“When my parents died,” I say, “Wes was the only thing that kept me going. He was risking his life to help the people, so that’s how I made it through each day. Knowing he’d be waiting for me in the workshop that night.”
“Do you mean His Highness?”
I blink and realize I saidWes. In my memories, he’s still Weston Lark. My throat goes tight, and I swallow thickly. “Yes.”
“And you truly never knew he was the King’s Justice?”
“No. Never.” I wait for this line of conversation to summon my grief, but somehow my heart only feels fondness. Maybe because I already grieved Wes once, and this feels different. “Sometimes Wes and I would even talk about how terrible the king and his brother were.”
“Really.”
I nod, remembering. “Though I suppose I was always the one to startthosekinds of conversations. It’s not like he could have argued with me about it. What would he have said?” I drop my voice and imitate Wes—Corrick. “ ‘Lord, Tessa. King Harristan really isn’t that bad once you get to know him.’ ”
Though now that I think about it, I remember some of our conversations.
I hate the king and his brother, I’d say.I hate the things that they do.
Wes would always agree with me without hesitation.
Corrick didn’t hate his brother, but I know now that he hated his role.
Rocco glances over, and there’s a bit of intrigue in his voice when he says, “How did the prince slip past the guards, night after night? Do you know?”
I look at him in surprise. “Youdon’tknow?”
“No. He couldn’t have been climbing a rope from his chamberseverynight. There was a night on the ship when Liam and I were playing cards—”
“Wait. Liam?”
He grimaces. “Kilbourne.”
I frown. Until now, I didn’t know his first name. I feel like I should have. “Sorry. Continue.”
“We spent the whole time trying to figure it out. Was he bribing a guard? Or a group of guards?” He shakes his head without waiting for an answer. “I can’t imagine. There was too much turnover. He wouldn’t have been able to keep it a secret for years.”
I hold my breath for a moment. I don’t want to give up Corrick’s confidence—but at this point, maybe it doesn’t matter.
“I don’t know all of his paths in and out of the palace,” I say softly, “but I know he had Quint.”
Rocco goes still. “Ah.” He considers that for a little while, then looks at me. “It doesn’t explain how he got out of the palace without being seen, though. Master Quint wouldn’t have been able to distractallthe guards.”
“He told me there are spy tunnels all over the Royal Sector. We used one of them when we escaped the attack. You remember. At the back of the palace gardens. Downhill from Stonehammer’s Arch.”
He frowns. “Those spy tunnels are caved in.”
I shake my head. “Corrick said a lot of them are, but you can still slip through if you know how. He said he and the king used to use them all the time when they were younger.” I mentally do the math and realize Rocco was probably a guardsman during the time Harristan was slipping out of the palace as a teenager, dragging a rebellious young Corrick behind him.
Rocco scowls, but he’s also nodding like I’ve helped him solve a riddle. “No wonder the king was able to show up at the docks the night we left. None of us were expecting him there.”
“That’s right,” I whisper. I’d forgotten that the king snuck into Prince Corrick’s carriage.
Rocco nods. “They never travel together. It’s too great a risk. And it certainly wasn’t planned. None of His Majesty’s personal guard were with them.”
A sudden wave of emotion threatens to overwhelm me. That would have been the last time they saw each other. The brothers’ closeness was something very special, very touching, that they always seemed to feel the need to hide. I’m glad Corrick and Harristan had those private moments, instead of whatever public farewell was required of them.
The night is growing darker, and I need to think of something else, or I’m going to start crying again. I fight for other thoughts, and I remember that we both began to apologize, but he never finished his.
“What—” My voice is breathy, and I sniff back the waiting tears. “What were you going to apologize for?” I ask Rocco.
