Father patted me on the shoulder.

  “Glad to see you managed to bond with the prince,” he commented in a low voice, motioning for me to sit beside him.

  I shrugged. “He’s a good kid; he just needed a little push.”

  “It’s quite something to hear that coming from you. To think that just a few years ago, you were the one needing a little push.”

  The mere thought of how clumsy and timid I used to be just a few years ago sent a shiver down my spine. Sure, I hadn’t completely overcome my shortcomings, but I could tell I was a different person now.

  My thoughts of introspection were abruptly cut short by the appearance of someone on stage.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, good evening! It’s a pleasure to see so many of you gathered here on this day of celebration. My name is Galan T’Huomo, and I’m the director of this esteemed establishment.”

  A wave of applause erupted for the little man who had made his entrance.

  His voice rang so clearly in the wide hall that he had me wondering if he was using some kind of magical object to amplify it.

  “As you all know, today we are gathered here to celebrate the 350th year of the founding of our glorious Empire!”

  Another round of applause.

  “Offer your greetings to the Imperial Family and the Emperor, without whom we wouldn’t be here today,” he paused for dramatic effect.

  “And we probably wouldn’t even be half of what we are today!”

  The hall chuckled at his remark as he turned toward the imperial balcony.

  Emperor Areyon rose from the throne crafted for him by Baryon and greeted the audience before him, who responded with a thunderous outburst of applause and celebration.

  Everyone stood up. Despite all the murmurs of dissent circulating, the Imperial Family was still deeply loved by the people of the Empire.

  As the Emperor returned to his seat, the crowd followed suit and silence settled over the hall once more.

  With everyone in the crowd sitting back at their place, Galan resumed his welcoming speech.

  “During the planning of this event, my colleagues and I pondered many times over what the best performance to honor the Empire would have been.

  “Choosing just one has been no easy task! But eventually, we reached a unanimous decision…”

  A subdued murmur rose throughout the hall as people whispered their thoughts with their neighbors.

  “With the approval of His Majesty the Emperor, tonight, the ‘Phoenix’ theater has decided to present, in its entirety, ‘The Fall of a King’. I hope you may all enjoy the show.”

  With a bow towards the audience and one towards the Emperor, Galan T’Huomo vanished into a cloud of smoke as all the lights in the hall went out simultaneously.

  A small gasp of surprise escaped from someone in the crowd. With a faint rustling of curtains, the stage opened, and lights flickered back on.

  For anyone unfamiliar with the Empire or its history, choosing to stage ‘The Fall of a King’ to celebrate the Empire’s founding might seem an odd choice, perhaps even poor taste, almost as if one wished for the Emperor and the Empire to fall.

  Of course, that was not the case.

  ‘The Fall of a King’ was a theatrical adaptation of an epic poem composed nearly half a millennium ago, telling the tale of the Hero of the Dawn, Malaes Hi, waging war against the Mad King of the former Middle Kingdom, Thelis Broot.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  After a year of conflict, King Thelis’ despotic rule was overthrown, and from the ashes of his kingdom, the first Heroic Empire was born, led by Malaes.

  Something similar had happened with our Empire.

  The first Emperor had peacefully unified six of the seven kingdoms that had once stood where now was the Ardelar Empire.

  The Kingdom of Veldya had been the first to support the new Emperor.

  The last of the seven, the Nyr of the North, refused to kneel before the Emperor, despite its citizens being in favor of annexation.

  When peaceful resolution proved impossible, the only remaining option was war.

  Lacking even the support of his people, the conflict hadn’t lasted long. In less than three months, the despotic rule of the rebellious king was overthrown, and the Nyr of the North was annexed into the Empire.

  So, in truth, there were few plays more fitting for the occasion than ‘The Fall of a King’.

  I rested my head against my fist, trying to stay focused; even if I loved opera, it tended to make me a little drowsy.

  Among all the plays I had seen, ‘The Fall of a King’ was one of the most fast-paced and action-packed, keeping your eyes glued to the stage throughout its whole duration.

  That was why I hoped it would keep me awake, especially since dozing off in front of the Imperial Family wouldn’t be the best of outcomes.

  “But as for thee, as for what thou…”

  We reached the scene where the protagonist, the hero Malaes Hi, tried vainly to persuade the Mad King to abdicate and join the empire.

  I had always thought Malaes’ true intent was to utterly stun him with words, to talk so much that the king would accept the offer just to make him stop rambling.

  Still, I had the feeling that wasn’t quite how things had played out. This was probably just a semi-comedic addition made by whoever had adapted the story for the stage.

  A welcome addition, I smiled. Helps to stay awake, after all.

  Judging by the chuckles that rippled through the audience, I wasn’t the only one who found it amusing. Even Prince Raeran stifled a laugh for a few seconds.

  I took a quick glance around to see how everyone else was holding up.

  Princess Deleys slept peacefully, cradled in her mother’s arms, entirely unconcerned by what was happening on stage.

  Aside from us, the adults seemed perfectly at ease, showing no signs of drowsiness.

  Even Lelya appeared to be handling it well.

  Bianca, on the other hand, was visibly struggling to stay awake, gravity being the only thing keeping her from dozing off.

  Every so often, I noticed that her head was slipping downward, forcing her awake as she struggled to hold it up with her hand.

  I couldn’t tell what was going on in the seats below us, being some of the security personnel and the very stage the only things I could see, even from up here.

  The members of the security personnel were the only ones standing throughout the play, stationed near the emergency exits beside the stage.

  The Phoenix theater was the only one I had ever been to that had such precautions prepared.

  Guards were stationed there to ensure that, in case of an emergency, everyone could be directed to safety and escape in time.

  It must have been tedious, standing there for so long without doing anything.

  So tedious, in fact, that the guards themselves had gotten bored and left.

  My brows jumped upwards, and my eyes widened as I slowly came to the realization of what I’d just noticed.

  Say what, again?

  I turned to Baryon, ready to ask if the security staff were supposed to rotate shifts and I just happened to catch them in the in-between.

  He seemed like the guy who would know such a thing.

  But seeing his concerned expression and his face completely deprived of its natural color, I serrated my mouth shut before any word could come out.

  His arms were crossed, but they seemed unnaturally stiff, as if he were forcing them to stay that way.

  “Master?” I whispered, trying to draw his attention.

  When he turned to look at me, he didn’t smile.

  “Stay ready, young Arda,” he warned through gritted teeth.

  “Ready for what exactly?” I asked, confused.

  With movements quicker than I had ever seen from him, he reached for his staff, gripping it tightly.

  All the lights went out, and darkness descended over the hall once more.

  This time, they did not come back.

  “For something like this.”