Adrian's POV
"We have a problem."
Elara's words cut through our planning like a knife.
I looked up from the documents spread across her table. "What kind of problem?"
"Cassian just announced to the court that you escaped and attacked guards." Elara's face was grim. "He's offering a reward for your capture—alive or dead. Ten thousand gold pieces."
My stomach dropped. "That's enough money to make everyone in the kingdom hunt for us."
"Exactly." Elara poured more wine, her hand steady despite the bad news. "You have maybe a day before someone recognizes you. After that, you're dead."
Seraphina slammed her fist on the table. "So what do we do? Hide for three days and hope no one finds us?"
"No." I stood up, my mind racing. In the mafia, when everyone wanted you dead, you had two choices: run or play dead. "We do the opposite. We go back."
Everyone stared at me like I'd lost my mind.
"Back where?" Marcus asked slowly.
"To the palace. To Cassian." I looked at each of them. "Think about it. He expects me to run, to hide. So we do the last thing he'd predict—we walk right back in."
"That's suicide," Seraphina said flatly.
"It's strategy." I tapped the documents. "We have proof of his crimes, but we need the coronation to reveal it. That's in three days. If I'm hiding in the woods, I can't get anywhere near that ceremony. But if I'm already in the palace..." I met Elara's eyes. "Can you smuggle us back in?"
Elara's lips curved into a dangerous smile. "I can do better than that. I can make Cassian think you're still his helpless little brother."
"How?"
"You go to him. Right now. Beg for mercy." Elara's gray eyes gleamed. "Tell him you were scared, confused, that Marcus forced you to escape. Blame everything on the 'crazy general' who attacked you. Cassian's arrogant—he'll believe the Mouse Prince is still weak."
My chest tightened. "You want me to pretend I'm still useless."
"Exactly. Let him think he won. Let him drop his guard." Elara leaned forward. "Meanwhile, we work in secret. Building support, gathering more evidence, preparing for the coronation. By the time Cassian realizes you're dangerous, it'll be too late."
I looked at Seraphina. Her green eyes burned with barely controlled rage.
"You're asking me to watch him pretend to be weak," she said through clenched teeth. "To bow to Cassian. To act like the coward everyone thinks he is."
"Yes," Elara said simply.
"I hate it." Seraphina turned to me. "But it might work."
"It WILL work," I insisted. "In my... in my past, I learned that the most dangerous enemies are the ones who look harmless. Let Cassian think I'm broken. Let him laugh at me. While he's laughing, we'll be destroying him piece by piece."
Marcus cleared his throat. "What about us? Seraphina and me? Cassian wants us dead too."
"You stay with me," Elara said. "Hidden in my wing of the palace. I'll say you're new servants. No one questions a princess's household." She looked at Seraphina. "Though we'll need to disguise you. The Silver Phoenix is too recognizable."
"Cut my hair shorter. Give me servant clothes." Seraphina's voice was hard. "I've survived worse than pretending to be invisible."
The plan was coming together. Risky, insane, but possible.
"One more thing," I said, looking at Seraphina directly. "This only works if we trust each other. Really trust each other. Can you do that?"
She laughed bitterly. "Trust? I trusted my fiancé and he destroyed my family. I trusted my stepsister and she testified against me at my trial. I trusted—" Her voice cracked. "Trust gets you killed."
"I know." I moved closer to her. "But so does being alone. Cassian wins if we're isolated, scared, fighting by ourselves. We're only dangerous together."
"He's right," Marcus said quietly. "I've been alone for fifteen years, watching corruption destroy this kingdom. It got me nowhere. But today? We rescued you, escaped execution, and found allies. That's more progress than I've made in my entire career."
Seraphina's jaw clenched. She looked at each of us—me, Marcus, Elara. Three people asking her to risk everything.
"I don't trust easily," she finally said.
"Good," I replied. "Neither do I. But we don't need easy trust. We just need to agree: Cassian goes down. Whatever it takes. Everyone else is secondary."
Something shifted in her eyes. A decision being made.
She extended her hand to me. "Until Cassian falls."
I took her hand and shook it firmly. Her grip was iron-strong, a warrior's handshake.
"Until Cassian falls," I agreed.
Elara stood and raised her wine glass. "Then the war begins tonight. Adrian, you go to Cassian at dawn. Grovel convincingly. Marcus and Seraphina, come with me—I'll get you settled in the servant quarters." She smiled coldly. "Three days, everyone. Three days to kill a king."
We all nodded.
The alliance was sealed.
Two hours later, Elara's servants had transformed us. Seraphina's silver hair was dyed dark brown and cut even shorter. Servant clothes hid her warrior's build. She looked completely different—just another palace worker.
Marcus wore simple guard armor without insignia. Anonymous. Forgettable.
And me? I wore Adrian's finest clothes and practiced looking terrified in a mirror.
"You look pathetic," Seraphina said, watching me.
"That's the point." I slumped my shoulders more, made my face soft and scared. "The Mouse Prince is back."
"I hate seeing you like this," she admitted quietly. "After watching you fight today, seeing you strong... going back to this feels wrong."
"It's just an act." I met her eyes in the mirror. "The weak prince died when Dante Russo took over this body. What Cassian's going to see is a ghost. Nothing real."
"Good." She gripped my shoulder once, hard. "Don't forget who you really are. When the time comes, I need the fighter. Not the mouse."
"You'll get him. I promise."
A knock at the door made us both tense.
Elara entered, her face pale. "We have a bigger problem. Vivienne Ashford is here. She's demanding to see Adrian—says as his fiancée, she has the right to visit him before the execution."
My blood ran cold. "The execution was cancelled when I escaped."
"She doesn't know that yet. She thinks you're still in the dungeon." Elara's eyes narrowed. "This is suspicious. Why would she visit you now?"
Seraphina's face had gone white as snow. "Vivienne is here? My stepsister is in this palace?"
"You know her?" I asked.
"Know her?" Seraphina's laugh was broken. "She's the one who framed me. She testified at my trial, cried fake tears while my family was executed. She's been sleeping with Cassian for years—they planned everything together."
The pieces clicked into place with horrible clarity.
"She's not here to visit me," I said slowly. "She's here to make sure I'm dead. If I escaped, she needs to know. Needs to tell Cassian."
"Then we use that." Elara's mind was already working. "Adrian, you go meet her. In the dungeon. Let her think you're still imprisoned, still broken. Find out what she knows. What she's planning."
"And if she's working with Cassian?" Marcus asked.
"Then we learn their strategy," I said. "In the mafia, you kept your enemies close. Same principle here."
Seraphina grabbed my arm, her grip desperate. "Be careful. Vivienne is poison wearing a beautiful face. She'll smile while she destroys you."
"I've dealt with snakes before."
"Not like her." Seraphina's eyes held genuine fear. "She's the reason I lost everything. Don't underestimate her."
I nodded and headed for the door, Elara following.
As we walked through the palace corridors toward the dungeons, my heart pounded. I was about to face Seraphina's greatest enemy. The woman who'd helped destroy an entire family.
We reached the dungeon entrance. Elara stopped.
"I'll wait here," she said. "Vivienne can't know I'm involved. You're on your own."
"Story of my life."
I walked down the stone steps into the cold, damp darkness.
At the bottom, standing in front of my old cell, was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.
Platinum blonde hair that caught the torchlight. Blue eyes like frozen lakes. A dress that probably cost more than most people earned in a year. And a smile that made my skin crawl.
"Adrian," Vivienne purred. "My poor, tragic fiancé. I came as soon as I heard about your... difficulties."
I made my voice small, scared. "Vivienne. You shouldn't be here. If Cassian finds out—"
"Cassian sent me, darling." Her smile widened. "He wants to make sure you understand your situation. You've been very naughty, trying to escape. Very, very naughty."
She walked toward me slowly, like a cat approaching a mouse.
And that's when I saw it.
The glint of metal hidden in her dress sleeve.
A knife.
She wasn't here to talk.
She was here to finish what Cassian started.
To kill me herself.
My mind raced. I was unarmed. Alone. In a dungeon with a woman who'd helped murder an entire family.
Vivienne's smile turned vicious.
"You know what Cassian loves about me?" she whispered, pulling out the knife. "I finish jobs he starts. And you, sweet Adrian, are my favorite kind of job."
She lunged.
And I realized with crystal clarity: I'd just walked into a death trap.