29. Benjin
twenty-nine
Benjin
Benjin slumped in his chains against the back wall, watching Haldric pound on the door. “It’s no use, Hal. This cell’s built as solidly as anything else in Ilthabard, the wards airtight. Trust me—I’ve tried.”
Pausing in his hammering, Haldric looked up at him with a pained grin. A dark strand of hair tumbled over his bright green eyes, so familiar and yet so strange at the same time. “I suppose I ought to work on my rescue skills, huh?”
Benjin didn’t answer, merely drinking in the sight of Haldric.
Seeing the prince again in the flesh flooded him with so many emotions, he felt like his chest was about to explode.
Perhaps he should have been furious with Haldric after everything that had happened.
Yet, looking at him now, all he felt was a deep, all-encompassing sorrow.
Haldric’s smile faded as the silence stretched between them.
He shuffled his feet on the dank stone. “Look Benjin. I’m…
I’m sorry. I know I owe you an apology. Not only for not trusting you after our memories were altered, but for trying to run away in the first place.
If anything, I’m the one who’s proved they shouldn’t be trusted.
Not with the kingdom…and not with your heart. ”
Righteous anger bubbled in Benjin’s core. For a moment, he considered ripping into Haldric—spewing out a stream of vitriol and accusations. The instinct died almost as quickly as it had arisen.
Staring into Haldric’s broken expression, Benjin sighed and said, “I can understand why you did it.” That earned him a surprised look from Haldric.
“I might not be a noble myself, but I’ve seen how hard you’ve struggled beneath the weight of your responsibilities.
I suppose it’s not easy being a prince.”
Haldric’s lips twisted into a pained grimace. “Or a king.” He reached up, fingers playing with the simple silver band he still wore in his hair. “I guess I’m due for a replacement now.”
It took Benjin a few heartbeats to process what Haldric meant. “Your father…”
“Passed in the night,” Haldric confirmed. He glared at the sealed door of the cell. “Though, now that I’m aware of Dexil’s involvement, I wonder at the timing. It seems an awfully large coincidence that my father’s health should suddenly fail just as our memories returned to us.”
Recalling the fervent look in Dexil’s eyes and his parting words pleading for forgiveness, Benjin wondered himself. Though even now, after all the terrible things the Grand Magus had done, he didn’t want to believe him capable of such a betrayal.
“There’s more.” Benjin squirmed uncomfortably, and not just because of the manacles chaffing his wrists.
“You’re not the only one bearing blame. I knew Dexil sympathized with the rebels, but I didn’t realize how much until we returned from Khordan.
That memory curse he used on you was what he sent me to Luxem to retrieve.
He intended to use it on you to get you out of the way once your father passed.
I…I tried to warn you, but he locked me in a cupboard in his lab.
That was where I was before I broke free and confronted you. ”
Haldric met his eyes. Instead of the accusation Benjin expected to find there, he saw only compassion. “Thank you for trying to warn me. You’ve always looked after me—even when you were protecting me from myself.”
Benjin shook his head, regret tearing him raw. “I should have done more. I should have warned you about the Grand Magus sooner.”
“Perhaps. But when it truly mattered, you stepped up.”
Benjin snorted, glancing pointedly about the cell. “Yeah, for all the good it’s done us. Even after my interference, Dexil got his ‘glorious revolution,’ just a bit ahead of schedule.”
Haldric smiled grimly. “Well, with any luck, that means he’s less prepared than he’d have liked.
If our return to the palace was what prompted his coup, he couldn’t have had more than a week or two’s warning from when the royal guard found us.
” He scowled, resting a hand over the empty scabbard on his belt.
“Not that it matters. He probably left to fetch more men, and without my sword or magic, I won’t stand a chance in a fight. ”
Benjin raised his shackled wrists as best he could. “I don’t suppose your princely training included how to pick a lock?”
“If only. I probably could’ve managed it with runeflame, but without my magic, I have no way to get you out of those chains.
And even if I did, we’d just be two helpless captives instead of one.
” Groaning, Haldric clasped a hand to his forehead.
“I can’t believe I let Dexil convince me to take off my sword without so much as a protest. Yet more evidence of how I’m unfit to be king. ”
“Maybe.” Benjin kept his gaze steady on Haldric as something stirred in his chest. “Maybe not. But the responsibility is yours all the same. And from where I’m sitting, I don’t see anyone better qualified for the job. Do you?”
Haldric hesitated, chewing on his bottom lip.
Benjin thought back to the time they’d shared on the road. “Do you remember what you asked me when we left Revesole, about whether you’d make a good ruler? Well, my answer hasn’t changed.”
Haldric’s expression was torn. “How can you say that? Goddess’ mercy, Benjin, I was so desperate to relinquish my duty that I literally cursed us!”
“And I loved every second of it.” When Haldric still looked unconvinced, Benjin sighed.
“You made a mistake, Hal. We all do. But you cannot allow one moment of weakness to define the rest of your life. Tell me, do you still feel like running? If Dexil came in here right now and offered to curse us again, send us away to some remote mountain village in Korvanthos, would you do it?”
Haldric seemed to seriously consider the question, his brow furrowing. After a long pause, he slowly shook his head. His expression firmed as some of the resolve returned to his emerald eyes.
Benjin’s pulse quickened when Haldric strode across the cell, closing the distance between them while holding his gaze. His heart tried to burst from his chest when his prince—no, his king—gently caressed his cheek.
“No,” Haldric whispered. “I wouldn’t. Never again.”
Then, Haldric leaned in and kissed him.
Benjin closed his eyes, a soft whine forming in the back of his throat at the familiar feel of Haldric’s lips.
Haldric’s fingers stroked down his cheek and gripped his neck, tugging him closer.
The chains rattled between them as Benjin poured every drop of his jumbled emotion, past and present, into their joined lips.
When they parted, he gasped for breath, blinking dazedly as Haldric turned to stare at the cell door.
“I swear I will do everything in my power to make things right,” Haldric said. “Not just for us, but for the rest of Ilthabard as well. First, however, we need to find a way out of here.”
Perhaps it was the shock of the kiss, or perhaps some part of his subconscious had been puzzling over the problem all along. Either way, the beginnings of a rough plan started to take shape in Benjin’s mind.
He fixed Haldric with a smirk. “How would you feel about finally working out some of our pent-up aggression…?”
The instant the door to their cell creaked open, Haldric shoved Benjin against the wall. Benjin might’ve found the motion erotic had Haldric’s face not been contorted in rage, one hand roughly pinning Benjin’s throat while he brought the other back for a punch.
“How dare you?” Haldric snarled. “Take that back, you…you pitiful worm!”
Even as he feigned anger and hurt, Benjin fought the urge to roll his eyes at Haldric’s atrocious acting. Pitiful worm—really? That’s the best insult he can come up with?
Still, the act must have been believable enough to the Grand Magus and his soldiers. Shouts rang out, and before Haldric could pretend to strike, rough hands grabbed his arm, hauling him away from Benjin.
“Restrain him!” Dexil shouted from somewhere behind them. “Don’t let him harm the prisoner!”
Haldric made a clumsy play for one of the rebel’s swords and appeared startled when it actually worked, his shoulder blow sending the man sprawling.
As Haldric raised the stolen weapon, Benjin felt a flash of hope.
Perhaps the rest of their plan would prove unnecessary if the untrained rebels were truly that incompetent.
Haldric struck at the other rebel who’d hauled him off Benjin, easily batting aside his sword to land several wounding blows.
The man collapsed as another pair of guards emerged from the doorway, Haldric spun to meet them, but the first rebel that Haldric had knocked aside kicked at his shin. Haldric staggered, faltering.
And just like that, the fight was over. The two fresh guards disarmed Haldric, hurling him to his knees and pressing the tips of their swords to his neck while the third rose and delivered a swift kick to Haldric’s midsection for good measure.
Muffling a wince, Benjin pretended glee. “Exactly what you deserve!” he said, spitting on Haldric’s hunched back.
“Don’t hurt the king!” Dexil barked to his men. “Not unless he leaves you no other choice. I don’t want to cause him any unnecessary pain.”
The Grand Magus had stayed in the doorway the entire time, Benjin realized with a sinking sensation. They’d hoped Dexil would enter the cell as he had the last time he’d visited Benjin. This added a fresh wrinkle to their plan.
“Are you all right, Benjin?” the Grand Magus called from across the chamber. “I see we arrived in the nick of time.”
“I’m fine.” Benjin glared down at the wheezing Haldric. “No thanks to this Void-cursed coward.”
Dexil’s narrowed gaze flicked between Benjin and Haldric. “What happened? I thought the two of you were in love?”