Page 260 of The Throne Seeker

Two high councilmen entered after him. To her dismay, the first was Lord Martin. His beady eyes never left hers as he followed his king, his gaze sweeping her up and down. A small, disturbing smile overtook his lips.

A flicker of hope emerged when she saw the second was Lord Barron, but his mouth was pressed into a tight frown, appearing just as happy as his companions.

A shadow of doubt wormed its way inside her.

“You almost fooled me,” Tristan spat, his tone so frigid and remote she wouldn’t have recognized it if she weren’t watching his lips move. “Where is it?”

The four exchanged blank stares. A distant leak from the ceiling dripped into a nearby chamber pot.

Xavier spoke first. “Where iswhat?”

“Don’t play games with me!” Tristan bellowed. “Where is it?!”

Rose jumped, taking a step back.

“What are you talking about?” Roman asked coldly through the bars. “Where iswhat?”

“The talisman!” Tristan roared.

Dread filled the marrow of her bones. The talisman? It was gone? She’d seen it with her own eyes not twenty-four hours ago. It was safely locked in the tomb… wasn’t it?

The confusion on Xavier’s and Roman’s faces mirrored her own.

“You lost it?!” Xavier exclaimed, clutching the bars of his cell. “You’ve been king for what, a day, and you’ve already lost it?”

“I didn’tloseanything. It was stolen,” Tristan spat. His soulless eyes rested on Roman. “We have witnesses who have testified on the holy relic that they saw Roman go down to the tombs after the passing ceremony. The talisman was there before he went in, and now it’s missing.”

All eyes fell on Roman.

Roman’s expression was unyielding. “That’s a lie. I never touched it.”

Lord Barron spoke up, his handsome face still grave. “I saw you enter the tombs after the ceremony with my very eyes. This is not a stupid piece of jewelry; it has been the key to Cathan’s prosperity and peace, which we’ve preserved for hundreds of years. It is everything keeping Vallor together.”

There was no way it was true. He couldn’t have. There had been no time… unless—was this why Roman had been late? Had he gone against her wishes and tried to retrieve the talisman for safekeeping?

Lord Barron was the only high councilman she had always trusted and respected. What reason would he have to lie? Rose probed Lord Barron’s mind to see if she could feel anything, but to her utter astonishment, she felt… nothing. Nothing but a black hole. She frowned.

“Do you have any idea what they’re talking about?” Xavier said in a lowered voice to Roman.

“No,” Roman assured him, standing firm in the flicker of the torches’ shadows. “I promise on the ancient books of Vallor, I didn’t touch it.”

Tristan scoffed. He turned away from his brothers, focusing on Rose instead. He approached the bars of her cell, his interrogating eyes narrowing as he spoke in a low, dangerous whisper. “Did you have anything to do with this? Were you just the distraction while Roman stole the talisman?” His voice was intended to be harsh and detached, but his eyes betrayed a flicker of fear.

Rose’s arms slackened, shocked he could believe such a blatant lie. “No. It wasn’t us who stole it. I swear.”

“Listen to me, Tristan,” Roman interrupted, making Tristan’s eyes snap to him. “Take me and Xavier, fine, but let Rose and Evelyn go. She isn’t safe here. If someonehasstolen the talisman, she could be in danger.”

A wicked scowl claimed Tristan’s lips. He lifted a familiar bronze key—the one the guard had confiscated while Roman was being searched. “You stole this key and used it to take the talisman, didn’t you?”

Roman straightened, knowing where this was headed. “Father gave me that key the night I returned to the castle. He wanted me to have it.”

Tristan lowered the key, clenching it. “Why in Vallor would he do that? This key is supposed to be handed down to the next king of Cathan. You want me to believe our father would break ancient tradition and letyouin on Cathan’s darkest secret? To what purpose?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t get the chance to ask. But I promise you, I. Didn’t. Take. It.” Roman emphasized each word.

Tristan’s predatory gaze moved to his next victim. “It turns out you, Xavier, have been charged with treason as of this afternoon.” He delivered the news in such a casual tone, hemight as well have been discussing the weather. “I’ve been told by Lord Martin that we have witnesses who say you were seen in the woods on the day of the first succession trial. Father knew, as well, and chose not to act on it. No doubt to protect you.”

Rose’s stomach felt like it had been gutted, leaking out onto the filthy straw floor. That day. That awful day when Roman almost died. The day she swore she saw those eyes. Eyes that both froze and thawed her heart. Had it been Xavier? Had he lied to her?