Philip moved closer in concern. “Amory?”
“The smell of something in here is making me sick.”
Philip saw the signs—the slight green tinge to Amory’s skin, the rapid breaths through his mouth. He’d seen it before, often early in Amory’s pregnancy. Then, there had been little chance of Amory keeping the nausea at bay, and Philip could do nothing but hold Amory and try to soothe him, feeling helpless. He had been as relieved as Amory when the nausea began to subside. These days, Amory was seldom sick. When he was, the illness came mostly in response to some sort of smell. The smell of mushrooms made Amory ill every time, so Philip banned their preparation in the palace. Apparently the wine punch was another.
“Here, give it to me,” Etan said, stepping forward and taking the glass from Amory as Philip sniffed at his own glass. Wine, spices, fruit. “I’ll drink it.”
“Thank you.” Amory leaned back in his chair, fighting not only to get the nausea under control, but to not look ill in the middle of a ball.
Philip set his own glass aside, away from Amory, and took his hand. “Are you all right? Do you need to leave? Lie down for a while?”
Amory shook his head but continued to take slow breaths. “I’ll be all right in a moment. I don’t—”
The sound of glass shattering interrupted Amory. They both turned in time to see Etan fall to his knees, gagging and coughing, his hands clutching at his throat.
“Etan?” Tristan dropped to the ground next to Etan. “Etan?”
Philip and Amory scrambled down to Etan’s other side as the man began to convulse. Amory laid a hand on Etan’s chest and gasped sharply. “He’s been poisoned. Someone get Jadis.” He shouted the last sentence to be heard over the music and voices.
Philip glanced at the broken glass and the deep red liquid spreading over the marble floor. Etan had drunk from that glass, Amory’s glass. Philip’s whole body turned to ice as he looked at Amory. He saw the same knowledge in Amory’s eyes, but Amory resolutely turned back to Etan, laying his hands on Etan’s chest. It took a moment for Philip to realize what Amory was doing, but then he grabbed for Amory’s arms.
“Pip, stop.”
“No. You can’t do this. You could hurt yourself. You could hurt—you know what could happen if you use your Talent right now, in your condition.” He kept his voice low, especially for those last few words, but made it no less forceful for that. He couldn’t let Amory use his Talent and put himself and their child in jeopardy.
“I have to. He’s been poisoned. I don’t know what with, but it’s strong.” Amory looked at him, his eyes wide and frightened but determined too. “If I don’t do something, I don’t think he’ll live long enough for Jadis to get here.”
A bolt of fear for his cousin shot through Philip, and he hesitated, but his fear for Amory was equally as great. “And if you kill yourself?”
“That poison was meant for me.”
Philip knew it, but he didn’t want to examine the knowledge too closely yet. “That doesn’t mean you should kill yourself. This isn’t your fault.”
Amory stubbornly shook his head and focused on Etan, ignoring Philip’s continuing pleas. Philip watched as color leached from Amory’s face, as his hands began to tremble. When pain tightened Amory’s face, Philip decided pulling Amory away from Etan was what he would have to do. He wrapped his arms around Amory, and careful of the baby, began to gently tug Amory back.
“No, don’t—”
“Amory, stop now and move away.” Jadis dropped to the floor on the other side of Etan, another healer following him. “I can take care of Lord Etan.”
Amory allowed Philip to pull him away and collapsed into Philip’s lap, his head coming to rest on Philip’s shoulder, his eyes fluttering shut.
“Amory?” He could hear the fear in his own voice. Amory’s mumbled reply did little to calm him, especially since Amory didn’t open his eyes. He cradled Amory in his arms, one hand resting protectively over Amory’s stomach, over the child growing there. “Jadis?”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Jadis gestured for the other healer to continue treating Etan, and reached forward to lay a hand on Amory’s forehead. Jadis’s expression fell into disapproving lines, and he left his hand on Amory’s head for a few moments before sitting back. “He overextended himself. Used too much of his Talent.”
“Will he be all right?” Philip asked.
“Yes. He’s lucky. Let’s get him to bed.” Jadis looked to the other healer who was working under Tristan’s hovering presence. “Elio?”
The man glanced up. “We can move him.”
“Good.”
Philip refused help and lifted his husband into his arms. Amory would be mortified when he found out. As he straightened with his precious burden, he realized the guards had moved the crowd back and away from the small group on the floor, for which he was grateful. He hadn’t thought to order it. He instructed several to stay behind to wait for Captain Loriot while the rest accompanied him and Amory back to their suite. His orders were more terse than usual, but he couldn’t begin to care. He swept from the room with Amory in his arms.
By the time he’d laid Amory carefully on their bed, his mind was whirling. He loosened Amory’s clothing and removed his shoes with gentle hands. Jadis came up beside him. “Your Highness, why don’t you step out of the room for a moment? I’m going to examine Amory more thoroughly and then do what I can to bolster his strength and the power of his healing Talent until he can rebuild it himself.”
“I don’t want to leave him.”
“For a moment, please, Your Highness.”
He hesitated, torn. Jadis needed space to work, but everything in Philip rebelled at the idea of leaving Amory right now, of leaving him alone and unprotected. He nodded. “For a moment.”
“Thank you.”
He left the bedchamber reluctantly and crossed the sitting room to the bedchamber that once belonged to Amory, where Etan had been brought at Philip’s orders. Etan lay pale and still in the bed, his face damp with sweat, as the healer mixed something in a cup on the bedside table. Tristan sat in a chair near the window, well out of the way, but everything about him yearned for the bed and the man in it. Despite his worry for Amory, Philip crossed the room and laid a hand on Tristan’s shoulder. A shudder went through Tristan’s body.
“The healer was able to halt the progression of the poison,” Tristan said, his eyes never leaving Etan. “He’s mixing an antidote now.”
“It’s a complicated one,” Elio said absently as he worked. “The poison is very rare. If I hadn’t made a study of poisons and their antidotes, I never would have recognized it.”
“So the average healer wouldn’t have been able to save Etan?” Wouldn’t have been able to save Amory, but Philip didn’t say that.
“Possibly not. Probably not. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but most people wouldn’t have been able to identify the poison, let alone treat the victim.”
Tristan tore his gaze away from Etan to look up at Philip. “Your Highness?”
He realized his fingers were digging into Tristan’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Tristan.”
“It doesn’t matter, Your Highness. The poison… it was meant for Amory.”
He nodded. Hearing the words spoken so starkly in the silent room froze everything in Philip. Oh, he knew what Tristan said was true, had known from the moment Etan was poisoned, but hearing it so plainly stated was almost too much. He couldn’t remember who had handed them the glasses of punch. Had his own drink been poisoned as well? No way of knowing, but Amory’s had been poisoned and Etan was paying the price. He was silent for long moments, feeling Tristan’s concerned gaze on him but unable to respond as he tried to pull himself together.
“Yes,” he finally said. “I’m going back to Amory.”
“I….”
He took pity on Tristan, who couldn’t admit how much he wanted to be there, maybe even to himself. “Why don’t you stay here with Etan? Let me kno
w if you or he need anything.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Philip strode from the room and back across the sitting room. He stepped into his bedchamber in time to hear Jadis lecturing Amory. “You cannot do this, Amory. Your Talent is being used now to keep you healthy while you carry this child, to keep your body from being harmed while the child grows, and to sustain the womb your child is growing in. Your Talent is the only thing making it possible for you to carry a healthy child to term. If you use it for other things, your powers are depleted and can no longer keep you healthy. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.” Amory’s reply was so low Philip almost didn’t hear it.
Jadis sighed. “Amory, I know you wanted to help Lord Etan, and you did, but you need to think about the consequences for you and your child when you act. You cannot use your Talent for anything else until this child is born.”
Philip stepped into the room. “Please, listen to him, Amory.”
Amory looked at him from where he lay against the pillows. Philip was happy to see a little color in his cheeks, but Amory was still far too pale and drawn. “I will.”
“Good.” He went to the bed and sat next to Amory. “You terrified me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Please don’t do it again.” He leaned down and brushed a kiss over Amory’s lips. He straightened after but kept an arm around Amory, holding him close. Amory didn’t object, snuggling in against Philip’s side. He must have been exhausted to do that so easily with another person in the room. “How is Amory?”
Jadis didn’t pretend he hadn’t been listening to them. “He’s going to be fine, but I’m insisting he stay in bed for at least a few days, possibly as long as a week, depending how quickly his energy returns. I can’t say for certain because I’ve never had a patient in his condition before.”
“He stays in bed for as long as you deem necessary,” Philip said before Amory could argue. He choked back a laugh when Amory huffed beside him.
“Etan?” Amory asked.
“The healer is preparing the antidote now.” He looked at Jadis. “He said it’s a very rare poison, one that most wouldn’t know the antidote for.”
Jadis nodded. “I’m not surprised. Using something common and easily counteracted wouldn’t be smart.”
“No,” Philip agreed, his voice even, despite the fear coursing through him in waves. He tightened his arm around Amory.
“Might I suggest you both begin using tasters, Your Highness?” Jadis asked. “Somehow this person got into the palace and managed to poison a drink meant for one of you. It might be safer to have someone tasting your food from now on.”
Amory stiffened beside him. He could imagine Amory’s horror at the suggestion. In many ways, he shared it, which was why he didn’t use tasters, but with Amory’s safety in the balance, he was tempted to change his policy. But he might have a better idea.
After Jadis left the room to check on Etan, Philip slid farther down on the bed, and despite the blankets tangled between them, Amory turned and curled into Philip’s body. He buried his face in Amory’s hair, breathing in his scent, reassuring himself that Amory and their child were all right.
“I really am sorry,” Amory whispered.
“I know. And I know why you did it, but please don’t scare me again.”
“I’ll try.”
They didn’t talk for a long time after. Philip let himself relax, Amory warm and safe in his arms in the dim room. He ran his hands up and down Amory’s back, tracing his spine and sweeping over firm muscles. At first, Amory made pleased little noises, but after a while he fell silent, and Philip began to think he’d fallen asleep, probably the best thing for him. He was startled when Amory spoke, his voice low and scared.
“What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to Alzata.”
Chapter 16
CONTRARY TO their hopes, almost two weeks passed before they left for Alzata. Amory was confined to his bed for a week recovering. Philip expected him to begin complaining around the third day, but Amory didn’t. He slept much of the first few days and took his orders to continue to rest in bed for the remainder of the week gracefully. Philip would have been terrified at such out-of-character behavior if Jadis hadn’t told him Amory was improving. Nevertheless, Jadis advised them to wait before making the short trip to Alzata.
The delay wasn’t wasted time. Philip had affairs to put in order before he left, because this trip wasn’t going to be a short one. He and Amory would stay there until whoever was trying to kill Amory was caught. The security was better at Alzata than at the palace, so Amory would be safer, especially after the security increases Philip ordered. Captain Loriot and Savarin collaborated to make sure Alzata’s physical and magical defenses were as strong as they could be before Amory took up residence.
Philip also spent a lot of time coordinating how he was going to rule the country from Alzata without moving anyone else from his government there. He and Amory trusted few people outside their close circle of friends. Etan would be able to help when he was well again, able to stand in for Philip for many things at the palace and trusted to come to Alzata with matters Philip needed to see to, but Philip would have to make the trip back and forth from Alzata often. He would take on the additional travel because he could not send Amory away alone.
He could have used Etan’s help with the preparations, but Etan was confined to bed, weak but recovering well under Tristan’s watchful eye. The man had hardly left Etan’s side since the poisoning, but Philip was beginning to wonder if they would ever admit to feelings other than friendship for each other. Cathal arrived back at the palace, both to see his brother and to again offer his services to Philip. That Amory was with child was no longer a secret, and while Philip’s family was shocked, many of them were also awed at what Amory was doing for Philip and Tournai. Their attitudes seemed to be softening somewhat at the imminent arrival of an heir, but Philip wasn’t ready to trust them again, even Cathal. He accepted Cathal’s help in the palace, but he wouldn’t be inviting him out to Alzata yet.
Living at Alzata was an adjustment for both Philip and Amory, but also a welcome change. The constant threat, the uncertainty when or where their enemy might strike next, had worn on both of them these past months. While the move seemed at first like one more disruption, it turned out to be a relief. Amory felt safer at Alzata, and Philip worried a little less with them there.
He also enjoyed—loved—the time alone with Amory while he carried their child. As weeks passed and the pregnancy become more obvious, Philip found it almost impossible to be away from Amory for too long or to keep from touching him and his stomach. They couldn’t spend their entire lives hiding away from the rest of the world there, and he knew Amory only agreed to stay because of the baby. But Savarin and Captain Loriot continued to investigate, and Philip believed they would succeed in hunting down their quarry. Until they did, he chose to look at the nearly uninterrupted time with Amory as a gift.
Because any time spent with Amory was a gift.
He leaned in the doorway to the bathing room, watching Amory lying in bed shirtless, one hand resting on the bump of his stomach. Amory’s eyes were closed, but Philip could tell he wasn’t sleeping. Philip wondered if the baby was moving. He wanted to lay his hand over Amory’s, but he also wanted to keep watching.
“Looking at me?” Amory asked, his eyes still closed.
“I am.”
“And liking what you see?” The words were flirtatious, but the vulnerability beneath the teasing tone was obvious. Amory had a difficult time believing Philip found him attractive with his body changing in ways he never thought it could or would. Philip wanted to soothe away his uncertainty more than anything.
“Always have.”
Amory’s lips curved in a smile, and he opened his eyes to look at Philip. “Come show me?”
He went to the bed, sliding in next to Amory. Reaching for Amory, filling his hands with smoo
th warm skin, as he covered Amory’s smiling lips with his own.
“YOU’RE GOING back to Alzata to be with Amory tonight, aren’t you?” Elodie asked.
“Yes, as soon as I finish up what I need to do here.” Which couldn’t happen quickly enough. He hadn’t wanted to leave Amory at all that morning, and he wouldn’t have if it weren’t for a meeting with the ambassadors from Amaranta and Elleri that shouldn’t be rescheduled. And still, he’d considered sending a messenger to cancel the meetings. Amory had been so tired that day, their continuing inability to figure out who wanted Amory killed taking its toll on his husband in conjunction with the strain on his body.
“Can I go to Alzata with you?” Elodie asked eagerly. “I can be packed and ready to leave when you are.”
Philip stifled a sigh. He hated to refuse his sister, but what she proposed wasn’t a good idea. “I’m sorry, but not this time, El.”
“Why not? I want to see Amory, and the weather has been so nice. It would be fun to spend some time in the garden there.”
“Spend some time in the garden here. It’s bigger, and you always said you liked it better than the one at Alzata.”
“No, I didn’t. I like it fine there, and you and Amory are there.” Her face was set in stubborn lines, but at least she didn’t stamp her foot.
“Amory hasn’t been feeling well. He isn’t up to visitors right now.” He kept talking before she could protest. “I’m sorry, Elodie, but it isn’t a good idea. I’ll take you to visit another time. Besides, weren’t you talking about a couple of parties this week? You don’t want to miss those. You were excited.”
“I was, but….”
“And Faron is right over there. In fact, he’s walking toward us right now.”
Elodie’s eyes widened, and then a bright smile spread over her face. Philip let relief wash through him. When he walked away a few moments later, Elodie and Faron were deep in conversation. Conversation with Faron would distract Elodie nicely.
AMORY WAS puzzled. He strode down the hallway, or he sort of did. He could feel the way he walked and balanced changing as the small bump of his stomach became more obvious, and it felt decidedly odd. He wouldn’t have thought such a change would happen so soon. But that wasn’t causing his confusion at the moment. He was puzzled because he’d been informed that Elodie had arrived at Alzata.
The Prince's Consort (Chronicles of Tournai Book 1) Page 29