At the water fountain, Dexter talked to a group of two dozen soldiers, pointing at the interior palace balconies as he spoke. The soldiers nodded. When Dexter saw Reid, he excused himself and joined her.

He leaned in and kissed Reid’s cheek, surprising her. Instead of moving away, he whispered in her ear, “The king has left his castle and is on his way here. He is expected to arrive in two weeks.” He took a step back.

Two weeks wasn’t a lot of time to organize a failsafe assassination. Unease filled her. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“No one in the palace will be involved. I’ll make sure of it.”

“What if something goes wrong?”

He took her hand and pulled her along one of the walkways, away from his soldiers. “We’ll have several plans in place in case one fails.”

“I think it’s too soon.” Something of this magnitude should take months to plan and execute.

“I agree.” Dexter squeezed her hand. “But he is coming here to Axian. We must strike while we can. We’ll never get this opportunity again.”

“Have you considered he’s planning something similar?” The king’s assassins may have failed the first time, but would they fail a second?

“I’m sure he is.” Dexter stopped near a tree. “Eldon is probably coming here with the intention of taking over. He is going to use the excuse that Axian plans to invade northern Marsden. He will be the savior to his people by heading off a war before it begins.”

“And since he’s the king, everyone believes what he says.” Reid sat on the bench, pulling Dexter down with her.

He reached out, fingering the fabric of her dress. “Don’t get me wrong…you look pretty in this dress, but it doesn’t suit you. I like it when you wear pants.”

“Prince Dexter,” one of his soldiers called. “An urgent message just arrived for you.”

“I need to go take care of this,” Dexter told Reid. “Why don’t you rest? I’d like you healed as much as possible before the king arrives. Just in case.”

Reid hoped she wouldn’t have to defend herself any time soon. However, she wanted to be able to deftly wield a weapon before the king stepped foot in the palace. Even though she didn’t want to lie down, she knew her body needed the rest.

Winding her way through the palace, she caught a glimpse of the front lawn with the city in the backdrop. Should she take a detour to the bookstore to send a note to the Knights? She’d completed her tasks—she knew where Dexter went at night and she’d gained his trust. However, the thought of revealing Dexter’s secrets didn’t sit well with her.