Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms 3)

Nic inhaled sharply. “How?”

“His body was found in the dungeon along with another guard’s. Both stabbed.”

“Who did it?”

“Apparently it was a prisoner who managed to escape. But our job tonight is to keep watch over the wedding. We’ll leave the hunt for fugitives to the others.”

Cronus? Killed by a common prisoner? Cronus had given Nic the impression he was practically immortal—a skilled warrior forged from steel, virtually indestructible.

It seemed that was only an illusion.

“Do me a favor?” Idas asked. “If you happen to spot Prince Magnus among the guests, tell me. The king will want to alert the prince about Cronus the moment he shows his face.”

“I’ll do that.”

Idas then went off to speak in whispers with another guard.

A prisoner had escaped and managed to kill two guards in the process? That just didn’t happen. Sure, there were escape attempts every now and then—such as what had happened with Jonas’s friends. But, to Nic’s knowledge, a prisoner had never successfully escaped the dungeon itself.

Until today.

But who had the prisoner been?

As Nic watched three more guards leave the hall, he found his curiosity was piqued enough to provoke him to leave his station. Not that it would matter. After all, who was monitoring the guards’ duties tonight? Certainly not Cronus.

No one paid him any attention as he made his way back toward the throne room. King Gaius stood at the archway, surrounded by more than a dozen guards.

“. . . in addition to the main search, which takes precedence,” the king said, “you will locate both Prince Ashur and Princess Amara, and, as quietly as possible so as not to disrupt the banquet, arrest them while they’re still under this roof. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, your highness.” The men echoed one another.

“The emperor will have second thoughts about coming anywhere near my kingdom when he learns his beloved son and daughter are being held at my mercy.”

Nic doubted his ears. He’d expected to overhear only the king’s reaction to Cronus’s death, not a command to arrest the Kraeshians.

It didn’t make sense.

And yet . . . if King Gaius believed the Emperor of Kraeshia meant to destroy him, making Mytica the latest in a long list of conquered kingdoms, then this was a smart move. Possibly the king’s only move.

However, the king didn’t seem to know that the Kraeshians had already left the palace, well over an hour ago.

Nic slipped away without being noticed by the king. Just another guard in the group. Same uniform, same duties.

Different allegiances.

After all, Nic was a rebel now.

• • •

He wanted to find Cleo and tell her of his plans, but there was no time.

It wouldn’t be long before news reached the king that Ashur and Amara were no longer in the palace. The king would then send guards directly to the villa to make their arrests.

He left the palace without permission, knowing every decision he made now would change his future. For better or worse, he didn’t know for sure. All he knew was that he had information, and he potentially had powerful allies who needed it in order to survive.

Then there was the simple yet horrible thought of Ashur, imprisoned in the dark dungeon, at the mercy of the king, never to be free again. . . .

That wouldn’t happen. Not if Nic had anything to say about it.