"A total of fifty men from the Royal Guards had been suverted, that we know of," Al recounted. Twenty-four are dead. Ten have been captured, and sixteen are on the run at this moment."

"The military?"

"No sign that it's been compromised."

Leon rubbed a hand across his face. He hadn't slept in two days, and he was beginning to feel it.

The attempted coup the night before was a quiet rumor in the castle. Victor decided to hold the Assembly of Lords as planned. The only change was the switch from the Royal Guards to military personnel in the castle's security.

Though the men they'd caught confirmed the identities of all people involved, a proper investigation would have to be conducted in the Guards' ranks before they were entrusted with any sensitive posts.

General Brodrick was dead. Leon had cut his head clean off when he saw the bastard stabbing his son.

Leon's chest constricted. He had almost lost his mind when he saw the sword cutting through Ari. He had thought he had lost his son. Summer had saved them, in more ways than one. She was the reason everyone in the royal family was alive.

Al continued his report. He and Ida were the only people they trusted enough in the Royal guards to keep their usual posts, and the weight of the work would drop on their shoulders. It showed in Al's smudged eyes and disheveled state.

"Alright, you may go," the king said. "Make sure all the generals are aware of tonight's meeting. You're excused."

Al bowed and left. The door closed behind him with a quiet snick, and Victor closed his eyes. Outwardly, he looked as polished and put together as usual, but Leon knew him enough to read the deep exhaustion in the lines of his face.

A breeze blew in through the open window, rustling the documents on Victor's desk and swaying the candles on top. The light flickered on his brother's face, sharpening his features. The sky outside donned the deep colors of twilight, night only moments away. Leon stifled a yawn.

"The Northerners?" Victor asked Leon, not bothering to open his eyes.

"Escaped. Both the man who'd infiltrated the castle with Brodrick and those we'd left tied in his farmhouse."

Victor drummed his fingers on his desk. Leon's eyes drifted shut, sleepiness taking over.

"And the woman is your friend's mother?"

The question brought Leon to full wakefulness. He regarded Victor.

"You don't trust her," Leon said. A statement rather than a question.

Victor opened his eyes. He turned to face Leon, clasping his hands on top of his desk.

"I have just been betrayed by one of the top generals of the kingdom, so trust is in short supply right at this moment," Victor said. "However, let us look at things from an objective perspective. Your friend is the daughter of a Northern agent involved in the heist of an important national artifact and an attempted coup for the throne. And according to your guards' report, she is the one who told them that you might be in danger and that they must come to your rescue. Thus leaving the Northerners with few guards, allowing them to escape."

Leon's jaw tightened.

"She's also the one who saved all of us," Leon said. "If it weren't for her, there would be no royal family left, including you."

"Yet she held a sword to my throat only shortly after."

"Because you refused her access to help Ari."

"That's another thing, isn't it. She's able to use the artifact in ways we have not thought possible, in ways we have only heard of in stories and fairytales."

Leon leaned forward in his chair, fixing his brother with a hard gaze. "I trust her."

Victor raised his brow. "Do you trust her more than me?"

Leon opened his mouth and closed it. The memory of Victor's unflappable face when the general had threatened Serene was fresh in his mind. "Would you have watched them kill all of us without giving away the Will?"

Victor's face shuttered. Silence, thick and heavy, suffocated the room.

"I'm the king of this land. I will do whatever is necessary to protect it, even at the cost of my own life."

Leon looked at his brother. He wouldn't have let them kill them. He wouldn't have let them kill Ari. Or would he?

From an objective point of view, the good of the people superseded the good of a single family, even if it was the Royal family. But Leon could not bring himself to make such a decision. That made him a bad ruler, perhaps, but it was what it was. Now he remembered Summer's question about doing what was good for the kingdom, no matter the price. Now he knew the answer.

Victor pulled a document from a stack on his desk and waved Leon off. "You may leave. Go rest. I need you sharp tomorrow."

Words hung on the tip of Leon's tongue. But he didn't let them out. He felt a rift grow between him and his brother. Between him and the title of a prince that he had worn his entire life.

Leon bowed his head and left the room. The castle crawled with soldiers and high-ranking officials. A few Lords waited right outside the king's office to speak with him. The new secretary let them in, along with a slew of soldiers.

Leon headed straight to his son's room. A young valet greeted him at the door, and Leon's heart twisted. Ari's valet was also gone. His son would mourn his death heavily; he'd been a constant companion even before Ria's death.

The door to his son's room was open, a lantern burned along the wall, casting in soft shadows the soft color of green and orange that Ria had chosen for Ari's room. As he entered, the bed came into view.

Leon's mother sat on a chair by the bed. Her back stiffened when he came inside, and she only relaxed when she saw him, taking her hand out of a pocket in her skirt. Leon blinked. The outline of a dagger was visible against the blue fabric.

"Any change?" Leon asked.

"No. He's sound asleep," Aurora whispered. Exhaustion marred her features, and she looked years older than her age. "Felix has visited several times during the day. He assured me everything is in order."

Leon heaved a sigh and lowered himself onto the edge of Ari's bed. "A dagger?"

She lifted her chin. "Yes. I will never be caught unawares again in my own home. I made alterations to all my dresses to have pockets big enough for weapons."

A smile curved Leon's lips. "Shall I arrange for fighting lessons?"

"Nonsense," Aurora said. "I already did. My first will be tomorrow morning."

Leon chuckled.

"How's your friend?" she asked.

Leon rubbed his eyes. "Still asleep. And she has a name. It's Summer. You and Victor seem to be the only ones averse to using it."

"Your brother must be busy."

"Yes." Leon looked at his son, sleeping soundly. His jaw tightened.

"It seems your father and I have raised him well to be a king," she murmured. "Too well, perhaps..."

She whispered the last part, but Leon caught it. She stared at Ari, her eyes haunted. Shaking her head, she reached out and touched a hand to Leon's cheek. Her eyes blurred with tears. She blinked them away with a stubborn tilt of her chin.

"You must protect the family. Don't trust anyone too much."

Leon frowned. "If you are referring to Summer-"

"No. That girl redeemed herself in my eyes. She saved us and saved my grandchild. I still do not believe her a suitable match for you, but I will forever be indebted to her."

Leon sighed, caught between irritation and affection. He loved his mother, and he knew she loved Ari above all else, despite her sometimes odd ways of showing it.

"I'm referring to everyone else," she continued. "The castle now looks like wounded prey, and many predators await moments like these to show their fangs. So you must be sharp these days. Get some rest."

"I will." He kissed her cheek, kissed his son's forehead, reveling in the warmth of his skin despite its pallor, and left Ari's wing toward Summer's room in Ida and Al's wing.

Logan caught up to him on the way. He had almost had a heart attack when he found out what happened. Apparently, the castle had been running smoothly while havoc wreaked in the king's wing.

Once the ball had ended, the general had taken advantage of the Guards' lowered guard after the guests left and made it with some of his men into the king's office where he had taken him hostage, gradually disposing of the Guards in the king's wing and replacing them with ones loyal to him. Then they summoned the rest of the royal family.

The thing Leon could not understand was the timing. Why would the general do this when all the Kingdom's Lords were in attendance, most of whom would raise hell and demand an investigation if the royal family were suddenly slaughtered? No matter how he looked at it, it felt rushed.

"Your highness, Lady Summer has awakened," Logan said. Leon stopped and looked at the man. Logan stood straight, his hand clasped behind his back, and his expression blank. He hadn't told Logan to inform him in case Summer awoke, but it seemed the valet had moved past his aversion to Summer.

"Thank you, Logan." Leon said, picking up his steps toward Summer's room.

"Of course, your highness," Logan said, keeping step beside him.

"Is there anything else?"

"No, your highness. I'm simply making sure you reach your destination safely." His eyes flickered around the hallway, scrutinizing every person they walked past.

Amusement unfurled in Leon's chest. He glanced over his shoulders at the two soldiers shadowing him and raised a brow at Logan.

"I don't trust anyone else, Your Highness," Logan said.

Leon hid a smile. He appreciated the sentiment, but Logan would not know the right end of the sword. He was more liable to put himself in harm's way to save Leon, however, and Leon didn't wish to lose another friend. Captain Holloway's face flashed in his mind. The man had been the ultimate Royal guard. His funeral, along with Pennings, his brother's secretary, and the other Guards who'd died, would be held the following day.

Leon still had several interrogations to lead, most of which would no doubt be ugly, but he took comfort in knowing that Summer was finally awake. Her light would give him new energy to duly perform his duties.

Queen Serene walked down the hallway toward him. Leon bowed when they met. "Your Majesty."

"Leon," Serene reached out and grabbed his hand. She squeezed. "I've been meaning to find you. I've checked on Ari after luncheon, but he was still asleep."

"The same," Leon replied, patting her hand. The white bandage around her throat glared under the flickering lanterns. Leon glanced at Logan, and the latter bowed deeply and walked far enough away to give them privacy.

"How are you holding up?" Leon asked.

"Well. I haven't been stabbed or seriously injured. I'm more concerned about your friend and Ari. But it seems Lady Summer is well on her way to recovery."

"You've visited her?" Leon asked, surprised.

"Yes. I've told the servants to inform me the moment she awakens. I had to express my gratitude. According to Ida, she is the one who saved me, who saved us all."

Her hand smoothed down her skirt, a slight tremor betraying her rocky emotions.

Leon smiled, trying for levity. "Yes, well, perhaps you can put in a good word in his majesty's ear. His opinion of summer seems to have only worsened."

Serene's smile was a faint echo of her usual. "Of course. Ever the sceptic. And yet he's the one who should be more grateful to her. After all, she had saved him the pain of witnessing our deaths."

A thread of bitterness underlayed her tone. Leon clasped his hands behind him. He wasn't good with words, but he felt the need to say something. To comfort her, or to defend Victor, he didn't know. "Victor is... he would not have-"

Serene waved him off. "I know your brother, Leon. That's okay. His dedication to his duty is one of the things I admire about him. I understand no one will be as important as the kingdom to him. That's what makes him a good king."

And that was what made her a good queen. Serene took her leave with a comforting smile, yet Leon couldn't shake the feeling that something had indefinitely shifted between her and his brother this evening. He shook his head. It had to be the exhaustion.

Leon resumed his way to Summer's room. He heard her before he saw her, spitting fire. She hated being sick and staying still as much as he did.

The door was left ajar, and when he knocked, a disgruntled maid–Lily was her name?–tugged the door open. Her expression cleared when she saw him, and she bobbed into a curtsy. "Your Highness."

Leon looked past her inside the room, his eyes locking onto glittering violets. Summer gave him a salute from her perch on the bed.

"Your Highness, good morning, or is that good evening?" She said with a wry glance at the window where the sky outside was darkening to black.

Leon walked in while Lily fluttered to the bedside table, where she continued the preparations of some sort of potion. No doubt one of Felix's foul medications. Lily turned with a glass of murky green liquid that sloshed within, reminding Leon of his own medicine that awaited in his room. Felix insisted he drink it despite Leon's cuts being superficial.

"I see you're finally awake," Leon said, standing by her bed. He clasped his hands behind his back, resisting the urge to hug her. Despite her smile, her skin looked seeped of blood. Shadows darkened the skin beneath her eyes, and bruises bloomed on her cheekbone and chin. She accepted the glass from Lily.

"I am. How's Ari?"

"Still asleep. Felix told us he should wake up tonight or tomorrow at the latest." Leon stifled the voice of panic at the fact that Ari still hadn't awoke yet. What if he never did? What if his injuries had been too severe? What if-

"He'll wake up," Summer said with more confidence than he felt. "Ari is a fighter. He'll drag himself out of consciousness."

Leon smiled.

Lily cleared her throat, pointedly looking at the glass of medication that was still sitting idle and full in Summer's hands. Summer sighed and took a sip, wincing at the taste. Then she pinched her nose and downed it all in one go. "Blegh."

Lily handed her a chocolate piece to drawn the taste. The chocolate bowl was almost empty. Leon made a note to send more later.

"Tell me everything." Summer patted the bed by her knee. Lily curtsied and left the room, leaving the door open for propriety's sake.

Leon sighed and lowered himself, sinking into the mattress. It was inappropriate, perhaps, but he was too exhausted to care, and he knew Summer didn't.

"Your mother escaped," Leo, began.

Summer's head reared back. She blinked. "So it was a ploy to get us away so she could escape, after all."

"Perhaps," Leon said. "But she did tell the truth. And if you hadn't come... Things would've turned out differently."

"I guess." She frowned.

Leon leaned his elbows on his knees. It had been a long couple of days, and his bones seemed to have turned liquid. Around Summer, he felt like he could finally drop his guard.

"The general?" Summer asked.

"Dead," Leon said. Then he told her what happened when she was asleep. They had raided General Brodrick's house and all known residences. His wife and daughter were under surveillance in their house until their involvement could be ruled out. Though Leon had a feeling they wouldn't be involved, not because Brodrick worried about them, but because he didn't believe women should be included or consulted in matters of importance.

"Right now, the entire Guard body is under suspicion," Leon said. "We know he managed to subvert two units, and only certain members of those units, but we can't know for sure until a deeper investigation is concluded."

Summer frowned. "So who's taking care of the castle's security if the Guards are out of commission?"

"Ida and Al are overseeing things, seeing as they're obviously not involved," Leon said. "Al took over as my brother's captain of security in lieu of Holloway."

Leon's heart twisted at the mention of the captain. He hadn't been close to Holloway, not as close as he was to Ida and Leon anyway, but he'd known the other man since he was a child, and Holloway was a teenager. He knew his death would affect his brother, no matter how unaffected he seemed to the world.

"Right now, the majority of the security is entrusted to soldiers of the army," Leon said.

"And you're sure they haven't been compromised."

"As sure as we can get. Not that we have a choice," Leon said. "But the army is under my control. The general had contact with the guards in recent years because he'd been an instructor in the military academy. That must be what allowed him to test the readability of those members to rebellion. But even though he's a general, he's taken a pause from his active duties for years after a bad injury in the North."

"Speaking of the North. The man I fought, he's clearly a Northerner."

"He's gone. He disappeared at some point, and we hadn't even noticed." Leon gave her a look. "He's good, isn't he?"

Summer's eyes glinted with challenge. "He's damned good at going unnoticed. And he clearly knew how to work the artifact."

"Two things you have in common," Leon said.

She hummed, twisting her lips. "Now we know the Northerners are involved, my mother is part of their court, and the artifact is much stronger than we thought. It feels like we answer one question only to have ten more."

Leon patted her knee. "Let's stop thinking about it for a while. Rest. You need it after yesterday."

"I literally just woke-" a yawn split her mouth. Leon's lips twitched. Summer glared at him. She cleared her throat. "Fine. I'll rest if you will."

Leon stood up. "I will."

"By the way," Summer cleared her throat. "The king doesn't want to kill me for putting a sword to his throat, does he?"

"He's miffed about that. But you saved Ari in the end, so he can't really be mad. But it was a reckless thing to do," Leon said.

"Yes, I know. In hindsight, it wasn't the smartest way to handle the situation, but in my defense, I was injured, angry, and worried about Ari. And time was of the essence. So..."

"So you threatened the king who had just been held hostage by rebels," Leon said.

She yawned again, leaning back against the pillows. "Yes, yes. I know. That was stupid. So I'm not going to prison?"

"Not at the moment, no," Leon said.

"Good." Her eyes fluttered shut. "In the morning, we should go see Ari. If he doesn't wake up, maybe the artifact..."

Her voice faded out, sleep drawing her deeper. Leon moved a curl of hair from her cheek, his finger lingering on the soft, freckled skin. As he pulled his hand back, something twinkled right next to Summer's hand on top of the covers.

The Artifact.

Leon picked it up. He had personally delivered it to the King's safe and locked it there. Yet here it was. It seems to find Summer whenever it wants.

She was right. They might have figured out who stole the Artifact, but they had more questions now than before.

Leon reached for the artifact, but stopped himself.

Right now, he could think of no safer place than in Summer's hand. She knew how to use it. If she had had it when she'd arrived at the castle, it would've made their rescue so much easier and spared them a lot of death.

He straightened, leaving the artifact where it was. His brother might pitch a fit, but Leon would deal with it when it happened.

Besides, Summer would be the perfect person to safeguard it. Who better to prevent a heist than an accomplished thief?

--- ---- ---

Book 1 is done!!! 

Thoughts? Don't forget to vote and comment! I appreciate it <3

Like I said before, I'm going to begin book two starting next week! So don't go anywhere! 

Much love <3 <3 <3

M.B.