“What do you know about what a Queen should do? You refuse to become king.”
“Because I’d suck at it, something you clearly do, too. At least I’m willing to admit it.”
“I don’t know who you talked to, but the people in the cells are criminals. They’re demons who attacked others, who stole from homes, and who have no regard for anyone but themselves.”
Justin briefly wondered which category Mynor belonged in. “What about Mynor? What did he do?”
“Is that who you talked to?”
“Amongst others.” That was a lie. Mynor was the only person Justin had talked to. He’d returned to his room after their conversation, and he’d had enough things to think about to not sleep for the rest of the night. He was still tired, but he’d had enough.
“Did he tell you that he broke into the palace?” Anya asked.
“To do what?”
“To free prisoners.”
“As far as I can see, that’s a good thing.”
Anya slammed her hand on the table, making Justin jump. She’d never behaved like this before, which meant he’d pushed her to the edge.
This probably hadn’t been a good idea.
“Mynor is a terrorist. He snuck into the castle to free thieves and murderers. I also suspect he’s part of a group that's been breaking into homes to steal. Why would you choose to believe him over your mother?”
“You might be my mother biologically, but you didn’t raise me, and I don’t think you care about me. I don’t think you ever did.” She’d hinted at having cared for his father, but Justin wondered if that was true. She hadn’t answered any of his questions about their family, and if he had to guess, it was because she didn’t see them as a family. Maybe she’d been having fun, maybe there was something more to it, but in the end, her actions told Justin everything he wanted to know.
She’d left because she didn’t care, and that hadn’t changed. The only reason she wanted Justin to stay was because she wanted to groom him as her successor, and Justin wasn’t going to let that happen. He’d rather die than become someone like Anya.
He justmightdie, actually.
She opened her mouth, and Justin steeled himself for whatever was about to happen. Before she could say anything, someone came running into the room. Justin blinked at the guard, wondering what was going on.
“Your Highness, the palace is under attack.”
Something was going on.Mynor had no idea what, and he doubted he could find out because there was no way the guardswould stop and tell him, but considering that all of them seemed to be running around the dungeons, it had to be something big.
His thoughts went straight to Alphan. Was he still trying to find a way to free Mynor? Mynor knew the answer to that question. Of course he was. It was what Mynor would do for him, and neither of them would stop until the other was free. That probably meant that Alphan was here, somehow trying to reach Mynor’s cell.
Mynor’s stomach churned. If this mess involved Alphan, it meant that Alphan was in danger. He was more than capable of defending himself against the guards or anyone who attacked him, but he tended to lose sight of the important things—like his own safety—when he was worried for his friends. Right now, he was no doubt focused on Mynor, and whatever plan he’d come up with, it might not be good enough to get both of them out in one piece.
There was also Justin to think about, although Mynor didn’t understand why he was worried for the man. He shouldn’t care about Anya’s son, even though Justin had been nice. It might still be a trap, but even if it wasn’t, Mynor had other people to worry about, people he knew and cared about.
But if Justin had told Mynor the truth, none of what Anya had done and would do had anything to do with him. Justin disapproved of her. He didn’t want anything to do with her now that he knew the kind of person she was. He’d also brought Mynor food and had tended to his wounds.
Anya would never have done that, even if she had to fake it. It would’ve been obvious in the way she moved that she didn’t really care, but that wasn’t Justin. No, he’d behaved like he did care, even though he didn’t know Mynor—even though Mynor had told him that his mother was a monster.
A scream made Mynor jump. The area where the guards usually sat was empty, but they’d left the door open when they’drushed out, so Mynor could hear that something was happening. There was a scuffle, and someone screamed again. It sounded pained, and it made Mynor’s heart race.
He kept expecting Alphan to appear at the door, but his best friend never did. There was no way for Mynor to identify who was out there without seeing them, so he had no idea what was happening to Alphan. He had no idea if Alphan was even okay.
And he couldn’t find out. How could he? He couldn’t ask the guards. He definitely couldn’t ask Anya if he ever saw her again. Maybe he could ask Justin? But there was no way for him to know if Justin would ever be back. He’d told Mynor that he wanted to go home, and Mynor hoped he’d get to do that. Something told him it wouldn’t happen, unfortunately. Justin would probably disappear, killed by his mother, and no one would ever find out what had happened to him. A few years from now, people would ask each other about that strange man who’d lived at the palace for a few weeks, but no one would remember.
Mynor would—if he was still alive, anyway.
Justin was gearinghimself up to talk to his mother again when the screaming started.
He jumped in his chair. Anya had been suggesting he spend more time with her while she worked, which wasn’t a suggestion at all. She wanted him to learn how to be king, even though he’d told her he had no intention of ever becoming one. She was ignoring what he wanted, as much as he wished he could tell her to stop, there was one big problem with that.
