The Prince's Consort (Chronicles of Tournai Book 1)

by Antonia Aquilante

  “No. Don’t.”

  Amory shook his head, his expression a mask of concentration nearly covering his fear. Cold terror raced through Philip at that look, at Amory’s stubbornness. Because it could get Amory and their child hurt, maybe killed. Amory needed all of his healing Talent to take care of himself.

  “Don’t do this, please.”

  Amory didn’t answer but kept at his task, his face going paler.

  “Please, Amory.”

  “Amory, stop.” Jadis’s voice cut sharply through the air and broke into Amory’s concentration. The tingle of magic ceased when Amory startled, and relief made Philip even weaker. Jadis dropped to his knees beside them and gently pulled Amory away. Amory didn’t protest. He also didn’t move far, getting out of Jadis’s way but staying near Philip. Amory looked down at him, staring into his eyes and running his fingers through Philip’s hair as the healer began his work. The fatigue in Amory’s beloved face and the slight tremble in his fingers were not reassuring. But Jadis was there, and he would take care of Amory too. They would both be all right. It was Philip’s last thought before the darkness claimed him.

  Chapter 17

  PHILIP DIDN’T know how much time had passed when he came back to himself. He realized before trying to open his eyes he wasn’t on the floor any longer, so someone must have moved him after he passed out. To a bed from the soft mattress beneath him, and from the scent of Amory on the pillows, his own. Amory. Fear gave him the ability to force his eyes open.

  Amory was next to him on the bed, sleeping and so still. Philip turned to look at him, to make sure he was only sleeping, that he was all right, and gasped at the painful pull in his side. Hands on his shoulders urged him back against the pillows.

  “I healed the wound,” Jadis said. “But it’s going to be tender for a day or two, so no sudden movements and lots of rest, Your Highness.”

  “And Amory? The baby?” Philip’s voice was a rasp, but he thought the words were understandable.

  Jadis turned to the bedside table and poured water into a glass from a pitcher. “He’s going to be fine and so is the baby, but he has to stop trying to use his Talent on others. A lesson I thought he would have learned already.”

  He drank deeply from the glass Jadis handed him. “Apparently my husband is a slow learner.”

  Jadis flicked a glance at Amory’s sleeping form. “And a deep sleeper, or I imagine you’d be in trouble for that remark, Your Highness.”

  “Probably.” But he planned on a serious conversation with Amory when his husband woke up. Philip could not take more terror of the kind he’d felt that day. “Is he supposed to be sleeping?”

  “Yes, he needs rest to recover his strength. I bolstered it as much as I could, and used my own magic to keep both him and the baby healthy, but his own is what’s needed. He must stop using his Talent for anything else.”

  “I couldn’t let Philip die.” The statement was made in a whisper, but Philip’s heart leaped to hear Amory speaking.

  “Amory.” Ignoring the pull in his side, Philip turned to face his husband. Amory’s eyes were closed, but as Philip watched, his eyelids with their long lashes fluttered and finally opened. Amory’s face was far too pale for Philip’s liking, but his eyes were clear. He reached out and cupped Amory’s cheek, brushing his thumb back and forth over Amory’s cheekbone.

  “Are you all right?”

  Philip choked on a laugh, cutting it off before it could turn into a sob. “I should be asking you.”

  “You’re the one who was stabbed.”

  “And you’re the one who nearly killed himself using his Talent when he shouldn’t have.”

  “I wasn’t going to lose you, Philip. You saved me, I save you.” Amory covered Philip’s hand with his own. “That’s how it works.”

  “But if you kill yourself doing it, then it doesn’t work. Promise me you’ll take more care, love. I can’t lose you.” He glanced down at Amory’s rounded stomach. “Either of you, now.”

  “I promise. If you don’t nearly get yourself killed again.”

  “Deal.” He bent and kissed Amory. A brief kiss but one flooded with his relief and love. “Now, how are you feeling?”

  “Tired, but all right otherwise. And you?”

  “Fine. A little sore, but Jadis healed the wound.” It was only then, saying the man’s name, that Philip remembered they weren’t alone. He looked back, over his shoulder. The healer was standing in the same spot, doing his best not to stare at them. Philip pushed away embarrassment at being seen in such an intimate moment with Amory.

  “Well, now you’re awake, let’s have a look.” Jadis bustled around to Amory’s side of the bed and spent a few moments checking Amory over. Philip and Amory were quiet until Jadis lifted his hands from Amory’s forehead and stomach. “You and the baby are fine, but you need rest. A lot of rest to recover the strength you lost and to give your Talent the time it needs to get back to full strength. I know you’ll hate the idea, Amory, but I’m insisting on bed rest until you recover your strength.”

  Both Philip and Amory let out sighs of relief at Jadis’s first words. Amory’s face fell when Jadis mentioned staying in bed, then his eyes narrowed. Philip would support Jadis, but he was reassured to see that Amory might argue. The impulse told him more than anything that Amory would be fine.

  Finally Amory nodded. “All right, just to be sure.”

  Philip held back another relieved sigh. Despite Jadis’s presence, he leaned down and kissed Amory again. “Thank you.”

  Amory smiled wryly, fondness in his eyes.

  A few moments later, after Jadis got Amory comfortably propped up against some pillows, Philip asked what happened after he passed out. Rayan was no longer in the room, but blood was soaked into the rug and smeared on the polished wood of the floor.

  “Rayan is dead.”

  Amory took Philip’s hand in the moment of silence after Jadis’s statement, but Philip didn’t feel anything for Rayan, certainly not remorse. Taking a life would weigh on him, but he had done what he had to do to save Amory and their child. He would make his peace with his actions. He gestured for Jadis to continue.

  “He sustained severe blood loss and a head injury. I wasn’t able to get to him in time.” Jadis stared at Philip. “I won’t ask why he looks as if he was mauled.”

  “Best not to.”

  Jadis nodded. “The guards took his body away. They arrived shortly after I did on what I understand was their scheduled patrol of the house.”

  Managing to miss Rayan’s attack on Amory by moments. Dumb luck on Rayan’s part or had he gotten the information out of someone in the house? Philip wouldn’t have thought the servants at Alzata would let information as important as guard schedules slip, but he would have to check.

  “Since we didn’t know exactly what happened or who was involved, only that Rayan tried to kill Amory, we confined all of your guests under guard,” Jadis continued. “Captain Loriot is waiting to speak with you.”

  “And my sister?” Philip asked. He could only imagine what Elodie would have done when all of her guests were hauled away by royal guards. “What has she been told?”

  “Very little. The princess has been asked to stay in one of the bedchambers with her ladies. Her Highness… isn’t pleased,” Jadis finished delicately.

  “No, she wouldn’t be. But I’ll have to talk to her later.” And he was looking forward to the discussion even less than he was before. “I have to deal with our… guests first.”

  He sent Jadis to fetch Captain Loriot while Philip slipped from the bed and dressed in clean clothes. His side pulled while he dressed but wasn’t terribly painful, and he was finished dressing by the time Captain Loriot arrived. Philip perched on the edge of the bed next to Amory while the captain reported on how Vasco, Faron, and Lilliale were being held in one of the upstairs sitting rooms and protesting their confinement vociferously.

  Philip forced back all of his feelings—betrayal, disbelief,
rage—at the thought of his childhood friends trying to murder his husband and listened to Amory explain what had happened before Philip arrived. He took Amory’s hand and held tight, fear coursing through him again when he thought of what could have happened, what almost happened. Amory could defend himself, but alone, without weapons, and unable to do as much for fear of harming their child, against a man with a knife….

  “I’m all right,” Amory said, loud enough for Philip alone to hear him. “And no one is going to try to hurt me anymore. We know who it is now.”

  “Yes.” Knowing was a relief the likes of which Philip had never felt before, even if the knowledge of who had been trying to kill Amory hurt.

  Amory’s expression softened, and he squeezed Philip’s hand. Amory understood. Which was why Amory insisted on going with him to talk to their guests. Their prisoners.

  “You’re supposed to stay in bed. Rest.”

  “I know, and I’ll come right back to bed afterwards. I’ll sit on a comfortable chair while we’re with them, but I’m not letting you do it alone. I know this isn’t going to be easy, love, and I want to be there with you.”

  “I’ll be all right. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

  “I won’t. I want to be there for you, and for me too. They’ve been trying to kill me, Pip, and I want to know why. I need to do this.” Amory’s face was set, but not from stubbornness. In Philip’s worry over Amory, he had become so protective that sometimes he forgot how strong Amory was himself. Because he was so strong, and the force of his love for Philip was even stronger.

  Philip nodded. “We need to do it together.”

  AMORY AND Philip walked into the room where Vasco and his siblings were being kept accompanied by Captain Loriot and six royal guards. Captain Loriot wouldn’t allow them into the room otherwise. Amory had no desire to argue, and Philip said nothing. Neither of them was stupid or reckless. Philip might disagree about that assessment with regard to Amory’s actions, but Amory couldn’t let Philip bleed to death in front of him.

  Inside the sitting room, a stony-faced Vasco leaned against the mantle while Faron paced the room in agitated patterns. Lady Lilliale sat on a couch near Vasco, perching on the edge of a cushion, her pretty face bewildered. All three watched as Amory and Philip walked in with their guards. Vasco and Faron bowed, but Lady Lilliale jumped to her feet and let out a flood of words without so much as a brief curtsy. “Philip? What’s going on? Why are we here? We were with Elodie and the guards came and dragged us away. Elodie was so upset, and I didn’t know what was happening. They scared me.”

  “You’ll forgive me, Lilliale, but that isn’t a concern of mine,” Philip said. His words were sharp, but the arm he wrapped around Amory’s waist was careful. Philip led him to another couch on the other side of the room and helped him sit. Amory would have been more annoyed with Philip’s coddling if he weren’t so tired and if it weren’t so nice. He warmed when Philip rested a hand on his shoulder, uniting them.

  Lady Lilliale flinched. “I—I don’t understand.”

  “Don’t you?” Philip’s gaze landed on each of the siblings in turn. “Your brothers understand. It’s why you’re all here.”

  “What do you mean?” Lilliale’s face was a study in confusion, her eyes wide and blinking as she glanced from Philip to each of her brothers. “Elodie invited us to come with her. It’s supposed to be a party.”

  “Ah, yes, and I’ll be having a conversation with Elodie, because she wasn’t supposed to come here today. Let alone bring anyone here.” He had to pause to make sure he could keep his voice even as he continued. Just the thought of how close he’d come to losing Amory…. “And I’ll bet it was your brother, Faron, who convinced her it would be a good idea to come, and to bring you all along with her.”

  “I don’t understand, Philip,” she repeated. She looked over her shoulder to Faron and back to Philip. “Why would he? And what does it matter if he did? It’s a visit, just for fun.”

  “Lilliale, I’m afraid it’s far more than that.” Philip had known Lilliale for a long time, but he couldn’t tell if she was as confused as she professed to be. He hated that it had come to the point where he had to be suspicious of her, his sister’s friend. But they were all taught to hide their feelings to survive at court.

  “Then what is it?”

  “Your visit was an excuse for your brother to attempt to kill Amory.”

  “What? No.” Lilliale dropped back down into her seat as the color drained from her face. “No. They wouldn’t. They couldn’t. Where’s Rayan?”

  “Rayan is dead. He was killed while trying to stab my husband and consort to death today.” He studied the siblings, watching their reactions. Lilliale swayed in her seat, and Faron placed a hand on her shoulder, his other hand clenched at his side. Vasco’s only reaction was to close his eyes. “I know Rayan tried to kill Amory today. He’s tried to kill Amory before, multiple times. What I want to know is why, and who else was involved.”

  Silence stretched out for long moments.

  “I will find out. One way or another, I will find out. But it will be far easier if you tell me now.” Philip fixed each of them with an intense stare. More silence. “I don’t believe Rayan planned and executed all of this on his own. It’s obvious he didn’t as Faron convinced Elodie to bring you out here today. I can also assume the reason you all came here was to divert suspicion from Rayan. I think you’re all involved.”

  “Lilliale had nothing to do with this,” Faron said.

  “Faron,” Vasco snapped out. “Quiet.”

  “No,” Philip said. “He’s going to talk. You all are going to talk.”

  He stared at Vasco, standing near the mantle, the man’s posture proud. Pain sliced into Philip’s heart, perhaps worse than the knife wound to his side. These men had once been his friends; Vasco had been more than a friend. Lilliale was Elodie’s best friend and like a sister to him. Philip would have let Faron marry Elodie. He never expected a betrayal from them. Amory’s hand covered his on Amory’s shoulder and squeezed, linking them. Anchoring him.

  “Now.” His voice lashed out, making Lilliale jump, but he didn’t care. “Tell me why, now.”

  “Why do you think?” Faron’s words broke the silence, nearly at a yell. The guards shifted, ready to protect Amory and Philip, at the outburst and the naked anger on the man’s face. Vasco tried to quiet his brother again, but Faron ignored him. Faron had always been hotheaded, likely to jump to attack or defend when the situation involved something he cared about. Philip had thought he’d grown out of some of those impulses. Apparently not. “You hurt our sister. Betrayed her with this farce of a marriage you entered into. Did you think we could let such an insult pass?”

  Philip didn’t know what he expected to hear, but that wasn’t it. “Excuse me?”

  “Don’t deny it. You know what I mean.” Faron was furious, yelling and gesturing wildly, and very obviously unrepentant. He seemed to have forgotten he was speaking to the prince. Or perhaps he didn’t care. “You were supposed to marry our sister. Everyone knew you were to marry Lilliale. Do you know what it did to her, and to our family, when you turned from her and married him? She was devastated. She deserves to be princess, and we were going to give that to her.”

  Only Amory’s hand on his allowed Philip to hold on to his composure at the venom in Faron’s voice. The pressure of Amory’s hand was calming, restraining, even though Amory’s shoulder was tense under Philip’s hand. Amory wasn’t as calm as he appeared. He was either too exhausted to get visibly upset, which was worrying, or he was keeping himself calm for Philip.

  “I was never going to marry Lilliale. Nothing was agreed upon—the possibility of a marriage wasn’t even discussed. I have never done anything to make you believe otherwise. Anything more was something you hoped for, but that’s all.”

  “You were never going to marry me?” Lilliale asked, her voice small and plaintive. “But I thought you cared about me. Elodie always
talked about how we would be sisters. I would make such a good wife to you, a good princess for the country.”

  “I never planned to marry you, Lilliale. I’m quite sure you would make someone a good wife, but not me.” On any other day, he would have felt bad for crushing Lilliale’s hopes, for the tears spilling down her cheeks.

  “But—but I love you! We’re supposed to get married. That’s always been what’s supposed to happen.” She looked at her brothers. “They told me it would. I was going to marry you.”

  “Did they?” Philip asked as Vasco closed his eyes in what looked like resignation. “They told you we were going to marry even after I was already married to Amory. And you didn’t think what they told you was strange? Especially when attempts were being made on Amory’s life?”

  “I thought you would realize you made a mistake. That being married to me would be better for you and Tournai than being married to a man. That’s all.” Her eyes were wet, and more tears spilled over and drenched her cheeks. Shock and grief and hurt swirled through her eyes, made her face a mask of pain, but there was something more in her eyes. A dawning of knowledge and dread. Lilliale wasn’t a stupid woman. She had to have sensed something more was happening even if she willfully ignored it.

  Philip turned his attention back to her brothers. “So, because your sister was disappointed she couldn’t marry me, because you wanted her to marry me, you decided to kill my husband?”

  The silence seethed with anger and frustration. Vasco and Faron were not men who regretted their actions, except perhaps getting caught. If they’d had their way, Amory would be dead, Lilliale would be Philip’s wife, and no one would ever know the crimes they committed.

  “And perhaps you wanted to punish me too.”

  “You deserve it,” Faron said, the words vicious. “For leading her on and then hurting her. You deserve to be punished.”

  “Faron, stop talking,” Vasco said, speaking for the first time in several moments.