Page 143 of Wicked Prince of Frost

My hands tremble as I enter the main chamber and rush to set the lights aflame. Then I walk to the center of the room and wait, preparing myself for what comes next.

Minutes pass. Long and endless. The sound of my shallow breathing is my only company. I flinch as the doors to theTemple Tower are thrown wide with a bang, shattering the silence.

I take a deep breath. Release it.

Then I sprint forward.

Uncle passes over the threshold and into the main chamber seconds before I get there, forcing me to skid to a stop.

“Who are you?” I demand, feigning ignorance.

Eojin and I were to meet him in the morning. Now, an entirely different future awaits us with the dawn.

He blinks, then smiles. “I am your uncle, Your Highness,” he says calmly.

He has changed. The demon curse markings have disappeared, and there is no sign of his bonded demon.

“What are you looking for?” he asks.

“Uncle? I thought you were with Mother and Father. Where are they?” I ask. “What is happening? Have you seen my brother? I was in the library when the alarm sounded. I cannot find him—he knows to come here if the alarms sound,” I ramble on as if I had not witnessed a thing.

Uncle’s gaze narrows, searching my face.

Does he know I lied?

“He probably ran to his rooms.”

My blood runs cold. I must remind myself that he needs me alive.

No one will obey him without a member of the royal family to carry out his will.

“I came here from the Western Court. He?—”

“I think I know where he is hiding.” The shadouk reaches for me, but I step aside under the guise of looking around him. “Earlier this evening, I overheard him talking about a hidden room there.”

There is no such place. Even if Eojin had not been with me, he would have shown me the second he discovered it.

“Eojin never mentioned—” My voice is weak and quiet, lacking any quality a Crown Prince should possess.

“Brothers do not always share everything,” he counters. “Come along, Nephew, there is no time to waste.”

To object would give away what I know. The only choice is to go along with him. Perhaps I can lead him away…

Outside the Temple Tower, save for the distant shouts of the guard captain giving orders.

I trail behind the shadouk through the long corridors with my head down, like an obedient prince, deferring to a respected elder. My gaze darts, searching for signs of Eojin’s escape, even knowing that if they were successful, there would be nothing to give them away.

Every so often, he glances back. I do my best to offer a trusting smile, though too much uncertainty roils within me to know if it is believable.

We enter the building where Eojin and I share our connected apartments. The entire Western Court is abandoned. It’s unnaturally quiet—a city of death and destruction.

He leads me into the study in my apartments.

I swallow the lump in my throat.

The shadouk stops and crouches. He glances over his shoulder, motioning impatiently for me to come closer.

His hand is pressed to the ground, fingertips sinking below the surface. There is no secret room before him—only dirt. It fills me with dread. Stories of humans burying their dead inside the earth fill my mind.