Chapter 1
Evangeline
The throne room was a stage built for cruelty.
Evangeline stood at its center, bathed in the flickering light of too many candles. The air was suffocating, heavy with incense and the sour tang of dread. Lord Ardelan sat above her on his gilded throne, his sharp smile as cold as the black stone walls enclosing them.
“You’re trembling,” he observed, tapping a jeweled finger against his chin. “Are you afraid of me, Miss Dare?”
Evangeline forced her hands behind her back to keep them steady. “No, my lord.”
The lie tasted bitter, and Ardelan knew it. His laughter echoed in the cavernous room, a sound like splintering glass. He rose slowly, the hem of his embroidered robes brushing the floor as he descended the dais, one step at a time.
Evangeline’s heart pounded with each movement.
“You’re lying,” he said, his voice soft now, almost amused. “And badly at that. But no matter. Fear is useful. Keeps people… compliant.”
He stopped in front of her, his presence a shadow that swallowed the light. Ardelan was not a tall man, nor physically imposing, but the way he carried himself—with utter conviction in his power—made him feel larger than life. He reached out a hand and tilted her chin up with one finger.
Evangeline’s breath caught, but she didn’t flinch.
“You’ll need to do better than this,” he murmured, his pale blue eyes locking with hers. “Cassian Veyne is not a man you can afford to underestimate. Do you understand?”
“Yes, my lord,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Good.” He dropped his hand and turned away, gesturing for his guards to step forward. “Your mission is simple. Get close to him. Earn his trust. Find out where his loyalties lie and what he’s hiding from me. If you succeed, your family will be spared. If you fail…”
Evangeline didn’t need him to finish the sentence. She’d seen the dungeons. The broken bodies dragged from their depths.
“I won’t fail,” she said, though the words felt hollow.
Ardelan smiled again, his back to her now. “I’m sure you won’t. For your sake.”
The guards flanked her on either side, their grip on her arms firm but unnecessary. She walked willingly toward the massive doors that led out of the throne room, her steps heavy with dread. As they opened, Ardelan’s voice called out once more, sharp and mocking.
“Oh, and Miss Dare?”
She froze, glancing back over her shoulder.
“Cassian isn’t just dangerous. He’s smarter than you. Remember that.”
The city outside was a labyrinth of cobblestone streets and leaning buildings, their crooked windows staring down like judgmental eyes. Evangeline pulled her cloak tighter around herself as the cold night air bit at her skin.
Her father’s face haunted her as she walked. His once-proud frame reduced to a gaunt shadow, his wrists raw from the iron shackles biting into them. He had always been a stubborn man, too quick to speak out against injustice. Too slow to realize how swiftly power crushed dissent.
Her little brother, Arthur, had cried when the guards took him. He was only thirteen, his hands small and delicate like their mother’s had been.
Evangeline had no idea where they were being held now. Ardelan had refused to tell her, dangling their safety like a noose above her head.
She stopped at the edge of a narrow alley, leaning against the cold stone wall to catch her breath. The reality of what she’d been asked to do crashed over her like a wave.
Cassian Veyne.
The name was spoken in whispers, a shadow that crept through the city’s underbelly. A mercenary with no loyalty, no conscience, and no patience for fools. They said he’d slit a man’s throat for the wrong look, that his eyes held nothing but ice and death.
And she was supposed to betray him.
Her hands trembled as she pulled the folded piece of parchment from her pocket. The ink was smudged, but the instructions were clear: Cassian would be at a tavern called The Broken Crown, deep in the city’s poorest district.
It was a dangerous place even for those who belonged there. For someone like her—a desperate, untrained girl fumbling her way through a game she didn’t understand—it was a death sentence waiting to happen.
But she had no choice.
The Broken Crown loomed ahead, its wooden sign creaking in the wind. The building itself looked like it might collapse under the weight of its own misery. Yellow light spilled through the cracks in the shutters, accompanied by the murmur of voices and the occasional burst of laughter.
Evangeline hesitated outside the door, her pulse racing.
You can do this, she told herself. Just walk in. Find him.
She pushed the door open.
The tavern was a blur of noise and chaos. The air was thick with the stench of ale and sweat, the floor sticky beneath her boots. Men and women crowded around mismatched tables, their voices loud and slurred. A fight broke out near the bar, but no one seemed to care.
Her eyes darted around the room, searching.
Then she saw him.
Cassian sat in the farthest corner, his back to the wall. He was draped in black, his dark hair falling over his forehead in disheveled waves. A dagger glinted at his hip, its hilt worn but deadly.
But it was his eyes that stopped her cold.
They were sharp, piercing, and unnervingly still. He watched her with the kind of attention that made her feel like prey.
Evangeline forced herself to move, one step at a time, until she stood in front of his table.
Cassian tilted his head, his expression unreadable. “You’re either very brave or very stupid.”
She swallowed hard. “I need work.”
His eyebrows lifted, a flicker of amusement crossing his face. “Work?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice steady despite the storm raging inside her. “I’m fast, and I don’t ask questions.”
He leaned back in his chair, studying her. “You don’t look like you belong here.”
“I don’t,” she admitted. “But I can do what you need.”
Cassian’s lips curved into a smirk, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “That’s bold. Dangerous, too. Do you know who I am?”
She nodded. “Cassian Veyne.”
“Then you should know I don’t hire strangers. Especially not ones who walk in here looking like they’re ready to bolt.”
Evangeline’s hands clenched at her sides. “I’m not running.”
“Not yet,” he said. “But you will.”
The words hung in the air between them, a challenge she couldn’t afford to lose.
“I’ll prove you wrong,” she said.
His smirk widened, but there was no humor in it. “We’ll see.”
