The throne room had been beautiful the first time Rina had stepped into it, almost a week ago. But after a few days, it looked the same as every other room in the castle. When she had first seen it, she never expected to be running past the beautiful portraits and tapestries in fear for her life.

Her advisor and guards were dead on the floor behind her. Sir Jonin walked the length of the throne room towards her, an amused smirk on his face. The other guards had taken their place back against the wall. She was Jonin’s and no one else’s.

Harudan leaned against the table, the remains of the treaty at his feet and a bored expression on his face. She’d been stupid to put even the smallest amount of trust in him. Prince Nerin and Isiah had been right and she should have listened. Because she hadn’t, and because of that, she was going to die.

There were tears in her eyes, obscuring her vision, but she never stopped running. The ornate wooden throne was cold under her hands as she ducked behind it. She let out a sob. Peace, that was all she had wanted. But now she would die. Running and hiding were just delaying the inevitable. She had no sword to fight back with. There was no hope for her.

Sir Jonin’s footsteps echoed through the room, slow and careful. He didn’t care how long it took, they both knew that it would end with her death. She looked around desperately, but the only exit was through the doors she had entered through. There was no way she could get past Harudan and his guards.

An irritated sigh filled the room. “Please don’t make this any harder than it has to be,” King Harudan called. “He’ll make it as quick as possible.” But not painless. It was going to hurt and she was going to avoid for a long as she could.

Sir Jonin’s footsteps grew louder and louder as he came up one side of the throne. She dodged to the side and jumped the tiny steps. The guards had lined up in front of the door. There was no escape for her. She should just stop and let him take her. What else could she possibly do?

Something banged off to the side and Sir Jonin froze in front of the throne, slowly turning to face the source of the noise. “Princess!” a familiar voice yelled. “Princess! Run!” Isiah gestured to her frantically, his face pale and his eyes wide with fear.

He stood in an entranceway she hadn’t seen before. She didn’t take a second to think about it before she ran towards him. Behind her, Harudan made a noise and more sets of footsteps followed after her. Isiah grabbed her as soon as she was within reach and pulled her into the black void beyond.

“The painting, Nerin!” he cried. “Close the painting!” The Prince’s huddled form moved next to her and with a loud creak of wood, they were bathed in darkness. A secret passage behind the paintings. The Prince and Isiah had been watching and listening.

Without a word, Isiah pulled her away with a sharp tug on her arm. She was alive. Somehow, she was still alive. “Where do we go?” she asked. Her voice was quiet, raspy, and filled with fear.

Angry voices drifted through the walls. The guards and Harudan trying to open the passage after them. If they didn’t move fast, they would be caught and killed. Isiah said nothing as they turned down a corner. Nerin’s followed closely after them, silent as a mouse.

With a grunt, Prince Nerin shoved past them and she bumped into the wall. Her arm stung but she ignored it. It could have been so much worse if they hadn’t come for her. “We have to leave,” Prince Nerin said in a shaky voice. “There are ways out of the palace through the passages. I know the way. Follow me.”

“Thank you,” Rina whispered. There were still tears in her eyes and on her cheeks. She should have listened to them, they’d been right. Somehow, they’d known Harudan was up to something.

Something crashed behind them and King Harudan’s angry voice drifted down the passage. “After them! Kill the Princess and the monk! Bring my brother to me!” The trio moved faster, bumping against the hard stone walls as Nerin led them down passages even more maze-like than the palace halls.

Her hand was tight in Isiah’s grip but she didn’t dare let go. She couldn’t even see him. She wasn’t going to get lost or left behind. There was no way she was letting herself die, not when she’d just been given a second chance.

Her breath came out in short pants. “Move faster,” she ordered and gave Isiah a shove. The apprentice monk said nothing, only tightened his grip on her hand. She wanted to scream and bolt down the passage without them, but she would only get herself lost and killed.

“I’m going as fast as I can,” Nerin replied. “The tunnels are a maze. I’d rather we didn’t get lost.” The path twisted and turned as they ran, different passages branching out like the roots of a tree. The Prince pulled them left and right and Rina prayed to Sol and Lune that the guards would be as lost as she was.

But that didn’t seem to be the case. The footsteps behind them were getting louder, getting closer. It wouldn’t be long before the guards caught up with them. They had nothing to defend themselves with. The tunnels were thin. If someone caught them, there would be no escape. The only thing they could do was run and run fast.

She didn’t let herself think as they ran. It was too dangerous to dwell on what was going on. All she could think about was getting out of the palace and as far away from Ismar and Harudan as possible. She had to get home, had to tell her father about what had happened. Brenmar would pay for their crimes.

The tunnel opened up into a dimly lit chamber. The only light was from a window the size of her hand in the ceiling. It was enough light to see the other passages that branched out from the chamber, leading all over the palace. It was enough to disorientate anyone, including Prince Nerin.

He stopped in the centre of the room and spun in a slow circle. “Prince Nerin, what are you doing?” Rina asked in a hiss. “We need to move, now!”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Well, we would be if I could remember which path is the right one!”

“You don’t remember?” They were going to die. That much was certain. The guards weren’t that far behind them.

“Just give me a minute!”

“We don’t have a minute!”

Isiah was silent, watching them with wide eyes. He dropped her wrist and stepped away the same second one of the guards came into view. She cried out and reached for him, but he was too far away.

Isiah spun with a gasp as the guard reared up before him and drew his sword. Rina had no weapons, no way of defending herself or anyone else. She stood frozen, a cry on her lips as the man prepared to swing the blade. She was only delaying the inevitable and was getting more people killed in the process.

With a yell, Isaiah struck out. He dodged under the guard’s arms and shoved at his chest. Surprised, the guard toppled backwards, tripped over his feet and slammed into the jagged corner of the wall. The clang of metal rang out around the room and Rina let out a choked noise.

The guard’s sword sat loosely in his hand and she dashed forward before she could second guess herself. The guard jolted away from her, one hand moving to touch the dent in his helmet. She snatched the blade from his hand before he could react and jumped backwards. It was heavier than the ones she usually trained with, but it was better than being unarmed.

She pulled Isiah away with her. “Are you alright?” she asked him.

He gave her a brief nod. “I think so,” he whispered.

With a sigh of relief, she looked to the Prince. “Please tell me you’ve found the right path.”

“Not yet,” he hissed in response. More guards would be there any second, the footsteps and the faint clanging of metal were growing ever louder. “Can you hold them off?”

She shook her head. “Not that many.” She’d never been in a real fight before. The last time she had held a sword was to spar with her brother. She’d never even seen more than a drop of blood before. The way the blood had dribbled from her advisor's body had been terrifying.

With a deep breath, she pushed the thoughts away. She had to concentrate on the present or they were never going to get out of there. She gritted her teeth as another guard appeared in the faint light of the chamber. Never before had she had to kill someone, but if it meant her survival, she would do it in a heartbeat.

The swords of the Ishini weren’t made for the style of fighting she used, but she would have to make it work. She danced to the side as the first guard ran into the room, her eyes trailing over their armour. The gaps were easy to find. She lashed out and tried to ignore the resistance of skin and muscle and flesh as she sliced through the guard’s middle.

They dropped with a gurgle and the metallic scent of blood filled the room. Someone gagged and retched in the background, but she paid it no mind. Others were coming. She had to buy Nerin a little time. It didn’t matter how awful it felt, how disgusting it was, she had to buy them time.

“Come on, Nerin!” she yelled. Two guards lay on the ground, one dead and the other disorientated. A third stood in the entranceway, a sneer on her face. Rina struck out, the heavy weapon wobbling in her grasp. She winced at the sound of metal on metal as their blades clashed together.

“I think I’ve got it!” he replied over the sound of grunting. Rina let out a near-hysterical giggle and shuffled backwards. Her opponents' sword came swinging down mere inches from her face. It slammed into the rocky floor with an ear-piercing clang and Rina took the opportunity given to her.

The guard had left herself open for attack and Rina lunged. She almost vomited at the amount of blood that poured from the woman’s throat, almost left the blade sticking out of her neck. She pulled it back and the woman fell to the floor with a thud. Bloodstained the blade, her once neat dress, the floor, everything she could see.

“Princess!” Isiah yelled. She whirled around. Isiah and Nerin stood in the entrance to one of the passages to the left, waiting for her. She hurried after them, sword held tight in her sweating hands. “Behind you!”

She didn’t get a chance to move before Isiah rushed towards her and shoved her out of the way. The first guard, the one Isiah had knocked down, grabbed the edge of her dress and tried to pull her back. His dented helmet was gone and she elbowed him in the eye. His grip on her dress fell away and she stumbled forward.

Isiah grappled with the guard, his arms shaking as he tried to push the man back. Before she could turn back to help, there was a cry and a thud. For the briefest of moments, she thought Isiah had fallen. But when she turned around, it was the guard on the ground, blood pooling around his head and the apprentice monk standing over him.

He made an indecipherable noise and covered his mouth with his hands. “Isiah,” Rina said softly and reached out to touch his arm. “We need to go now, come on.”

“I killed him,” he whispered, staring down at the body. “I- I-”

“I know,” she replied and tugged at his robes. He went easily. She didn’t bother lying to him. For all they knew, he could still be alive, but he wouldn’t be for long. It didn’t matter, they needed to go before others showed up.

Nerin stared at them both with wide eyes and gestured for them to follow him with a shaking hand. Silence filled the chamber. There weren’t any other guards in the area yet, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be. If they moved fast enough, they would be gone by the time any other guards showed up.

“The exit I know of is still pretty far, but there shouldn’t be any other twists and stuff like that,” Prince Nerin explained, his voice almost as quiet as the tunnel. She couldn’t see him at all now, but every now and again, her dress would brush against him.

There was blood on her hands, but that didn’t stop her from grabbing Isiah’s wrist to make sure he was still there. “Are you alright?” she asked but didn’t get a word in response. He was a pacifist who’d just killed or seriously injured a man. He had every right to stay silent.

“Are you, Princess?” Nerin asked.

She’d killed someone too, hadn’t she? Two people, in fact. She’d watched her advisor and her guard be murdered at the hands of a man who had lured who there under the pretence of peace. “No,” she said, her hands shaking. No, she was not okay. Nothing was okay.

She’d been lied to, played with like a toy. A fool, she’d been a complete fool. But that didn’t matter. She’d use Nerin and Isiah to escape Ishmar and after that, she would return home to Ziya. When her father heard of what happened to her, there would be no other choice but for them to go to war.

Peace. They’d been after peace. But the Ishini didn’t want it. They wanted to fight and kill and bring chaos to Vishera. She wouldn’t let them do it without a fight. She would make sure Harudan lost the war that was to come. She would plunge a sword through his heart and watch him die screaming. If chaos was what he wanted, chaos was what he would get.