Something almost like a smile flitted across his face. “Which means I should never have doubted.” His expression closed again. “But I still wish you’d stayed at home.”
“Where I would be safe,” I finished for him.
He didn’t reply, but his eyes agreed before he turned to Jareth, his face now carefully impassive.
“You are not allowed to speak to Verene. I thought I made that clear.”
I raised an eyebrow, looking between the brothers before glancing around the entranceway again.
“We need to talk,” I said to Darius. “But not here.”
He nodded once. “Might I suggest we adjourn to your sitting room?”
“By all means.” I started toward the stairs, Darius keeping pace beside me. Neither of us spoke.
We climbed past the offices and library, turning right at the familiar level that held the suites for the royal trainees. I pushed inside my old suite without stopping to attach this year’s protections for the door. After using the security compositions on my door last year as bait for Jareth, I had once again had to ask Captain Layna for new, adjusted ones. And her eyes had been a little too knowing when she acquiesced without question. Darius had said he wanted to leave Bryony and me out of the situation with Jareth, but I suspected he had told Captain Vincent the truth. Did my own captain know as well?
When I stepped into the familiar green sitting room, I turned immediately to Darius, but the words dropped from my lips. It wasn’t only Bryony who had followed us in.
“Why is he with us?” I snapped out, glaring openly at Jareth now I was freed from the watchful eyes in the entrance hall. Jareth had tried—and nearly succeeded—to kill Darius. And he had tried to kill me as well. He had no place at the Academy, let alone in my sitting room.
Jareth laughed without mirth. “Everything is different this year. I’m always near, Princess.”
One of the guards shut the door behind us, presumably remaining on guard in the corridor outside. For a moment I was distracted by the moving ball of energy that represented the second guard entering Darius’s suite. A moment later he stopped outside the door behind the tapestry, and I realized they were taking up sentry duty outside the two entrances to my suite.
I turned back to Darius. “What is going on here? Why is Jareth at the Academy? I thought you had him securely locked up back in Kallmon?”
Darius shifted slightly, and for a strange moment I thought he actually looked uncomfortable. My eyes narrowed.
“He was locked up for weeks,” Darius said, not meeting my eyes. “And during that time, I developed a composition.”
“A composition?” I looked at Jareth. Power clung to him, but I hadn’t even noticed it earlier. Being surrounded by power was a normal trait for a royal.
“It binds him,” Darius said. “He can’t access his power unless I allow it.” Bryony snorted, and he glanced at her. “Which I will only do for lessons. And he cannot stray far from me. Duke Francis has agreed that, in the circumstances, I be permitted personal guards while at the Academy. He doesn’t need to know they’re guarding Jareth, not me. So you don’t need to fear. He is always watched, always guarded.”
“As I said.” Jareth gave us both a pained smile. “I’m always near.”
“But…why?” Bryony asked the question echoing through my head.
“So he can complete third year without posing a danger to anyone,” Darius said calmly, as if it was a normal and acceptable answer.
“Darius,” I said slowly, trying to keep my voice calm, “why does he need to complete third year? He’s a traitor who attempted to assassinate the king.”
“King-elect,” Darius murmured, but I fixed him with a stern look, and he sighed.
“Yes, he is a traitor.” The hard, bitter note in Darius’s voice immediately belied my fear that he might have been inveigled into forgiving Jareth’s crimes. “But he’s also my brother. And everyone knows how close we are. I asked the Mage Council to give me Kallorway on the promise that I meant to cease the feuds and divisions, heal the fractures, and bring our people together.”
“You’re worried about what they’ll think if your first move as ruler is to remove your only competition.” I frowned as understanding blossomed. “Especially if that competition is your previously beloved younger brother. You’re worried you’ll look even more ruthless than your father and make everyone start doubting their choice.”
“But you have good reason!” Bryony exclaimed. “He committed treason! He tried to kill you!”
“Yes, and many will believe me if I say that,” Darius said.
“But others won’t.” I sighed and massaged the side of my head. “Some will look at the years of devotion between you and think it was a highly convenient time for such an attack to occur. An attack from which you emerged unscathed.”
Darius nodded.
“But neither can you afford to appear weak,” I said. “If word eventually gets out that Jareth attempted to assassinate you, and you did nothing…”
Darius shifted again but didn’t respond. I bit my lip. His reasons made sense, but there was more to it than that. Darius couldn’t bring himself to execute Jareth, as he would have to do if his crimes were made public. But neither could the younger brother and current heir of the king-elect merely disappear without comment. A few weeks’ absence could be explained away, but not his failing to appear for third year.
“Keep your enemies close…” I murmured.
“But it’s outrageous!” Bryony cried. “He can’t just be allowed to continue at the Academy with access to both of you.”
“He is bound and watched at all times,” Darius said. “And he knows he is not permitted to speak to Verene. I will make sure he doesn’t forget it again.”
I shivered at the threat in his words. But at the same time, I worried for him. I understood his underlying exhaustion now. How much energy was he expending to keep Jareth bound?
As if reading my mind, Bryony spoke.
“If he truly has to be here, then I want to help guard him.”
Darius cleared his throat. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I have a whole squad of royal guards on shift. I suspect guarding is better left to the experts.”
Bryony rolled her eyes. “I’m not saying I want to follow him around everywhere.” She gave Jareth a disgusted look. “That’s the last thing I want. I’m saying that someone must be supplying these constant binding compositions.” She gave Darius a knowing look. “And I suspect that someone is you. I can help with that. I can keep you supplied with extra energy.”
An irrepressible look of relief crossed his face before he tamped it down. My worry increased. The effort must be taking more from him than he was letting anyone see.
“I can’t let you do that,” he said, but Bryony waved his words away.
“Of course you can. You’re the king-elect. You have a lot more duties than just guarding your brother, and you can’t afford to let yourself be exhausted by that one task.”
“And you’re a third year trainee,” he countered. “You’ll be expected to produce energy compositions as part of your studies.”