As Andreus was now.
Could his mother have been talking in her drug-addled sleep and let loose Andreus’s secret? The possibility haunted him as he walked back to the Hall of Virtues, his hand on the hilt of his sword in case someone was hidden in the shadows. He almost hoped someone did attack. After years of living in fear of having his curse discovered and being slaughtered for the crime of being born, he was glad to face enemies he could see and kill.
The true question for him now was whether his sister was one of them.
The Hall of Virtues was empty and dark except for the throne, which was sitting in a round pool of light. All signs of the ball and the trial that had taken place here were gone.
“Prince Andreus?”
He turned and spotted Max standing in the arched doorway and smiled. “I guess you received my message. Come in.” The boy nodded and took several hesitant steps into the room instead of racing forward as was his typical way. “You must be tired,” Andreus said. “You’re normally in bed by now.”
Max shrugged and looked down at his shoes.
Andreus walked toward the boy. “Is something wrong, Max? Are you feeling all right? Have you had trouble breathing today?”
“I had a . . . ” The boy frowned. “Asode?”
“An episode?” Andreus asked, and the boy nodded.
“On the battlements. One of the Masters called for Madame Jillian and she had to leave the girl she was helping that was dying. She made me drink something even worse and yelled at me for being out in the cold air. She says cold is bad for me and that she warned me not to go on the battlements until it was warmer and said if I did it again I’d have to come help her tend to the sick, which I don’t want to do because the girl she was helping was the doom. You should have seen her face . . .”
From the look on Max’s, Andreus was glad he didn’t have to. “You shouldn’t go on the battlements anymore.”
“But I had to tonight,” Max insisted. “The Lord devil man went up there and you told me to watch him.”
“Lord Garret was on the battlements?”
Max nodded. “He had the Masters show him where the line to the orb was cut and asked a lot of questions that I couldn’t hear, but I got close enough to hear him ask who was on the battlements before the lights were sabotaged.”
“What did the Masters say?” Andreus had meant to ask them that question himself, but then his father and Micah’s bodies were brought back and the Trials happened and he hadn’t had the chance. There was something about the timing of those events, when he considered them together, that made him nervous.
Max screwed up his face into a mask of what was probably intense concentration. “The Masters said they were in their quarters when the line was cut, but the apprentices assigned to the watch said Lady Imogen, Elder Ulrich, and Captain Monteros were all on the battlements near the orb tower before the darkness came.”
All three often walked the battlements. Imogen to call the wind and study the stars. Captain Monteros to check on his guards and watch the mountains for the Xhelozi. And Elder Ulrich to talk to the Masters about their work on the windmills and the lights.
“Did Lord Garret say anything else?”
“He asked if anyone had seen Elder Jacobs.”
“Elder Jacobs? Why?”
“He didn’t say, Prince Andreus. And I couldn’t hear the Master’s answer, but I think he nodded his head and Lord Garret left. I was going to follow him like you told me to, but I couldn’t breathe and that’s when they called for Madame Jillian. But I did follow him before and heard him talking to Elder Cestrum. They were shouting so I could hear what he said.”
Whatever it was must have been intense since Max was white-faced and looked as if he was ready to bolt out of the Hall at any moment. “Tell me.”
“Elder Cestrum told Lord Garret that he was going to do his duty if he wanted to or not, and Lord Garret said it was clear Elder Cestrum had lost control of the Council and that there was more than one way to power. They had tried it Elder Cestrum’s way and now they were going to follow Lord Garret’s plan.”
“Did Lord Garret say what that plan was?”
Max shook his head. “The Chief Elder called Lord Garret a fool to give up power so easily, but Lord Garret said that his uncle was just like Prince Micah—that they thought there was only one kind of power. But Lord Garret knew there was power beyond the throne that none of them could see.”
“Is that all?”
Max swallowed hard and shook his head. “He said his uncle should be careful in playing both sides and that at some point he’d have to choose and he hoped his uncle chose the right side.”
“And what side was that?”
“I don’t know, Prince Andreus. Honest.”
“That’s okay, Max,” Andreus said. While much of Garret’s conversation with his uncle was a mystery, the part about not doing it Elder Cestrum’s way was clear. Garret was no longer counting on the Council of Elders’ plan to sit him on the Throne of Light. Garret had another plan, and Andreus was betting it involved his sister.
“Did I do a bad job?” Max asked with wide eyes that shimmered with tears. “I’m sorry I got sick. I promise I won’t next time. Honest. Can I go now?”
Andreus put a hand on the boy’s shoulder and felt him tremble. “Max, what’s wrong? Did something happen when you were following Lord Garret today? Did you see something that scared you?”
Max looked toward the front of the Hall at the throne shining in the light, and Andreus realized what the boy saw.
“Did you come into the Hall during the ball?”
Slowly, Max nodded his head. “Madame Jillian said I should rest, but I wanted to do a good job and all the lords and ladies were in here.”
“And you saw that boy die.”
“There was a baker’s son my sister used to play with named Varn,” he said quietly.
Pity and guilt stirred. “Max, there are laws that have to be obeyed. When laws are broken, the King has a duty to punish the lawbreakers. Now it’s time for you to go to bed. It’s late and I’m sure Lady Yasmie will have lots of chores for you tomorrow.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Max gave a careful bow before running out of the hall.
“You are good with children, my prince.”
Andreus grabbed at the hilt of his sword and spun around as Imogen stepped out from behind the throne. She was still wearing her dress of yellow, but her hair that had been pinned and sculpted now flowed freely around her face.
The smile she gave him made her even lovelier as she patted the seat of the throne and beckoned for Andreus to join her. “I had heard you had rescued a sickly boy off the streets and brought him here to the castle. Everyone in the castle and in the city below was talking about your kindness, which is the same kindness you showed to me when I first came here and felt so alone.”