“To confinement more suited to your stations,” he replied. “We’re not complete savages, you know. We want you to be comfortable so that you’re in good shape when you surrender your lands to Her Majesty.”

“That,” I said, “is not going to happen.”

Gallus shrugged and gestured toward those going to the dungeon. “Protest all you want, but never forget we have them in our grasp. Step out of line, and they die.”

“Forget us,” growled Rurik. “Summon a storm that’ll blast this place to pieces. We’d gladly die to see that bitch ripped apart.”

One of the guards slammed the hilt of his sword into Rurik’s head. “Do not talk about Her Majesty that way.”

“Be patient,” I told Rurik. I didn’t want him killed for any reason, certainly not through guard brutality. I spoke my words confidently, like I had a plan, and I hoped it would give him faith. I also hoped it would give me an idea or two.

Dorian and I were taken to the palace’s third floor, to a forlorn-looking hallway. There, we split again and were led in opposite directions. Even if we were going to royal accommodations, I supposed they wouldn’t want us too near each other, lest we carve holes in the wall to talk. He met my eyes before he was led away, giving me a fleeting smile. It gave me hope because I knew he would never stop planning a way out of this. It also inspired me to keep up my own courage and be a worthy match to his dedication.

But being separated from him made me feel terribly alone, especially when I saw my “royal” cell. If this was one of their nicer lodgings, I couldn’t imagine what the rest of our friends were in. The cell was cramped, with dreary gray stone walls and a tiny, high window that barely let in light through its bars. A straw-filled mattress lay on one side of the room, while a few other “niceties”—like water and a rickety wooden chair—sat on the other.

“Make yourself presentable,” one of the guards told me, after he’d undone the chains. He tossed my travel satchel, which had been stripped of weapons, to the floor. “We will come for you when the queen calls you into her exalted presence. And remember—don’t get any foolish ideas. We have magic users out here too who will sense if you act.”