Page 12 of The Prince's Mage

Chapter5

GAVRIL

Gavril finally found the strength to untangle himself from Marcella when dawn broke. His stomach churned as he thought about Aimilia sitting in the dungeons for helping him and the fact he’d let her sit in a cell all night, but his resolve to go help her had broken the second Marcella wanted him.

He could not abandon her when she begged him to stay. Not after his leaving had been the cause of all of this.

He had made his decision with her in his arms. His leaving had been the problem. Which meant there was only one solution.

Let his people choke on the blood they spilt and languish in the deserts they made in the name of peace. He would have the woman he loved.

“Si vis amari ama. Dum spiro spero. Amo.”

“If you want to be loved, love. While I breathe, I hope. I love.”

Now that she was resting, and Gavril would be able to get an audience with his parents, he could at least ensure Aimilia did not pay for doing the right thing and helping him.

As he shut the door, he cast a few runes, ensuring no one but him would be able to enter. And the rune was complex enough it would take an expert to dismantle it without it blowing up in their face.

If it did blow up, there was another rune on the inside protecting Marcella. This was what he should have done in the first place. He was too naïve and his wife had paid the price.

He’d barely made it down the hallway before a Solitus servant was bowing and stammering out that his presence was being requested in the throne room by his parents.

Good.

He didn’t care that he looked every bit like he’d raced in right off of the road. He had more important things to worry about.

And cleaning up wouldn’t matter if this went the way he expected. His decision was already made. His parents’ displeasure didn’t matter.

The servants opened the doors for him, and he strode into the throne room with his head held high. He immediately saw his parents on their thrones and Nikias standing off to the side, one hand on Aimilia’s shoulder as she glared at Nikias out of the corner of her eye. Commander Cyprian stood on her other side, alternating between giving Aimilia a disapproving look and glaring at Nikias.

Aimilia wasn’t in limiter cuffs, so Gavril took that as a good sign. At least she hadn’t been arrested yet.

And her commander’s cloak was still on her shoulders, just as dusty and dirty as his from their time on the road. So that was good. Although, if Nikias had been serious about stripping her of her position, he could be waiting to do it officially in front of their parents and Gavril.

“Boy. You will explain why you are here without the men you left with or the supplies you claimed you would find as well as the events of the previous night.”

Father’s voice forced Gavril to stop assessing Aimilia and Nikias and face his bigger problem. Gavril came to a stop halfway through the room, but when he didn’t move to kneel, Father raised an eyebrow. Mother scowled and leaned forward slightly.

Gavril straightened up and said, “Explain to me why I came back to find my wife strapped to a healer’s table and tortured for days when you made a binding vow to me that as long as I was able to provide information that could bring us to peace, she would remain safe and off the tables?”

“I promised I would not give an order for such a thing. Nikias acted without my knowledge.” Father tilted his head, a light in his eyes that told Gavril he’d known what Nikias had been up to even if he hadn’t been told it. “He told me and the whole court that he needed to take your little she-wolf to the healers for a broken wrist. I was told she resisted our healers, which was drawing out the process. That was the extent of my knowledge until I woke up this morning.”

Gavril ground his teeth together. His father not being told officially gave him just enough room to claim he didn’t know. Gavril had no way of proving he’d known.

“Then you should be furious with Nikias for deceiving you and breaking the law. We have a deal between us, and she is my wife, so even if we didn’t, that still means it’s illegal to let the healers use her as an experiment.” Gavril turned his glare on Nikias, whose expression was blank but his grip on Aimilia’s shoulder tightened, causing her to twitch. “Apparently, the one who will one day make the laws thinks he is wholly above them.”

“Do not talk about your brother and future king so disrespectfully, boy,” Mother snapped, leaning forward and gripping the arms of the throne tightly.

Gavril had stepped back before he remembered she was on the other side of the room.

Besides, they were in front of Aimilia and Cyprian, so he was safe.

“I did not call you here to talk about Nikias. You are here to explain yourself. Speak,” Father snapped.

Gavril saw Aimilia try to move toward him, but Nikias’ grip on her kept her in place. He just shifted his hand slightly, flattening his palm, but it was a gesture Aimilia could not mistake. Years of being someone’s closest—and practically only—friend had lent itself to them finding ways to communicate without words. In class, sparring with each other, sparring as a team against other mages, and when they were in front of Gavril’s parents.

This gesture meant he was fine, and he didn’t need an interruption to save him.

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