A Queen betrayed. A midnight escape. A love lost in the shadows of power.
Scotland, 1566. Imprisoned in her own palace and reeling from the brutal murder of her most trusted servant, Mary Queen of Scots faces her most perilous hour. Surrounded by rebel lords—and a husband whose betrayal cuts deepest—her only hope lies in a desperate flight into the night.

With her loyal lady-in-waiting, Margaret Carwood, a wary pageboy, and a king she no longer trusts, Mary flees Holyrood Palace under the cloak of darkness. But escape is only the beginning. As political tensions escalate and the cracks in once-close relationships widen, Mary must confront the truth: sometimes, love cannot survive power.

A prequel to the Mary's Ladies series, this gripping short story pulls back the curtain on the choices, betrayals, and fractured loyalties that shaped a queen—and the women who stood beside her.