The pitcher of ice water struck Mara before she could protect her face.

By dawn, the secret was out. Duke Vane had attempted to assassinate the Princess inside the inner sanctum of the palace.

Before Captain Sterling’s men could reach the Duke’s private manor at the edge of the palace grounds, Vane had already fled under cover of darkness, taking two hundred heavily armed mercenaries and his daughter Celeste with him to his fortified stronghold in the Eastern Marches—Castle Dragontooth.

Inside the King’s War Room, a large oak table was covered in maps of the realm. King Alden sat at the head, looking pale and ill, flanked by Captain Sterling, Julian, and Princess Aurelia, who now wore a simple armor-reinforced tunic over her riding clothes.

"Vane has declared open rebellion," Captain Sterling reported, pointing to the mountain pass marked on the map. "He claims that Princess Aurelia is an illegal sorceress who has bewitched the King with blood magic. He has called upon the Eastern Lords to march on the capital."

"How many men does he have?" Alden asked, his voice weak as he coughed into a silk handkerchief.

"Three thousand mercenaries, and at least two local garrisons," Julian replied, stepping forward. "If they take the Iron Pass, they will cut off our supplies from the fertile southern valleys. We must strike before he consolidates his forces."

King Alden tried to stand, but a sudden spasm of pain made him gasp and fall back into his chair. Mara was at his side instantly, holding his hand.

"Father!" she cried.

"My heart..." Alden whispered, his face grey. "The poison of grief... and old age... Aurelia, my time is short."

"No!" Mara wept. "I just found you!"

"Listen to me, child," Alden said, pressing his signet ring—the Royal Seal of the Sunfire Dynasty—into her trembling palm. "You carry the living fire of our ancestors. The army will follow the Seal, but more importantly, they will follow you. You must lead the vanguard with Sterling and Julian. You must end Vane’s treachery before he tears this kingdom apart."

Mara looked from her dying father to the royal signet ring in her hand. The scared kitchen girl who used to hide in the scullery was gone. In her place stood the last daughter of the Sunfire line.