PRINCE LAUREN walked with gritted teeth. His jaws clenched as he analyzed the chain of events that led him to his current situation. 

Why? Everything is going as plan! Until that wench got her head chopped off.

"Will we die here?"

"I don't want to die."

"Hush, the imperial family might hear you."

The whispers among the nobles fueled the first prince's temper. I am the future king yet some entitled boy is wearing the centuries-old crown right now. 

The passageway they were using was an ancient knowledge passed down only to the members of the royal family. This passage was hidden just behind the royal family's audience room for...