78

“Loyalty to the true King and Queen of Frasia,” he said. “I’m honored to fight alongside you.”

“Are there others?” I asked quietly. “Are the wolves still loyal?”

“Of course,” the young man said, looking at me with his brow furrowed, like he couldn’t believe I’d asked at all. “Rodthar only cares about his own power. Not about anyone in Efra. We’ve been waiting for the king to return.”

I nodded. The young man’s gratitude sent a rush of adrenaline through me. We’d made it into the manor—now we just had to make it to the man who was once my father.

“Which way?” Elias asked as we approached the other side of the dungeon. “How do we get into the throne room?”

“I can get us back to the quarters I stayed in when I was part of the Choice,” I said. “That’s the only part of the system I know.”

Elias nodded. “That’s enough. That’s close enough. Wolves—this way.”

I led us out of the dungeon to the secret door I’d found when I’d first snuck down here with the intention of freeing Griffin. This time, I was just behind Elias and Ealric as we moved up the long, gradual incline of the tunnel. Fina and Kodan followed at the back of our small battalion.

Finally, we reached the heavy door. The familiarity was strange, almost unnerving, standing here in the tunnel with a bloodstained sword in my hand and Elias at my side. The last time I stood at this door, all I wanted was to leave Efra behind. I’d thought I’d be starting a life anew, traveling with Griffin, leaving all the demands of court life behind. And now here I was, the Queen of Frasia, breaking in instead of out.

This was where I was meant to be. At Elias’ side. Defending our kingdom from the man who had tried—and was still trying—to take everything from me.

No more.

Carefully, Elias pushed the door open. It swung slowly open, thankfully silent, and Elias crept into the hall first. I stepped out after him.

In the hallway, a servant girl stood with a stack of sheets folded, her eyes wide as dinner plates. Elias stood still, one hand raised in a show of peace. We both looked a state—sweaty, dirty, covered in blood, with gore on our blades as well. Not exactly the king and queen this servant was used to seeing.

I half-expected her to drop the laundry and run screaming, alerting the guards of our presence. But she just curtsied as best she could with the sheets in hand.

“Your Highness,” she said. “Welcome back.”

Elias nodded. “Thank you,” he said delicately, like he was still unsure how this girl would react.

She cleared her throat. “The Duke of Daybreak enjoys an evening nightcap about this time in the throne room,” she said. “With the duchess. He won’t be expecting you.” Her lips curled up in a tiny smile. “I’ll be in the kitchens if you need anything. As will the rest of the servants.”

“Thank you,” Elias said. “Do stay there until you hear summons, please.”

She nodded, then hurried out of the hall.

“Ah,” Elias said with a wolfish grin. “It’s good to be home.”

The rest of our battalion crept into the hallway.

“Kodan,” Elias said, “take Fina and half the wolves through the west corridor to servant quarters behind the throne room and lie in wait. I will go with Ealric and the others through the main hall and meet Rodthar of Daybreak.”

“I’m coming with you,” I said.

To my surprise, Elias nodded in agreement. “Good,” he said. “You should show him the woman you are now.”

We crept through the halls with just a few wolves behind us. No guards roamed inside—I supposed most of them were outside, flanking the entrances to the manor and the city alike, expecting Elias’ dramatic, enraged return. The inner chambers had been left undefended as well. A few servants still moved through the halls, finishing up their evening tasks, but none sounded an alarm. Those who saw us only bowed their heads in greeting, looking shocked but almost delighted.

We approached the throne room from the side. Ealric peered around the corner. “Two guards,” he whispered. “One bored, one almost asleep.”

“Dispatch them quietly,” Elias said to two of the wolves. “Don’t let them sound any alarms.”

The two soldiers nodded, then glanced at each other and shifted into their lean, dark animal forms. With teeth bared, they leapt around the corner and onto the guards. It was remarkably quiet—a clunk and a clatter as bodies hit the floor, and then a cut-off sound of pain as the wolves’ jaws closed around their throats.

“Now,” Elias hissed.

He shoved his shoulder into the immense ornate doors of the throne room and stormed inside, teeth bared and eyes blazing gold. He had two knives, one in each hand, blood staining his armor and his wolf’s power crackling on his skin. I followed behind him, my own wolf gnashing her teeth close to the surface, ready to explode forth if necessary. His rage fed my own anger—it tamped down my fear and made my blood run hot and hungry.

The throne atop the dais was empty, but an immense, ornate table had been brought into the room. Rodthar and Duchess Alana of Nightfall sat side by side near the center of it, the duchess with a glass of deep red wine and Rodthar with a whiskey. Alana looked just as stern and horrible as she had during the Choice, and the duke looked as pleased as a cat after a successful mouse hunt. He looked surprised for only a moment, before he stood up, drained his whiskey, and strode around the table.

“Elias,” he said, voice dripping with faux warmth. He was dressed more casually than I’d ever seen him, in a plain linen shirt and slacks due to the late hour, a light robe hanging off his shoulders. “You’ve returned, I see. I was so certain we’d lost you to the woods forever.”

Then his gaze cut to me. He didn’t mask his openly disdainful sneer in the slightest. “I expect this has something to do with it.” He spat the word out like it tasted bad in his mouth.

“What?” I shot back. “I am the rightful Queen of Frasia.”