal pressed.

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