The closer to the edge of the city they drew, the farther apart the buildings became. The poorest city folk lived on the outskirts in one room shanties that would blow over the next time a big storm came ashore.

Her brothers would have averted their eyes, but her mother would meet the eye of every person they passed. She lifted her chin and smiled at the first old man they saw.

“Why isn’t he at the games?” she whispered to Dell.

Dell’s voice vibrated against her hair. “I know you live in the palace with your… with the royal family… but not everyone has the luxury of being able to comply every time the king says jump. Take a closer look at him.”

The old man lifted his face to the sun, but it wasn’t his weathered face or vacant eyes that caught her attention. As he shifted where he sat on the ground, his ripped trouser leg fluttered, twisting over where his right leg should be.

A tiny gasp escaped her.

“You really know nothing of Madra, do you?” Dell’s voice held no judgment, only curiosity.

Helena shrugged as she dug her fingers into the horse’s coarse mane, needing to feel the life underneath her fingers.

She needed to return to the palace before they tore the kingdom apart searching for her, but her chest tightened at the thought.

“Have you ever seen the sea, Len?”

Of course she hadn’t. The only body of water she’d ever laid eyes on was the river that ran the length of the city, leading boats to the open sea between Madra and Bela.

“Len?”

She sighed. “No.”

“Outside the city, there’s a place where the river runs shallow enough to cross. A cove sits nearby where the sea washes ashore. Can I take you there?”

She closed her eyes, needing to say no. Her entire life, she’d obeyed the laws of Madra, following everything the priests told her to do.

Their faces came to her mind. White robes. Permanent sneers. The image changed to that of Kassander one day taking his position among them. Her sweet brother. Would the royal children ever be allowed to have something for themselves?

“Yes,” she answered, realizing if she wanted good in her life, she’d have to take it and live with the consequences as they came.

Dell kicked the horse into a trot and before long, open land stretched before them, rolling and dipping all the way to the mountains in the distance.

Helena scanned the horizon, amazed by the beauty that existed beyond the crowded city. She shifted in the saddle, not even her sore bottom could distract her from the splendor of her kingdom.

This was her family’s land. When her father spoke of his wars preventing invasions by keeping their enemies weak, he was protecting much more than what lay within the palace walls.