“What about what he said?” asked Sage. When Alex had been unbound, he’d babbled about the king and an assassination. He’d only calmed down when Sage assured him Banneth was alive and well. Then the pain medicines had taken over, rendering Alex unconscious and leaving them to speculate over his words. “He said there were dolofan in the prison.”
Darit shook his head. “The manifest has no such prisoners listed.”
“But they are there,” Sage insisted. “I’ve seen them. Two men in an otherwise empty cell block. They’ve been there for weeks.” She didn’t want to think about how she hadn’t looked close enough to see the third Kimisar prisoner was Alex. It was her fault they hadn’t found him sooner.
“I will look again in the morning, but if they are in the prison, that is the best place for them.”
Banneth nodded. “And we cannot keep Ah’lecks in this state.” He stood and stretched, then addressed the healer in the corner of the room. “I will get some rest. You will send for me as soon as he wakes.”
“Yes, Palandret.”
Both Banneth and Darit left, and a few minutes later, the healer was dozing in the corner, effectively leaving Sage alone. She sat on the bed and took Alex’s hand in hers. After weeks of imagining him cold and lifeless, it was a miracle to feel his warmth now.
He was alive.
He’d come for her. After everything she’d done, he’d still come for her.
She stroked his hand, wanting to kiss him more than anything, but too scared to touch his battered face. Pink tinged the eastern sky when Alex’s eyes suddenly opened.
“Hello.”
Sage’s head jerked up. He smiled and blinked lazily, still dazed from drugs they’d given him. All the emotions of yesterday came crashing over her, and her eyes flooded with tears.
He frowned. “You’re crying again. Why are you crying?”
“I thought you were dead, Alex.” She wiped her cheeks with her sleeve, but the tears kept coming. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
“Well, here I am,” he said, his face relaxing back into a half smile.
“And look at you.” She sniffed. “What did they do to you?”
“Some of it I deserved,” he said, wincing as he stretched his cheeks and mouth. “I thought I was on my way to an execution, so I put up a fight.”
Sage choked back a sob. “You were. They showed me your sword and said a prisoner had it. I thought he’d taken it from you after he—after he—” She stopped, panic threatening to take her at the thought of what she’d almost done.
“And you demanded my execution.” Alex’s shoulders shook in quiet laughter, some of the fog clearing from his eyes. “Promise me you’ll never change, Sage.”
His reaction only made her cry harder. “How can you laugh about that?”
“Because it didn’t happen. Everything is funny when you’ve just cheated death.”
That wasn’t the only thing that hadn’t happened. Sage put her hand over his heart. “I saw the arrow,” she whispered. “It knocked you off your horse. How on earth did you survive that?”
Alex looked puzzled for a moment, then he placed his hand over hers. “I saw the archer and dove down. The arrow hit under my arm, lodged in my jacket. Didn’t even nick me.” He squeezed her hand gently. “I had no idea you saw that. I’m so sorry you suffered all that time.”
“I deserved it,” she said, pulling her hand back. “I lied to you and defied you in front of everyone.”
He shook his head slowly. “You did the right thing when I was wrong. You stopped a war I nearly started.” Alex glanced pointedly around the room. “Apparently you’ve gained the trust of the Casmuni royal family, and you kept Nicholas safe.” He paused, looking guilty. “He is safe, right?”
“Of course.” Sage gripped the bedclothes with tense white fingers. “But none of that makes up for what I did to you. I was too stubborn and wrapped up in myself to see beyond what I wanted.”
“You seem to have forgotten that I was acting like an ass. And that’s putting it mildly.” Alex closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Sage … What I went through back at Tegann, when I thought I’d have to choose between—”
“I know. Cass told me.”
“I should’ve told you.” He exhaled heavily, and when he reopened his eyes, they were bright with tears. “But that’s why I was so afraid to have you with me. If it’s a choice between you and everyone else, it’s you.” Alex’s bandaged arm shook a little as he raised it to touch her cheek. “It’s always you.”
“And I only made it worse,” she insisted, though she leaned into his caress. “I took your worst fear and made it real.”
“Are we going to fight now about who was at fault?” His hand dropped to her neck, and he slipped trembling fingers into her cropped hair. “I’d just as soon never ever argue with you again. You can choose my meals and underclothes for the rest of my life, and I’ll never complain.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Sage laughed as she wiped the last of her tears away, then put her left hand on his chest again, reveling in the strong pulse beneath her fingers. All traces of the pain medicine had left his eyes, leaving them clear and bright.
He was here. He was alive.
He was hers.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“That,” he said, pulling her down to him for a deep kiss, “is the best thing I’ve heard in months.”
94
ALEX COULD’VE KISSED her all day, but at some point the sound of someone clearing his throat made her look away. The Casmuni king stood in the doorway to what looked like a garden, averting his eyes politely.
Sage helped Alex sit up and propped pillows behind him, but just the effort of being upright was exhausting after a few minutes. His mind was clear, though. Before the Casmuni king could ask any questions, Alex thanked him for taking care of Sage and Nicholas. “You saved their lives,” he said in Kimisar. “For that I will be forever in your debt.”
“Perhaps you can repay it by explaining what you said yesterday,” said the king. “But first things first.” He deliberately picked up a chalice from the table by the bed. After drinking from it, he offered it to Alex.
Sage had told him the king would do this, and it was important. His arms trembled from even holding the cup, but Alex took a sip and handed it back.
“Now,” said Banneth. “You must tell us all that has happened.”
Alex started with events the king already knew of, in hopes of establishing himself as honest. When he described his first escape attempt in the prison, Sage sat up straight on the edge of the bed, eyes wide.
“Did you see the man enough to recognize him?” asked Banneth.
“I only saw him that once. After that my eyes were covered,” Alex answered. “But I feel if I saw him again, I would know it.”
The king shook his head as he paced the room. “He might be only a middleman. That could lead nowhere, but we will investigate.” He stopped in a patch of golden sunlight. “What did he want to know from you?”
“He wanted to know about Demora and Sage and Nicholas. I think he wanted to blame them for your assassination.”
Banneth frowned. “That makes little sense. This plot was in the making long before I met Saizsch and Nikkolaz.”
“From what I heard, it was a change of plans—a target of opportunity,” said Alex. “Was there anyone on the council who was hostile to them?”
“Only about three-quarters of them. The most outspoken being the minister of war, but his job is to be suspicious of foreigners.”
Sage had still said nothing, but Alex could tell she was frantically trying to work something out.
“Maybe we can reverse the line of thought,” suggested Alex. “Who could have been the original enemy to blame?”
“Are there any councils without power struggles?” Banneth shook his head. “The minister of roads hates the minister of trade, and the minister of war hates the minister of finance. The chamberlain hates everyone.” The king went back to pacing.
Alex took a deep breath and winced. “All right. Who stands to gain from your death? Who inherits the throne?”
“My son Hasseth, who is nearly eleven.”