“No, Your Highness, I don’t.”
He smirked at me. “I don’t think I believe you, but whatever. I suppose I’ll find out soon enough.” He stepped around me and strode over to Taran’s bedside, with Janos trailing along behind him. Janos nodded at me as he passed by me, and I returned the greeting carefully. His face looked pale and tired, like he hadn’t had much sleep.
I turned and left, on my way to see Prince Mikos and find out what the plan was for speaking to the consort Janos before the meeting with Prince Larz. I knew they wanted me to take Janos into custody before that meeting, so I needed to be ready.
****
I found Prince Mikos at first meal, drinking tea. He was alone and seemed to be deep in thought as I sat down beside him.
“Did you get any rest last night, Your Royal Highness?”
“Not much. My consort was restless because of the storm.”
“It was a bad night.”
“Yes. Have you already eaten?”
“Yes, sir. I’ve been downstairs interviewing Prince Larz’s son, Taran.”
“Did he see the assailant?”
“Unfortunately, no, but he indicated that he thought there was someone there, between him and the prince. He said he pushed Janos aside and back down into his chair so he could step across him and get to Prince Larz, who was sprawled out on the table. That’s when he was stabbed in the back.”
“You do think my brother was the target then?”
“Actually, no, Your Highness. I think the murderer was going after Janos.”
“What?Why do you think that?”
“Your Highness, Prince Larz was rendered unconscious for a few moments by that blow to the head. But I don’t think it was intended to be lethal. and not even meant to seriously harm him. The attack on Taran only occurred when Taran pushed past Janos to defend Prince Larz and simply got in the way of the knife.”
“But you still think it was one of his Royal Guards?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Why would one of them try to kill Janos?”
“I can only speculate at this point, sir.”
“Yes, I understand. But tell me what you think.”
“It could only be because someone paid the assailant and paid them very well.”
The prince sighed as he put down his cup and leaned back in his chair. “There’s hardly a shortage of people who hate the man. On Tygeria, at least.”
“But not here on Moravia. And not on Laltana. I did a background check before we arrived on all of King Stefan’s servants. There are no Tygerians working here in the palace. Your brother is, of course, beyond reproach.”
“Vannos? Gods yes. He has a gentle soul, according to what my omak says. I have to say I agree.”
“As for Janos and the Laltanans, he’s quite popular. His stance during the war endeared him to the population and his refusal to give in and sign the treaty, even though he was tortured, made him a hero and a martyr.”
“Hm. It has to be as we thought, then. My Imperials couldn’t have raced around the table in that amount of time and then come back, and once the family and servants are ruled out, one the of the Royal Guards is the only possibility. They would have had the advantage of proximity to the prince and his family. My father is planning on speaking to Larz this morning, if the weather continues to clear, and we’re allowed to take a shuttle up to our ship. If we can remove my brother and his family as soon as possible, then that should neutralize the threat. I can then send his men back to Laltana and get them out of the way. Once we determine the killer, of course.”
“Yes, Your Highness. I agree that’s for the best.”
“I’ll notify you as soon as I get clearance to board the shuttle, and you can take the Consort Janos into custody.”
“I’ll take Taran at the same time. I’m still only working with a theory of the events, and I haven’t ruled out the fact that he could possibly have been a specific target, along with Prince Larz.”
