WHICH WAS CONFIRMED WHEN WE finally stumbled back to the Royal Court.

I wasn’t the only one in trouble, of course. Lissa was summoned to the queen for chastising, though I knew she’d suffer no actual punishment. Not like Eddie and me. We might be out of school, but we were technically under the jurisdiction of the official guardians now, which meant we faced as much trouble as any disobedient employee. Only Adrian escaped any consequences. He was free to do whatever he wanted.

And really, my punishment wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Honestly, what did I have to lose at this point? My chances of guarding...