“Don’t be a fool, boy. The only thing left for you in Madra is death.”

Dell advanced on him. “And what of the royal family? Is death the only thing here for them as well?”

“That is no longer your concern. Edmund has left orders to bring you with us.”

“It’s a good thing Edmund is not my keeper then, isn’t it?” He narrowed his eyes. “I won’t leave when they’re in danger. When she’s…”

Understanding dawned in Taron’s eyes. “You fight for someone other than yourself?”

“I do.”

“That is a… foreign concept to mercenaries, but it is what we all wish for. Something to bring us hope. Mari is going to have my head, but I will not force you to come with us, Dell Tenyson.” He turned and grabbed the mule’s harness, unlatching him from the cart. “I do not think you will survive this, but I wish you luck.”

He met Dell’s gaze over his shoulder and nodded once before pulling the mule forward and leading him away.

Now what? Where could he go? The revealing ceremony wasn’t until the next afternoon and he only hoped nothing happened before then.

Dell turned on his heel and sprinted back into the street. His tired legs took him through the city where shopkeepers were returning home for the night. He kept to the shadows of the buildings, unsure of who might be working with his family.

He passed the road leading to the docks as a carriage he’d recognize anywhere rumbled by, its wheels bouncing on the uneven road.

Why was his family’s carriage out in the streets when he doubted his brothers had left the ball?

He ducked out of view to watch it go by, his heart in his throat. He’d never grown to love his brothers, but as a boy, he’d sought their acceptance, never receiving it. Disapproval and disappointment was all he’d known. He hadn’t understood.

Until now.

Only one thing mattered to his brothers. It wasn’t family or even wealth as he’d once thought. They cared for no one. But power… they would always want more.

When Dell was brought to them, a bastard mountain boy with no city experience, it had eaten away a bit of their power.

They could let their emotions control them. Dell was proof of their father’s weakness.

And he was going to be the downfall of their legacy.

He slipped out of the alcove he’d hidden in and ran until he reached the row of houses belonging to foreign ambassadors.