Chapter Nine
The storm began to ease off sometime during the night, and by the time I awoke the next morning, the clouds were still a bruised blue-gray outside my window. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, though, and the winds were dying down.
I got dressed and went down to see about some kind of first meal, though I figured it might only be cold meats and bread, since the power had gone off again during the night.
I was pleasantly surprised to find meat pastries made over a wood stove in the kitchen, according to one of the servers.
They had laid them out on the serving table, along with plenty of hot Lycan tea and some unfamiliar looking fruit.
I also wasn’t familiar with the type of meat inside the pastries, but it smelled good, and I’d never had the luxury of being overly picky about food anyway.
It was good enough, and well-seasoned with plenty of peppers and spices, the way I liked it.
I ate with several other early risers among my Imperials and then went down to check on Taran.
The guards at the door to the infirmary had been there all night, so as I came in, I told them both to go upstairs and send two other guards down.
I didn’t think Taran was in any danger at the moment, and besides, I’d be here until the new guards arrived.
I wasn’t sure if the prince and his consort were still here, but the guards reported before they left that Prince Larz and Janos had gone upstairs around midnight.
Like the other royals, they had guards stationed outside their door.
Taran was sitting up in bed as I entered the infirmary, moving around a bite of one of the meat pastries on his tray.
He’d eaten almost none of it. He smiled as he looked up and saw me, a small flash of something in his pretty eyes.
I sat down on his bed, my hip resting against his leg.
His skin was so hot I could feel it through the sheet, and I wondered if he had a higher natural temperature than Tygerians or if he was running a fever.
I put the back of my hand against his forehead, and he looked at me oddly. “What are you doing?”
“Checking to see if you have a fever. I had a human omak who used to do this to me when I was small.”
“Did it work?”
I smiled down at him and shrugged, “Not with any real accuracy.”
He grinned. “Hard to believe you were ever a little boy.”
I gave him a look and he smirked at me, but that flash came back in his eyes, and I found myself wishing he really was a chibby, like I’d mistaken him for when I first saw him.
If he had been, I’d be running my hand under the sheet and up his leg to see if he was hot all over. I had a feeling he might be.
“I didn’t say thank you for helping me yesterday,” he said. “Janos told me how you carried me to one of your medics.”
“You don’t need to thank me for that. I was just doing my job.”
He shrugged, and his face turned pink. “Okay,” he replied, using the Earthan slang word I disliked so much, because it meant just nothing at all, really.
Humans seemed to use it for everything, changing only the intonation to match the meaning.
I nodded toward his fork, still pushing the food around on his plate.
“You need to eat to regain your strength,” I told him.
“If I had something good to eat, I might do that.”
“I had two of those pies for first meal. They were good. Have you tried them yet?”
“No, I’ll take your word for it. I didn’t like the way those things smelled. And the food here is way too spicy for me anyway. I think Prince Vannos has a lot to do with the menu selection, and the Tygerian food he seems to like is way too hot.”
“Prince Vannos has good taste. Like all Tygerians.”
“Mm hm. Blake told me once that people on some planets like yours eat spices because it kills dangerous bacteria. It can also mask the taste of slightly spoiled foods and help with food poisoning.”
“All the more reason to want it then.”
“Not for me. I don’t want to eat spoiled food. I like to know what I’m getting myself into.” I couldn’t help but smile at him.
“I think Consort Blake was exaggerating or maybe trying to be funny. But if you really can’t eat what they brought you, I’ll tell someone to go to the kitchen and find you something else. Maybe some bread and cheese? Could you eat that?”
“Oh yes, would you do that? I’m kind of hungry. And something to drink too. Not that awful tea stuff, though.”
I shook my head but smiled and pulled out my communicator to send a message. He did need to keep up his strength. And if today went as I thought it would, he’d have a long day ahead of him.
“How are you feeling this morning?” I asked.
“Better. Just a little weak. The doctors said it was because I lost a lot of blood in the attack, but that medicine they gave me is great. My wound is almost healed over. I’ve never seen anything like that before. They’re going to let me leave in a while if I still keep improving.”
“What do you remember about the attack? Did you see who it was?”
He shook his head. “It was too dark.”
“Describe to me what happened. Everything exactly as you remember it.”
“I warn you, it’s not too much. I was just sitting there, listening to Larz argue with his family.
The storm outside was getting worse, and I could hear Larz getting angry.
Everything was pretty intense, especially when he got in the fight with Mikos.
Then the lights just flickered off and the whole place was so dark, you could barely see anything.
I heard Larz make a funny sound, like he was hurt, so I stood up to try and see him better, but I couldn’t see anything.
Somebody was in the way, and I realized it was Majesty when I touched his back and felt the long braids.
I grabbed him by the shoulders, pushed him back down in his chair for his own safety and stepped over him to get to Larz. ”
“Who are you are referring to as His Majesty?”
“No, just…Majesty. It’s a name I call Consort Janos. It’s like a nickname. He was the king when we first met, and I was young.”
“As opposed to your vast age now.”
“I’m in my twenties.”
“All right. I stand corrected. Go ahead with your story.”
“Somebody was still moving between me and Larz. I thought Larz was in danger, so I kept shoving at whoever it was and trying to get over to Larz to help him. Suddenly, the way was clear, and I managed to get my arms around Larz. He was moaning and trying to sit up. I turned to get help and that’s when I felt a sharp jab in my back.
It hurt so much that I cried out and turned to push with both my hands to get whoever it was off me.
But just that fast, I started getting dizzy, and I felt like I was going to pass out.
So I sat down in the nearest chair to me and—I don’t know what came next.
After that, the pain was bad, and I felt dizzy.
” He glanced up at me. “Then you were there, and I-I don’t remember much after that. ”
“You have no idea who knifed you? You never saw his face?”
He shook his head. “No, I didn’t see anything. Not really.”
“You said you heard Prince Larz moaning and somebody got in the way…was it Janos?”
“Yes, at first, but I pushed him back down. Then I tried to go help Larz.”
“Any distinctive sounds or smells you recall?”
“Smells? No, I don’t think so. I’m not sure, though. It-it all happened so fast.”
“All right,” I said, standing up. I was a little surprised at how much I didn’t want to leave him. I pushed the feeling back down and turned toward the door. “I’ll see about getting you more food. But eat whatever they bring you in the meantime, Taran. You need to rebuild your strength.”
“I don’t have much appetite.”
“Force yourself.”
He gave me a surprised look but finally nodded.
“Good. I hear the guards outside. I’ll send one of them up to find you some food. I imagine your parents will stop by too.”
“Wait,” he said, as I made it to the door. “Will there be another meeting today? I’d like to be there.”
“I think the king may talk to Prince Larz privately today at some point. But you’re in no shape to be there. You need to rest.”
“Yes, that’s right,” came Larz’s voice from behind me. I had been focused on Taran and hadn’t heard him come in.
“You need to stay in bed today, according to what your doctors just told me,” Larz said. “And my father sent word to me this morning that he wants to see me privately. Do you have any idea what that’s about?”
“No, Your Highness, I don’t.”
He smirked at me. “I don’t think I believe you, but whatever.
I suppose I’ll find out soon enough.” He stepped around me and strode over to Taran’s bedside, with Janos trailing along behind him.
Janos nodded at me as he passed by me, and I returned the greeting carefully.
His face looked pale and tired, like he hadn’t had much sleep.
I turned and left, on my way to see Prince Mikos and find out what the plan was for speaking to the consort Janos before the meeting with Prince Larz. I knew they wanted me to take Janos into custody before that meeting, so I needed to be ready.
****
I found Prince Mikos at first meal, drinking tea. He was alone and seemed to be deep in thought as I sat down beside him.
“Did you get any rest last night, Your Royal Highness?”
“Not much. My consort was restless because of the storm.”
“It was a bad night.”
“Yes. Have you already eaten?”
“Yes, sir. I’ve been downstairs interviewing Prince Larz’s son, Taran.”
“Did he see the assailant?”
“Unfortunately, no, but he indicated that he thought there was someone there, between him and the prince. He said he pushed Janos aside and back down into his chair so he could step across him and get to Prince Larz, who was sprawled out on the table. That’s when he was stabbed in the back.”
“You do think my brother was the target then?”
“Actually, no, Your Highness. I think the murderer was going after Janos.”
“What? Why do you think that?”
“Your Highness, Prince Larz was rendered unconscious for a few moments by that blow to the head. But I don’t think it was intended to be lethal.
and not even meant to seriously harm him.
The attack on Taran only occurred when Taran pushed past Janos to defend Prince Larz and simply got in the way of the knife. ”
“But you still think it was one of his Royal Guards?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Why would one of them try to kill Janos?”
“I can only speculate at this point, sir.”
“Yes, I understand. But tell me what you think.”
“It could only be because someone paid the assailant and paid them very well.”
The prince sighed as he put down his cup and leaned back in his chair. “There’s hardly a shortage of people who hate the man. On Tygeria, at least.”
“But not here on Moravia. And not on Laltana. I did a background check before we arrived on all of King Stefan’s servants. There are no Tygerians working here in the palace. Your brother is, of course, beyond reproach.”
“Vannos? Gods yes. He has a gentle soul, according to what my omak says. I have to say I agree.”
“As for Janos and the Laltanans, he’s quite popular. His stance during the war endeared him to the population and his refusal to give in and sign the treaty, even though he was tortured, made him a hero and a martyr.”
“Hm. It has to be as we thought, then. My Imperials couldn’t have raced around the table in that amount of time and then come back, and once the family and servants are ruled out, one the of the Royal Guards is the only possibility.
They would have had the advantage of proximity to the prince and his family.
My father is planning on speaking to Larz this morning, if the weather continues to clear, and we’re allowed to take a shuttle up to our ship.
If we can remove my brother and his family as soon as possible, then that should neutralize the threat.
I can then send his men back to Laltana and get them out of the way.
Once we determine the killer, of course. ”
“Yes, Your Highness. I agree that’s for the best.”
“I’ll notify you as soon as I get clearance to board the shuttle, and you can take the Consort Janos into custody.”
“I’ll take Taran at the same time. I’m still only working with a theory of the events, and I haven’t ruled out the fact that he could possibly have been a specific target, along with Prince Larz.”
“Make any preparations you need to be ready. When my father calls Larz in for their meeting, I’ll let you know.”