The False Prince: Chapters 1–11

He was only a few paces behind now, chasing me at a better speed than I’d have expected for a man of his girth.

He was probably some rich country gentleman who wanted to purchase an indentured servant for his lands.

Although I was eager to leave behind the tough streets of Carchar, servitude wasn’t in my future plans, which meant I could walk as crookedly as I wanted.

“Then one night, he took with a fever. Got all delirious late in the night, hitting at everyone and yelling and such. I was there when he confessed it all. He’s no son of anyone important. The coins belonged to a duke all right, but he’d stolen them to trick me into caring for him. I dumped his body into the cellar to get better or not, I didn’t care. Next time I checked on him, he’d got over the fever on his own and was a good deal more humble.”

I was only of medium height, one of many ways I disappointed my father, who had felt that it would hinder my success (I disagreed—tall people fit in fewer hiding places).

“I can starve that blasphemy out of you, boy.”

We rode for over an hour through a lonely plain covered in gorse and nettle.

Tobias remarked that he found it beautiful in a desolate sort of way. I saw the desolation, but the beauty escaped me.

While we worked, Conner stationed himself on a fallen log to peruse a tattered leather-bound book.

"I’m sure in your heads you’ve created every sort of speculation, from the likely and plausible to the wild and impossible. What I have in mind is closer to the latter of those.”

"I’m sure in your heads you’ve created every sort of speculation, from the likely and plausible to the wild and impossible. What I have in mind is closer to the latter of those.”

I’m willing to commend my soul to the devils if necessary because I believe there is exoneration in my cause.

I need one of you to conduct the greatest fraud ever perpetrated within the country of Carthya.

"No matter how many nobles of wealth or stature exist in the land, there are always twenty regents given a seat in the court. They advise the king, although Eckbert too often ignores his regents.”

The hints he left for us about his plan were not subtle. It was clear what he wanted.

He gave me an appraising look as we stood there, then slowly nodded his head before walking on.

The roof was nearly flat and bordered by a low parapet.

This alone was impressive, since it didn't look like there were any quarries in this region of Carthya, meaning the rocks would have had to come from some distance away.

Ahead of me, I heard Roden's servant tell Roden that with my dirty hands, he’d have to scrub that area of carpet now. Out of spite, I made sure I left a mark there.

"The king has not, but the queen came once when traveling with her courtiers."

"Queen Erin is a strikingly beautiful woman. Master Conner himself has often commented on that."

This small dining room appeared to be reserved for everyday meals and more intimate affairs.

I couldn't help but do the math on how much a clever thief might earn from stealing a polished silver fork or a gold-rimmed goblet, or a single crystal hanging in beads from the sconces on the wall.

Conner prattled on, telling us what we could expect to eat for dinner that evening: crisp bread still steaming from the oven, glazed roasted duck with meat so tender it could be cut with a spoon, fruit pudding chilled from an underground cooler.

I didn't think Tobias meant to be rude. It's just that the way he said certain things made him sound haughty.

It had been nearly two days since I'd eaten anything substantial, and months since I’d ever eaten enough to consider myself full.

They operate on whatever money an orphan inherited upon the deaths of his parents, which inevitably is little more than the shirt on his back after debts were settled.

They are hungry for our rich farmlands and the minerals our mountains provide. When Carthya is weakest and most divided, Avenia will strike, and swallow up Carthya with the force of a tidal wave. Avenia is a cesspool at best.

"Don’t be naïve. Eckbert had many enemies, and frankly I wouldn't trust most of his friends. I believe all three family members were intended victims, clearing the path for a noble to become king.”

At best, the plan was lunacy, and at least, it was treason, no matter how forcibly Conner denied it.

"You’d strip those away and find I’m as boring as Tobias or predictable as Roden. Why don’t you take their physical similarities to the prince and give them a personality?’’
It was a rhetorical question.

Mott apparently had no inclinations to leave me alone.

The tangs varied, from swords with a simple metal grip to ones wrapped in leather or crowned in jewels. One might appeal to a lifelong warrior, another to a mercenary.

I made a face and thrust my sword at him, but he parried it.

"You put on a façade of toughness, but I've seen you look frightened. You pretend to care for nobody, but I didn’t miss your reaction when Latamer fell. And you pretend that you could run from your family in Avenia without looking back, but I hear the tone of your voice when you speak of them. I don’t think you hate everyone half so much as you claim to. You’re an actor now, Sage. All Conner wants is for you to act on behalf of Carthya, rather than for yourself.’’