Page 124 of The Prince and His Stolen Throne

Once I reached the top of the stairs, it wasn’t hard to find where everyone had gone.

All I had to do was follow the sounds of fighting.

Royal Champions Vs. Evil Minions: Round Three

As they escaped the Lord of Grimnight’s dungeon, Delilah couldn’t resist looking over her shoulder. They were already beyond the cells, so she couldn’t see her cousin’s face, but she could imagine it. The shock at finding himself on the other side of the bars. The hurt, as he realized that even after everything he’d done to protect them, they didn’t trust him.

She wanted to turn around and unlock Trey’s cell. Ask him to join them in earnest. But what if hedidbetray them again? What if he chose his father—hisrealfather—over her?

Delilah made herself leave Trey behind.

“Shouldn’t there be another guard here?” Fitz asked as they reached the entrance into the dungeons. All they found was an empty chair and table.

“Whocares?” Angelica said. “Let’s get out of here before they come back.”

Delilah stared at the empty chair as they passed it, knowing that Trey had somehow cleared the way for their escape.

“Careful on the stairs.” Maximus stopped at the bottom to see everyone make their way up safely. When a root tripped Delilah, he was there in an instant to catch you. “I’ve got you,” he whispered as he set her back on her feet.

Without her magical collar, Delilah’s limbs all felt wrong. There was no tail to balance her, no reflexes to rely on. If only she hadn’t lost it in thefight. Selfishly, she wanted to split off from everyone else to find it, but she knew breaking the curse was more important. She could find it once they succeeded. Or worst-case scenario, ask her uncle to make her a new one.

At least Uncle Rick was still part of her real family.

Everyone paused once they reached the top of the stairs. “Did anyone findanysigns of the anchor?” Fitz asked.

“I found the mage’s study,” Angelica said. “On the third floor.” Her expression darkened as she explained, “I didn’t have time to search it beforeWildefound me. I can’t believe we ever trusted him.”

Maximus grunted in agreement.

“But Wilde helped us,” Delilah argued. Who was he really working with? Trey, or the Lord of Grimnight?

“Under false pretenses!”

“But maybe he knew about Trey’s plans. Maybe they’re both working to undermine the evil mage—”

“Or maybe he’s just evil,” Angelica interrupted. “I won’t make the same mistake of trusting him twice.” She raised her golden rapier so the point was only an inch from Delilah’s chin. “If you even think of betraying us, we’ll lock you up with your cousin.”

“I’m not a traitor!” Delilah snarled, smacking the rapier away from her.

Fitz stepped between them, one hand on Angelica’s shoulder and one hand on Delilah’s to physically force them apart. “Enough. We’re supposed to be fighting the evil mage, not each other.”

Angelica huffed and lowered her sword. “Since Wilde stopped me from searching the study, that could mean the anchor is up there.”

“It’d be a risky guess. There aren’t a lot of exits from the third floor. The last thing we want is to get cornered and captured again.”

“Trey and I were headed to the courtroom,” Maximus suggested.

Fitz hesitated. “The Lord of Grimnight did gather us all there … maybe it wasn’t just because of the acoustics—maybe he was hiding the anchor in plain sight.”

Delilah shook her head. “But there wasn’t anything in the room except the—”

“Throne,” everyone said at the same time.

Fitz’s eyes widened. “Of course! The throne is atreeand we’re in a fucking cursed forest! The roots probably spread through the whole city, carrying the curse with it.”

“So, if we destroy the throne, we break the curse,” Maximus said, his expression hardening with determination.

Before they could destroy the throne, they needed to understand what kind of fight they would face. Delilah scampered away to scout the throne room, her footsteps light and her body low to the ground. The doors were still wide open, and she peeked around the corner, ready to duck at the first sign of a guard.