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T he prince has fishpox, I bet. The thought bounced around my head, growing louder with every drip of seawater against the floor of my prison cell. I’d never stepped foot into a dungeon until that night. Somehow, it was even dingier than I’d imagined. Iron bars served as a wall for one side of the cell, while the other three were made of crumbling sandstone. Moonlight crept in through the gaps in the walls, some large enough that everytime a wave crashed against the palace, I felt a cold splash on my face.

I wasn’t alone in my cage. In the echoey darkness, I could just about make out several pallets that had been scattered across the floor. One held both Marius and Terr as they slept, huddled against each other. Another barely supported Ivy’s small body as she tossed and turned.

They didn’t deserve to be here. None of us did. But our protests didn’t seem to convince the guards as they tossed us all in here. ‘ Dirty Corlixins ’, they’d called us. If I wasn’t so distracted by the potential impending fishpox pandemic, I would’ve let Terrence make good on his threats to show them just how ‘foul’ Corlixins could be.

“Do you think they will feed us here?” Raena’s whisper carried through the darkness. She’d unfortunately been lumped in with us too, despite her not being from my kingdom. Like me, she hadn’t bothered to try and sleep. Although her reason was less to do with figuring out how to produce large quantities of fishpox cure and more to do with her not wanting her gown to get dirty, choosing instead to pace endlessly around our cell while she kept her skirts bundled in her arms.

“They’ll feed us,” I reassured her from my spot against the damp wall. “And I doubt we’ll be in here much longer. Lukas won’t be able to sleep if I’m not in my bedchamber. He’ll come for us all.”

“Erik will too. He said he wouldn’t rest until he found a way to set me free.” Raena nodded, continuing her pacing. “You should’ve seen how much of a fight he put up when they arrested me. Oh, Naria, it was awful. The way those filthy guards had their hands all over me. I could barely breathe through my crying—”

“Quiet in there!” the guard posted outside barked into our cell. Raena’s lips clamped shut with a whimper.

Biting down a frown, I hurried to her side and pulled her into a tight hug. “It’ll be alright,” I whispered while she sobbed quietly. “This is all some misunderstanding anyway. We didn’t bring any disease into the palace, and as soon as I can assure Queen Cora that we,” I gestured to my sleeping friends, “are the only ones who can save her son, along with the rest of her kingdom, then we’ll be out of here in a heartbeat.”

Raena buried her nose into my shoulder, groaning, “I just want a nice lavender-scented bath.”

“I know.” I rubbed her back soothingly. “I know.”

The sound of incoming footsteps tore us apart as a male figure approached our cell.

“Do you think he’s going to let us go?” Raena whispered.

My heart thrummed. “I’m not sure. Maybe?” There was nothing familiar about the man’s shape. He was tall and heavyset, and as he passed under a glowing torch, I didn’t recognise his face. But his eyes… They glinted in a way that reminded me of someone. Perhaps he was one of the guards posted outside my bedchamber? All the more reason to explain the warm relief that now flooded my body.

“I’m here to collect Princess Naria,” the stranger announced to our guard in a smooth voice. “Queen Cora wants to see her.” Within seconds, the door clicked unlocked and Raena grasped my arm.

When the man stepped inside, I spoke up with my fists clenched. “I’m not leaving my friends behind. If the Queen wants to see me, she’ll see all of us.”

The stranger chuckled. “I have orders for only you, Princess. The rest of them stay here.”

“Absolutely not.” My scowl deepened. “They are released, or I’m staying here with them.”

Raena shot me a nervous glance just as the guard stepped forward, growling, “You are to come with me, or I shall drag you from this cell.”

“Just go with him, Naria,” she whispered. “You can’t convince Cora to release us all if you’re stuck in here.”

She had a point. But still, it hurt to watch her pry her fingers off my arm so I could walk without her into the dingy corridor.

“Smart choice, my darling,” the guard said to me as we veered down a dark hallway, stopping by an empty cell. “Though I wouldn’t have minded holding you again.”

My brow shot up. “What?” But my voice became a squeak as the large guard shifted in front of me, transforming into a much slender figure. Metal armour melted into a dark tunic. His black hood softened into raven locks.

“Arenn…” I scowled. Of course it was him. That warmth I’d felt…

“Well don’t look too pleased to be rescued,” he laughed.

“All of my friends are still back there, trapped in a cell.” I threw my hands down. “And you just saved me? We have to go back, get them all out, then find Queen Cora so I can fix this mess.”

Arenn’s laughter slowed to a sigh. “You know we are not really going to visit the Queen, my love.”

“You’re right, we need to visit Prince Raphael first.” I tipped my chin up, thoughts racing through my mind. “I’ll need to confirm it’s fishpox, then we’ll have to start quarantining everyone until we can make enough of the cure. I’ll need you to conjure more plants for us too. Then Ivy and I can work together to make as much medicine as possible—” My lips slammed shut as Arenn snatched up my hand.

“Naria, are you even aware of the situation you are in?” He drew closer, his tone darkening. “Someone had you arrested. Had it not been for me, you’d still be in there.”

“Lukas would’ve come for me.”

“But Lukas is not here, is he?” His gaze hardened. “You are not safe here anymore, and I’ve had quite enough of sandy beaches.”

“I am safe. This whole situation was just a big misunderstanding,” I huffed, tearing myself from his grasp. “Queen Cora is probably just upset about her son. If I could just talk to her—”

Arenn’s sharp laughter cut me off. “You think your arrest was Queen Cora’s doing?” His words washed over me as I blinked slowly. “Kind, gentle Queen Cora would throw you into a dungeon? Really, Naria?”

“Who then?” My nose scrunched in confusion. “Who would do this?”

“Who do you think?” Arenn scoffed. “Perhaps a certain Hallshire Queen who saw Cora’s absence as a chance to dispose of a problematic princess? It’s quite easy to bribe guards.” He drew back, shrugging. “My sisters do it all the time.”

My lips parted. Would Marigold really stoop that low? “She did bribe guards on my first day to try and embarrass me,” I mumbled, more to myself.

“She did what?” Anger crossed his brow. “Now I’m really going to kill her.” Straightening, he snatched up my hand again. “We’ll deal with her now then leave for Faelenna.”

“I’m not leaving.” The words fell out on their own, but before he could reply, another set of footsteps filled the hallway.

“Hide,” Arenn hissed, shoving me towards the empty cell. Sucking in a breath, I darted inside, only to find myself coming straight back out again as I spotted Erik hurrying down the corridor.

“Erik!” I whisper-yelled.

The golden-haired guard whipped his head towards us, barely sparing Arenn a glance as he rushed towards me. “Where’s Raena?” he blurted. “How did you get out? I just got an order from Queen Cora to release you all. She said there’d been some terrible mistake.” His chest heaved as he spoke. “Prince Raphael is gravely ill, but neither she nor Ronan ordered for you all to be imprisoned. They’ve been with their son all evening.”

Arenn slid me a pointed look as if to say ‘I told you so’. Ignoring him, I kept my focus on Erik.

“The others aren’t far from here,” I explained before directing him towards the cell. “Just be gentle with Raena. She’s,” I chewed my words, “fragile at the moment.”

Erik looked almost murderous, but thankfully, he didn’t take out any of his rage on us before he disappeared down the winding corridor.

“Still don’t want me to kill any queens before we leave tonight?” Arenn tilted his head.

“No. She’s a pain, but that doesn’t mean she needs to die,” I huffed, frustrated. “And we’re not leaving. You’re going to take me to Raphael and let me help him. I’m not going anywhere while there’s still sickness in this palace.”

“You can’t seriously expect me to let you stay after what happened here tonight?” Arenn let out a surprised laugh. “Naria, it’s not safe.”

“Let me heal him,” I spat, already hating the words I was about to say. “Take me to him and once he’s better, I’ll leave with you. Willingly.”

“Really?” Arenn’s brow shot up.

No. But he didn’t need to know that. Instead, I just nodded and let the faery prince lead me out of the dungeon.