“Zara tended to your bruises with a salve. They should heal faster now,” Ignas said.
Faust needed to thank her later. His injuries were the biggest sign he was the prince. The sooner they healed, the less danger he’d be in and could rest easier. He pulled the tunic over his head and tossed it on the bed. Eyes followed his movements, and Faust concentrated on his magic, pushing it into the sky stone. Wind snapped at the mercenary’s head with a hard shove.
Ignas yelped.
Faust leveled his sky stone out above his hand. He had to set distance between them despite his growing interest. Konrad would never approve a mercenary as his suitor, and Faust was supposed to behave. “I did not permit you to watch.” Faust let the stone float by him, locking Ignas in with wind chains.
Ignas groaned. “I apologize.”
Faust slipped his tunics, vest, and sashes in place. None of his coin was missing and he swore there was more in the pouch. He put his glasses on and snatched the sky stone from the air, silencing his magic.
Ignas stumbled and shook his limbs out. “You are far more efficient with magic than reported. I am impressed you could hide it this long.”
Faust tensed. He didn’t like what that implied. Windilum must have been watching him for a while. It was possible Emoris had too, but it didn’t make sense for either to keep it a secret unless they wanted him for something specific.
Ignas moseyed over to the sitting area. “It’s a pity you must hide your natural eye color.” He flopped against the pillows and patted them with a cheerful grin. “I’ve sent Zara to retrieve the court historian. Until then, why don’t we get to know each other properly? You must be dying for answers. I can guarantee I have plenty, Lord Arcus.”
Faust turned with a spark in his eyes. If he got answers, it’d lessen the fury sent Ignas’s way over this little affair. He took a step forward as a loud bang erupted from downstairs.
Faust jumped and glanced at Ignas in bewilderment.
Ignas hopped to his feet.
Rene’s magic brushed against Faust’s and wrapped around him. Faust swayed and pushed back against it, trying to convey that he was all right. He needed to get to Rene first.
Hurried steps catapulted up the stairs with heavy purpose, and Ignas grabbed Faust’s arm, forcing Faust behind him.
The door burst open. “Ignas! We’ve got trouble,” Zara exclaimed.
Ignas reached for one of his guns at his waist. “What is it?”
“Rene is here,” Faust said.
“He’s earlier than I expected,” Ignas said.
Zara shook her head. “I hadn’t even left to retrieve him. I suspect he’s been searching all night.” She winced at the sound of another bang.
“He’s messing up my tavern,” Ignas growled.
Faust bolted for the door.
“Wait!” Ignas shouted.
Faust ignored the mercenary and ran down the stairs. He had to stop Rene, these people hadn’t hurt him. Faust touched the bottom step, and his throat ran dry—a table flew in his direction. He scrambled to grasp at his magic.
Warmth surrounded Faust, and Ignas yanked Faust back. He kicked the offending table away, his gun leveled on the table, but it cracked in half and sharpened into spikes with a rush of magic from Rene. The historian stood behind the fractured table with a bright, sky-blue sky stone and a raging dark green earth stone.
“Wait!” Faust touched Ignas’s gun and jolted at the overwhelming warmth. “I am fine!” he exclaimed, shaking the feeling away. If he didn’t stop Rene, he’d kill Ignas. “I sought them out. He is the one from—”
Rene leaned back, the two stones falling silent in his palm. The table fell in a heap around him. He pushed his monocle into place and smiled. “Someone should have said something sooner.”
Ignas scoffed. “You could have asked anyone here.”
Rene’s smile grew colder. “As if I would believe a word they said when Lord Arcus was upstairs, alone with a mercenary.”
Faust withdrew his hand from Ignas’s gun. He rubbed at his temple with a soft sigh. He did not need this right now. The room was ready to erupt again at a moment’s notice, though they no longer moved now that Ignas was in sight.
“It is not what you think,” Faust told Rene.
Rene scowled. “We are leaving, Lord Arcus.”
“But Rene—”
“Lord Arcus.”
Faust pursed his lips. “Yes, sir.”
Ignas grabbed Faust’s wrist. “He, alone, won’t be enough to protect you.”
Faust twisted his wrist free and tossed a small bag of coin at the mercenary. “For the damage,” he said with a flat smile. Faust felt Ignas’s stare bore into his back as he walked out the door. So much for getting valuable information.
Chapter Seven
“Why did you disobey me?” Rene asked.
Faust fastened his cloak in place, avoiding Rene’s harsh gaze. It wasn’t something Rene would understand. He buckled the saddlebags closed and swung onto his armored horse. “I had a feeling he was here, the one who saved me in Limorous, so I sought him out. I had hoped he would have information.”
Rene mounted his own warhorse. “They could have killed you.”
“Well, they did not.” Faust tugged his hood over his head. “We must make haste after your little display.”
“I am not done scolding you yet, my lord.”
Faust kicked his steed into a trot. This was not a discussion to have amid his subjects. Traitors could be anywhere. The pair darted out of the busy stable and onto the dirt path away from the town.
Faust slowed his horse once the scenery gave way to the small forest a distance away from the town. At least the medicine Ignas had given him took the dull throb of his headache away. He exhaled, not surprised to see his breath form a small cloud. It was cold without Ignas.
Rene moved his horse alongside Faust’s. “You are far too trusting, my lord. He’s from Windilum.”
“I do not believe him to be a part of the vile rumors of Windilum,” Faust said. Rene was just like Konrad, quick to judge, less likely to listen. “He carries too much chivalry to warrant such disdain from you, Rene.”
Rene pinched the bridge of his nose.
Faust ignored Rene’s melodramatics. “He has answers, Rene—a far better insight than either of us. He thwarted my kidnapping and did not use me as leverage against Konrad. If we were to keep him close, it would become clear who my enemies are. It is a long way to Roltan, and if we do not gather more information, I could very well be killed before we reach it.”
“You are almost as insufferable as the king with your reasoning.”
“I learned from the best,” Faust said. “Use what is at hand and make the best of it. Even sworn enemies have their uses.”
“He could still be dangerous. If we are to hire an escort, there are better mercenaries suited for the job. Hol will have ones sanctioned by the Guild of Artisans.”
Faust doubted they could handle other Windilum mercenaries. “Did my brother give you enough gold to hire an escort?”
Rene pursed his lips.
“Did he?”
“He did,” Rene said. “This stop was meant to be short, and the journey to Hol would have few stops for your safety. It is not hard to deduce that I would have left the Volliare to search for you.”