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Anxious to getto see above the three enormousup all the space, and I could catch only fleeting gli to satisfycuriosity or quellhappened so quickly that I didn’t have time to contemplate the view The vehicle came to a stop, and the door was opened My pulse hammered recklessly Max exited ahead offor, but I couldn’t find the will toer than you think"

I wondered if he would say such things if he kne badly my hands shook, if he knew that my skin felt brittle, like ice, as if it would shatter should I move too suddenly Or if I dared to breathe

My parents are in there, I reh, and I was propelled intohand and let him draw ether to keep the as my eyes searched for his I needed to see his calm,

to borrow froave ed from the vehicle, it wasn’t the opulence of the palace that captured my attention, but rather the thousand uniformed soldiers who stood before it in faultless, evenly spaced rows Every ned as they awaitedso I was overwhelht of theht

Max took my arm and forced me to take a step forward; Zafir and Claude stood on either side of us

From the field of men, a lone voice barked an order to the hushed crowd, and in an instant a thousand heads bowed, a thousand men fell to their knees in unison, and I ed by the show of respect, this harmonic display of reverence

I’d seen this kind of action only once before, in the shelter below the city the night of the attacks When I’d learned that Max was a prince

"Is--is this for you?" I whispered, reaching for Max’s hand, no longer caring who saw

I awaited a response as I watched all those soldiers kneeling on the ground in respect

"No, Charlie It’s for you"

THE QUEEN

She stood at the atching her ht h he the girl Baxter had done well delivering hersure that the new queen elcomed properly