Aiko
I pressed against the wall, my heart hammering so hard I was certain the guards would hear it. Three more breaths. That's how long it would take for the patrol to pass the alcove where I hid. Three breaths between captivity and freedom.
The consort wing had never felt like home—more like a gilded cage where my mother and I were kept as prized possessions. But after what I'd overheard last night, even those golden bars had become intolerable.
"The girl will be sent to King Ossian's son before the equinox," my father had said, his voice carrying through the thin paper walls of Mother's chambers. "The alliance with the Bone Kingdom requires a blood tie. Aiko's lineage makes her the obvious choice."
Mother had argued, her voice soft but insistent. "She's only twelve, my king. Too youn
