Page 1 of Waking Roslyn

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Now

February 21st, Century of the Lion, Year 87

Sovereign Duchy of Winberg

Roslyn, Seventeen years old

The fine fabric of my dress rustled as I hurried through the palace corridors, desperate to get to the solitude of my chambers. I shoved my way through the heavy door of my room and shut it firmly. The paper crinkled in my fist as I leaned back against my door, taking short, shallow breaths, gasping around my panicked tears. The housekeeper had handed me the missive a few minutes prior, explaining that a delegation from Saldine would be arriving at the palace next week, and the duke and duchess might not be here to greet them.

“Surely Their Graces will return in time,” I had said to the housekeeper, desperate for it to be true.

“I truly hope so. Messages have been sent with our fastest riders, but whether or not they return in time, there are decisions to be made now. We must prepare. Rooms and meals must be planned. Entertainment must be decided upon. A delegation of our own must be formed.”

“That cannot be my responsibility,” I said in desperation.

She had waved her hand through the air. “Of course not. The duke’s advisors will organize that, but I will need your help with the rest of it. And if—heaven forbid—Their Graces do not return in time, you will need to be prepared to take on the role of hostess in the duchess’s place.”

My response had been immediate and visceral. My insides had started to tear themselves apart as my panic rose. It built and expanded in my stomach and chest until I knew there would be no stopping it.

I had managed only a few moments of conversation with the housekeeper before I mumbled an excuse and raced back to my room. A delegation from my home kingdom would mean that high-ranking officials would come here, to Winberg Palace.

That could not happen. I’d fled from Saldine to protect myself, but I would not be safe if an entire delegation discovered my whereabouts. The duke and duchess would return in time. They had to.

Four years ago, when I’d been sent to live with my cousin, Lisette, and her father in Winberg, I’d believed I would be biding my time in the countryside, safe and anonymous. And I had, for several years, but one visit to the capital of Winhaven and one royal celebration had changed that. Lisette had caught the eye of Lord Edmund Rockwell, the future sovereign duke of Winberg. No lady in her right mind would refuse a marriage proposal from him, so they had married. When Lisette had begged me to come with her as her cousin and dear friend, I’d said yes. My uncle was kind, but staying with only him in that country house held no appeal. Lisette was my one true friend, the only one who knew my story. So I had come with her.

How foolish that seemed now. If I had stayed in the country, I would not be facing the possibility of running into those who wanted me dead.

Who would be part of the Saldian delegation? How big would it be? Would it only be advisors of King Terius, or would one of the earls come? Or one of their sons?

I pinched my eyes against the memories that assaulted me. Neil stepping on my toes when I was nine years old. Nina dipping the ends of my hair in ink and staining my dress when I was eleven. Everett pulling my hair. Neil calling me a gutterling and kicking dirt at me. Me crying to my parents.

“I’m sorry, my love. Children can be cruel sometimes,” they’d always said.

I shook my head and looked around the room, trying to concentrate on what was here and now so that I wouldn’t spiral down to the very worst memories.

I focused my anger toward the citizens of Murrwood. If they had not created some sort of upheaval, then the duke and duchess would not be gone at this very moment. Their Graces had felt the need to attend to the situation in Murrwood themselves, taking Lord Edmund and Lisette with them. If they returned before the Saldian delegation arrived, I could keep out of the way and even hide in my room, pretending to be sick until the delegation was gone. But what if they didn’t return in time? The duke and duchess had been gone for several weeks, and though there was a good chance that they would return in time—what if they didn’t?

The whole point of going to live with Uncle Richard and Lisette was so that I would never be put in this position. Of course, I hadn’t expected my cousin to marry the heir to the Sovereign Duchy of Winberg, and my stay with her was supposed to have been short-lived as I waited for King Terius and his queen to have another child.

We had hoped at first that I’d be able to return soon. The crown prince was still frail, but he had not succumbed to the fever that had swept through our kingdom, and the queen had become pregnant less than a year after I fled Saldine. I’d truly believed that she would bear another healthy heir to the throne and that I’d be able to return home before my sixteenth birthday.

But the fever had claimed the queen and her baby.

King Terius was left alone, having only one son with a weak constitution that everyone believed would kill him before he reached adulthood.

That meant that if the king and his son died, I would inherit the Saldian throne.

Before

December 9th, Century of the Lion, year 83

Kingdom of Saldine

Roslyn, Thirteen years old

The moment Uncle Richard and Lisette showed up at our home, I knew something was wrong. Uncle Richard pulled my parents aside right there in the entry and began a hushed conversation that he clearly didn’t want Lisette and me hearing.