Kai lifted a pitchfork full of dirty straw from the stall and transferred it to a nearby wheelbarrow. When he’d offered to help with chores around the farm, Jeb had happily taken him up on it. The work gave Kai time alone to think and work on plans. So far, he’d thought of three ideas and discarded all of them. If he had nothing to offer Sterling by tonight, he had no doubt she would keep her word and try to go off alone.

He leaned against the pitchfork and wiped his brow. This stall was almost done. Then he had two more left to clean. After that . . .

The barn floor vibrated beneath his feet. It was subtle enough a human might not have noticed it, but it was enough to send a spike of fear through Kai. Jeb should not be back from Daralis yet and even if he were, it would not feel like this.

Kai abandoned his pitchfork and ducked out of the barn. He shielded his eyes and faced the main road coming from Daralis. A group of horses had kicked up a dust cloud.

A lot of horses.

He needed to get to Sterling and warn her. Even if they had horses to flee on, they would be too late. They had to hide.

The barn was situated a good distance from the main house. When he’d left this morning, that’s where Sterling had been with Inesa. If they’d gone elsewhere on the farm, he’d never find them before the riders arrived. As it was, he was not sure he would make it.

Kai sprinted for the house, racing the dust cloud. If there were only two or three of the king’s men, he could have handled them with his magic, but even he was not strong enough to take on a dozen or more.

But Sterling might be.

He could not ask it of her. She lacked control and was a danger to herself.

Kai reached the house at the same time a slight figure rounded the corner. She called his name, waving frantically.

Inesa. Not Sterling. Sterling was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is my sister? I need to find my sister.”

“She is safe, but hurry,” she said breathlessly. “There isn’t much time. You must hide. I have a place—”

Her words cut off as she rounded the corner of the house, back the way she’d come.

“Come on out, and the girl won’t get hurt,” a male voice said.

Kai cursed under his breath. He couldn’t leave Inesa after she’d helped them. She didn’t deserve whatever they might do to her. At least Sterling was still safe.

Kai stepped around the corner.

A man wearing the king’s uniform held Inesa with a blade pressed to her throat. The girl looked terrified, but she didn’t utter a word.

“That’s it,” the man said when he saw Kai. “Come this way, and no one gets hurt.” He dragged Inesa backward and rejoined the other riders.

Kai had been right in his estimate of at least a dozen of them. Too many for his magic, but he could still try. He flexed his fingers, readying to launch an attack, when Jeb stepped out from behind the horses.

“What are you doing? You said you wouldn’t hurt her,” he cried.

“And I won’t as long as we get what we came for. Hand over the two fugitives and your daughter goes free with none the wiser to her abilities. We have one. Now, where is the other?”

“I don’t know,” Jeb said.

“Then you better find her. Search the house,” the soldier ordered. “The longer it takes, the more likely my hand is to slip, and we wouldn’t want that now, would we? The rest of you get this one taken care of.”

Two soldiers peeled off from the group and came toward Kai. One held something metal in his hands. Others swarmed up the porch and into the house.

This might be his last chance.

“Don’t even think about it.” The man pressed his blade harder into Inesa’s skin until a thin line of blood appeared. She squeezed her eyes closed, but she still didn’t make a sound.

“Please,” Jeb begged. “Please.”

Kai wasn’t sure if he was talking to him or the king’s man.

The soldier with the manacles drew closer.

If Kai was someone else, he might have sacrificed Inesa for his freedom. But he wasn’t. Jeb and Inesa had been kind and welcomed them into their home, even knowing there was a price on their heads. Kai couldn’t make things worse for them.

“Arms out,” the soldier ordered.

Kai did as he said, and the manacles snapped shut around his wrist, severing his connection to his magic.

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The darkness pressed in around her, reminding Sterling of her prison cell—the horrible place her kidnappers had dragged her to, half drugged and with a broken nose, before handing her over to Gavaran and the mages.

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At least one of her kidnappers had gotten what was coming to him. Sometimes she swore she could still feel his blood on her hands. Sterling shuddered and pressed her forehead to her knees. She couldn’t think about that now while alone in the dark. It would lead nowhere good.

Hopefully, she wouldn’t be alone for long if Inesa had been able to find Kai and warn him in time. They’d hide down here until King Berenger’s men moved on, and then they could go to the portal.

Sterling lifted her head and held her breath, listening for movement.

All was silent.

Perhaps that was a good thing. Still, she would wait until someone came to retrieve her.

Closing her eyes against the darkness, Sterling tucked further into herself. After all the playing with magic she and Inesa had done, she was exhausted. If she wasn’t careful, she might fall asleep.

Sterling wasn't sure how much time had passed when she heard the cellar door being lifted. She tensed. It must be Kai coming to tell her the king’s men had left, and now it was their turn to leave the farm.

"Sterling."

It wasn't Kai, and it wasn’t Inesa either.

"Sterling," the voice called again. It almost sounded like Jeb, but there was something off about his voice—like it was strained. Had he come back from the city before or after the king’s men had arrived?

He continued calling, and she heard his footsteps descend the stairs. A second set of footsteps echoed behind the first, but whoever accompanied Jeb remained silent.

"Sterling. It's all right. You can come out now."

She hesitated. Maybe she’d been mistaken about there being someone else with Jeb. Then again, if the king’s men had left, why wouldn’t Kai be the one to come to her?

Unless something had happened to Kai.

There was only one way to find out.

Sterling uncurled herself, her limbs screaming in protest after being cramped in the barrel. "I'm here."

A lantern swung her way, blinding her, but not before she saw there was indeed someone else with Jeb. Several someones.

"Grab her," one of the shadowed figures said. Two more figures stepped toward her, and she backed up, her calves running into the barrel she’d been using to hide. There was nowhere else to go.

In a panic, Sterling lifted her hands, thinking to call her magic to protect herself, but nothing responded. Even the voices were silent.

The figures grabbed her wrists and hauled her forward.

Sterling tried to pull away, but they were stronger than her. She dug her heels in to slow them down, but it only served to have them drag her along the ground and up the stairs.

When they returned aboveground, the light revealed the men holding her were dressed in the white and gold livery of the king. There were more of the soldiers standing nearby. Her eyes darted to Jeb, but he refused to look at her. He refused to look at anyone but his own feet.

Jeb had sold them out.

"Bring her to the horses and make sure to put the manacles on her. We don't want any . . . incidents."

Sterling smiled grimly to herself at that. He was probably referring to what she’d done to the king's palace. Her smile disappeared as the two soldiers holding her arms yanked her forward.

There was still no sign of Kai, which gave Sterling hope that maybe he’d gotten away.

That hope was dashed as soon as they turned the corner of the house, and the group of horses came into view. There were more soldiers waiting with the horses, and Kai stood among them, heavy manacles clamped around his wrists.

Sterling turned her head and caught sight of Inesa, tears streaking down her face and blood staining the neckline of her dress. Unlike Kai, Inesa's wrists weren't bound with manacles. When Jeb came forward, one of the soldiers next to Inesa shoved her toward him. Jeb wrapped his arms around his daughter and finally met Sterling's eyes over Inesa's shoulder. There was an apology there, and the pieces clicked into place. Sterling knew why Jeb had done it.

Somehow, someone had known they were here, and Berenger's soldiers had threatened Inesa to get Jeb to reveal them. He’d listened to Sterling's words to protect his daughter at all costs, and she couldn't blame him for that.

She dipped her chin to him, letting him know she understood, and there were no hard feelings.

Before Sterling could see his response, she was pulled away, and her own pair of manacles were clapped on her wrists. They pulled at her arms, dragging them down so she couldn't get them up to defend herself if she needed to.

The soldiers dragged her over to one of the horses and lifted her into the saddle. A metal clip attached to the saddle was hooked to the manacles.

Nearby, Kai was given his own horse and similarly clipped into place. With their prisoners secured, the soldiers returned to their own horses, and the leader of the group addressed Jeb and Inesa.

"Thank you for your service. I assume we will have no further reason to visit this farm."

"No, of course not," Jeb said, pushing Inesa behind him.

"Good." The leader mounted his horse and directed the group back to Daralis.

If only Kai had listened to her, Sterling thought bitterly as her horse followed along with the rest of the group. They could have been crossing the portal by now and not in manacles, headed back to Daralis and a death sentence.

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When they clattered into Daralis, the people in the streets stopped to stare and point at them.

"Out of the way, " the leader of their group barked at them.

The gawkers scattered to the side to allow the horses through, but Sterling saw them whispering behind their hands as they watched the procession.

When they arrived at the palace, they were taken to a door on the northern side and down a narrow set of stairs. Like Sterling’s previous experience with a prison cell, this dungeon was also below ground. It was dark and musty, the smell of unwashed bodies and moldy straw permeating the air.

Sterling tried not to breathe through her nose.

The first few cells they passed were made of nothing but iron bars, affording the occupants no privacy. Only a few of these cells actually held people, their heads lifting to watch them pass by. One man stuck an arm out between the bars and made a grab for her, but the guard was quick to shove him back before he made contact.

Instead of being put in one of the cells with no walls, as Sterling feared, they continued deeper in the dungeon and down another set of stairs. These stairs led to a hallway lined with doors. Most of which stood open and unoccupied.

It was so similar to where Sterling's kidnappers had kept her. Her chest squeezed as the memories resurfaced, and she swore she felt a twinge of pain in her nose. She had been so lost and confused, wishing someone would rescue her, but at the same time hoping her family would stay safe. She had even thought she’d imagined Seraiah appearing in her cell.

"Here we are." The guard leading her stopped in front of one of the open doorways. "Welcome to your new home until King Berenger decides what to do with you."

"You mean he doesn't know how he wants to punish me yet?"

She didn't really expect an answer, so she wasn't disappointed when the guard said nothing. He pushed her through the doorway and locked the door behind her.

Sterling sighed, resigning herself once again to the dark. If there was ever a time she wished the voices would come back, it would be now. She’d been enjoying being alone in her own head over the last two days, but now she would do anything—including getting help from the voices—to get out of here. She couldn't die in this wretched human prison. She had a kingdom to rule, and rule she would . . . one way or another.