As we round the last corner, my feet slide through what is likely blood that dripped from my brother himself, and I slam into the wall. Clammy, shaking fingers curl around my wrist as Casimir pulls me forward behind him.
The door has barely closed behind us when I’m hit with the scent of copper. The tang of blood is thick in the air. It’severywhere.
“It’s a wonder you didn’t get more on you,” I rasp. Blood is splattered across his furniture, on the walls, the sheets, and it pools under the disfigured shape of what used to be an assassin but is now just a mangled heap of skin and bone.
Trick tooth, my ass. Remind me never to cross Casimir,I think to whatever being might listen.
Then I see it. I seehim. Aeton. A bare pair of feet is visible from the opposite side of Casimir’s large bed. He doesn’t move or acknowledge that we’ve entered the room. Casimir is already moving toward him, stepping through blood and mixing new footprints with the old.
“We can’t take him to the castle healer. That old bat tells Father everything. He’ll have our heads if he finds out.” Casimir swallows.
I make it to his side to watch the way he gently holds Aeton’s face. Aeton looks up at me, his gaze some mix between the hard glare he normally wears and rampant fear. My teeth sink into my tongue to hold in my gasp. Aeton’s hands are covered in his own blood as he holds a deep wound across his neck closed. Trickling rivers of red drip down to Aeton’s bare chest. A few small lines of blood have even hit the top of his white sleeping shorts, staining the waistband. How he’s still breathing, how he’s even conscious or somehow still with his head on his shoulders, is beyond me.
“This is bad.” I finally exhale.
Then Casimir, my brother, my friend, looks at me, and what I see in the twisting of his features nearly shatters my heart.
He’s right. We have to do something, and the castle healer is out of the question.
“Valentina has some training as a healer.” Casimir says it though the statement sounds more like a question.
Yes, I remember when Father pulled her out of her school after catching sight of her one day. She was his bride not even a month later. But to put her in the middle of this... to ask her to keep more secrets?
“Asking her to help risks her life as much as yours.”
“Do we have another option?”
Aeton lets out a labored breath, sagging further against the bed. His eyelids flutter before he forces them back open again. I push air through my teeth. Damned if we do, damned if we don’t.
“Okay, let’s take him to Valentina’s room.”
“We’ll take the back halls where we are less likely to run into guards.” With a grunt, Casimir squats. The material of his shirt tears easily before he ties it like a bandage around Aeton’s neck and scoops him up to hold him like a lover in his arms. How many times had these two snuck through the back halls to Valentina’s room? How many times had they shared this bed? I try to shut out the questions, too scared to know the answer.
Aeton looks petite against Casimir’s wide build. His shaggy blonde hair clings to his forehead, dampened with sweat, his eyes fall to half hooded, and his head lulls against Casimir’s shoulder. Time is not on our side. I can feel seconds ticking away, life and answers slipping from our grasp.
Then we’re moving again. Leaving behind the mess of Casimir’s room and slipping from shadow to shadow to avoid the searching eyes of the guards. Aeton lets out a small whimper as we come to a stop at the sound of nearing boots. I motion for Casimir to stay put before throwing myself out into the hall.
Three guards all move to hold the weapons at their hips. They pause and relax as they recognize me. None of them allow a flicker of emotion to move over their steely expressions even if I know I’m a gruesome sight before them. A small measure of relief bursts in the hollowed pit of my stomach when I recognize two of the faces as men who’ve done my bidding in the past. Men who show promise of allegiance with me rather than my other brothers or even, dare I say, my father.
I need them to turn back, to leave the hall empty for Casimir and Aeton to pass. But I also need a favor.
“There is a body in my room. I want the three of you to guard my door. Do not allowanyoneinside save for the king himself. Do not disturb the body. Do you understand?”
“My prince—” One dares to start.
“Do you understand?” I repeat again, allowing the authority I so rarely wield to my advantage to seep into my tone.
“Yes, Prince Merrick,” they repeat as one before turning back and disappearing into the dark.
I wait a moment longer before waving Casimir forward. Thankfully, there are no other interruptions before we reach Valentina’s door. I knock softly. Quiet footsteps answer.
“My room has already been—” Valentina says as she opens the door, freezing when she sees our bloodied faces. She pales.
“Aeton is hurt. Can you help him?” I ask, still taking darting glances at the hall around us.
“I—”
“If you can’t or won't, just say the word, and we will find another way.” If she doesn’t want to be put in this position, I won't force it on her. She has to want to help. Casimir tenses at my side.
