Elena’s POV

“I didn’t do anything! I swear. Please, listen to me!”

My voice echoed off the tall marble walls of the palace hall as the guards seized my arms and began dragging me forward. Their faces remained stony, unaffected by my pleas. One of them, taller and broader than the rest, tightened his grip when I tried to dig my heels into the floor.

“You’ve got the wrong person!” I insisted, breath coming in shallow bursts as panic clawed at my throat. “I want to speak to ...