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Even though I was pretending to sleep, I couldn’t help but sed hiht me out from the stables really was beyond h to steal the fake shile everyone was distracted elsewhere

Other things had been a waste of tih to have confessed that would have been disastrous for ize later to Tobias for that lie He would have secured his papers more carefully if he had known I read every word on the froree to forgive his I’d have to ask forgiveness for And I feared I wouldn’t receive half as en, who had trusted reatest secret of her life, that she could speak I had trusted her with nothing

Not from Amarinda, who pled with a broken heart for any truth about whether Darius, the prince she was betrothed to and loved, was alive Or about the existence of his younger brother, whom she would eventually have to et no forgiveness, ever, fro I’d died in an attack by Avenian pirates Nor from my father

Forme away froument, but how could I have known then how difficult these recent years would be? He would have known much of as ahead of me, and still he chose peace for his country over his own son Maybe it was the right thing to do; I still didn’t know for sure But it didn’t diminish my shame that they’d had to send er at my father, who at his first reunion with me in the church, already had a plan to keep me away

I returned every e to see my father But I never let hiain

It was only after Conner told me that both an to understand reatest eneents Conner had told me that all three ent would have to be crowned

While at Farthenwood, I slowly began to understand that as long as four years ago, my father had foreseen the possibility that all of them could be murdered one day He didn’t keep me away to protect hi to declare war on Avenia My father kept me away to keep me alive After pirates had tried to kill me, he must have worried that the rest of his faer He had told me in the church that day that the royal line must continue, to save Carthya So that if the worst happened, and they were all killed, I would reiven me a way home I just never expected to need it

He had let erly done so For that, I could never have his forgiveness

When Conner first brought ht he knew that Jaron was alive and he was searching for the prince, hoping to use him for some sort of ransom So I determined that he must never suspect my true identity That would have been bad, but Conner’s real plan was far worse

He was hoping to fool the entire kingdom with a fraudulent prince I knew then that the best course of action was to play along with his plan, get him to choose me on my own terms, then return to Drylliad to prove my identity Conner had his plan and I had mine Whether either of them would work reet hten up and at least try to look like a prince"

"Are we going to the castle this late at night?" Iout theinto the darkness

"Of course not We’ll stay at an inn The choosing cere to the inn, then I go as I ae was nearly over I planned to enjoy it as long as I could

We stopped at a place known simply as the Traveler’s Inn It wasn’t far from the castle Nobles not invited to stay within the castle walls often slept there I told Conner it was too fancy because they’d only expect people of wealth and influence to stay there The irony amused me and escaped him

"I am a person of wealth and influence," Conner said, irritated "My face is known, so I won’t have anyone wonder why I’ at a commoner’s tavern And nobody will look at you, if you keep your head down"

Mott stayed with Roden, Tobias, Ien, and me, while Conner went inside to reserve three rooen whether she would run away if she had her own roohts She had no e town, and besides, she would likely consider it dishonorable to run