Page 116 of Prince

Maxence yelled to him, “Why haven’t you killed me yet?”

Sault’s voice was an angry growl in the starlight. “When a sovereign is elected, he or she will decide what happens to you. But it will be arealsovereign, not one selected by that bastardized election of yours. You were going to destroy Monaco. We must preserve the fortress, and a true Grimaldi heir must sit on the throne. I supported Pierre because he was the one true prince, even though I knew what he was. And I would have supported you through anything, but you threw away the throne. I’m a patriot, Prince Maxence, and I won’t let you ruin Monaco with your socialist ideas.”

The door clanged shut, the mechanism squealed as it locked, and the darkness in the sealed room was absolute.

Max took inventory of himself.

Pain in his wrists.

Cold, rough metal under his ass and legs.

An ache on the back of his head where someone had hit him with a metal rod.

The stink of mildew in the room. The stench of garbage from outside.

Darkness.