Kell smiled sadly. “You were dying, Rhy. I saved your life.”
He couldn’t bring himself to tell Rhy the whole truth: that the stone hadn’t only saved his life but had restored it.
“How?” demanded the prince. “At what cost?”
“One I paid,” said Kell. “And would pay again.”
“Answer me without circles!”
“I bound your life to mine,” said Kell, “As long as I live, so shall you.”
Rhy’s eyes widened. “You did what?” he whispered, horrified. “I should get out of this bed and wring your neck.”
“I wouldn’t,” advised Kell. “Your pain is mine and mine is yours.”
Rhy’s hands curled into fists. “How could you?” he said, and Kell worried that the prince was bitter about being tethered to him. Instead, Rhy said, “How could you carry that weight?”
“It is as it is, Rhy. It cannot be undone. So please, be grateful, and be done with it.”
“How can I be done with it?” scorned Rhy, already slipping back into a more playful tone. “It is carved into my chest.”
“Lovers like men with scars,” said Kell, cracking a smile. “Or so I’ve heard.”
Rhy sighed and tipped his head back, and the two fell into silence. At first, it was an easy quiet, but then it began to thicken, and just when Kell was about to break it, Rhy beat him to the act.
“What have I done?” he whispered, amber eyes cast up against the gossamer ceiling. “What have I done, Kell?” He rolled his head so he could see his brother. “Holland brought me that necklace. He said it was a gift, and I believed him. Said it was from this London, and I believed him.”
“You made a mistake, Rhy. Everybody makes them. Even royal princes. I’ve made many. It’s only fair that you make one.”
“I should have known better. I did know better,” he added, his voice cracking.
He tried to sit up, and winced. Kell urged him back down. “Why did you take it?” he asked when the prince was settled.
For once, Rhy would not meet his gaze. “Holland said it would bring me strength.”
Kell’s brow furrowed. “You are already strong.”
“Not like you. That is, I know I’ll never be like you. But I have no gift for magic, and it makes me feel weak. One day I’m going to be king. I wanted to be a strong king.”
“Magic does not make people strong, Rhy. Trust me. And you have something better. You have the people’s love.”
“It’s easy to be loved. I want to be respected, and I thought…” Rhy’s voice was barely a whisper. “I took the necklace. All that matters is that I took it.” Tears began to escape, running into his black curls. “And I could have ruined everything. I could have lost the crown before I ever wore it. I could have doomed my city to war or chaos or collapse.”
“What sons our parents have,” said Kell gently. “Between the two of us, we’ll tear the whole world down.”
Rhy let out a stifled sound between a laugh and a sob. “Will they ever forgive us?”
Kell mustered a smile. “I am no longer in chains. That speaks to progress.”
The king and queen had sent word across the city, by guard and scrying board alike, that Kell was innocent of all charges. But the eyes in the street still hung on him, wariness and fear and suspicion woven through the reverence. Maybe when Rhy was well again and could speak to his people directly, they would believe he was all right and that Kell had had no hand in the darkness that had fallen over the palace that night. Maybe, but Kell doubted it would ever be as simple as it had been before.
“I meant to tell you,” said Rhy. “Tieren came to visit. He brought some—”
He was interrupted by a knock at the door. Before either Rhy or Kell could answer, Lila stormed into the room. She was still wearing her new coat—patches sewn over the spots where it had been torn by bullet and blade and stone—but she’d been bathed at least, and a gold clasp held the hair out of her eyes. She still looked a bit like a starved bird, but she was clean and fed and mended.
“I don’t like the way the guards are looking at me,” she said before glancing up and seeing the prince’s gold eyes on her. “I’m sorry,” she added. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”
“Then what did you mean to do?” challenged Kell.
Rhy held up his hand. “You are surely not an intrusion,” he said, pushing himself up in the bed. “Though I fear you’ve met me rather out of my usual state of grace. Do you have a name?”
“Delilah Bard,” she said. “We’ve met before. And you looked worse.”
Rhy laughed silently. “I apologize for anything I might have done. I was not myself.”
“I apologize for shooting you in the leg,” said Lila. “I was myself entirely.”
Rhy broke into his perfect smile.
“I like this one,” he said to Kell. “Can I borrow her?”
“You can try,” said Lila, raising a brow. “But you’ll be a prince without his fingers.”
Kell grimaced, but Rhy only laughed. The laughter quickly dissolved into wincing, and Kell reached out to steady his brother, even as the pain echoed in his own chest.
“Save your flirting for when you’re well,” he said.