SELENE TAKES CONTROLThe King had fallen. Not in battle, not with a sword in his hand, but with a choked gasp and a glass of wine shattered at his feet. The doctors were still in there, their hushed voices carrying through the heavy doors of the royal bedchamber.

I stood in the hallway, my hands folded in front of me. I wasn't crying. I didn't feel the need to.

"He’s still breathing," a young guard whispered to his partner. He looked pale, his helmet slightly crooked. "I saw them carrying him. ...