“I’d take it as a kindness if you didn’t kill me until I get a chance to explain,” the stranger said quickly. Eiri heard shuffling, then Ellis’ voice.
“Xan, wait,” he whispered. “Can we have some light?”
Two tiny magelights flared to life. One belonged to Xan and the stranger held the other. The crystal’s light glowed dimly, just enough for Eiri to make out the features of the man who’d grabbed him. He appeared to be older than them, perhaps in his early fifties, with strands of grey peppered through his short brown hair and beard. He stood an inch or two taller than Ellis, which meant he towered over Xan, not that it seemed to have any effect on the mage’s willingness to fight this stranger.
Ellis, though, seemed almost relieved.
“Sir Henschel? What are you doing here?”
“You know him?” Eiri moved to join the other two, shaking his head once when Xan raised an eyebrow in concern. He could still stand on his own, at least for a bit longer, and he refused to show weakness in front of this man. Ellis may know him, but Eiri didn’t, and he didn’t trust any Vaetrean outside of the two men beside him and his husband.
“Sir Henschel is my mother’s spymaster,” Ellis explained, which did nothing to make Eiri trust him more.
“I believe we’re past formalities right now. You can just call me Marsen.” He turned to Eiri, then Ellis. “I apologize for grabbing you, but I couldn’t risk you making a sound and alerting the guards.”
“Why are you here helping us? You know my mother wouldn’t hesitate to execute you for treason,” Ellis said. Eiri was happy to let him take the lead here. Xan seemed just as confused as Eiri felt and obviously trusted this man just as much as Eiri did, which was to say not at all.
“My loyalty is to Vaetreas, not to the royal family. What’s happening here is concerning, to say the least. I don’t believe trying to save my country is treason, but if the queen chooses to see it that way, then so be it.”
“No offense,” Eiri cut in, “but why should we trust you and why did you grab us? Syrus is missing, and I’m set to be executed for his murder. The entire palace is after me, and all it would take is someone opening this door to discover me. I would very much like not to be here. Unless you know where my husband is, let us be so we can look for him.”
“Eiri!” Ellis looked scandalized, but Marsen seemed almost approving. He didn’t quite trust Eiri; that much he could tell, but the older man didn’t hold the same vitriol Eiri had come to expect from Vaetreans.
“You’re right, my lord. I shouldn’t be wasting time,” he said. “I may know where Prince Syrus is, and I want to help you get to him.”
That knocked the wind out of Eiri’s sails and he floundered for a moment, finally latching onto one detail.
“You know where he is? Is he..?” He couldn’t say the word. Even thinking it made his heart seize in his chest and his breath catch. Marsen didn’t miss that little tell, eyes narrowing for amoment as he studied Eiri. Whatever he saw must have satisfied him, because the lingering doubt in his expression vanished.
“I believe he may still be alive, but maybe not for much longer. That’s why I had to take the risk of grabbing you from the hallway.”
A strong arm slid around his waist, supporting Eiri when his knees went weak. Fear, relief, and a desperate hope left his head reeling.
“Where do you think he is?
“He’s in the old observatory, isn’t he?” Ellis asked, voice unwavering even as he held Eiri up. “That’s why there are so many guards near there. My mother put him there.”
“But why? Why wouldn’t he be in the healer’s ward?” Xan had shifted so he could keep one eye on the door while still protecting Ellis and Eiri. Eiri could see the edge of a dark crystal in his other hand and knew Xan had a spell prepared should anything go wrong.
“Because she wants him to die,” Ellis breathed, his face paling when Marsen nodded.
“I believe that’s the case,” the older man said, voice quiet.
“Why, though?”
Eiri knew the answer to Xan’s question. “Because Syrus changed.” He kept his head up when all three of them looked to him. “He was supposed to bring me into line so the queen could show the world that no one could stand against her. Instead, he supported me. He wore Canjiri symbols to the party, so everyone realized he’d defied her.”
Without Ellis’ support, Eiri would have hit the floor when everything fell into place. He didn’t know what had happened to Syrus, but now he at least knewwhy. By siding with Eiri, Syrus had made a target of himself. They’d expected that, butthey’d expected Eiri to be the target of the queen’s wrath, not Syrus.
“I don’t believe the original plan was to kill Syrus, but whatever happened, they’re taking advantage of it,” Marsen agreed. “If he dies, the entire country will want to see Eiri executed for it. If he lives, I doubt anyone would make a fuss if Eiri was killed, anyway. Unfortunately, prejudice runs deep in this country.”
“If the story gets out that Eiri killed Syrus, that would start a war,” Xan said grimly, understanding in his eyes. “The queen could swoop in and take Canjir by force, rather than negotiate and barter for what she wants.”
“I thought the whole reason we’d never gone to war with Canjir was how difficult it is to get troops to the island, though?” Unlike Xan, Ellis looked confused. He was still pale, his complexion chalky with shock as he struggled to process everything happening.
Marsen shook his head. “It’s difficult, but not impossible. It’s a risk the queen is willing to take now, though. Her reputation has been tarnished by the open defiance of the four of you.”
“I’d prefer to defy her by surviving alongside Syrus,” Eiri said, voice tight. He wanted to lash out, to rage at the injustice of it all. He’d never asked to come here. If he’d had a choice, he never would have set foot on Vaetrean soil again. But instead, their families had manipulated him and Syrus into this, counting on their mindless obedience. When they’d had the audacity to think for themselves, they’d signed their own death warrants? The unfairness of it all curdled in his stomach, but it was a useless emotion right now.
