“And the things we talked about on the way down here? Your relationship with the former Western Prince?”
“True.”
“And the Eastern Prince and his new army?”
He was quiet for a moment. “My father sent me to the Eastern Army when I was seventeen. I served for three years.” That explained his fighting skills. “My mother was my father’s second Empress Eternal; she died when I was a child. The Eastern Prince’s mother is the current Empress Eternal—my father’s third and current wife. The Empress Eternal doesn’t like the rest of us. She wants her son on the throne.”
“And now he has an army,” I said.
He nodded. “Carethian princes are in precarious positions, because our father likes it that way. If we’re fighting with each other, we won’t be fighting him. I was in danger before you knew I was a prince; I’m still in danger. Nothing has changed, Fox.”
There was grim acceptance in his voice that threatened to burn away my anger. I didn’t want that. I needed the shield.
“Even if I understand why you lied, that doesn’t change the fact of who you are. I danced with Nik. The guard. A commoner, like me. A person in service. You’re a royal. A Lys’Careth.” Ipaused before delivering the fatal strike. “Our enemy. You could kill me right now and suffer no consequences.”
“Do you really think I’d do that?” His voice was brittle as glass. “Do you really think I’m the villain?” Fate wouldn’t care what I believed or wanted. Not as long as he wore a prince’s crown and stood in line to rule the country.
“You have a stronghold to protect. One life can’t matter so much. Especially not if you want to stay alive.” Because his strength, my bravery, didn’t matter. There was no future for a servant and a prince, much less a prince and a thief. That had my fury fading to sadness and frustration, and the fact that I understood why he’d lied didn’t lessen the sting.
“I’m allowed to have friends.”
“And I can’t be one of them. You can’t dabble with servants.”
His eyes went icily cold. “That’s insulting to both of us.”
“Blame fate.” I knew I sounded childish, but I was feeling childish. Confused and out of control, which I really hated. “You knew someone was going to attack you in the market, didn’t you? That’s why you posed as a guard when you came into the stronghold.”
“We’d received a message that an attack was possible. We didn’t know the details.”
“Was anyone in the carriages?”
“No. They were empty.”
So I’d stepped into an assassination attempt to save empty damned carriages. “And you traveled to Vhrania today without an army, even though you’re a target.”
“Nik the guard isn’t a target.”
I gave him the same look Wren gave me when I said something ridiculous. And then I pointed at one of the arrow holes.
“Shouldn’thave been a target,” he said.
“Maybe there’s a traitor in your palace.”
He nodded. “It’s possible. Some staff came with me. Others are from the stronghold. I’ve met them all. None of them seemed unhappy about working for Lys’Careths.” Before I could argue, he held up a hand. “And yes, they might have been afraid to say otherwise.” To his credit, he looked bothered by that.
“No lies,” I said. “That’s what I told you—that’s what I asked you for. You had a chance to tell me the truth, and you didn’t.”
“I know. I’m sorry, Fox.” He shifted on the seat and winced.
“What is it?”
Then I saw the drop of blood hit the ground. I looked up and found the dark stain across his coat sleeve. “You’re injured?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Itis bleeding all over the damned carriage.” And that was just the absolute worst.
“And you don’t like blood. I can manage until we reach the stronghold.”
