He placed it on his head and turned to Etan. “So quick to judge. Wait and see what you do when someone comes to challenge you. Because that will certainly happen now. You’ve set a precedent today. And when you show the slightest sign of weakness, they will do what they can to topple you. I hope I’ll still be alive to see your mighty principles fall.”

“Well, seeing as I have no intention of murdering my own subjects, I don’t think I’ll quite be in the same predicament as you,” he replied defiantly.

Quinten was unmoved. “As I said, we’ll see.”

“Come. Your people await,” Uncle Reid said, escorting King Quinten out the door.

“What about her?” I asked, nodding at Phillipa.

She stayed incredibly still, as if she might blend into the stone and be ignored.

Etan shook his head. “Let her go home and attempt to explain this to her family and kingdom. That will be its own punishment.”

She swallowed, but she didn’t look as if she felt spared by her sentence. I turned from her, falling in step beside Etan, with Uncle Reid holding King Quinten several steps ahead.

Etan whispered as we walked. “I can’t say this to them, but I can to you: I’m terrified.”

“You needn’t be. They adore you.”

He nodded absently, like he was trying to convince himself. “Stay with me? Even though you hate crowns, don’t run off. Not yet.”

He reached a trembling hand over as we got to the bottom of the stairway. I quickly reached back to give him a reassuring squeeze. “Sorry. If you’re wearing a crown, that’s the end of our friendship. I’ll be in the back throwing rotten food at you.”

He chuckled a little, and, as we reached the main doors, he let my hand go. The crowd was already making a shocking amount of noise, but I refrained from covering my ears. Etan jumped up on one of the cylindrical stones that lined the entryway, raising a hand to quiet the army before him. I found Mother and Scarlet nearby, and I immediately took Scarlet’s hand, watching to see how the moment we’d been working toward finally played out.

“Good people, by our laws, I come to you today with proof of our king’s treasonous acts against our fellow Isoltens.” Etan held a fistful of letters high. “In these, we have undeniable evidence that our king has ordered the murder of scores of his citizens. We have proof of the devious methods he’s employed to hold on to his throne. His actions preclude him from ever wearing the crown again. Queen Valentina has renounced her crown and fled the country,” he called, and Quinten looked up to him in shock. “And it has been brought to my attention that Prince Hadrian died this morning.”

There was a murmuring through the crowd.

“As a descendant of Jedreck the Great, I stand before you today to claim my right to the throne of Isolte, and to ask your blessing as I take it from this unjust man.” Etan pointed to Quinten. I supposed he was a king no more.