The palace doors closed behind them with a heavy thud.
Jasmina glanced around as she followed the others through the vast corridors.
The Crown Palace was even larger on the inside than it had appeared from the sea.
Marble floors gleamed beneath crystal chandeliers, and portraits of kings and queens watched silently from the walls.
Servants hurried past carrying trays, baskets, and stacks of folded linens.
No one paid attention to the newcomers.
Which was exactly the point.
A stern woman dressed in dark gray robes stopped before them.
“I am Mistress Helena,” she announced.
“I oversee the palace servants.”
Her sharp eyes swept across the group.
“From this moment onward, you are maids and attendants. You will act like servants. You will think like servants. If you draw attention to yourselves, you will fail.”
No one spoke.
“Follow me.”
They obeyed.
Mistress Helena led them down several winding corridors until they reached the servant quarters.
The rooms were simple.
Nothing like the luxury of the noble estates they had grown up in.
Two narrow beds stood against each wall.
A small table occupied the center of the room.
Lyra frowned.
Finn stared at the beds.
“I’ve slept in worse.”
Kael raised an eyebrow.
“You have?”
“No.”
Kael sighed.
The group was divided into rooms.
Jasmina and Lyra were assigned together.
Finn and Kael were placed in the room across the hall.
As soon as Mistress Helena left, Finn appeared in their doorway.
“Good news.”
“No,” Lyra said immediately.
Finn blinked.
“I haven’t even spoken yet.”
“You were about to.”
Jasmina hid a smile.
Finn pointed at her.
“See? She appreciates me.”
“No, she doesn’t,” Lyra replied.
“I think she does.”
Jasmina rolled her eyes.
“Go unpack your things.”
Finn pressed a hand dramatically against his chest.
“Rejected once again.”
“Leave.”
“Fine.”
He stepped backward.
Then paused.
“Jasmina?”
“If a terrifying palace ghost appears tonight, scream loudly so I can run in the opposite direction.”
Lyra threw a pillow at him.
The door slammed shut.
Silence finally returned.
For a moment, neither girl spoke.
Then Lyra sat on her bed.
“I don’t trust him.”
Jasmina laughed softly.
“Neither do I.”
But somehow Finn’s endless talking made the palace feel a little less frightening.
A little.
The next morning began before sunrise.
A bell rang through the servant quarters.
Jasmina sat upright immediately.
All around her, doors opened.
Footsteps echoed through the hall.
Servants hurried to prepare for the day.
Mistress Helena waited outside.
“Line up.”
Everyone obeyed.
She paced before them.
“Today you begin your duties.”
A servant handed her a stack of parchment assignments.
One by one, names were called.
Various servants were sent throughout the palace.
Then—
“Jasmina.”
She stepped forward.
Mistress Helena handed her a parchment.
“You will assist in the East Wing.”
Jasmina accepted it.
“The East Wing?”
“The royal guest wing.”
A strange feeling settled in her chest.
Royal guests.
The Werewolf delegation was staying somewhere within the palace.
Could it be there?
Lyra received an assignment in the palace library.
Kael was sent to the kitchens.
Finn was assigned to the East Wing as well.
The moment he heard it, he grinned.
“Looks like we’re coworkers.”
Jasmina groaned.
“Wonderful.”
“I know.”
“No. Not wonderful.”
Finn ignored her completely.
Hours later, Jasmina walked through the East Wing carrying freshly folded linens.
The halls were quieter here.
More elegant.
Royal banners hung from the walls.
Palace guards stood at every intersection.
She kept her eyes lowered as she had been instructed.
Observe.
Listen.
Remain unnoticed.
That was the mission.
As she turned a corner, voices drifted from a nearby chamber.
She immediately slowed.
Two palace officials stood near a doorway.
Neither noticed her.
“The preparations are complete,” one said.
“And the Werewolf King?”
“He arrives tomorrow.”
Jasmina froze.
Tomorrow.
King Adrian Ashwolf would arrive tomorrow.
The second official lowered his voice.
“I heard he travels with his elite guards.”
“Naturally.”
“And they say he can sense lies.”
The first official laughed nervously.
“I hope that’s only a rumor.”
Footsteps approached.
Jasmina quickly moved away before she could be seen.
Her heart pounded.
Tomorrow.
The Werewolf King would arrive.
She didn’t know why, but the thought unsettled her.
As she hurried down the corridor, she nearly collided with someone.
Strong hands caught her shoulders before she fell.
“Whoa.”
Finn.
He steadied her.
“You walk into walls often?”
Jasmina pulled away.
“No.”
“You looked like you’d seen a ghost.”
She hesitated.
Then lowered her voice.
“The Werewolf King arrives tomorrow.”
Finn’s grin vanished.
For once.
He looked serious.
“Then things are about to get interesting.”
Far away, beyond the palace walls, a carriage bearing the crest of a silver wolf moved steadily toward the capital.
Inside sat a king.
And with every mile that passed, fate drew closer to Jasmina.
Neither of them knew it yet.
But their first meeting was only a day away.