Adrian's POV(Dante's mind)
The cell was freezing.
I sat on the stone floor, my back against the wet wall, counting the minutes until dawn. Until they dragged me out and cut off my head in front of the whole kingdom.
At least I'd die twice in one lifetime. That had to be some kind of record.
"Stupid," I muttered to myself. "So stupid."
I'd had one job—survive. Instead, I'd freed a slave, made an enemy of the new king, and gotten myself arrested for treason within twenty-four hours of waking up in this body.
Dante Russo would be ashamed.
Footsteps echoed down the dungeon corridor.
I tensed. Were they coming for me already? Was dawn here?
But the footsteps stopped at my cell door. A key turned in the lock.
The door creaked open.
A man stepped inside—tall, muscular, with a scarred face and tired eyes. He wore the uniform of the palace guard, but his armor looked old and battered.
"You're not an executioner," I said carefully.
"No, Your Highness. I'm Captain Marcus Stone." He closed the door behind him but didn't lock it. "We don't have much time."
My heart started pounding. "Time for what?"
"To get you out." Marcus glanced at the corridor nervously. "King Cassian ordered your execution at dawn. That's three hours from now. If you stay here, you die."
"Why are you helping me?"
Marcus's jaw clenched. "Because I'm tired of watching innocent people die while corrupt bastards sit on thrones." He met my eyes. "I served your mother, Queen Isabella. She was kind to me when no one else was. Before she died, she made me promise to protect you if you ever needed it."
Adrian's memories stirred—a younger Marcus, standing guard outside his room after his mother's death. Always watching. Always there.
"I thought you hated me," I said. "Like everyone else."
"I hated that you were weak. That you let them walk all over you." Marcus pulled out a small knife and handed it to me. "But what you did today? Standing up to Cassian? Freeing that general?" He smiled grimly. "That took guts. Finally."
I took the knife, my hand shaking. "How do we get out? There are guards everywhere."
"Not everywhere. I've been working here fifteen years. I know every secret passage in this palace." Marcus moved to the wall and pressed a stone. Something clicked. A section of wall swung inward, revealing darkness beyond. "This tunnel leads to the old catacombs under the city. From there, you can escape."
Hope flared in my chest. "What about Seraphina? The woman they arrested with me?"
Marcus hesitated. "Your Highness, we can't—"
"I'm not leaving without her." My voice came out harder than I meant. "She saved my life today. I'm not abandoning her."
"She's in the high-security wing. Getting to her means going through twenty guards." Marcus shook his head. "It's suicide."
"Then I'll die trying." I stood up, gripping the knife. "Cassian framed her just like he framed me. If I leave her here, she dies for nothing. I won't do that."
Marcus stared at me like I'd grown a second head. "You really have changed."
"Yeah. Death does that to you." I moved toward the secret passage. "Take me to her cell. Now."
Marcus cursed under his breath but nodded. "You're going to get us both killed."
"Probably."
We slipped into the tunnel. Darkness swallowed us immediately. Marcus lit a small torch, and I saw we were in a narrow stone corridor that smelled like rot and rats.
"Stay quiet," Marcus whispered. "These tunnels run behind the cells. We can get close to the high-security wing, but after that, we're on our own."
We moved fast through the darkness. My heart hammered against my ribs. Every shadow looked like a guard. Every sound made me flinch.
But we kept moving.
After what felt like hours but was probably minutes, Marcus stopped at a section of wall.
"Her cell is on the other side," he breathed. "But there's no secret door here. We'll have to go through the main corridor. There are four guards outside her door."
"Four?" I gripped my tiny knife. "Can we take them?"
Marcus pulled out his sword. "I can take two if I'm fast. You'll have to handle the others."
"I've never won a fight in my life."
"Then today's a great day to start." Marcus's scarred face was grim. "On three. One... two... THREE!"
He slammed his shoulder into the wall section. It gave way easier than expected—must have been old stone. We burst into the corridor.
Four guards spun toward us, hands going for weapons.
Marcus moved like lightning. His sword flashed. One guard went down immediately, then another.
The third guard lunged at me.
Panic exploded in my chest. Adrian's body had no training, no muscle memory for this.
But Dante's mind did.
I'd survived street fights in my old life. Dirty, vicious brawls where rules didn't exist.
As the guard swung his sword, I dropped low and drove my knife into his leg. He screamed. I yanked the blade out and slashed at his sword hand. He dropped the weapon.
Marcus finished the fourth guard.
We stood there, breathing hard, surrounded by groaning bodies.
"Not bad for a first fight," Marcus said.
My hands shook. "I think I'm going to throw up."
"Later. Move."
He grabbed keys from a fallen guard and unlocked Seraphina's cell.
She was inside, still in chains, but her eyes blazed when she saw us.
"You came back," she breathed.
"Of course I did." I moved to unlock her chains. "We made a deal, remember?"
"You're insane. Both of you." But she was smiling as the chains fell away.
"Can you fight?" Marcus asked her urgently.
Seraphina picked up a fallen sword. Her grip was perfect, natural. "I'm the Silver Phoenix. I was fighting battles while you were still learning to hold a blade."
"Good. Because we have about thirty seconds before every guard in this dungeon comes for us." Marcus pointed down the corridor. "This way. Move!"
We ran.
Behind us, bells started ringing—alarm bells. Someone had found the unconscious guards.
Shouts echoed through the stone corridors. Boots thundered closer.
"They're coming!" I gasped.
Marcus led us through twisting passages. Left, right, down stairs, through doorways. The palace was a maze.
"The tunnel entrance!" Marcus pointed ahead. "There!"
We were ten feet away when guards poured in from both sides.
Twenty of them. Maybe more.
We skidded to a stop, trapped.
"Surrender!" one guard shouted. "By order of King Cassian!"
Seraphina raised her sword. "I'd rather die fighting."
"Same," I said, though my knife felt pathetically small.
Marcus stepped in front of us both. "Get behind me."
But before the guards could attack, a voice rang out from behind them.
"STOP!"
Everyone froze.
A woman pushed through the guards—Princess Elara, Adrian's older sister. Her gray eyes fixed on me with an expression I couldn't read.
"Princess Elara," the guard captain said nervously. "King Cassian ordered—"
"I don't care what my brother ordered." Elara's voice was ice. "These prisoners are coming with me."
"But Your Highness—"
"Are you questioning a princess?" Elara's tone could cut steel. "Or do I need to report your insubordination to the king?"
The guards shifted uncomfortably. Elara had power—her late husband's family controlled the military. Even Cassian couldn't ignore her completely.
"Let them pass," the captain finally said.
The guards parted.
Elara walked toward us, and I tensed. Was this another trap?
She stopped in front of me, studying my face.
"You've changed, little brother," she said quietly. "The Mouse Prince is gone. Someone else is wearing his face."
My blood ran cold. She knew. Somehow, she knew.
"I don't know what you mean," I said carefully.
"Yes, you do." Elara glanced at Seraphina, then Marcus. "You've made dangerous allies. Fought back against Cassian. Showed courage Adrian never had." She leaned closer. "So I'll ask once: who are you really?"
I met her eyes. "Someone who's done being a victim."
Something flickered in her expression. Respect? Interest?
"Good. Because I need that person." She stepped back. "Come with me. All of you. Now."
"Why would we trust you?" Seraphina demanded.
"Because you have two choices: trust me, or fight thirty guards and die." Elara's smile was sharp. "Choose quickly. Cassian will be here soon."
I looked at Marcus, then Seraphina. Both looked ready to fight.
But Dante's instincts screamed at me. In the mafia, you learned to read people fast. Elara wasn't lying. She genuinely wanted to help.
The question was why.
"We go with her," I decided.
"Adrian—" Seraphina started.
"Trust me."
She didn't. I could see it in her eyes. But she nodded anyway.
Elara turned and walked away. "Follow. Don't speak. Don't run. Act like my prisoners."
We followed her through the palace, guards watching but not stopping us. Elara's power protected us—for now.
She led us to her private chambers and locked the door behind us.
"Sit," she ordered.
We stayed standing, ready to fight if needed.
Elara poured herself wine and drank it slowly, watching us over the rim.
"My brother Cassian is going to destroy this kingdom," she finally said. "He's greedy, stupid, and drunk on power. If he stays king, we'll be at war with the Mordain Empire within a year."
"And you care about that?" I asked carefully.
"I care about my position. My power. My future." Elara set down her glass. "Cassian wants to eliminate anyone who might challenge him. That includes me. So I need allies." She looked directly at me. "I need you."
"Why me?"
"Because you're smart. Smarter than you've ever shown. And you have nothing to lose." She gestured at Seraphina. "You freed the Silver Phoenix. That means you understand her value. You think strategically now." Her gray eyes bored into mine. "Help me remove Cassian from the throne, and I'll protect you. Refuse, and I'll hand you back to him right now."
"You want us to help you become queen," Seraphina said.
"I want us all to survive." Elara's voice hardened. "Cassian will kill me eventually. Just like he'll kill you. We're all dead unless we work together."
I thought fast. In the mafia, alliances were temporary but necessary. Elara was dangerous, ambitious, and probably planning to betray us eventually.
But right now? She was our only chance.
"What's your plan?" I asked.
Elara smiled. "Cassian's coronation is in three days. The whole kingdom will be watching. He'll be vulnerable, surrounded by nobles he needs to impress." She leaned forward. "That's when we strike."
"Strike how?" Marcus asked.
"We expose him. Show everyone proof that he framed Seraphina. That he murdered his own father." Elara pulled out documents from her desk. "I've been gathering evidence for months. I just needed someone brave enough to help me use it."
My heart started racing. "You have proof he killed the king?"
"Poison. Slow-acting, nearly undetectable. I have the physician's private notes." Elara's eyes gleamed. "Cassian's been killing Father for over a year. I can prove it."
Seraphina grabbed the documents, reading fast. Her face went pale.
"This is real," she whispered. "This could actually work."
"It will work," Elara said. "But I need Adrian to be the one who presents it. A princess accusing her brother looks like a power grab. But a prince revealing his brother's crimes? That's justice."
I looked at the documents. At Elara's calculating face. At Seraphina's desperate hope.
This was insane. Dangerous. Probably a trap.
But it was also our only shot.
"I'm in," I said.
Elara's smile widened. "Good. Then let's kill a king."
Outside, thunder crashed.
And somewhere in the palace, Cassian sat on his stolen throne, not knowing his siblings had just declared war.
Three days until the coronation.
Three days to expose a murderer.
Three days to survive.
The game had begun.