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"At court, Jaron will confess that he has been hiding all these years in an orphanage, right under their noses He went by the nae or Roden or Tobias, but he has come back now to claim the throne"

"What if another orphan steps forward to say he knew us before Jaron was killed?"

"We would say they are ht that orphan would disappear Thrones have been claie Besides, my prince will have evidence of his identity"

"What?"

Conner shook his head slightly "I’ll save that answer untilthat will identify my choice as the prince without doubt Now to my questions What did Princess Amarinda talk with you about after you two left?"

"She’s worried that the king’s family is dead, despite your assurances that she shouldn’t worry She doesn’t see alive, and I don’t think she’d want him even if he were She’s afraid, sir"

Conner se Use her fear to make her more apt to accept the prince when I present him So that even if she has doubts, she’ll accept him because she needs it to be true"

I couldn’t hidethat he’d think so quickly of how he ht benefit from her pain

"Don’t make that face at me!" Conner cried "How convenient it must be for you to play the pious victim when it benefits you, or to be the prince, or the servant, or the orphan! Yet I must at all times be the keeper of this unholy plan I do not celebrate my role in Carthya’s future, but I’ve accepted it Have you?"

Any expression vanished from my face "Yes, sir, I have I ahly of yourself Tobias can no longer be trusted, but Roden presents soes I believe he has been underestimated this week He has learned more than any of you in such a short ti I could say to that He had

Conner continued, "What I wonder is if you want to be the prince I sense you battling that decision internally, perhaps because you’re afraid of the consequences of being caught, perhaps because you cannot picture yourself sitting on the throne And yet here you are, telling me to my face that you are my prince"

I threw out a hand, then iesture when the movement pinched in my back "Would you choose Roden, who rushes toward the throne with no thought of the consequences? He has no idea what he’s accepting I have thought about it, Conner And I aether and a glint of triumph flickered in his eyes "I believe that what I suspected all along was true All you ever needed was the proper discipline and the rightto my will, and that pleases me"

It did not please ry with his so now?"

He hesitated aat him As Mott escorted nored hi in my ears With every step closer to the throne I took, I felt et to the end before Conner broke e early the nextwasn’t fluent, but he was aht he would be good enough to get by if Conner chose him as prince

Mott pulledwith hiht with es

"If ait for a full healing, it’ll be too late," he said "We’ll both use wooden swords today" He took one for himself and tossed me the other I jumped away from it and it landed in the dirt

"Afraid of a wooden sword?" Mott teased

"Just derin tugging at the edge of my mouth "Impressed?"