Eleysia was a wasteland.

Dean’s heart plummeted at the sight of his once prosperous and flourishing home. It was hard to reconcile the ruins he had seen in Aonia with his home here.

After trekking by horse down to the Keylani, he’d hopped on a Tiekan fishing boat traveling to Albion. From there, he’d found a merchant who agreed to take him as far as Aurum. There, he’d paid to sail a boat into Eleysia. No one would charter into the city. And Dean could see why.

He’d seen it in his vision in the Mirror, of course, but it was entirely different in person. It was desolation and destruction and despair. The buildings were rubble, and the waterways were nearly impossible to wade through. At least one of the districts was still burning.

He finally made it to the heart of Eleysia and to the Lombardy Palace.

His home.

His sanctuary.

Destroyed.

It had taken a direct hit to its structure, destroying the palace and bringing the whole thing to the ground. Anyone who had been inside, including all eleven of his sisters, would have been trapped and killed.

He got out of the boat and searched through the wreckage for a sign of life. But there was nothing. Either everyone was truly dead or no one lived on the Eleysian capital island any longer.

Being here was somehow worse than the vision. That horrible vision.

What had compelled me to look in the Mirror? It was foolish, but he’d had to know. And he’d learned more than he’d ever wanted to. Learned beyond the imagination.

But that wasn’t for the here and now.

As the last living heir, he needed to claim the birthright he never thought he would come close to. Though Eleysia was a queendom, without the presence of a female monarch, a male could take the throne as regent until such a time when a queen was crowned.

With a wistful glance at the home he was leaving behind forever, he set his sailboat back onto open waters. Sasra was the closest major Eleysian city to the capital, and he assumed the majority of the survivors had gone there. It was closer than Rasine, though less defensible. Something they’d rarely had to think about until now. Sasra had never been a target before. An army would have had to go through Eleysia, and up until recently…they hadn’t believed that to be possible.

It was a short trip into Sasra, but he didn’t arrive until late.

Dean could tell immediately that the city was in upheaval. Signs all over the city claimed to have no vacancy. All the inns were full. Food hadn’t yet come in to feed the larger population, and prices were astronomical. All for people who had nothing.

He tugged his cloak tighter around him, not wanting to draw any attention to his fine clothes. A hungry crowd could turn into a mob quickly if they were desperate enough.

He turned into the first inn he could find that offered food for good coin. Taking a seat in the dining room with his back to the wall, he observed what had become of his country. The main area of the inn seemed like any other tavern he’d ever been to. Men flirted with the barmaids, loud boasts came from a corner of the room, a handful of men were playing a card game he’d learned in his youth, and a doxy or two roamed the room, hoping someone would have enough coin to pay.

One approached him, dropping her foot on the stool next to him and adjusting her slipper so that he could glimpse up her nearly sheer Eleysian gown. He was more concerned with how thin she was. He could see her ribs, and her arms were beyond frail.

“Need a companion for the night, sailor?” she asked.

Dean flipped her a few coins. “Get some real food and a night’s rest.”

She trailed her hand down his front. “And what do you want in return?”

“I want to know everything that has happened since the capital was bombed.”

She batted her eyelashes. “We can have more fun than that.”

“Answers. Now.”

She narrowed her eyes and glanced around. “That’s it? Really?”

“Yes. And be quick about it.”

“Well,” she said, taking a seat next to him, “after the warships blew up the city, ships were sent in to defend the capital, but there was nuthin’ left.” Her thick Eleysian accent spilled out of her words when she wasn’t trying to seduce him. “There was nuthin’ to do but round ever’one up and take ’em here. I know some got through to Rasine, too. But, mostly, we don’ have enough food or money or liquor for all the new people. Lot of people are tradin’ services for goods.”

“I see that,” he said. “What about the royals?”

“There ain’t no more royals,” she said with a grating laugh. “Ellison family was wiped out, and they moved court to Rasine.”

Dean grunted irritably. Rasine was another day’s trek.

“Who is ruling then?”

The girl shrugged. “Don’ know. Some say Anders, and some say Mayhews.”

Dean nodded and tried to reel in his anger. Anders and Mayhews. As if either had a right to the throne.

He tossed the girl another coin. “Thanks for all your help.”

He disappeared into the night and found his boat exactly where he’d left it. It would have been nice to have another pair of hands, but he’d have to make do. He’d been taught to sail alone if need be, and he was grateful for all his training at this point.

Dean pushed off and traveled farther north. He knew that he probably should have slept through the night in Sasra while he could, but he was too anxious to reclaim his birthright. Eleysia was in desperate need of help.

He docked his boat later the next afternoon, bone-weary and falling over. Making the voyage had been a bad idea. He’d get nothing accomplished in his state. Luckily, he knew Rasine better than Sasra and remembered an inn he’d been to before. Half-delirious, he located the inn, paid the exorbitant price for a room to himself, and promptly passed out.

Dean woke to the sound of the gulls calling and the smell of the salt and sea lingering in his nostrils. The night before came back to him with a sigh. He was not looking forward to what he had to do next.

He stretched and rolled over onto his back. Then, he opened his eyes to face Rasine, ready to take on the city. But he wasn’t alone.

Dean swore as filthy as any sailor and sat up. “Darmian!”

“Morning,” Darmian said with a grim smile.

Dean’s jaw was hanging open. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Darmian was his guard, his best friend, the man he would do anything for. He’d had to leave Darmian behind when Avoca threatened Darmian within an inch of his life, but Dean had always worried about his safety. In fact, Dean had worried that Darmian was dead.

“I have never been so glad to see you.”

“And I, you, sir.”

Dean grabbed his shirt off the floor and threw it back on over his head. He reached out and grasped forearms with Darmian, and then he drew him into a hug.

“How did you survive the attack?”

“Good fortune.”

“I just passed through to see it. I can’t imagine how you could have made it out of the castle. It was demolished.” He ran a hand back through his messy hair.

“With luck, we had left the castle and were on our way to a neighboring island for a name day ceremony. We heard the first attack and made it out of the city before it reached us.”

“We?” Dean asked. Hope bloomed in his chest, but he didn’t want to acknowledge it.

“That’s why I came to collect you.”

“How did you know where I was?”

Darmian grinned and nodded toward the door. “I’ve known you your entire life, Captain. When I heard of a sailor dressed finely, wandering around the market district, I hazarded a guess. A hopeful one.”

Dean shook his head. “Only you would figure all of that out from such little information.”

“I swore an oath to protect you. That hasn’t changed. With you gone, it nearly killed me the last couple of months, but I did the best I could.”

“You’re alive,” Dean said. “That’s good enough for me.”

They exited Dean’s room, and Darmian directed them out of the inn. They walked down the crowded market streets. Even this late at night, Rasine hadn’t gone to sleep. It was a busy fishing town with the wealthiest district besides the former capital. With the capital gone, the wealthy had just become even wealthier.

“They can still drink and party, despite all that has happened,” Dean muttered.

“I think…because of what happened, Captain.”

“Darmian, how many times have I asked you to call me Dean?”

“Titles are important, sir.”

Dean supposed he was right. They moved out of the market district and into one of the more ramshackle parts of town. After a few blocks, Darmian drew Dean down a back alley and through a defaced door.

“Where have you taken me?” Dean asked as he followed him through.

But he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who was waiting for him.

“Hello, dear brother,” Brigette said with a strained smile.

“Your Majesty,” he said with a bow.

“Oh, come here!” She pulled him into a hug and seemed to collapse into his weight. “We are the only two left.”

“I thought you were gone, too,” he whispered in horror. “Why are you in this hovel and not sitting on the throne?”

She glanced at Darmian. “No one knows I’m alive. I was worried…well, Darmian was worried that there would still be a target.”

“You let the Anders and Mayhews threaten our queendom?” Dean asked.

“We were waiting for the right time,” Darmian interjected. “We have been rallying support behind the Ellison banner. If we had the pair of you together, it would be an even better claim.”

“What claim?” Dean demanded. “You are the rightful ruler of Eleysia. No one could challenge your claim.”

“It is always better to go into a fight with a trained warrior at your side,” Brigette said. “You will be at my side, right? Your ex-fiancée sent her dogs after us, and now, we’re ruined. I need you.”

“Cyrene didn’t do this,” Dean said. “The king and prince of Byern did this after I saved her from court.”

“It appears that you have a habit of doing that.”

“She wasn’t a part of Mother’s and Father’s deaths.”

“Death follows that girl everywhere!” Brigette snapped.

“She wasn’t in on the plot, and she didn’t know that Edric would retaliate. You can lay the blame at my feet if you prefer. Cyrene is innocent.”

“You defend her? After all of this? After our parents and then ten of our siblings were slaughtered along with all of our nieces and nephews and thousands of Eleysian citizens?”

“I put the blame where it’s due—on the Byern throne. And I think it’s time to take the fight to them,” Dean said.

“I agree wholeheartedly,” Brigette said with a wicked smile. “I cannot believe I ever considered diplomacy. I’m ready to take back my throne and topple those bastards and whoever else thought they could tear us down.”