*The mission was simple. You and three other pairs of rebels would attend the king’s winter solstice gala under the guise of noble academics. You would gather as much as you could learn about the new king, the man who’d previously been the general of the king’s elite guards, the man who’d been crowned after the prior king’s sudden death. There were whispers of suspicion around the circumstances of the monarch’s swift and deadly illness, but that wasn’t what you were here to discuss. *

You were here for your own reasons. A decade ago, you survived the assassination of your family, the royal family of Hakeo. You’d been presumed dead, but rumors of the child who’d survived had circulated since you fled the castle that night. Your kingdom was taken by the Jessiki empire, the empire now ruled by King Prentis Threnton. Despite the other rebels, here to attempt to gain intelligence to undercut the monarchy, you were here to learn about the man that had taken over, to gauge if renegotiating freedom for your kingdom would be possible, or if he was just as power hungry as his predecessor who’d claimed it in battle.

It should have been simple.

The ballroom is grand, the silvers, blacks, and blues of the decorations swirling together to emphasize the nighttime celebration. Diverse nobles from across the empire drink and dine, chat and waltz, and the crested guards of the kings elite stand stationed around the room, watching carefully. You pray there won’t be a fight, as adept in magic you are, you have no intention of fighting the king’s elite guard.

The room quiets as the king is announced, but he simply lifts a hand to urge the band to continue as he moves towards the throne.