Adalynn paced her cabin anxiously. She could feel the ship moving; what was happening out there? The Chasanian ship was full of soldiers, so they should be able to fight off the pirates. But she thought she’d heard a commotion from Owen’s ship, too. Was she crazy, or was something much bigger than she’d originally thought going on?

She finally decided to try and get some sleep; her cabin had begun to dim as the sun set over the ocean. She was mostly unsuccessful. It was a long, worry-filled night. 

The next morning, she was roused from a fitful doze by a light knock at her cabin door. She stretched and rubbed her eyes as she opened it.

“Hey, Jasper,” she said tiredly, stepping aside. “Please, come in.”

“Actually, I think you need to come up on deck,” he said. 

She resisted the urge to frown as she shut the door behind her. 

“Did you sleep alright?” he asked as she followed him to the main deck. 

She shrugged. “Not really. Is everything okay…” she tapered off as she looked around. They’d gotten much closer to the coastline, which had changed from rocky beaches to long stretches of sand. She could just barely see the town of Eston. The other ships in their fleet had vanished. “What happened?”

Jasper put a hand on her shoulder and guided her to a barrel. “Sit down,” he instructed gently. 

“Jasper, what happened?” she repeated, firmer this time. “Where are the other ships?”

He took a deep breath. “They went down,” he said finally. 

Her blood ran cold. “Both of them?” There had only been one pirate ship. Had it really taken down the rest of their fleet?

Her dread solidified when Jasper nodded. “I ordered my men to retreat. Your safety is my number one priority, and I couldn’t risk it.”

She was afraid to ask the question. “Were there any survivors?”

Jasper hesitated. “I’m not entirely sure,” he said finally, “but I don’t think so. I’m sorry.”

What?  “No…” she whispered. She felt tears come to her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall. No…

“We’ll be docking in Eston either late tonight or tomorrow,” he said gently. “Do you think you can get some sleep?”

She shook her head, her mind still reeling. They were really gone? Sandra and Owen were just kids. And Seth… she’d never be able to repay him for his kindness.

The need for solitude hit her out of nowhere. “Excuse me,” she muttered to Jasper as she stood and headed back to her cabin. Shutting the door behind her, she leaned her back against it and took a deep, shaking breath. The tears slipped out. 

Guilt crashed over her. She should have never dragged them into her mess. While the logical part of her knew that each of her friends had decided to help her on their own, she still felt responsible. If she’d not gotten them into it, they wouldn’t have been on that ship, and would still be alive. 

She balled her fists in anger and shoved them into her pockets. At the action, something crumpled a little in her left pocket. She frowned. She didn’t remember having any papers in her pockets. 

She pulled out the scrap and smoothed it out.

Jasper is one of them. Don’t trust him.

• S.M. and S.U.

Seth Marshall and Sandra Ulric. Sandra’s handwriting practically jumped off the paper. They thought what?

Questions immediately threatened to overwhelm her. When did they slip this note to her? Were they trying to tell her that Jasper was one of the traitors? Why would they have thought that? How long had they thought about it?

She pushed off the door and fell back onto her cot. The small scrap of parchment consumed her attention.

Her first instinct was to laugh it off. Jasper was one of her best friends. He’d been one of her most loyal supporters for years. He was a good man.

 Jasper is one of them. 

Seth and Sandra wouldn’t have made an accusation like that without at least some sort of evidence. Right? 

Don’t trust him.

Jasper had never given her a reason not to trust him.

And yet. Adalynn didn’t much believe in coincidences. 

She shivered, hit with a sudden chill that seemed to sink into her bones. Her friends had made an accusation. Now they were gone. And she was alone with Jasper and his men. 

She sat up, palming the paper. The question she dreaded most shoved its way to the front of her mind. Had they been right?

She forced her turmoil of emotions down and tried to think logically. She started with her reunion with Jasper. She’d been so excited to get news from home, and to see her old friend, that she hadn’t actually stopped to realize… Jasper’s escape did seem a bit weird. How had he and that many loyalists managed to escape Carlow, or even the castle for that matter? Had there even been that many loyalists to begin with?

Also, how had he never mentioned anything about a rebel group to her? As head of the military, he’d be bound to hear at least rumors. Those were practically unavoidable, and she knew some of the guard members had joined with Arthur and Gideon. Maybe he knew and chose not to tell me. 

Then, when he took charge after they met up. Adalynn didn’t really think it was too out-of-place at the time, but… Jasper had seemed to go out of his way to keep Adalynn away from the others, especially Seth. She’d originally thought it was just jealousy, but Jasper wasn’t a jealous person. Maybe he was hiding something, and he was worried Seth could expose him. 

Maybe he even hired the pirates.

Maybe Jasper was even smarter than he let on.

It was as if her mind was incapable of seeing it until it was suggested. She’d received a warning from her friends, and now they were dead. 

Is Jasper really a traitor? Who else have I wrongly trusted?

She knew it was a terrible idea, but she suddenly flew from her cot and out the door. She needed to hear it from him. 

✦✦✦

She found Jasper talking with the ship’s captain by the wheel. She marched up the stairs. “Jasper, we need to talk.”

He politely held up an index finger to the captain. The captain took his cue and took a pace back as Jasper turned to her. “Are you alright?” he asked.

“No,” she replied angrily. “I’m not. My friends are dead and I think I know why.”

She saw him hesitate. It was hardly even a second, but it was there. “They died because they were attacked.”

Adalynn looked him dead in the eye. “Did you hire the pirates?”

Jasper looked taken aback. Hurt. “Why would you think that?” he asked quietly.

“Why wouldn’t you let Seth and Sandra stay with me? How is it that you were able to ‘escape’ the castle with as many men as you did? And I find it hard to believe that you didn’t hear anything about traitors in the Guard. So why didn’t you tell me?”

His expression changed slightly. “Adalynn, this is crazy, do you even hear yourself? You’re accusing me of-”

“Seth and Sandra were onto you, and now they’re dead! Did you hire the pirates?”

Jasper seemed to come to a realization. He sighed and squared his shoulders. Avoided her gaze. “Yes.”

That single word hit her like a slap to the face. She took a step back, a cascade of emotions tumbling through her. “You work for Arthur, then?”

He shook his head. “No, unfortunately that empty-headed nitwit works for me, as do Gideon and the rest.” He took half a pace towards her. “Arthur commanded the siege without my authorization, Adalynn. I had no idea he would do anything like that. I’m just trying to clean up his mess.”

She clenched her teeth so hard it hurt. “Why do I find that hard to believe?”

“Come on, Adalynn-”

“If you didn’t ‘authorize’ that, then what was your goal?” she demanded. “What were you after that would lead to this?”

Jasper hesitated. It told her everything she needed to know. 

“It was still the throne,” she said, ignoring the tears that were now trying to gather in her vision. “It has been this whole time, hasn’t it?” She shook her head. “And here I was trusting you blindly.”

Only it wasn’t blindly. He’d proven that he was on her side. Right? Or was she wrong about that too?

“I’d hoped this would end peacefully-”

“And how is hiring pirates to murder my friends peaceful?” Seth and the others were dead because of him. That hadn’t been Arthur. “You killed them,” she seethed. “Seth, Sandra, Owen; you killed all of them.”

“I honestly didn’t want to, Adi, but I didn’t have a choice,” he said, taking another tiny step. 

“And why is that?” she demanded. 

“I don’t expect you to understand.” Another step. 

She backed up. “Jasper, how could you?” Her voice began to shake with anger, although she couldn’t tell who she was more angry at;  Jasper or herself. “I trusted you. You were my best friend. You-” Her voice broke, tears threatening to fall, but she wouldn’t cry. She refused to cry.

Maybe he really didn’t order the takeover. But maybe he did. Maybe he’d been after the throne this whole time. Maybe their whole friendship had been a lie. 

“I never meant to hurt you, Adalynn.”

She forced herself to stay expressionless. 

“Were you ever really my friend?”

He hesitated, conflicting emotions evident on his face. But the hesitation was enough.

She nodded, the shock fading slightly as she tightened her jaw. “Alright then.”

A hand gripped her shoulder tightly, and she tried to shrug it off. She turned to see the captain.

“Get off of me,” she said, trying to pull away. 

He didn’t let go of her arm.

“Let me go!” She punched him hard in the stomach. Within seconds, she was surrounded, her arms pinned to her sides as she fought. 

“Take her below,” Jasper said, turning away from her. She couldn’t see his face, but his voice was flat.

“Jasper!” she shouted. She kicked and fought as she was wrestled into a pair of chained iron cuffs. She managed to kick one man in the shin and poke another in the eye, but they still dragged her below-deck and locked her in the brig.

She stumbled as she was roughly shoved into the holding cell. The door slammed shut behind her and a key turned in the lock. She turned in time to see the men leave through the door at the end of the hall. She knew without a doubt they’d be standing guard outside it, but in the brig, she was alone.

She sagged against the hull of the ship in exhaustion. Her sudden burst of violent energy quickly deserted her, and she rested her head against her knees as a wave of lightheadedness hit her. She felt sick to her stomach, and her muscles ached from her struggle. She was fairly sure she had a black eye. 

How could Jasper do this? She had trusted him; called him a friend. The whole time, he’d only wanted the throne, and she’d been too blind to see it.

Another thought pushed its way back into her mind. Who else have I mistakenly trusted?

Was Andrew in on the plot? Or Ivy? Or Lester? 

No, that was the one thing she was absolutely certain of; Lester would never. But if Jasper had fooled her so well all this time, who was to say that the Grays weren’t on his side, too? He had already lied about so much, who was to say that others hadn’t done the same?

What if I was wrong about everyone?

She pulled her knees in closer to herself and rested her chin on them, closing her eyes with a groan. She couldn’t stop her mind from replaying her happiest memories from her friendship with Jasper. 

When they were much younger, they would go to the many court balls just to hoard food. Then they’d talk Ivy and Andrew into “running away” and the four of them would hide in the maze, enjoying the food they’d snuck out. Miles had been the only one who knew where they went, and he always covered for them. 

As they got older, that tradition faded and new ones were created. At the end of each month, the four of them would spend a day on the grounds, sometimes even venturing into the woods bordering the grounds. And of course, Jasper and Adalynn had their weekly horseback rides. 

Tears slipped from Adalynn’s eyes as each of her memories was tainted with this new knowledge. Every smile, every carefree comment, every teasing wink; for all she knew, it had all been faked. He was a traitor and a murderer. He had killed her supporters, her friends, maybe even her family. 

How had all of this slipped past her?

She was sore and exhausted, but the questions swirling around in her head made rest seemingly impossible. She stayed up, tears occasionally swelling in her eyes until she couldn’t keep them open any longer. Finally she fell into a fitful sleep, the ghosts of the past following her into her dreams.

The harsh thud of the brig door slamming woke her from a restless sleep, the sound reverberating inside her skull and making her head pound harder. The tiny port-hole at the top of her cell showed nothing but a patch of star-scattered blackness. Somehow, she’d slept through most of the day. 

And Jasper himself stood in front of her cell. She glared up at him but refused to move, even as the dagger of betrayal pierced her again. She would not stand for him. The cuffs on her wrists rubbed painfully as she shifted.

“Did you sleep alright?” he asked, his voice still unnervingly flat.

“What do you care?” she almost spat, trying to groan as she looked up at him. 

“I’m sorry about the rough treatment,” he said. “If it had to come to your capture, I ordered my men not to harm you. Who gave you the black eye?”

“Sorry I didn’t get a good look, I was too busy fighting for my freedom.”

Jasper was quiet for a moment. “We’ll be docking within the hour,” he said finally. You’ll stay here until someone comes to escort you off the ship. I would advise you not to cause any trouble, we’ve already seen how my men are with orders. I’ll have to assign you a guard. Please don’t make this situation any worse by trying to escape.”

Adalynn tried for a wry grin, but it turned into a grimace of pain. “Why not? Won’t you enjoy recapturing me and locking me up again? Didn’t seem to bother you too much last time.”

He didn’t reply. Instead he turned back to the door. He paused as he reached for the latch. “You didn’t give me any other choice,” he said, not turning around. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”

She ignored him.

He pulled the door open and left. 

She muttered a curse as he left. The nerve. She shifted again, her cuffs pressing against her wrists painfully. The skin there was already an angry red; she had no doubt she’d have marks when they were finally removed. If they ever do come off.

The brig was empty, her guards most certainly posted right outside. Adalynn pushed herself to her feet and looked out the port-hole. The jagged cliffs lining Eston’s port and beaches were just black smudges at the very edge of her view. She couldn’t see the town itself, but she knew they were close. She was going home, but not in the way she’d planned. She wasn’t a queen coming to save her kingdom. She was a prisoner, a captive. A hostage of the man she thought she knew. She really should not have confronted him. But at least now she knew the truth. The whole time...

Stay focused, a voice in her head told her. She felt her breath catch painfully. Seth’s voice. One step at a time.

You don’t have time for another breakdown right now, Adalynn, Sandra said next, the voice just as fiery as Adi remembered.

You can do it! Owen encouraged.

She already missed them. The memory of her friends made her eyes sting with new tears, but also gave her strength. She had to get out of here, had to get away from this blasted ship. Her mind still reeled from the betrayal, the questions of who was involved never leaving her. But a new determination took hold of her. 

She would not let Jasper win.