59. Nicholas
59
Nicholas
M arco had been my only company during dinner since Nora had yet to return.
Sebastian informed me she may be late, and that he’d left her with one of his trusted men. I’d be lying if I said waiting for her didn’t put me on edge.
Marco noticed, and graciously offered to hand my ass to me in the ring. I had to give credit to his trainer in Duski; he had some moves that caught me off guard a few times. I banked them in my mind to use on Nora, and Odion, just to see the looks on their faces. Hours went by, and we were both drenched in sweat by the end.
“Well, now that I’m thoroughly disgusting, I’m going to go soak in that gods-blessed tub in my suite.” Marco clapped my shoulder on his way out.
“Enjoy,” I said, convincing myself I should do the same. Especially if Nora was up to keeping her word once she came back.
I racked my weapon, stretching my neck and working the stiff muscles knotting my shoulders.
Before I made it more than a few hallways away from the sparring ring, Sebastian jogged down the hall toward me. “Sire, there’s been another murder.”
Shit. “Who?”
“Not identified yet. The report just came in. It happened in the market. The guards on patrol have kept it quiet and are keeping citizens away from the area. I was about to go down and thought you would want to join? See the preliminary evidence for yourself.”
I gave a curt nod. “Let’s go.” I didn’t have time to change. A bonus to immediate intervention was that I’d be able to track which guards were nearest when it occurred.
All the suspects regarding the missing weaponry were currently detained downstairs, so there was a chance this murder wasn’t related, though something in my gut told me that wasn’t likely.
Within thirty minutes we arrived, the dark market familiar territory to me. Barely a soul stirred in the eerily quiet square. Even the wind held its breath. We strode up to the body lying dead center in the market.
“Has this been moved?” I asked on our approach.
“My men were instructed to leave it,” he said.
The man lay face up, a gash across his temple, and a cut above his nose. The moonlight accentuated his swollen features, but I recognized him. “I know this man. He owns a local tavern.”
Caine had met an unfortunate end before leaving my kingdom, it seemed. Not surprising, given his shady enterprises.
The sound of Commander Druller steadily unsheathing his sword had the metal ringing into the night with a hum. I scoped the length of Caine’s body, checking for any other signs of injuries that might indicate who’d done this. A moment later, something hard clattered against my skull, sending me stumbling to the ground. The world took a moment to steady again, a raging pain radiating from the back of my head.
“You just had to start sticking your nose where it didn’t need to be, hm?” Sebastian circled, coming to a stop before me.
I tried getting to my feet, but imbalance still had its grip on me, and I landed on my hip. “What are you…” Events replayed themselves in an instant.
Marco had flipped him a Duskian coin. He commanded the men in charge of patrolling the docks. He’d been the one feeding me information about the reports. I’d suspected lower level guards, but not Seb. Not when we’d worked so closely together since my induction as crowned prince. I considered him a friend, maybe more. As close to family as I had left in the castle.
All those meetings we discussed tactics, all the information he had access to. He’d stolen it, used it to his advantage to steal magic wielders and weapons and transport them elsewhere. “Why?” I rasped, trying to counteract the pressure battering my brain.
A chuckle of malice echoed around the empty stalls. “Why?! You’ve seen the state of this kingdom. Yet still, for years, you’ve poured funds into supporting those with magic who barely even use it while the rest of them starve . They don’t even fucking contribute!” His bellows resounded in waves, the taste of hate tainting the air. I’d never heard him refer to magic wielders as other. “Once they’re gone, no longer limiting the value of our wasted iron, there will be enough resources left that the children on these streets aren’t buried before their time.”
Propping myself up on my elbow, I tried corralling my thoughts. “Were you responsible for siphoning funds meant for South Harbor?”
He released a spiteful chuckle. “There’s so much you don’t know, prince.”
He may not have answered directly, but the admittance was clear. “ You were the one stealing from these people. You forced them to starve on the streets,” I seethed.
“I’LL BE THE ONE TO SAVE THIS KINGDOM! You never bothered to care about these people’s plight, leaving them to rot with your head turned. It takes resources to fund an enterprise. To hire crew, pay hush money. The ends justify the means, something your father understood. If you weren’t going to make a difference, then I would.
“It takes a visionary, Nick. Unfortunately, you’re too soft for it. Too passive. There are others in this world who see the grand future we deserve.”
I went to rise, but he shot out his sword in warning, a menacing twinkle in his eye.
How deep had he rooted himself in the workings of my kingdom while I was completely unaware? Who pulled his strings? “Did you also poison the food?” If the man in front of me was responsible for hurting Nora…
He belted out a laugh. “No. Genius, though. Perhaps after the kingdom has their mourning period for you, I’ll put them in my employ. Clearly a capable group, one who can see the stain these magic folk leave.”
Mourning period. There was a reason his guards around the perimeter were ensuring our privacy here. One of them scurried toward us, calling for Commander Druller’s attention.
“Sir, sir.”
Juri.
He handed him a crystal dangling from a string. “Reports of a band of magic wielders entering the city.”
“Let me deal with this, then get ready to move on them,” Sebastian pointed at me with the hand holding the necklace, referring to me as the something to be dealt with. He had no intentions of me leaving this square alive.
The crystal glowed.
Both men stared at it, then brought their stunned gazes to me.
“Oh, now this is interesting,” the commander said, bringing the crystal closer, attention fixed on the increasing luminosity. He straightened, stepping back and sighing loudly. “I always thought you were a good man, Nick. You’re just not the leader your father was. That’s what we need, what these people deserve.”
“My father stood for those with magic. He would never condone this,” I bit out, letting my bitter disappointment coat every word.
“And why do you think that was? Hm? Your mother held it in her line. He was bound. Deep down, I suspected he knew. Knew the mistakes of granting that sort of leniency. He’d mention to me in passing that he waited for the day you’d display anything. At the first whiff of magical power, you were to be shipped off to Duski.
“I thought if you possessed any abilities, you’d slip up one day, but I never saw it. Tell me, how long have you known? Standing by your side, spewing my tolerance for magic wielders—I was certain you’d confide in me. Never did.” He shrugged, forcing his bottom lip into a pout. “Perhaps you inherited a little of your father’s cunning after all.”
A barrage of footsteps came from either side, a couple guardsmen grabbing me and hoisting me to my feet. I tried shirking out of their grip, but they held firm.
Bide my time. Wait for the perfect opportunity. Lull them into a false sense of security.
Damn it all, I wished I hadn’t spent hours sparring with Marco. I could feel it in my muscles, the lack of usual stored strength. I still hadn’t fully recovered after Nora’s attack.
“Load him on the ship. They’ll want as many as we can get. And put a bag over his head. It’ll act as your crown during transport,” Commander Druller sneered in my direction before tilting his chin up in silent command.
His men complied, shoving me forward without question toward the docks. To a cloaked ship that I knew waited. If they got me on board and locked me in that iron cell, there’d be no escape until Radhak’s men intervened, and Commander Druller would be left in his position at Highcrest, with access to Nora.
I had to avoid being loaded on that ship.