Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
Two days passed without hearing anything from King Victor or any of his advisors.
Hugo couldn’t complain too much. They were given three very good meals each day and an extra-thick blanket to help cushion the bed and keep warm at night.
There wasn’t much they could do about boredom.
He and Everand would sit next to each other in their cells and tell stories about their childhoods.
Naturally, Everand’s stories were far more interesting, but Hugo couldn’t miss the fact that Everand asked a lot of questions about his brothers as if he wanted to know them.
He even offered to help Dorian find a suitable husband, but Hugo was quick to pass on his offer.
Dorian didn’t seem to be in any rush, and Hugo didn’t want to pressure his brother into something that wouldn’t make him happy.
It was a weird way to get to know Everand, but their lives had been such a whirlwind recently that part of Hugo secretly enjoyed having the chance to slow things down and learn more about the man who dominated so much of his thoughts.
Shortly after they’d finished their afternoon meal on the third day, Captain Ryze appeared at Hugo’s cell door.
“Get up and dust yourself off. The king wishes to see you.”
Hugo and Everand jumped up at the same time and rushed forward.
“Just Hugo?” Everand demanded.
“He didn’t ask for you,” Ryze answered as he inserted the iron key into Hugo’s door.
Hugo flashed Everand a weak smile even as he tried to brush the dirt and hay from his filthy clothes. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.” The words might have wobbled as they left his dry mouth. A chill seemed to dig into his skin, biting to the bone.
Everand clutched the bars between their cells so tightly, his knuckles turned white. He tried to return Hugo’s smile, but it didn’t stick, and there was no chasing away the fear from his wide blue eyes. “It’ll be fine. Remember your promise to me. Behave. Do as he says.”
“I will. Don’t worry. I’ll return soon, I’m sure.”
Just before Hugo stepped out of the cell, he darted across to Everand and smashed his face against the bars so he could steal a kiss.
“Gods, three days trapped together and you’re still disgusting as ever,” Ryze complained.
Hugo winked at Everand and strolled out of the cell with the captain. “And why do I feel that your husband and wife gave you a very amorous welcome when you returned home from your mission in Frostbourne?”
Ryze’s lips twitched, likely fighting a grin as some memory flashed through his mind. He got control of his facial expression and slammed the door shut behind Hugo. “That’s none of your concern. Do I need to bind your hands, or are you going to be obedient?”
“I promise to behave,” Hugo replied. He walked through the dungeon, the captain at his side. There were dungeon guards at regular intervals who watched him as he passed.
As they climbed out of the lower levels, Hugo inquired, “Have you heard anything about the men you had to leave behind in Branem?”
“Hoping they’ve all been executed and their heads set on pikes along the castle wall?”
“What? No!” The captain’s words made Hugo stumble on a step.
As he was about to tumble back, Captain Ryze’s powerful hand caught his elbow and set him on his feet.
“Why would I think that? I don’t want to see anybody hurt.
I thought that as their captain, you must be worried about them.
It’s been almost three days since the ball.
There has to have been some news, right? ”
Ryze stopped in the middle of the hall, his dark-brown eyes narrowed on Hugo, making the jagged scar on his left cheek dig into his flesh.
Standing so close in the bright afternoon light, Hugo could see that Ryze wasn’t as old as he’d thought.
He couldn’t have been more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight, but there was a light sprinkling of gray at his temples and the weight of worry resting in his eyes.
In contrast, there were also hints of laugh lines around his mouth that were likely the result of two loving spouses.
“But we’re enemies.”
Hugo wrinkled his nose. “Only because two old kings got into a spat over the same woman. I don’t have a grudge against you, and I can’t imagine that you have any real hatred for me. I’m not that annoying.”
That ghost of a smile returned, and Hugo felt his hope buoy.
“Besides locking us up in a cell, you haven’t tortured the prince and me. The food has been quite nice and filling. The extra blanket is much appreciated, too. I know things could be much worse.”
Ryze grunted and resumed walking. He said nothing for a couple of minutes.
Just as Hugo had convinced himself that Ryze thought he was a complete idiot, the grizzled captain spoke.
“An emissary from Branem provided a full list of names of all the people being held. King Hubert also released one person as a show of good faith. He reported that all my men are being treated well. A physician has healed the wounds they sustained in the fighting.”
“That’s a relief.”
They fell into silence as they continued down the hallway.
The palace was busier and more brightly lit now, allowing Hugo to see more of the details of the beautiful castle.
Many people wore dark-navy, severe-cut uniforms similar to what he’d seen the king wearing, leading Hugo to believe this must be closer to the military dress uniform, which was interesting considering King Hubert opted for fashionable suits.
Servants wore a pale-gray uniform. He spotted a few other people who wore what looked like everyday fashion, and yet it was so different from what he saw around Frostbourne.
“Would it be possible to wash up before seeing the king?” Hugo inquired.
“No.”
“Please. It’s been days since I last washed. This isn’t appropriate.”
“Trust me, I know. I can smell you.” Hugo glared at Ryze, and the bastard grinned, revealing the most adorable dimple in his right cheek. “King Victor demanded to see you right away.”
Embarrassment burned in him, but there was nothing he could do about it.
The king had to know what condition he would be in.
Between the kidnapping and being held in a cell, there was no way he could come out smelling anything other than overripe.
If King Victor had a problem with it, he’d have to let him bathe.
At the end of a long hallway, they slipped into a large room similar to the study he’d first seen the king in. Except this one was twice the size, with a long table off to the side, and where there had been books in the other room, there were now swords and a giant map of the world.
The king sat behind a desk with stacks of papers.
A short, slender woman in a plain dress stood off to his left, making notes as the king spoke, while another older woman with her gray hair tied in a soft bun stood on his right, nodding.
At a guess, one was an assistant, and the other was an advisor.
A line of men and women stood in front of the king, each holding papers.
Meanwhile, Ryze kept Hugo at the rear of the room.
Hugo listened as the ministers from the various departments brought the king spring planting estimates, road problems, security problems, and even demands for new ships.
The king listened, nodding here and there, but he never stopped writing.
His eyes rarely lifted from his desk. King Victor seemed to need only a moment of thought before he shot out a response and sent the person on their way with his decree.
Hugo couldn’t help but marvel at his decisiveness and the quickness with which he worked.
It took him forever to decide which shirt to wear in the morning.
Hugo’s mind wandered as they waited. His gaze drifted over the room, taking in the subtly rich appointments from the thick curtains that covered the floor-to-ceiling windows to the beautiful rugs that stretched across the wood floors.
While swords and weapons filled many of the nooks and crannies, screaming of power and military strength, there were hints of something softer.
Here and there, a dark orchid design was woven into the various decorations, offering quiet grace and elegance to an otherwise manly room.
After about twenty minutes, the king glanced up, and their eyes locked. A gasp was locked in Hugo’s throat as he met those piercing blue eyes. It took him too long to remember to lower his eyes.
“Ryze,” King Victor barked.
The captain flinched. “Don’t move,” he instructed prior to walking across the room. He circled the desk and bent to whisper in the king’s ear. Hugo dared to lift his eyes to find Victor was still watching him. When Ryze finished speaking, the king nodded once.
“Everyone leave,” the king commanded.
No one said a word. Not even the balding man, who’d been in the middle of talking about hiring on new workers to help expand the drainage system in Onisa.
Hugo gulped and began to walk out with all the others, not sure where he should go since he was technically a prisoner.
It wasn’t as if they wanted him wandering free through the palace.
Maybe he should wait outside the door for Captain Ryze to escort him to his cell.
“Not you.”
Hugo lifted his eyes to find King Victor pointing at him. Oh, this didn’t feel good at all. He stopped and edged back to the exact spot where Ryze had left him.
“You can leave, Ryze,” King Victor said a bit more lazily as he returned his attention to the papers in front of him on his desk.
Ryze retreated a step and bowed. “With respect, Your Majesty, I must protest. He’s a prisoner. Someone needs to be here to protect you. It’s my sworn duty.”
“I promised to behave.” The words jumped from Hugo’s tongue.