CHAPTER FOUR
The palace teemed with activity in preparation for the tournament.
Alex sat atop the outer wall, looking across the grounds surrounding it. Guards marched up the road from the wide-open iron gates. It was rare that they closed them. There were no threats to the kingdom while the wards held around their borders.
The wards. It struck him as ironic that the kingdom’s only protection was the very magic they'd done their best to eliminate. The man who created the wards spent years in service to the crown before his magic made him a threat.
That wasn't what clouded the prince's thoughts today, though. Many men were going to die. All to have an honored place at his side. He kept telling himself they entered willingly. None of it would be his fault. He would observe the tournament
