Far away from the castle, Thalia pulled the shawl Solomon had stolen tighter around her body, trying to fight against the bite of the cold night air. The wind moved through the trees, and each gust seemed to pierce her skin, making her shiver beneath the light fabric.

Never before had Thalia endured such weather or such treatment in her life. Had she still possessed all her riches, she would have been sitting in a carriage, dressed in silk, warmed by furs. Now, she looked like a peasant when she was anything but one.

The old shawl itched her neck, and the uneven ground beneath her horse jolted her with every step.

The grumbling of her stomach added to her fury as the ache reminded her of everything she had lost.

Thalia glanced over her shoulder at Solomon, who rode too close for comfort.

"How much longer must we ride before we can rest? Before I can have supper? For how long do you think I can go on like this?" Lilith demanded, impatient.

"If you were more accurate about where your mother resides, then we would be out of the cold, and you would have your precious supper. Have you not once noticed that I am in the cold with you, and I have not eaten?" Solomon asked, though he knew Thalia would not care.

"You were placed to be Lilith’s guard. You are used to such struggles, while I am not. My father might be dead, but I am still your princess. A warm bed and food should be offered to me," Thalia complained, starting to rub her arms to keep warm.

"It should be offered to you? By whom? The people we have passed?" Solomon asked, amused by her train of thought.

"Yes. My family has protected these lands for decades. My father’s rule kept them safe. They should show their respect by taking me in and giving me a warm bath. Tending to me would make their family name grand. Finally, they would have a story to share with their future generations," Thalia boasted, her chin lifted proudly despite the mud splattered on her dress.

Solomon could not resist chuckling. "You think highly of yourself and your family name. Not everyone cares for the Beauforts as you believe. Many would take this chance to kill you."

"Many are struggling to survive because of the taxes, the food your father collected to feed his army, and the famine they almost faced due to lack of proper help. Many died during the last winter," Solomon informed her.

"Only the strong can survive," Thalia repeated her father’s words coldly. "What is the point of keeping people who are weak alive? Their only use would be to become our servants, but even then they are useless, like spilling tea on my beloved dress or making a fool of me before my guests."

Solomon silently stared at the back of Thalia, his jaw tightening.

Thalia and Lilith were truly like night and day, with Thalia caring only for herself.

"I could not forget the time my maid tripped and almost decorated my new dress with cake before my peers. I had to save myself the embarrassment by sending her to the dungeon. My mother made her lose her head the next morning," Thalia said, wearing a satisfied smile.

Thalia missed the power she commanded in the castle.

"Yet you think the people should welcome us with open doors and food?" Solomon asked, shaking his head.

Thalia looked over her shoulder at him. "Too many times you speak to me too informally, and it sounds as though you despise my family."

"You misunderstand me. I am a loyal servant to your family, but I must also not cover your eyes from the truth of the world. Not everyone loves the Beauforts because of their suffering. You have never been on the outskirts of the castle, so use this to open your eyes," Solomon advised Thalia.

If there was a chance for Thalia to change, Solomon hoped she would take it and allow someone else to guide her. Unfortunately, because of his loyalty to Lilith, Solomon could never be that guide.

’Why must I open my eyes?’ Thalia wondered, uninterested in doing so. In her eyes, all the people who were against her family should die. They should not get to live in the kingdom ruled by the Beauforts if they hated them.

"Have you been leading me in circles, Your Highness? Trying to test me?" Solomon inquired. "We should have received some news of your mother by now."

"I am leading you to where my mother travelled with my younger brother. If word of the castle attack reached her, then surely it is expected that she would move to hide. What am I to do? We never had a plan for if the kingdom fell. Duke Mortimer was the one to protect us," Thalia said, angry that Solomon would not leave her be.

"Now that I think of it, you were not doing a good job as her guard. Why would Cassian suddenly take an interest in Lilith and wed her instead of me if those two were not already plotting?" Thalia asked, still suspecting Lilith had killed their father. "You didn’t report what you saw."

"I would have reported it to your father if I had noticed Her Highness speaking to His Grace. She was surprised to see him so interested in her, so perhaps His Grace held feelings for her."

"Do not be so foolish. A duke would not want a bastard out of the blue. Lilith is nothing more than an illegitimate bastard. News has not reached our ears to know if he was toying with her. Perhaps he only wanted her to trust him before he bedded her. That is it," Thalia concluded, deciding to believe this instead.

"No nobleman would want a bastard princess. That is why our father had to set her up with a soldier more than twice her age. She has likely become a woman thrown around by the soldiers. Why did I think a duke wanted her?" Thalia wondered aloud, her right hand covering her mouth as she started to laugh.

’Because he said he wanted her,’ Solomon thought, suspecting Thalia was losing her mind.

"She has become his whore, and that is the only title deserving for a woman with a mother like hers. It is the price to pay for her lowly mother seducing my father," Thalia said, rejoicing at the thought of Lilith’s pitiful state.

"When I was Her Highness’s guard, I was told a different tale about her parents," Solomon said carefully.

"What? That my father fell in love with one of his maids? She would be more of a fool than I thought to come up with that tale. My father loved only my mother. There is no other story to be told," Thalia retorted.

"The story I heard was that the king attacked her mother, and Lilith was a product of it. It is only by some luck that she survived the queen trying to get rid of her. It seems this tale was told to Lilith by someone else," Solomon revealed.

Thalia laughed at the story Lilith and her peers had concocted. "My father did not attack her mother. He was the king. He could command any woman to his bed. Her mother went where she should not have."

Solomon thought of how Thalia spoke of her father as though he were still alive.

"I have witnessed the women my father entertained. Each one of them was from noble homes and ready to throw themselves into his bed. When he had such prominent women at his disposal, why would he have sought to take a maid by force?" Thalia asked.

"You said your mother was the only one your father loved, yet you speak of mistresses," Solomon pointed out.

"A king can have many mistresses, but he never loves them like he loves his queen. Why do you think my mother has lasted so long by his side? You servants do not know anything, or you have been spoiled by staying by Lilith’s side for too long," Thalia said, almost pitying Solomon.

"I have had enough of your questions and answering them. If you want to keep me distracted, then tell me all about Lilith’s secrets. About the people she loved and her lovers. I know that she took men to her chamber," Thalia said, eager to hear more about Lilith’s pitiful life.

Solomon sighed. For a woman who claimed to hate Lilith, Thalia asked about her almost every hour.

"Did she take men to her chamber for the fun of it, or in exchange for money? I know she used to steal dresses which did not belong to her because she was not assigned new ones. It is time that you drop your act," Thalia said, bored with Solomon holding back. "Think of my offer."

"Once I am reunited with my mother and the castle is within our hands, I can make Lilith your slave. Your whore to do whatever you please. You must consider it soon before I change my mind," Thalia said, her voice laced with cruel delight in Lilith’s misery.