CHAPTER 10
Axel
A
xel drifted slowly awake. The muffled song of a nearby bird floated through the drapes, coaxing his brain to latch onto it and drag itself to the surface. Underneath him, the mattress dipped a little as Katy rearranged herself at his side.
He’d missed this while he was in the infirmary.
He brought his left hand up to play with one of her curls while the guilt flooded him.
For the last two weeks, he’d been able to wake up next to his wife, but Otto had been denied the same.
Katy’s cousin was still under the physician’s watchful eye, and he would remain so for at least another week.
Britta visited him regularly, but Axel knew from experience that it wasn’t the same.
Otto had also been deprived of his daughter for the three weeks since the attack. Britta had brought Greta once or twice, but she was small and wiggly and had hurt her father when climbing on him. After that, she had been banned from his bedside.
“Not fault,” Katy mumbled. Her hand patted his chest once. “Not.”
“What?”
“Shkwueezhing.” Her fingers scraped over his shirt as she formed her hand into a pointer and tapped his chest without lifting her hand. “Blaming again. Cut t’out.”
He loosened his right hand; he hadn’t realized he’d tightened it on her shoulder. “Sorry.”
“Not fault.”
While he didn’t agree, he patted her shoulder and stared up at the ceiling, trying to force the guilt from his mind by reviewing the coming day. He’d been reading a lot lately, most of it not work-related. The next book in his pile was…
He draped his left arm across his forehead and groaned. His arm wasn’t in a sling; he was returning to his normal duties today. The stacks of correspondence on his desk that he’d been ignoring loomed in his mind.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, there was a council meeting today. Because facing off with Lord Ulrich was just what he needed.
“S’matter?”
“Not a thing. I am simply being a juvenile in my dread of rising and facing the day.” Tapping her gently on the shoulder, he continued, “However, it must be done. If you don’t mind, my love?”
Katy mumbled incoherently before lifting her head enough to let him free his arm. She rolled away from him, eyes still closed, and let her right arm flop across her stomach.
Axel frowned a little. Katy struggled more than he did with mornings, but lately, she seemed to be sleeping heavier than normal. “Katy.” He ran his fingers through the curls that had escaped her braid during the night. “My love, it’s time to get up.”
Her eyelids lifted slowly. She stared at him for a few moments, her brown eyes foggy with sleep. “Do I have to?”
“Technically, no. But it is the time you usually rise and begin preparing for the day.” Leaning down, he kissed the end of her nose. “As I must arm myself now, I shall leave you to decide.”
As he slid toward the side of the bed, Katy pushed herself up onto her elbows, the worry crease in her forehead making an appearance. “You’re leaving the castle?”
“Hmm?” He paused in the act of rounding the bed. “Ah, no, I am merely arming myself with wit and fine clothing, with which I hope to vanquish the arguments of my foes.”
“With fine clothing?” she asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
A ready grin pulled at his mouth as he threw open the doors of his wardrobe. “It works better than gardeners’ clothing when facing off against stuffy noblemen.”
Katy grunted in response as she shoved herself upright. He heard the sheets rustle, followed by a soft yawn and a slight creak of the mattress springs. Then she moaned, and the mattress squeaked in protest.
“Katy?” He spun around to see her sprawled on her back, her right leg hanging off the bed and her left arm draped across her face. “Are you all right?”
She set her right hand on her stomach as he rushed to her side. “I think I’ll skip breakfast this morning.”
“What’s wrong?” Kneeling by her side, he carefully lifted her arm off her face. She kept her eyes squeezed shut, along with her mouth.
“Just feeling a bit nauseous,” she replied in a strained voice. “I’m sure it will pass.”
“Should I call for the physician?” He tried to restrain his anxiety, but Katy was rarely ill. Even when she wasn’t feeling hungry, she sat at the table and simply declined food.
“No!” The volume and ferocity with which she spoke sent him back on his heels, startled. She scanned his wide eyes before settling her arm back in place and saying more quietly, “No. I don’t want or need the physician.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Axel wasn’t, but he acquiesced to her knowledge of her own body. After helping her shuffle fully onto the bed, he finished dressing, kissed her lightly on the forehead, and set off slowly down the hall.
His parents expressed mild concern at her absence, but neither appeared worried.
He shrugged it off and trudged to his study, where he buried his hands in his hair and gazed woefully at the piles of letters.
Then Bertram knocked lightly on the door and casually mentioned the glowing report that Katy would expect of his accomplishments.
Meddlesome guard.
He was buried in a complaint about tariffs when a shuffling sound drew his attention. Before he could look up, an unwelcome voice oozed into his ear. “Your Highness, so good to see you on your feet.”
Wasn’t Bertram supposed to be screening his visitors?
Axel restrained a glower at Lord Ulrich’s insincere greeting. The odious man wore a toothy grin, but one side curled up too much, making it closer to a sneer. He looked much too pleased for Axel’s liking.
“Thank you, Lord Ulrich. However, as I have been on my feet for three weeks, the sentiment seems a bit misplaced,” he coolly replied.
“Ah, but you’ve been hidden away.” The advisor rubbed his hands together. “We could only guess at your true condition. You could have been at death’s door for all we knew.”
Axel had been at every meal involving members of the nobility. Nobody thought that.
“Can I help you with something?” Folding his hands over the letter he had been reading, Axel fixed a polite, friendly mask on his face and met his visitor’s eyes. He raised his eyebrows a little to keep his expression open instead of letting his eyes narrow like they wanted to.
Lord Ulrich took a few steps farther into the study.
Even his footsteps were oily, the shuffling of his soles on the stone floor reminding Axel of the sound when he rubbed down his sword.
“It is truly unfortunate that you and your wife’s cousin felt the effects of our unsettled populace.
People are always restless when they are uncertain regarding their future, after all. ”
“Unsettled populace?” Axel echoed. He smiled blandly. “I was not aware that such an issue exists in our kingdom, let alone our city.”
“But of course.” Lord Ulrich lightly ran a finger along one of the chairs in front of Axel’s desk. “After all, there is so much concern regarding the succession. Your citizens fear the power struggle that may result if something were to happen to you or your father.”
A muscle in Axel’s jaw began to twitch from his efforts to maintain his facade. “Then it makes no sense they would harm me. And as previously discussed, Lord Ulrich, my father and I are both strong and healthy. There is no reason to—”
“Did strength and health prevent the attack that could have cost you your life? That almost did cost the life of your wife’s precious cousin?”
Instead of the usual guilt stabbing his gut, an icy chill spread down Axel’s back, like the time Katy had stuffed snow down his shirt. The timing suddenly felt a little too convenient.
Keeping his thoughts off his face, he leaned back in his chair and set a careless elbow on one armrest. “Six men against two, and the two arose victorious? I would argue that, while strength and health might have little impact on prevention, it certainly proved its benefit in regard to a cure.”
The corners of his antagonist’s lips pulled down. “The council will not see it that way.”
“The council is made up of many members, most of whom carry sound heads on their shoulders.” Axel slowly stroked his jaw. “I have no doubt they will see through your flimsy efforts to add unnecessary chaos to the smooth running of our kingdom.”
It was a daring statement, given the clout the man currently wielded. Perhaps foolish, given the disturbing theory forming in the back of Axel’s mind. But he was running out of patience with Lord Ulrich’s attempts to turn Katy’s struggle into a kingdom-wide issue.
“We shall see,” Lord Ulrich ground out, his lip curling. “Rest in your overconfidence for a few more hours, my prince. That’s all the time you have left.”
Spinning on his heel, he stormed out of the room. Axel comforted himself with the knowledge that the lord must be referring to the amount of time remaining until he presented his next round of arguments to the council, rather than that of Axel’s life.
Axel made himself wait a full ten minutes, then calmly pushed his chair back, winked at Bertram as he passed, and strode confidently down the hall.
“Good morning, Otto. It’s good to see you on your feet.”
The guard rolled his eyes as he gingerly lowered himself onto a nearby bed. “I was on my feet when you visited yesterday.”
Folding his arms, Axel sauntered over to join him. “I know. However, it seemed appropriate to give you the same greeting that Lord Ulrich gave me a short while ago.”
“Lord Ulrich? What’s he up to now?”
“What isn’t he up to?” Axel replied darkly. He settled back against the wall and examined his friend. “When will you be able to leave?”
“If the physician will stop being a worried mother hen, tomorrow. My stitches are out, but he’s concerned that the internal damage isn’t fully healed.” Otto rolled his shoulders. “It’s been long enough that my muscles are starting to feel weak. I need to train.”
The prince raised an eyebrow. “You’ll be cleared to train tomorrow?”
“No,” Otto admitted with a sigh. “But I am ready to be home.”