I head to the nearest room, a room I requested Heinrich disable the cameras in. Up until now, the representatives have been watching a live feed of the king and me vis-à-vis the palace’s security cameras.

That’s about to change.

To the representatives, it will appear that the explosions took the system out. But it was deliberate.

Inside the room, five soldiers wait, a gurney at their feet. As soon as the door closes, they rush to help me, loading Montes onto the stretcher.

Beyond them, the mirror at the back of the room has already been shot out. Beyond it, I see the shadowy hall of the king’s no-longer-secret passageways. I grab an edge of the gurney alongside the other soldiers, and together we step into the passageway.

And then we run.

Everything down to the last detail of this day has been carefully crafted to look spontaneous. Believable.

But it’s all a lie.

The entryway, this guest room—all of it was picked for a specific reason. These were the closest rooms to my crypt. Marco doesn’t know that, but I do, and so does Heinrich.

Still, there’s a good twenty-five yards between us and my Sleeper and only so long that the human body can return from death unharmed.

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

“Hurry!” I shout.

We pass through the double doors that lead to the subterranean room, and then we trip down the marble steps in a mad rush to get the king into the Sleeper. As we descend, the moat, the walkway, and then, finally, the golden Sleeper all come into view.

This should work.

I’m betting that it does.

I’ve learned quite a few things from the king, and one of them is gambling. I doubt the king ever imagined I’d take this to heart, or that he’d pay for it with his life.

The six of us make it down the stairs, and then our footsteps are pounding against the marble floor. The roof above us shivers with each muffled explosion. From what I’ve learned, this room was designed to survive an earthquake. Or an attack.

Heinrich waits for us next to the Sleeper, a scowl on his face. As soon as we get to him, the soldier and I hoist the king’s body into the very Sleeper I lay inside for a hundred years.

And then the victim becomes the villain, and the villain the victim. The king and I have utterly swapped roles.

I only have a moment to stare down at him.

I hope I’ll be able to gaze at his face again. I hope, but I doubt it.

The king’s men hoist the Sleeper’s lid back into place, and the machine flares to life. The readout of this one is on the back of the machine, hidden from view by a removable golden panel.

I go to read it, but Heinrich catches my arm and gives me a warning look. “You don’t have time for this.”

“I need to know that he’s okay.”

The grand marshal gives me a look that’s scarily similar to the ones General Kline used to give me. “Your Majesty, you have a job to finish. Be strong, so that the men that have died today will not have done so in vain.”

If I could, I would stay rooted here until I was positive the king was completely healed, but Heinrich’s right.

I draw in a deep breath and nod.

“The body?” I ask.

“It’s waiting for you in the passageways, just as we discussed.”

I place a hand on the Sleeper. The machine will save my husband. I have to believe that. “Montes stays inside this until I return, or until … the alternative.” I can’t have him foiling me this far in.

“I will see you tomorrow, my queen.”

I stare at the officer in the eyes. I don’t think either of us actually believes that, but I incline my head anyway.

“Be safe my queen,” he says.

The last thing I’ll be is safe.

Chapter 53

Serenity

The body I drag out of the palace is burned past the point of recognition. The mutilation is intentional since the body is not that of the king.

It’s Marco. The original one.

I gave him the death he deserved. As much as I hated the man, I know in my heart of hearts this is how he would want his final death to go. His life for his friend’s.

I glance back down at the body. Heinrich’s men were really liberal with the lighter fluid.

This isn’t going to work.

It can’t possibly.

Soon after I exit the palace, I catch sight of Marco—the living one. He jogs up to me, unwittingly grabbing his double’s legs and helping me carry him down the back steps.

Around us the palace still burns, and I can hear the sound of gunfire as the king’s men fight the ground troops the WUN brought in as a distraction.

So many men will die today. I hope this will be the last bits of death that this war will claim.

“What took you so long?” Marco asks as we cross the gardens, winding our way around the elaborate hedges, some of which are on fire.

I give him a look that plainly says, Are you fucking kidding me?

“I’m dragging a grown man,” I say.

He grunts, like I have a point.

We make our way to the beach, where a small group waits. Heinrich’s men have been ordered to avoid attacking us unless it would appear suspicious not to. But they are legitimately preoccupied at the moment, so the need doesn’t arise. Now we just have to avoid getting hit by stray bullets.

When Marco and I arrive on the sand, the WUN men close in on us. Amongst them is Styx Garcia, his scars even more prominent in person.

He stares at me with wonder. “The mythical queen in the flesh.” He bows his head, but he can’t quite tear his eyes from me. “An honor.”