King Hubert appeared embarrassed for a heartbeat, and his face cracked into a broad grin. “I am. This room is usually empty, and I sneak in here twice a day to clear my head.” He narrowed his eyes at Hugo and Dorian as he approached the center of the room. “You’re not hiding too, are you?”
“No, Your Majesty,” Hugo replied.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Dorian said at the same time. “Her Majesty and Mother are trying to arrange my marriage as we speak.”
“Your Majesty, this is my younger brother, Dorian. I think you might have met at one of the recent dinners.” Hugo made what were likely unnecessary introductions, but he could never be sure. The king had to speak to so many people during the day. It was a wonder he remembered anyone at all.
The king lit up. “Of course. You’re the maverick with books.” He wagged a finger at Dorian and moved closer. “I’ve been wanting to speak to you. There’s this book I adored as I was a child that was an illustrated journal of forest wildlife with a focus on animals in Wulia. My younger brother destroyed it when wegot into a fight decades ago, and I’ve been searching for a new copy ever since.”
“It sounds likeLord Farthington’s Treatise on Wulian Flora and Fauna, volume two,” Dorian answered without hesitation.
“Yes! I believe that’s it!”
Dorian hummed and nodded. “That is a hard one to get. I have a very old, battered copy, but it’s missing several of its lovely illustrations. I’m searching for another copy that has all the art so I can begin replicating them and repairing the old copy I have.”
“Excellent. What can I do to help your work?” King Hubert countered. It sounded as if King Hubert was prepared to throw gold and assistants at Dorian to get his hands on this book.
Dorian’s mouth bobbed open and closed several times, but no sound came out. He certainly wasn’t expecting to find such a rich and enthusiastic client. At the very least, he was in safe hands.
“If you’ll excuse me, Your Majesty, I need to go locate my other brother before I prepare for the wedding,” Hugo announced, giving a small bow to the king.
“Of course. Of course. Going to be a wonderful day. Your brother and I are going to talk books for a bit,” King Hubert stated.
As Hugo turned away, Dorian threw himself at Hugo, wrapping his arms around his neck and hugging him. “Love you, Hugo. It will be a great day.”
“Love you too, Dor.”
“Oh, and you might try the stables. Augustine mentioned something about planning your escape,” Dorian suggested as he released Hugo.
Hugo swore under his breath. Augustine never made it easy. At least Dorian was happy. As Hugo was leaving, King Hubert was pouring two glasses of brandy while they talked books.
Now, for his other brother.
Hugo was gasping for air, and a stitch had formed in his side by the time he reached the stables on the far side of the palace grounds. He’d run most of the way because he was short on time. He was due back in his rooms to get cleaned up and dressed for the wedding that was only an hour away.
And yes, he’d thought maybe he could sneak five minutes alone with his fiancé before they were married, but that was looking very unlikely.
“Augustine!” Hugo shouted as he entered the stables and spotted his youngest brother standing in front of a stall with a beautiful chestnut stallion, appearing dangerously thoughtful. Many stable hands and grooms stopped what they were doing and stared in shock at Hugo, while his brother slowly turned his head and grinned, but he was long accustomed to his brother shouting at him.
“Hugo! Perfect timing!” Augustine jogged over to him, grabbed his arm, and tugged him to where he was standing. “I’ve given this some thought, and I think I’ve got the plan worked out perfectly.” His voice was low, and he leaned close to Hugo so none of the stable workers could overhead them.
“What plan?”
“Your escape plan.”
“What?” Hugo squawked, jerking away from Augustine. His brother had lost his mind.
“Come on and keep your voice down.” He stopped at the stallion, and Hugo mentally moaned. He knew this horse. It was Everand’s horse, Demon. Of course, this was the one to catch his brother’s attention.
“This is the best horse in the stable,” Augustine continued, oblivious to Hugo’s internal anguish. “Definitely the fastest. The black beauty behind me is the next fastest. I’m sure of it. Help me get these two saddled up. We can be out of Frostbourneprior to anyone discovering you’re missing. There’s a ship in the harbor near Buckleford right now that’s leaving for Belhaven at midnight. We would need to hide you somewhere near the docks until midnight. We sneak onto the ship, and then we can hide in Belhaven for a few years.”
For several heartbeats, Hugo’s brain locked up. His brother was offering to help him run from his wedding, smuggle him out of Branem, and hide in Belhaven. He seemed to think he was saving Hugo.
Hugo pulled away from Augustine and stepped over to stand in front of him. “I don’t want to run. I want to marry Everand.”
Augustine’s face wrinkled up in confusion as if Hugo had spoken in a foreign language. “No, that’s crazy. I won’t let you sacrifice your life to protect us and make Mother happy. We can get by fine without selling you off to the royal family.”
Hugo bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at Augustine. He was completely in earnest about saving his brother, and his efforts to save him touched Hugo.
