Judge had escaped many things in his life — responsibilities, noble gatherings, the consequences of his own elaborate schemes — but never had he attempted an escape quite like this.
The Drakonis Palace in Wistmere was no mere residence; it was a fortress disguised as a monument of wealth. Its corridors twisted like the mind of a paranoid emperor, its security was tighter than a miser's coin purse, and its staff had eyes sharper than an owl with a telescope. And yet, none of these things compared to the real danger: their mother.
Eleyn had an uncanny ability to detect nonsense from miles away, and if she so much as suspected her dear sons were up to something, their so-called 'adventure' would be reduced to 'another lesson in parental dominance.' Judge had no intention of sitting through that again.
