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the washerwomen liked him the least of all the little princes.
    After carrying the heavy baskets to the laundry room and leaving Albree there, without even a whisper of anger passing her lips, I hurried back to Mags’ chambers, eager to find out what Albree had done to deserve the punishment.
    As I drew closer to her chamber, angry voices permeated the thick wooden door. King Rotlar. His visits lately were infrequent. He hated the smell of babies, which was astounding since he was so skilled at getting her pregnant, and he refused to visit Mags any more than necessary. A visit so soon after giving birth shocked me. She wasn’t physically ready to have sex again and he wasn’t interested, what with Trevin hanging on her breast. It didn’t matter if she was mentally ready for him either. As queen it was her duty to produce heirs. Other than that, Mags had about as much use for Rotlar as he had for her.
    “You’re going to dismiss that girl today.” If Rotlar been any louder, the studs holding the door together might have popped apart. “I will not have her kind hovering around my sons any longer.”
    “No,” Mags answered. I could barely hear her quiet voice through the walls.
    “What do you mean, no? You will do as I say. You may hold the title of queen, but you were chosen for your looks and the width of your hips. You are here to breed heirs for this kingdom, nothing more. Do not presume you hold any sway like the queens of old did. There is a reason we no longer marry girls of noble families. They grew up with entitlement. You grew up with nothing and you remain nothing.”
    I gasped. While it was true, no one spoke of it aloud. The kingdom treated finding queens as a fun competition, a way for peasant girls to elevate themselves to a better life. All girls grew up dreaming of being chosen by the king, none dreamed of hearing those words hurled at them.
    “I will not dismiss Lianne,” Mags said. “She has been my loyal lady-in-waiting for the last three years. She’s never stepped out of line. Never spoken against you or the kingdom. She has done nothing to deserve dismissal.”
    Me? He wanted me gone? What did I do to him? My stomach plunged.
    “She is one of them,” he spat. “Their kind never should have been brought here and never so close to the heirs of the throne. She could kill them in one swoop. Those poor defenseless sons of yours, dead because of the unstable mind of the Dalagans. You cannot trust those people. Even now, they attempt uprisings. We caught those three sneaking across the border yesterday. They refused to speak, but I executed them anyway. They are her people and I will not have her near my sons! You will dismiss her.”
    Uprisings? How could that be possible? My people had never done anything. They were in complete accordance with the laws set forth after the war. At least that was what I’d been told. I didn’t know why those three men came here, but three men couldn’t take down an entire kingdom on their own.
    “No.” Mags repeated.
    “Then I will take care of her myself,” the king roared. “I’ll have my men watch her and if she makes one false move, just one, I will have her killed.”
    My breath caught in my throat. I waited to hear Mags defend me again.
    Nothing came.
    I fled down the hall before anyone saw me.

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    I ran to the armory, hoping to find Kellan among the military men. He practiced in the off hours, like me, but assisted Aric during military training. I peeked through the dirty window, scanning the groups of sparring men. Kellan would be easy to pick out, his height and coloring would be enough of a contrast to the shorter men sparring with knives in the room. But I didn’t see him, not in any of the groups working with the weapons or the sparring soldiers near the middle of the room.
    “Looking for Kellan?” a voice asked behind me.
    I spun around. Bryden, the third adoptee sat on the bench behind me. My heart sank. Bryden and I had a