The root of the desert flower was crushed, and its dark juice was used to ease pain and cause drowsiness, especially during painful medical procedures. He worked with it quite frequently while training with the physicians. The root itself was not poisonous, but the bright yellow flower that bloomed from it could kill a goblin with only two drops of its petal’s extract in water. A’bbni felt his stomach drop, like the floor had suddenly vanished from under him. “It is much too earthy to be the poison extract, so it’s meant to incapacitate, not to kill. And…” The thought suddenly occurred to him as he looked at the table. “There are only two glasses.”
Even though Shi’chen was not in their rooms very often, any tray in the common living areas they shared always had four glasses: three for the twins and their Father, and an extra in case of a visitor. This had been deliberately left here for them, and someone was expecting only the twins to be here, without the Regent.
Shi’chen’s ember-orange eyes quickly scanned the room as A’bbni set down the decanter. “Something is not right. Do you hear that?” Shi’chen asked, suddenly turning his eyes toward the double doors across the room that led to the hallway.
“What is it?” A’bbni asked.
Shi’chen was already on his feet, frowning. The sound of hurrying feet, a dozen or more, approaching fast, the jangle of armor creating a commotion. A’bbni rose and moved to his side, just as the double-doors to their chamber burst open like a thunderclap. Inside surged palace guards, in full helmet and chest plate armor, spears at the ready, short swords stuck in the belts at their hips. At least ten guards entered in a cacophony of footfalls, creating a half circle around the twins, blocking the doorway, spear tips pointed inwards. “What is the meaning of this?” A’bbni demanded, feeling Shi’chen stiffen by his side and giving the hand closer to his brother the barest of flicks to keep him from moving.
“Reverence A’bbni Er-Ha’sen, Captain Shi’chen Er-Ha’sen, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit high treason against the crown,” said the lead guard, his yellow eyes glittering under his burnished helmet. Both of them immediately recognized Captain Hi’jan, and a quick glance at the insignias on the armor showed that the guards were all members of Hi’jan’s Courage Garrison.
“What are you talking about?” Shi’chen demanded.
“On whose authority?” A’bbni asked at the same time.
“Ours,” came a familiar voice from the doorway. The guards by the doors parted, and, flanked by two more guards, Crown Prince En’shea entered. “Good evening, Cousins.”
En’shea was not much taller than the twins, his skin the same dark charcoal color, his eyes a bright gold. His long, black hair was plaited into a braid and pinned to his head in an elaborate twist. The yellow and gold of his silk robe swirled around him, his hands tucked into his long sleeves as he calmly crossed the room, a cold smile playing across his gold-painted lips.
“What is the meaning of this, Cousin?” Shi’chen asked, his flamelight eyes narrowing at the younger goblin.
En’shea laughed, a high, harsh sound that reverberated off the beamed ceiling. “As if you did not know the Regent’s plan.”
“What are you talking about?” Shi’chen demanded.
“Our Father will not let this stand,” A’bbni said, his ears flattening in anger.
“Ah, yes, about that,” En’shea said, waving his hand as if batting away a particularly irritating fly. “We are afraid Uncle will not be able to help you. You see, he is dead.”
The silence in the room was absolute for a long moment as the twins stared at the crown prince before a strangled sound escaped A’bbni’s throat, and Shi’chen forced out, “What did you do?” through clenched teeth.
“Ah, do not worry, you will see him again. Though it might have gone easier on you if you had drank the wine,” En’shea said, giving them a calculated smile that made his gold eyes glitter. “But no matter. Arrest them.”
The guards took a step forward, and the twins backstepped as one. “Come now, Cousins,” En’shea said. “Do not make us have to spill more blood tonight.”
A’bbni’s eyes darted around the room as his mind frantically calculated their escape options while also still trying to understand exactly what En’shea was saying. The guards had purposely surrounded them in a two-tiered crescent, preventing them from running to the right or left toward their private chambers without breaking through the line, which he was sure they could not do.
Shi’chen was an excellent fighter and could have taken three of the guards down unarmed, probably half a dozen or more if he got his hands on any sort of blade, but there was no way he would be able to dispatch a dozen armed and armored guards on his own before they overwhelmed him, and especially not if he was trying to protect A’bbni at the same time. The only other accessible exit he could think of would be over the table and out the large arched windows behind them, and that was if they could avoid tripping on the table or cushions and break both the colored glass and the crossbars. Even then, it was still a two-story drop to the ground into a stone courtyard, so that also did not seem like a wise choice.
Several of the guards had drawn their short swords in addition to the spears they held up to engage if necessary. A’bbni’s breath hitched in his throat, feeling his eyes and throat burning with the threat of tears. He could not see through the crush of guards to the crown prince now. He swallowed hard, his ears flattening, realizing there was only one reasonable response. Slowly, he held his hands out from his side, palms up, and slowly lowered himself to his knees. Slightly behind him, he heard a soft growl of anger in his twin’s throat, but then Shi’chen did the same, following him to his knees on the ground, palms out and up.
The points of two swords touched the base of their throats to keep them still as several guards came forward to pull their arms behind them and tie them roughly. A’bbni winced as one of the guards holding him wrenched his arm as if he had been resisting, though he remained pliant and limp. Shi’chen sucked in a breath as he was jerked around, the guards making sure they grabbed his bandaged arm where Hi’jan had cut him earlier that day. Hi’jan smiled coldly down at him, the tip of his sword on Shi’chen’s throat biting into his skin and scraping across his collarbone, drawing a thin line of harmless but painful blood. Shi’chen glared murder at the rival Captain.
With the guards working to tie them, they could see En’shea in front of them now, a dark smirk playing across his gold-painted lips. A’bbni gazed up at him from the floor. “What have you done to our Father?” he asked, his voice thick in his throat.
“Only what he intended to do to us,” En’shea said, gazing down at A’bbni with glittering eyes. “We are sure you know.”
“We don’t,” Shi’chen hissed, giving a little jerk against the arms that held him.
“Mm, we very much doubt that,” En’shea purred, narrowing his eyes under delicate, dark brows at the older twin. “But no matter. We will soon pry the truth out of both of you, and you will be punished.”
“Cousin, you know that we had no-” A’bbni’s protest was cut off sharply as one of the guards behind him grabbed him by the ponytail at the base of his neck and yanked his head back, the point of the sword pressing harder against the charcoal expanse of his throat. Shi’chen jerked toward him, but the guards held him firmly in place on his knees.
“You will address us properly,” En’shea said, his voice low and soft. “We are your Emperor now, and you are nothing but traitors to our house.”
“We are not traitors!” Shi’chen snapped, giving a little surge under the hands that held him but unable to move off his knees. “Cousin, what-”
The sound of Hi’jan’s backhand echoed off the walls, and Shi’chen slumped to the side, his eyes unfocused. A’bbni let out a yelp and tried to move to him, but the hands holding his hair and shoulders did not give at all. He turned to En’shea again, feeling bile surge into his throat. “Cous… Your Sovereignty,” he corrected himself quickly. En’shea’s eyes flickered with amusement at the address. “We do not know what you have been told, but my brother and I are loyal to the crown. You have to believe us.”
