The back third of the carriage was tipping precariously over the edge of the broken parapet. Just a few more feet, and the entire thing would have toppled into the river. The member of the King’s Guard who had been riding in the box with the driver lay dead several yards away.
“Clarissa!” Galen yelled.
I barely had time to grab one of the daggers sheathed to my thigh as the driver barreled into my side. We both fell to the ground and rolled for a few feet before he pinned me down, his blade at my throat and my body caged between his legs. I swung my own dagger in an arc above my face, but he lifted both hands and easily blocked it, sending the knife flying from my grip.
“Stop fighting, and I’ll make this easy,” he hissed, bringing his blade back to my neck.
“How considerate of you,” I rasped. “Too bad I can’t promise the same.”
I took the second dagger I’d grabbed when he’d released his hold on me a second ago and drove it into his wrist. With a cry, he dropped his knife and clutched at his hand. I used his distraction to shove his body off me and roll to the side, then stood and grabbed his shirt. Slamming his back into the ground, I wedged my knee into his neck.
“Who sent you?” I shouted.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said between gasps. “Just kill me. If you don’t, they will.”
“Who is ‘they?’” Galen snarled as he approached from behind me.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” the driver wheezed out. With one final burst of strength, he used his good hand to throw my leg off his throat, grab the discarded dagger, and tried to plunge it into my chest.
My blade found him first.
With a sickening squelch, it drove through his stomach. His eyes went wide as he looked down at the knife protruding from him. I yanked it out, and he staggered backward.
“Wait!” I cried out, but it was too late. His imbalance carried him over the broken railing and straight to the roaring river below. Galen and I scrambled to the edge, watching his body land with a splash.
My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath. “What was that about”—I sucked in another lungful of air—“nobody laying a finger on us?”
Galen gave me a grim look. “I suppose we better start walking.”
Two of theother carriages in our caravan caught up to us quickly, and we were able to ride with them the rest of the way to Silenus Manor. Galen joined Thorne and his mother in theirs, while Mother and I rode with our lady’s maids and a couple of guards.
I tried to wipe away the driver’s blood from my hands, but some of it dried and crusted into my skin in a layer of red and brown. I hated that I was used to this, that fighting strangers in the streets had become part of a daily routine in my time as the Sentinels’ leader. I was desensitized to the constant threats and daggers at my throat.
I’d been in this kingdom for twenty-four hours, and someone had already tried to kill me. That had to be some kind of record.
Katrine, the younger maid, was practically hyperventilating with worry the rest of the way, but the red-headed Devora kept her calm, seeming to know I needed to collect myself. She bandaged my injured arm deftly and quietly while Mother stuck close to my side. The three of them let me mull over my thoughts as I stared out the window at the slowly approaching sunset.
I was back in my Sentinels days. Analyzing the attack fromevery position, scrolling through my interactions in the last twenty-four hours, trying to put together pieces that didn’t exist.
I didn’t evenknowthese people. I had done nothing to warrant their hatred, except for simply existing. Were they so blinded by centuries of animosity toward Veridians, so opposed to me being here, that someone had resorted to murder?
I was sure Galen would be launching a full investigation, but with our main lead now at the bottom of the river, I doubted he’d find anything useful.
The strategic part of my brain began to overlap with nerves as Silenus Manor loomed large against the setting summer sun. The light red brick house stood three stories tall, with lanterns lighting the windows and entryway like a beacon. What looked like two separate wings had matching pointed roofs that reached into the darkening sky. When we drew nearer and I could see nearly a dozen figures waiting along the path leading to the entrance door, my palms began to sweat.
I sighed. Sure, a fight to the death on a broken bridge didn’t bother me, but thinking about what other people thought of me was apparently too much.
I wasn’t even sure why I was anxious. That these people wouldn’t like me? I snorted. Too late for that. It was trivial, considering how long I’d been scrutinized by people who feared and disapproved of me in equal measure. It shouldn’t matter if peoplelikedyou as long as they could respect you. And that was something I could earn—I’d done it before. You just had to find what motivated them.
They’re certainly excited to meet their future queen.
Lord Sadim’s words trickled through my mind. Ruling my own empire was still daunting, and being partially responsible for a land I didn’t know—even if it was in name only—felt like a heavier burden than I’d expected to bear. I knew myself. I knew if I spent time with these strangers, if I saw how they lived, how they worked and dreamed and loved…I would get attached. I would want to do my best to care for them. How could I do that when I had thousands upon thousands of Veridians to consider as well?
Or I could simply be nervous that someone was going to try and gut me in my sleep.
No matter what it was, something twisted in my stomach as our carriage came to a stop. The driver appeared in the doorway to help the maids and my mother down the steps.
I paused at the little door, heart pounding in my chest. Perhaps the events of the day were catching up to me. The sound of footsteps crunching across the white gravel was magnified, almost reminding me of white bones gleaming and crunching and?—
