Page 121 of The Throne Seeker (Vallorian #1)

F ollowing a thorough search and the confiscation of their weapons, Rose, Roman, and Xavier were led to the dungeons in silence.

The guard escorting Rose kept her at arm’s length, deliberately avoiding eye contact, likely warned to be wary of her siren powers.

Only flickering torches lit the dark, damp cells where they were each imprisoned, with Rose positioned directly across from the two brothers.

To her utter relief, her mother was waiting for them in a cell of her own. She’d never been so happy to see someone behind bars.

“Rose!” her mother exclaimed, her entire frame relaxing. “Thank the gods.”

Rose grasped her hands through the adjacent bars. “Mum! What happened? Why are you here?”

Her mother glared at the retreating guards.

“After you went to see Tristan, I heard you shouting. I tried to open the door, but it was locked. I went to find Roman for help, but the guards took me on the way. They threw me in here and told me the castle was on lockdown but wouldn’t tell me a thing more.

” She let out a frustrated puff. “What happened after I left?”

Rose looked uneasily at Roman. He wouldn’t meet her gaze.

“You were right,” she said, ashamed. “I should’ve never gone to see him.”

Distant voices drifted from the gates while keys clanked, echoing through the dungeon, then footsteps.

A black-eyed Tristan came into view. His split lip, courtesy of Roman, was curled into a hostile snarl. Though he seemed sober now, his sunken eyes looked almost hollow, bordering on sickly, exuding a new darkened aura.

Rose had never seen him appear so unlike himself—so estranged. Her gut twisted, making her queasy. She’d seen that look before—in her father.

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 is what ?”

“ 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 is what ?”

“ 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’t lose anything. 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 someone has stolen 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 let you in 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, he might 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?

No. It couldn’t be. He wouldn’t.

Rose threw an anxious look to Xavier for confirmation.

To his credit, Xavier remained calm. “Or perhaps he knew it was a lie,” he replied flatly.

Lord Martin stuck up his nose. “Are you calling my spies liars?”

“Of course I am, because it’s not true,” Xavier replied with a deathly even tone. “I was banned from the borders. Call upon Malcolm. I was with him.”

“You were with him the entire time?” Tristan pressed.

Xavier’s face twitched as he admitted, “No.”

“It was you who tried to kill me that day, wasn’t it?

” Tristan accused, betrayal shining in his eyes.

“Dragonshade is a poison sourced from the northern borders of Artistan, which the dragons of old used for their hatching grounds, not far from Amernth. That is where you were all this time, were you not?”

Xavier’s eyes sharpened like crystallized icicles. “Yes, I was in the north, but that doesn’t mean I did it.”

“Then what’s your excuse for being in the woods?” Tristan pressed.

“I don’t have one. I was never there,” Xavier hissed between his teeth.

Rose’s eyes darted between Xavier and Roman. They weren’t going to win this. There was too much stacked against them and no proof of their innocence. Her heart raced, leaving her lightheaded.

Lord Barron grew impatient. He stalked to Roman’s cell to confront him directly, his dark robes gathering straw as he said, “If you admit fault, we will be merciful in your sentence. Just tell us where it is, and I promise you, you’ll be much better off.”

“I’m telling you, I don’t have it,” Roman repeated. “Get the lotus powder. I’ll prove my innocence.”

“Unfortunately, that is a rare commodity to come by in Cathan. It was supplied by the seer, who has yet to be found. Besides, the Lotus powder is too unreliable in this situation, especially when its effects can be manipulated by magic,” Lord Martin said, glaring at Rose.

He turned to Tristan. “Perhaps we’re going about this the wrong way. There may be a bigger game at play.”

Tristan stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“I only wonder if Roman and Xavier are mere pawns in a much bigger game,” Lord Martin insinuated, gazing at Rose. “And she’s the master.”

Tristan’s eyes flickered her way. For the first time since he stepped foot in the dungeons, his raging eyes morphed into a state of panic.

The tide in the room shifted—the true reason for all this.

They didn’t want Roman and Xavier.

They wanted her .

Lord Martin whipped back to Rose, pointing at her accusingly.

“You’ve been power-hungry ever since you arrived here.

You and your pernicious mother clawing for any position at court, using your charm on our king to allow you to visit every summer.

You kept your powers strategically hidden, patient for a few years until you smelled blood in the water when you heard rumors that Xavier’s succession was in jeopardy.

You dethroned Xavier, forcing him from his position to satisfy your own agenda.

Then, under your influence, you had him attempt to kill Tristan to throw the succession in your favor.

Then, after that failed, you swayed yourself into Tristan’s and Grant’s affection, keeping your options open to the two most likely candidates to win.

Then, when Tristan won, you were thwarted by a foreign queen. But that didn’t stop you…”