The Princess, page 15
Once Luca had finished dressing, he left his private quarters. Despite the early morning hour, the barracks were filled with officers and soldiers starting their days. Most of the men Luca passed paid him little heed, but he was still on the receiving end of a few wrinkled noses and narrowed eyes. There were plenty in the Imperial Army who did not approve of his promotion to captain.
When he stepped through the gates and crossed the courtyard, he wiped at his brow. It was barely a few hours past sunrise, and still, Talekos was miserably hot. Luca’s stomach rumbled as he stepped back inside the palace itself, and after a few turns down the wide, expansive hallways, he began to climb the steps that would take him to the second level. While he was hungry, he hoped that breakfast with Remus would be a lighter fare, given his intentions of sparring after the meal. At least by avoiding the main banquet hall, there’s less chance of running into Aurelia, as well as having to deal with the noblemen, he thought even as a slight twinge settled in his chest.
He'd enjoyed the hour he’d spent with her the previous night—perhaps too much, if he were honest with himself. The conversation had been light and easy, and Aurelia had been deeply curious about life outside the palace. He’d been happy to answer her many questions, but time with her was a temptation that he needed to avoid. Thanks to Rhiannon, he had been allowed a few stolen moments with Aurelia, but it could not go beyond that. No matter how much a part of his heart wanted it to be otherwise.
Upon reaching Remus’ chambers, a servant escorted Luca into the common room, and then out onto a balcony. Luca barely suppressed a groan. Because he had spent most of his life in Talekos, Remus had always preferred the warmer temperatures of the south, but Luca was far more comfortable in colder climates like Darnic. By the gods, he hoped he didn’t spend the entire meal sweltering. Unlike Aurelia’s balcony, Remus’ did not have a view of the bay, but of the sprawling city instead. There were hundreds of homes and buildings all clustered together, and the tops of some of the tall-masted ships sitting in the nearby harbor could be just made out on the horizon. Remus was already seated at a table next to the balcony’s stone railing, dressed in a shirt of deep purple and pants of dark blue, and he smiled when he caught sight of his son.
“Ah, good,” Remus said. “There you are. Have a seat.”
“Father,” Luca said, respectfully bowing his head as he took a seat in one of the cushioned wrought iron chairs across from Remus. “Thank you for inviting me to dine with you.”
“Of course, of course,” Remus replied, waving a hand as he picked up his gleaming silver goblet and took a sip from it. “After all, we have much to celebrate as far as you’re concerned. I trust that little beast you found has been properly disposed of?”
“Yes,” Luca answered, shifting ever so slightly in his seat. He hadn’t taken the creature where Remus had wished, but it was no longer in Luca’s possession.
“Good.” Remus lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. Moments later, servants hurried out onto the balcony carrying platters of food, which they laid out on the table. As Luca had expected, it was a light meal, consisting of a bit of smoked fish, two different kinds of bread, and a bit of fruit mixed with cooked barley.
“You have done exceptionally well for yourself,” Remus said as he and Luca began to fill their plates. “Captain already, and you have not even reached a full decade of service.”
“Thank you. It is an honor to serve His Majesty in such an important position.”
“It is certainly far better than I had hoped for you.” Remus popped a grape into his mouth. “Your mother’s people were never particularly shrewd—their lack of complex thought is how Emperor Stelios defeated them—but it appears your Kelnorian blood has won out. Currying Prince Dimitrios’ favor has clearly paid off.”
Luca’s jaw tightened and he washed a bit of bread down with his drink. Remus had disparaged Fiona’s kin for as long as Luca could remember, and still, there were times it grated on him. He had spent enough time with his mother to know that Fiona was anything but stupid, even if Remus did not see her that way, and his mother’s kin who had helped him learn to control his magic were also not fools.
“There were other reasons I was promoted to captain as well,” Luca said as he cut into his fish.
“Well, of course there were,” Remus said with a light laugh. “A story must be spun, must it not? A reason for Prince Dimitrios to have chosen you alongside other men of nobler blood. But I am very proud of you, all the same. This is a skillful game you have played, and one that I hope will serve you well.”
Luca took another bite of fish, fighting to push aside the tension in his middle as he found himself torn between his desire to make Remus proud of him and his resentment that his father believed it wasn’t his merits and skills that had won him the promotion.
“The summer has been quiet?” he asked.
“Mostly,” Remus answered. “Certainly quieter now that we’re no longer dealing with the nasty plague. The mills and the mines have all suffered, and we have need of more workers between those who have died and those who claim to be stricken so ill from the plague that they can no longer work, but we will recover.”
Luca stilled, Remus’ last words giving him pause as his thoughts flitted to Aurelia. “There have been some in Darnic who have not fully recovered from the plague as well?”
“So they claim,” Remus replied with a skeptical snort. “Of course, it very easily could be nothing more than addled minds and laziness. There was rumor growing of a healer, one who by all accounts was practicing Darnic’s old ways. Some of the commoners claimed he helped them when their illness lingered, but this man is no skilled physician. Whatever means he was using, they were unnatural. I’ve arrested him, of course, and will have him executed soon.”
“You would execute him?” Luca said. “For trying to help those who were ill?”
“I cannot have a man like that stirring up things that should be long dead,” Remus replied, his mouth turning down.
“His Majesty would perhaps pay much coin if this man’s skills can truly help those who are ill even after the plague has ravaged their bodies. Those like Princess Aurelia. Surely it would be a waste to execute him if the claims made about him are, indeed, true.” A sliver of hope had lit in Luca’s chest. Aurelia had improved, the best that he could tell, but he knew from their conversation the previous night that she struggled with her health.
“His Majesty had already decided that such things will be left to his Pernish kin,” Remus said. “And by all accounts, the princess has improved. I fail to see what this healer could do that a royal physician could not.”
“It is a crime to help people? One that is deserving of execution?”
“Now you sound just like your mother,” Remus said, his eyes narrowing. “It is forbidden to practice the old ways in Darnic. You are not a fool; you know that. It must be so. That was Darnic’s past. The empire is Darnic’s future. The people are easily influenced. They start to trust such dangerous beliefs and then they become recalcitrant and disobedient. I’ve already had enough trouble these last few weeks with the miners. I will not have an addled healer stirring up even more trouble.”
“What has happened with the miners?”
“Commoners creating trouble where there should be none. The mines need more workers to keep up with the trade demands. I have sent the city guard out in a few of the larger cities to gather up more able-bodied men. At ten, a boy is old enough to work and contribute to a household. Yet the commoners insist upon acting as if I’m putting mere babes to work instead.”
The uncomfortable feeling in Luca’s middle grew. “Are there no others who could work instead? Perhaps bringing in workers from a neighboring province? Ten years of age is hardly a man.”
“You are not stupid, Lucanus,” Remus said with a huff. “Hundreds in the north lost their lives to the damned plague. There are no more workers. Not in Darnic, Dineum, or Viribus. Sacrifices must be made. If the mines do not continue their work, the whole province will suffer. That is worth a few potential lives.”
Luca nodded, biting the inside of his cheek to hold his tongue. Remus’ mind was made up, both about the healer and the situation with the mines. Remus cared little for Luca’s opinions about how the duchy should be managed; he always had.
A tense silence passed between them as they resumed eating, but after a few moments, Remus’ ire seemed to pass. He launched into informing Luca about Oriana’s marriage prospects, something he would be trying to confirm during his time in Talekos.
Once they were done eating, Luca and Remus went their separate ways, Remus to a meeting with the Duke of Ignis while Luca returned to the barracks.
As he walked back through the courtyard, he rolled his shoulders. Opes’ bones, let an hour or so in the training yards help him contend with his lingering tension. He did not agree with Remus’ actions in the mines. Working in the mines was dangerous work for a grown man, much less a boy. How many parents would lose their children? And at what cost? While Luca could understand Remus’ concerns for trade, surely there had to be some other way.
And then there was also the healer. What was Remus thinking, throwing away a chance to help those who had been so badly sickened by the plague? So many in Kelnore suffered, just as Aurelia did. What did it matter if the healer in question followed the old ways, if those ways helped others? You are not Duke of Darnic, he reminded himself as he stepped back into his quarters. And you never will be. His concern was not managing the duchy, it was defending the empire.
He changed into looser, more comfortable clothing before strapping his sword to his waist and leaving his chambers behind. The training grounds were within the wrought iron fence of the barracks and Luca was pleased to discover that there was at least a little shade in the way of wooden canopies in the open dirt arena. A few soldiers were already sparring with their fists, while another practiced with a spear and a wooden and cloth target that resembled a human torso. Luca went to another target on the other side of the arena.
Letting out a low breath, he unsheathed his blade. As he gripped the hilt, he forced himself to let out his frustrations. With each strike of the blade against the target, he could feel more and more of his pent-up tension releasing. Before long, he had begun to work up a sweat in the wretched heat. Grumbling under his breath, he paused to discard his shirt. By the seas, it was too damned hot in Talekos.
He raised his sword, striking the target again, letting himself get lost in his movements. He was so engrossed in swinging his blade that at first, he didn’t fully hear Dimitri calling his name. But as Dimitri drew closer and his voice grew louder, Luca abruptly stopped, lowering his blade.
Dimitri glowered as he came to a stop, his arms crossed. The jewels on his rings sparkled in the sun, and despite being clothed in a simple cream-colored shirt, scarlet pants, and leather boots, he looked every inch the prince he was—and an angry one at that—as he stared Luca down.
“Is something wrong?” Luca asked, his chest heaving ever so slightly as he fought to catch his breath. The anger in Dimitri’s tone left Luca’s stomach tight. Fickle and capricious. Those were the words Fiona had often used to describe the Imperial House.
“What in the seas were you thinking?” Dimitri said, throwing his hands up. “Giving my sister a damned wildcat?”
Luca’s chest clenched. How in the seas did Dimitri know of his involvement? Had he been a fool to trust Rhiannon?
“I had no intentions of giving the cub to Aurelia,” Luca said as his heart rate doubled. “It was an orphan I found on the docks, and I took it to Duchess Rhiannon in hopes that she could help me decide what to do with the creature. It was Her Grace’s idea to gift the cub to Aurelia.”
“You should have taken the damned thing to the menagerie. Just like the rest of its kind.”
“I was concerned about the cub’s survival. It is very young, hardly old enough to be away from its mother.”
“By the gods, Luca!” Dimitri jerkily ran a hand through his hair with a groan. “It’s a wild creature! A monstrous beast that will one day be capable of killing even the strongest of men. Its survival is hardly of any concern. Aurelia is not well. She does not need a damned wildcat. Everyone knows that, especially Father.”
“Does…” Luca paused, licking his lips as his pulse picked up again, a sense of dread snaking through him. “Does His Majesty know about the cub? And my involvement?”
“Yes,” Dimitri answered, his tone flat. “It seems the little beast scared the life out of one of Aurelia’s handmaidens and she went running to the maidservant’s head of household, saying that she refused to work as Aurelia’s handmaiden any longer. I’d gone to Aurelia’s chambers the moment I’d heard the rumors to check on Aurelia, as well as to speak to Rhiannon and Brynn about the matter. Aurelia was well, thank the gods, but Rhiannon was already gone, and I got little out of Brynn. She gave me pieces of the story and begrudgingly admitted your involvement when I pressed her. The extent of what Father knows, I do not know, but he and Rhiannon were having some fight about the matter. The gods only know how that will end.”
Luca forced himself to take a deep breath. Emperor Alekos still might not know the truth of the role Luca had played with the wildcat cub. And the gods willing, he would not find out, just like he would not find out about the blissful hour that Luca had spent alone with Aurelia on her balcony.
“I truly meant no harm,” Luca said, holding up a hand. “I only wished to try and give the cub a chance to survive. Giving it to Aurelia was purely Duchess Rhiannon’s idea, and I did not dare correct her.”
Dimitri let out a sigh, rubbing his temple. “I can’t entirely fault you for that. Rhiannon is most assuredly the most powerful woman in this empire. Just… if you find any more wild creatures down at the docks, don’t bring them within any proximity of my sister.”
“Believe me,” Luca said, “I will not make the same mistake twice.”
“See that you don’t,” Dimitri replied. “I regrettably have to go be present while Father and Fabian meet the ambassadors of Estre.” He shook his head, grumbling a curse under his breath. “Hours of having to sit and listen to them talk about their precious warhorses and convince Father to buy more of them, most likely. You are still coming on the ship tomorrow, yes?”
“Yes,” Luca answered. “Father requested my presence.” The nobles, including Remus and Cato, were to spend a better part of the following day on the open waters of the bay, hunting and partaking in extravagant meals.
“Good. We’ll need another man who is good with a spear.”
After exchanging brief goodbyes, Dimitri left the training yard and Luca turned his attention back to his slashed and tattered target. Taking another deep breath, he raised his blade again, bringing it down onto the target’s chest. He had to trust that Rhiannon would keep her word regarding the time he’d spent with Aurelia. And I suppose no one has come to arrest me yet, he thought as he again sliced across the target’s middle. His fears and worries were running wild, but he was determined that once he left the training yard, he would have them under control again.
Chapter 24
Dimitri barely suppressed a groan as he rubbed his aching forehead. He had gotten far too little sleep and had indulged in far too much wine at the previous night’s banquet. As he jogged down the crushed shell path that led to the looming palace docks, the persistent pounding in his head continued. The gods help him if he wasn’t on the ship when it was ready to set sail. Alekos would have little patience for Dimitri ruining his spectacle of hunting and dining on the waters of the bay. Especially considering that Dimitri was to be the guest of honor for the excursion. Perhaps he will still be too worked up over this mess with Aurelia to direct his full wrath at me, Dimitri thought.
Alekos and Rhiannon had spent a better part of the previous day arguing, according to both the palace gossip and Fabian. In the end, it appeared that Rhiannon had won and Aurelia would be keeping the cub in her possession, but Alekos had hardly seemed happy about it. In truth, Dimitri didn’t feel particularly happy about the arrangement either. Rhiannon was known for being outlandish and the Pernish people were known for keeping wild beasts in their homes, but the cub would grow, and when it did, it would become a dangerous and deadly beast. Rhiannon and Brynn were insistent that they could tame the creature, but like the rest of the palace, Dimitri had his doubts.
He reached the guard house at the entrance to the docks and he let out a quiet sigh of relief at the sight of familiar red and white sails. The Grandis was still at the dock. He picked up his pace, his gaze still on the ship, but moments later, he skittered to a stop, trying to prevent Fabian from ramming into him. He failed, and Dimitri let out a grunt as Fabian slammed into his shoulder, his gaze on something behind him.
“Sorry,” Fabian mumbled as they took a step back from one another.
Dimitri frowned as he took Fabian in. Of all of their siblings, Fabian had always paid the most attention to his appearance, but his hair was disheveled, a few strands having worked free from the tie at the nape of his neck, and his shirt was slightly askew.
“Running late?” Dimitri asked as Fabian fixed his shirt.
“And you are not?” he asked.
“Well, yes, but me running late because I overindulged last night will be nothing out of the unusual. You, on the other hand… What, pray tell, is your excuse?”
“None of your business,” Fabian said, his spine stiffening. “Come on; we need to get to the Grandis.”
Fabian started to the ship but Dimitri stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
“You might want to fix your hair as well,” Dimitri said.
