Page 126 of Prince of Darkness and Deceit

That’s why General Ironheart dislikes me so much. He thinks I’m keeping his son from a family. From a better future. He doesn’t consider that the decision is as much his son’s as mine.

At least, it was his decision.

Clearly, things have changed for him. And I’m struggling to figure out how to handle that.

“There’s more,” Lev adds, voice so low I almost miss it over the cheer of a couple executing a perfect spin next to us. “Another reason why I decided to commission the circlet.”

I wait for him to continue. He doesn’t.

I frown and prompt, “Which is…?”

He pulls me closer. Our chests brush, and his lips ghost the top of my ear. “Things are changing all over the region. Food stores are running low, and merchant routes up north are blocked. People are afraid.”

I lean back, searching his face, confused. “Afraid of what? The Fae?”

His jaw tightens. His gaze flickers away.

“Lev?” I squeeze his shoulder. “What aren’t you saying?”

“There are whispers of a war coming,” he says in a rush, as if it takes everything he has to betray this confidence and reveal the words to me.

It probably does.

My heart thumps in my chest.

“A war?” My voice is barely above a whisper. “Against the Fae?”

“No.” His lips press into a hard line, and for a heartbeat indecision flickers over his resolve. Then he confesses, low and certain, “A war between humans.”

25

The lanterns overhead flicker in gold and violet, strung haphazardly between the warped wooden buildings. Laughter spills into the night. Bodies twirl with reckless joy.

And yet, beneath it all, my world teeters on the edge of a cliff, moments from plummeting into the dark abyss at the bottom of the Astlorian Sea.

“What did you just say?” My voice sounds like it’s underwater.

Lev’s expression is taut, strained.

He swallows and draws us to a stop at the border of the makeshift dancing area. “I overheard my father and his captains briefing the Elders about what’s coming yesterday morning.”

Blood pounds between my ears.

“And what?” I press, thankful the crowd is so loud with celebration. Otherwise, my frantic words would surely garner too much attention. “They think humans are going to turn on each other? That we will kill each other? For what? Trade? No. We would never. You can’t seriously believe there will be war just because your father says so.”

“It’s not just what they said,” he replies, his throat bobbing with effort. “I’ve also spoken with the prisoner.”

I freeze. “The Fae’s prisoner?”

He nods once.

The crowd erupts in laughter nearby, and I lean closer. “What about him?”

“He confirmed he’s part of the rebellion.”

My gasp is swallowed up by the music as it crashes into a soaring crescendo. “Why would he admit that?”

“Because the rebellion isn’t only trying to protect us from the Fae,” Lev says, voice low. “It’s trying to keep the human kingdom intact.”