A Heart So Fierce and Broken (The Cursebreaker Series Book 2)

I had no interest in the goings on in the courtyard until I heard a shout.

I had no idea what was going on until Princess Harper dropped to a knee and called the man Grey.

So this is the man everyone seeks. Not dead after all.

He’s much younger than I expected, for a man who was commander of the prince’s Royal Guard. Clanna Sun is Mother’s chief adviser, and she was not elevated to that station until she reached her fifties. This man appears hardly older than I am, though he’s rough and worn and injured, blood staining a bandage wrapped tightly around his thigh. His eyes are despondent, his posture defeated.

What did the guardsman say? We found him in Rillisk, my lord. He was going by another name. Once I realized who he was, he attempted to flee.

Why would he hide? Why would he run? If he knows the identity of the heir, as the enchantress claimed, why would he not reveal it to his prince? If he once held such a lofty position, he must have proven his loyalty.

And if he wasn’t loyal, if he keeps such a secret for nefarious reasons, I’d expect to see some defiance in his gaze. Some grim determination. Instead, he kneels at the prince’s feet as if he would offer his life in service this very moment. His expression is full of deep remorse. He looks conflicted. He looks … lost.

They drag him away, into the castle, and I am left to wonder.

I go back to pulling at the brick barrier. I can now move it three inches in either direction. The track is old and rusty, but the more I work at it, the more success I have.

While I work, I think.

I have seen that look in Mother’s guards, men and women who would lay down their lives if she requested it. It is curious to find it in a man who keeps such a secret. By virtue of that expression, I would expect him to be desperate to share the identity of the missing heir, especially if it’s an individual who shares an affinity for magic.

The brick wall gives another inch. I drag a forearm across my sweaty forehead, likely leaving another line of soot.

What would Grey know that the prince wouldn’t? Why flee? Who could he be protecting? It could not be a child. According to custom here in Emberfall, the heir must be older than Prince Rhen.

A friend? What kind of friend would inspire such devotion in a matter of months? Surely this Grey must know his life is forfeit if he keeps a secret from his prince. What friend could be worth that? What friend would require it?

A sibling? I could see myself keeping a secret to protect Nolla Verin, even at the risk of my life. But of course that’s ridiculous, because if Grey had a brother, then that man could only be—

My hands go still on the brick.

Suddenly I understand the conflict in Grey’s expression. I understand why he would run. I understand why he would hide.

Grey is being loyal. He is protecting the prince. There’s no defiance because he was willing to lay down his life in favor of Prince Rhen.

What did Mother say?

According to the enchantress, Grey is the only man who knows the true identity of the heir.

We all thought that meant the enchantress had revealed this knowledge to Grey—and I’m sure Prince Rhen did too.

We were wrong.

Grey knows because he is the heir.