Lavinia propelled her way through the crowd, looked at Andre’s body, and fainted for the second time, falling right into someone’s waiting arms.
You made your own grave. You should have known better than to try and kill poor me.
I made the most dignified face I could muster. “Poor girl! She’s beside herself!”
It was so effective that even the duke sighed. And only then it dawned on him what had just happened. The prince was dead! Right before my eyes, the man grew pale, trying to calculate the possible consequences.
Good thing if it had been the enemies’ doing. What if it hadn’t been? What if it had been an inside job? Someone could have been jealous of Lavinia, for instance. What if it meant war? Did Rataver need it?
I was reading those thoughts on his face as clearly as if the duke was shouting them at the top of his lungs. When he turned toward me, I helped him.
“Your Grace, I must keep vigil at my cousin’s side, but you will conduct an investigation, won’t you?”
In a minute he would have rushed to embrace me, I swear. “Of course, Your Highness! I swear on my honor!”
If you swore on something that you actually had, I might believe you. But a man whose wife had borne a vampire’s child, a man who, most likely, had forced her to do that himself? Sir, the honor of your family has long since gone running, like a deer in the woods.
Why deer? Well, maybe a moose. Wearing the horns of a cuckold.
***
I spent around four hours at Andre’s side, Tommy was nearby, also pretending to be appropriately distressed. But...
“Alex, but that was her doing.”
“So what?”
“Won’t we get revenge?”
My ass. Avenge Lavinia’s help? I was in her debt. Maybe I won’t even kill her right away.
“Tommy, could we survive the war with Tevarr right now?”
“I don’t know.”
“And we’re on hostile territory, too. Do you think they’ll let us go?”
“We won’t ask.”
“Tom, the whole of Rataver will be hunting us. Even if we escaped, where would be go?”
“Home...”
“To find Rudolph, who’s lost his son today. Do you really think he’ll welcome us with open arms and cuddle?”
“Whatever,” my friend snapped as everything started to sink in. I did love Tom, but politics definitely wasn’t his field. He was a warrior, a true friend, my rock, my right hand, but when it came to disentangling complex matters, that was Rene’s forte.
Unfortunately, Morinar had stayed at home, as commanded by His Majesty. Rudolph had never supported our friendship, as if he knew it was to be feared.
“But we can run to Torrin.”
“And put at risk those who live there? Martha, Rene, your parents? Tom, are you serious? Rudolf will blame us for everything if we’re the only survivors, and start chasing us instead of the real culprits. They will think of a hundred excuses, argue away, set us up, and there we go.”
“Then what should we do?”
“Stay here and gather dirt on them.”
“Alex...that’s so cynical of you.”
“I’ve never pretended otherwise.”
“Don’t you feel any pity for Andre?”
I measured the coffin with my cousin’s body. We had never become family, or even close. We were nothing to each other, really. Not even enemies. Rene meant so much more to me than Andre. Did I empathize with him? No more than any other guy, which is what I told Tom.
“But he isn’t guilty for what was done to Michelle...”
“Nobody is. But nobody did anything to help her, did they?”
Tom nodded.
“And that means that I don’t have to dole out the measure of punishment. Andre’s not guilty. What about you? If something happened to Rick, you’d have a hard time. What are you guilty of?”
Tom lowered his head.
“Alex, I get it. But that’s just... Abigail—she’s definitely to blame, carry out your revenge against her! Rudolph, too, even if he’s simply stupid. The queen’s relatives—no doubt! But that brat?”
“He’s the same as Abigail, he’s just wearing pants. Remember, during the jousting, he wasn’t going to spare me or even display honor. He’s used to being the best, the first, everyone kissing his ass. I wasn’t getting back at him personally, Tom. I simply pushed him into the wheel of revenge, and the grindstone moved, breaking his destiny and destroying it. I didn’t hate him, and I don’t consider myself guilty of his death. He just ate something that had been cooked for me. It happens.”
“You slipped him a note. You set him up.”
“Yes. So?”
“You know what I mean.”
I sighed. Oh my. If Tommy continues to moralize like that, I will have to make him the head of the Church, let him preach on.
“I still don’t feel any remorse. Whatever, Tommy, it was fate. Is he any better or worse than any other guy? I could have slipped the note to anybody else. I chose him, true. Not without my own reasons.”
“Which are..”
“Tom, I’m not the first in the line of succession. Andre was heir apparent, followed by his children, if he had any. Otherwise, Ruthina and her children would inherit. Thankfully, she had none, and neither did he. As for children...I don’t know. I probably wouldn’t have the heart to kill them, but Andre? Tell me, Tommy, would he cede the throne to me?”
“N-no...”
“I would have to fight for something that’s rightfully mine. Do you want a civil war in Radenor?”
“No. But isn’t the throne usually handed down from father to son?”
“It is, but not quite. We did study the law together, didn’t we? My father could have left the throne to my mother, and he would have done it, just because Rudolf, with his poor judgment and a crowd of sycophants, would have ruined the country, sooner or later. Yet Abigail didn’t let him do what was best for Radenor. Was that right?”
“N-no...”
“I don’t think so, either. So, what I’m doing is restoring the balance and getting back what’s mine. It is my throne, my country, my responsibility. If I have to, I’ll make mincemeat of a hundred wretches like Andre, if it means that Radenor will be safe and sound, no wars, no hunger, no strife...”
“You have good goals, but poor methods. Aren’t you afraid of smearing your cause?”
I considered it for a bit, then shook my head, resolute.
“No. I believe that I will make it. And I’m prepared to give everything I have to help my country—and Andre and Rudolf are ready to take all they can. Those are different things, aren’t they?”
“Very.”
“Then maybe we can finish with the soul-saving stuff? Keep in mind that I don’t really aspire to get to heaven, and I have an in with the hell-dwellers...”
“No surprises here.”
I chuckled, and we continued our vigil. I even rubbed my eyes and tousled my hair, making the duke really buy my anguish. Or did he just want to believe?
“Your Highness! The villain has confessed to everything!”
“Your Grace? So who wanted to kill my poor cousin?”
“The vile Riolonians!”
Wow! That’s some imagination!
“He’s confessed to everything. Riolon’s ambassador paid him to kill your cousin and ruin the betrothal which would have brought peace to our two great nations!”
I even teared up. Come on, Duke! What a performance! The heir apparent had been killed in his own house, but it was the neighbors’ fault—and the enemies!
That took some real skill. But I didn’t mock him. I clutched my chest.
“Riolonian spies? How awful!”
“A real nightmare! Your Highness, let me escort you to your chambers!”
“No-no, how could you think of that? For the next three nights, I have to keep vigil over my cousins’ body...”
“Then maybe you would deign to have a bite to eat?�
��
“Yes, Your Grace, if it’s not too much trouble. And you can address me by my first name. Well, when we are not in public...”
The duke took the bait hook, line, and sinker.
“Your... Alex, it is such an honor!”
I sighed.
“Oh, Andre, how will I ever tell this to your father?”
That caught the target’s attention, all right.
“Yo— Alex, in this case, I do think you could do worse than listen to my counsel.”
“Your Grace? What is your advice?”
“Of course, this is all really horrible, but if we present your uncle the head of the guilty party...”
“Yes. We will!”
“I’ll write His Majesty today, and clear the issue with Riolon’s ambassador, of course.”
I pretended to be confused, and they explained everything to me.
“His Majesty Mikael of Tevarr will definitely help us present Rudolph, his counterpart, the head of the culprit...”
I nodded thoughtfully.
Of course he’ll help us and present it! Only my homeland will be the one to suffer from it. We’ll finally go to war with Riolon, and Tevarr will pick up the pieces left from both kingdoms. I would have to think this through.
Meanwhile, I had to feign suffering. I wiped a tear from my cheek and sighed.
“My hopes rest with you, Duke.”
“I’ll move heaven and earth, Alex!”
So much drama in our rhetoric...
Whatever. That will do. All the continent considered my uncle an idiot who had gotten one too many smacks on the head during tournaments. Let them think of me that way, too. Enemies should underestimate you. It makes them easier to kill.
***
The duke finally left, and Tommy brought me a tray of food that we shared. Great, no poison, no sedative!
“What will we do?”
I took a deep breath. “Pray, Tommy. We will pray.”
I knew prayers by heart. Know your enemy and kill him with your own weapon, and I did. I knew them to the last word, to the last comma—and could even visit the church!
And so I prayed until almost midnight. Then I ordered Tommy to bring me a warm cloak. Well, more precisely, I ordered a servant, who then summoned Tommy. He came sleepily, also in a warm cloak—it was pretty chilly there.
I dismissed the servant, and in five minutes, Tommy came out, just the way he had entered, cloaked, dark-haired, in a hat. Dark hair? A wig! What can be more simple? And another man in the prince’s cloak continued praying before the altar.
I hoped I had managed to cheat the onlookers. The duke probably didn’t expect any serious dirty tricks from me, anyway. He was too relaxed, having bought into my idiocy... Which was exactly how I wanted it.
I also needed to get into the dungeon. Somewhere inside, a man who had cleared the way to the throne for me was dying. I had to give him a big thanks from the bottom of my half-demonic soul.
***
Turned out, he wasn’t just dying. He was on a rack, and nobody was even keen on torturing him. He had burns, injuries—the whole package, really—but no torturer by his side. Made sense. Why would there be one?
Without stopping to think, I removed the assassin from the rack and threw him on my back. He groaned, clearly in pain, and seemed to regain consciousness, only to lose it once more, as I pressed a point on his neck.
Sleep for now. If you start twitching at the wrong moment, you’ll ruin my plan.
How hard can it be to carry a man out of prison? Well, for a half-demon, not really that hard. Especially since I was unscrupulously killing those in my path left and right. Why not, really? Torturers were the worst sort. Why should I take mercy on them? Even the guy on my shoulder inspired more respect. After all, he hadn’t mistreated helpless victims. They wouldn’t sick just anyone on a prince, it would have to be a master assassin.
I unloaded him in the place where nobody would ever look for him—in Andre’s chambers, hurriedly set his dislocated joints, and poured a good helping of water from a flower vase onto him. He coughed in a spasm, but finally came to his senses.
“Ahhhh...Die, you bastards!”
“They already have,” I remarked. His eyes focused upon me, popping out of his sockets.
“Your Highness?”
He was truly shocked. I examined my would-be murderer. Not bad, really. He was tall, black-haired, dark-eyed, and obviously hailed from Mirall. A dangerous predator, women were usually all over those such as him, while men were green with envy.
“Did Lavinia pay a lot for me?”
For a few minutes, he looked around, scanning everything, including me, the surroundings, an open window—his way to freedom—and then relaxed.
“I take it we aren’t being chased, Your Highness?”
“No.
“Where are we?”
“In the chambers of Prince Andre, your innocent victim.”
“So that’s how it is... Yes, they wouldn’t look for me here.”
“They were probably planning on killing you by morning, in an escape attempt. Have you already named the Riolonians as your employers?”
“Anyone would have.”
“That’s right. Being tortured with a hot iron isn’t the most pleasant of sensations, I can agree.”
“Especially for only a hundred gold.”
Honestly, I was insulted.
“So little? For a prince!”
“A bastard prince.”
If he had expected me to be angry...no dice.
“So what? Maybe I’m not a bastard, but a new breed! You really could have asked for more.”
“I was also promised three nights of passionate love-making.”
I couldn’t help but crack up. Good job, Lavinia! For three nights, she would have sucked that guy dry. No need to pay, no witnesses left!
“What a smart vampiress.”
“Who?”
“She’s half-vampire! She tried to seduce me, but I wasn’t going to cave in, like all mages.”
I wasn’t even lying, almost. Only necromancers could resist it; mages were bound to succumb, if they didn’t realize in time whom they were involved with.
“Mages?”
I lit a small flame on the tip of my finger and grinned, looking at the assassin’s long face.
“Idiot! You should have done your homework! My mother was a powerful fire mage, and I inherited her gift.”
“So that’s how it is...”
I actually liked that assassin. He was a calm professional, as cool as a cucumber. He knew very well that he couldn’t take me on at that moment, and that his employers had set him up, so going with the flow was his only option to survive.
“Are there any rumors going on about Lavinia here?”
“None.”
“That’s right. If anybody suspected, she’d—”
“Get burned by the church.”
“Well, it’s not too late for that.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
I wasn’t going to reveal my hand. Instead, I asked smoothly, “Where are you going to go if you leave this place?”
That had him confused.
“I probably wouldn’t be able to go where I intended to. But...there’s a place I could lie low.”
“Will you make it there in your state and with a hot pursuit?”
“No.”
“Well, what cannot be cured must be endured,” I said. “Stay in my chambers for a couple of days, then, and be gone.”
Slowly, but steadily, the man’s eyes took the shape of perfect circles.
“B-but...”
“What’s so surprising? Consider it my payment for your services. You did remove my rival for the throne.”
He smiled viciously.
“You’re a sharp cookie, Your Majesty.”
“Highness.”
“Not for long.”
“And really, kind sir, why are you fishing for being my loyal subject? I have en
ough on my plate as it is.”
“What if I could be of use to you, Your Majesty?”
I smirked. He was no idiot, this one. He had realized that he would be hunted all over Tevarr, Riolon, and Radenor, and figured out the only possible escape for himself.
“I’ll mull this over. Meanwhile...”
I took a sheet from the bed, rolled it up into a noose, and put it on the assassin, tying it under his arms.
“You won’t manage to climb down the wall to my window by yourself. I’ll help you.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
***
I lowered the assassin down without any issues. Nobody had seen or heard us, so I warned him about Tommy and returned to the shrine, as I needed to provide my lord a warm shirt, too. You know, just in case.
The guards, drilled by the duke, let me pass without any objections, and no wonder. The best and the brightest weren’t there, but guarding Lavinia, the duke, his children, and would later go into the dungeon.
Those here were the worst of the bunch. It made sense, too—leaving smart people in the same house as a vampire wasn’t a good idea. Soon enough, you’d get tired of hiding the bodies.
So, I was praying hard, Tom went to the assassin, and outside, chaos erupted.
The assassin was gone!
Naturally, the duke dropped by the church, and I immediately threw a tantrum.
The prisoner has escaped? He’ll kill me, for sure! Assign me a guard duty! To the church, my chambers, even my horse! What if he kills the horse, too?
I wouldn’t be surprised if the duke wanted to kill me, too, but he managed to restrain himself and appointed me several guards. Wonderful. That would leave him less people to comb the castle, and consequently, increase the chances of them missing something during the search.
Need I mention that they didn’t find anybody? The assassin disappeared into thin air, and at dawn, I went to sleep in my room. Tommy and the murderer, whose name was Ivar, observed neutrality. I laid down on the bed and passed out.
In the evening, the duke paid us a visit, and we barely had time to shove Ivar into the closet. Truly, I felt like an adulterer, hastily trying to hide his mistress.
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