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“What?” My breath catches in my throat.

“Yeah. Listen to them.”

I can’t hear anything over the sound of my blood rushing in my ears.

She says something, then the three of them scurry away. Others rush past me. I don’t know why this shocks me so much, but it does.

It’s like everything is falling into place to make me follow Queen Sirena’s path. Everyone now wants him dead. I’m supposed to kill him.

Somehow, I manage to pull myself together and make my way to the back of the building. The yelling grows louder.

“Down with Drake!”

“Kill the imposter!”

“Death for Drake!”

And on it goes. All along those lines. I struggle to breathe. How would any of them feel if it was their dad people were chanting for.

“There you are!” Middlebrooks gasps.

“I was at sparring practice.” I don’t know why I feel the need to explain myself. Maybe because with Bash and Halen missing, she’s all I have at the moment. No! That’s not true. I’ve got the band and Halen’s friends.

“We need to get to the castle.”

My heart sinks. “To say goodbye?”

She jolts. “What? No. To come up with a plan.”

“Shouldn’t I be practicing for the pageant?”

“Who cares about that at a time like this? Hurry!”

“Wait.”

She gives me a double-take. “What could be so important right now?”

“Have you seen Halen or Bash today?”

“No. Let’s go.” She pulls me toward her office.

“Can’t we just call Tiberias? Surely he’ll help. He won’t want Dad put to death. And besides, the people will listen to him!”

Middlebrooks shakes her head. “Are you really that naive? Your dad tried to kill him. He’s no friend of ours.”

“He stood up for me.”

“Don’t trust him. It’s a political play—there’s some underlying reason. Maybe he thinks having you on his side will gain him extra sympathy. Or he might want to pull you away from your dad to weaken his support system. Don’t fall for it.”

I frown. She can’t be right. He seemed so genuine each time I spoke with him. His only concern was for me as his niece. He knows I’m not behind all the stuff my dad has done. But I don’t bother telling her any of that. I just follow her and wait as she gathers things from her office.

My mind races. Should I try to talk to Tiberias? He might actually listen to me, especially with the Queen Sirena link. He’s practically infatuated with her. But even if I do convince him to help protect my dad, does that really do any good if I have to kill him anyway?

A commotion sounds outside.

Middlebrooks throws her arms in the air. “What now?”

I poke my head out into the hall. People are racing around cheering and celebrating. I stop a girl from my magic class. “What’s going on?”