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I gave a curt nod. “Let’s go.” I didn’t have time to change. A bonus to immediate intervention was that I’d be able to track which guards were nearest when it occurred.

All the suspects regarding the missing weaponry were currently detained downstairs, so there was a chance this murder wasn’t related, though something in my gut told me that wasn’t likely.

Within thirty minutes we arrived, the dark market familiar territory to me. Barely a soul stirred in the eerily quiet square. Even the wind held its breath. We strode up to the body lying dead center in the market.

“Has this been moved?” I asked on our approach.

“My men were instructed to leave it,” he said.

The man lay face up, a gash across his temple, and a cut above his nose. The moonlight accentuated his swollen features, but I recognized him. “I know this man. He owns a local tavern.”

Caine had met an unfortunate end before leaving my kingdom, it seemed. Not surprising, given his shady enterprises.

The sound of Commander Druller steadily unsheathing his sword had the metal ringing into the night with a hum. I scoped the length of Caine’s body, checking for any other signs of injuries that might indicate who’d done this. A moment later, something hard clattered against my skull, sending me stumbling to the ground. The world took a moment to steady again, a raging pain radiating from the back of my head.

“You just had to start sticking your nose where it didn’t need to be, hm?” Sebastian circled, coming to a stop before me.

I tried getting to my feet, but imbalance still had its grip on me, and I landed on my hip. “What are you…” Events replayed themselves in an instant.

Marco had flipped him a Duskian coin. He commanded the men in charge of patrolling the docks. He’d been the one feeding me information about the reports. I’d suspected lower level guards, but not Seb. Not when we’d worked so closely together since my induction as crowned prince. I considered him a friend, maybe more. As close to family as I had left in the castle.

All those meetings we discussed tactics, all the information he had access to. He’d stolen it, used it to his advantage to steal magic wielders and weapons and transport them elsewhere. “Why?” I rasped, trying to counteract the pressure battering my brain.

A chuckle of malice echoed around the empty stalls. “Why?! You’ve seen the state of this kingdom. Yet still, for years, you’ve poured funds into supporting those with magic who barely even use it while the rest of them starve. They don’t even fucking contribute!” His bellows resounded in waves, the taste of hate tainting the air. I’d never heard him refer to magic wielders as other. “Once they’re gone, no longer limiting the value of our wasted iron, there will be enough resources left that the children on these streets aren’t buried before their time.”

Propping myself up on my elbow, I tried corralling my thoughts. “Were you responsible for siphoning funds meant for South Harbor?”

He released a spiteful chuckle. “There’s so much you don’t know, prince.”

He may not have answered directly, but the admittance was clear. “You were the one stealing from these people. You forced them to starve on the streets,” I seethed.

“I’LL BE THE ONE TO SAVE THIS KINGDOM! You never bothered to care about these people’s plight, leaving them to rot with your head turned. It takes resources to fund an enterprise. To hire crew, pay hush money. The ends justify the means, something your father understood. If you weren’t going to make a difference, then I would.

“It takes a visionary, Nick. Unfortunately, you’re too soft for it. Too passive. There are others in this world who see the grand future we deserve.”

I went to rise, but he shot out his sword in warning, a menacing twinkle in his eye.

How deep had he rooted himself in the workings of my kingdom while I was completely unaware? Who pulled his strings? “Did you also poison the food?” If the man in front of me was responsible for hurting Nora…

He belted out a laugh. “No. Genius, though. Perhaps after the kingdom has their mourning period for you, I’ll put them in my employ. Clearly a capable group, one who can see the stain these magic folk leave.”

Mourning period. There was a reason his guards around the perimeter were ensuring our privacy here. One of them scurried toward us, calling for Commander Druller’s attention.

“Sir, sir.”

Juri.

He handed him a crystal dangling from a string. “Reports of a band of magic wielders entering the city.”

“Let me deal with this, then get ready to move on them,” Sebastian pointed at me with the hand holding the necklace, referring to me as the something to be dealt with. He had no intentions of me leaving this square alive.

The crystal glowed.

Both men stared at it, then brought their stunned gazes to me.

“Oh, now this is interesting,” the commander said, bringing the crystal closer, attention fixed on the increasing luminosity. He straightened, stepping back and sighing loudly. “I always thought you were a good man, Nick. You’re just not the leader your father was. That’s what we need, what these people deserve.”

“My father stood for those with magic. He would never condone this,” I bit out, letting my bitter disappointment coat every word.