The hallways were alive in a way Kit had never heard them this time of night. It was well past the midnight hour, and normally, if she were awake and out, she would rarely see another soul, and if she did, it was usually a lone guard or a pair returning from their detail. As Jate led her down the hall to her other room, they passed several members of her guard rushing off in various directions. The uneasy feeling grew.

Once inside her chambers, Kit went to her armoire and selected a gown she hadn’t worn in ages. It was red, a color her mother never liked for her...