Helena shook her head, a smile coming to her lips.

It dropped when her father descended the steps without a word to any of his children. Cole glared and Helena reached for him. “Don’t let him see how he affects you.”

Cole relaxed and slid an arm around Helena’s shoulders. “You look beautiful. Happy name day.”

She stretched up to drop a kiss on his cheek and crowded into the royal carriage with the rest of the family.

Streams of people made their way to the arena and by the time the royal family arrived, it was already bustling with activity.

The horses stopped at the king’s private entrance where a troop of palace guards lined up and waited for them. Their father got out first and went ahead without a glance back at them. Stev lifted Kassander out while Quinn and Cole held hands up to Helena and her mother.

Together, they followed the king through the small gate. A dim tunnel led to a platform above the arena floor.

Helena froze when she stepped onto the platform. She’d never seen so many people. Her eyes scanned the rows of seats stretching out in a circle. They had divided the arena floor into separate areas for different events.

A horn blew, its sound reverberating around the stone structure. All activity ceased as the crowd lifted their eyes to the royal family.

The king stepped forward. “Welcome!”

Helena wondered if any besides those wealthy enough to be seated near the platform could hear him.

“Today is a great day for Madra,” he continued. “You have all gathered here to celebrate what we have accomplished as a kingdom. Through many hard battles, we have gained power throughout the six kingdoms.”

“Power means nothing without food,” someone yelled.

Helena craned her neck to find the man who’d shouted, but two royal guards obscured her view as they rushed down the aisle. It happened so quickly, she didn’t react. They pulled the man from his seat and dragged him toward a line of priests who stood ready to act.

The king went on as if none of it had happened. “Today we mark the eighteenth year of my daughter. May I present, in her first official appearance, princess Helena Rhodipus.”

The king stretched his arm back to gesture her forward, but her feet froze.

“Len,” Stev hissed. “Go.”

Her mother took her arm and led her into the light. “Wave, dear.”

Helena lifted a hand and waved to her people for the first time.

A cheer wound through the crowd as they caught their first glimpse of the hidden princess. What stories had been told of her? She wondered.

As they continued to cheer, confidence bloomed within her. She belonged to them. Not to her father. To the people.

And she wouldn’t let them down.

She cleared her throat. “Let the Madran games begin.”

Chapter Ten