The doctor pressed his hands against Alex's abdomen and pursed his lips. The prince held his breath and cast a glance at William, seated in an armchair beside the bed.
"Is it serious?"
"On the contrary, Your Highness, it appears you have no internal bleeding. William acted quickly and spared you the worst of the damage."
"Thank goodness."
Malte straightened up. "Stay in bed at least until tomorrow, though I'd recommend resting for two or three days. I'll stop by tomorrow morning to check on you; if you're unwell tonight, send for me."
"Very well."
"I mean it, Your Highness. If you feel any kind of pain, order William to come and wake me."
Malte bowed and left the room. William rose from the armchair.
"Would you like me to go inform His Majesties?"
"Yeah, thank you."
The mage took his leave, and Alex was left alone.
He pulled his nightshirt back on and touched his throat.
The swelling in his tongue had subsided, and he could breathe properly now, but the sensation of suffocation had not yet left him, nor had the terror he had felt for himself and for William.
Someone had targeted him — that much was clear by now. And it was no longer a matter of attempted kidnappings. Someone wanted him dead.
He turned onto his side and clutched the blanket, a faint tremor running through the muscles of his arms.
Why him? He had never done anything to anyone; he wasn't even a king yet. Why did they want to kill him?
"Alex!"
His mother's voice brought him back to the present. He sat up and let himself be embraced. The scent of lilac from her clothes wrapped around him and soothed him.
"I thought I was going to lose you." Her voice trembled; something wet dampened Alex's cheek. "I was so frightened…"
"I'm sorry for scaring you."
"It's not your fault, darling. Not in the least." His mother broke the embrace and cupped his face in her hands; her eyes were red and swollen. "Blessed be the spirits… You're alive, and you're safe."
Alex took her hand and kissed the back of it, then smiled at her. "I'm better now, Mother."
His father gripped his shoulder and sat down in the armchair William had vacated.
"This is my fault," he said. "There was a breach in security — I don't know how it happened."
"Everything is fine, Father. It's not your fault. You couldn't have known."
"I'm sorry. It's the first time anyone has done something like this in… decades. And I never thought they might target you." He pressed his fingers against his eyes, and Alex thought they trembled slightly. "I will find whoever is responsible and make sure this never happens again."
"Do you think they truly meant to kill me?"
"Without any doubt. That poison was lethal."
"But why? I've done nothing to anyone — I'm not even king."
"I don't know. I don't know what they want from you, but I will find out. If it's the last thing I do." His father stood, the tension in his jaw slow to ease. "You need to rest."
Alex lowered his gaze. He knew it would be selfish of him, but he wished his father would stay at his bedside a little longer.
"Alex, I… I don't hate you. I could never hate one of my sons." He touched the scar on his face. "I got this to save your life, and I never. And I'm sorry if I made you believe I didn't love you."
The prince flushed. "Why are you telling me this?"
His father frowned at him. "Don't you remember? You asked William whether I hated you."
"Did I?"
"You also said you had fallen in love with him."
A fierce heat crept all the way up to his ears. "I said what?"
"By the spirits, I never imagined you'd say it in front of the entire court. Tomorrow they won't talk of anything else."
Alex looked away to hide his embarrassment. "Well, he'll be leaving soon enough, and in time they'll stop."
"I'm sorry."
"Is there nothing you can do to make him stay?"
His father lowered his gaze. "I'm afraid not. I could disregard the vote, but it would put you in a difficult situation, and it won't help William be accepted."
"But he saved my life. Again." Alex swallowed the lump in his throat. "Doesn't that count for anything?"
"I need to think about it. And even if he were to stay, you…" His father clenched his fists, his features hardening. "I know this will seem cruel to you, but you need to marry Ballard's daughter. William could never be more than a lover."
"Father…"
"I'm sorry. I truly wish I could see you happy." He pulled him into a stiff embrace and ran a hand through his hair. "Rest tonight. We'll talk tomorrow morning."
"Thank you, Father."
Alex embraced his mother as well and then let them both go.
In their place, his sisters and Rudi came in.
His little brother threw himself at him and burst into desperate sobs, his face streaked with tears and snot.
"I thought you were dying!"
"I'm sorry, Rudi. I didn't mean to frighten you."
"You were vomiting blood!"
"I'm sorry."
"And then you went all blue!" He wrapped his little arms around Alex's waist. "I don't want a blue brother! I want my big brother back, the same as always, and I want to play with him until I become a great warrior."
"Then you're lucky, because your same-as-always big brother is right here."
Alex ruffled his hair and pulled him close, then looked up at his sisters and smiled. Myrina's makeup was smeared, but she looked relieved.
Franziska embraced him. "You have no idea how glad we are to see you safe and sound."
"It's lucky that William is a walking encyclopedia."
"Absolutely. You've chosen yourself a fine fiancé."
Alex flushed. "He's not my fiancé."
"Given how heartfelt your declaration was, it certainly didn't sound that way."
"By the spirits, did you hear it too?"
Freya laughed. "Everyone heard it, curly. William most of all."
"It was beautiful," said Myrina. "Far more beautiful and romantic than in any novel."
Alex buried his face in his hands. "I don't want to know what I said to him."
"You don't remember?"
"No. I was barely conscious."
Franziska sat down on the mattress and crossed her legs. "You don't remember anything?"
"Only that I…" Alex flushed and looked away. "…drank from his lips, let's say."
"Ah, the kiss. Now that truly shocked the court. Ballard most of all."
"I hope it made him choke. And besides, it wasn't a real kiss — he was saving my life."
"He's been saving it rather often lately." Franziska gave a small smile. "He really is a reliable man."
"He is."
Freya crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks. "Well, you should have told us too, not just Myrina. I consider myself deeply offended by this inconceivable lack of trust in your elder sisters."
Alex smiled. "I'm sorry. Truly. I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid you'd think I was being foolish."
"And why?" asked Rudi.
"Well, because your big brother has fallen in love with a man he can't marry."
His brother frowned. "But why not? He's smarter than you — if he becomes your queen, the kingdom will become prosperous."
"The word is prosperous, Rudi."
"Same thing. You, as king, are a bit of a disaster; William can help you."
Alex ruffled his hair. "True, but a king needs to have children."
"Well, but couldn't they grow in his belly too? Once he becomes your queen, his belly will get very big, and the babies would be in there."
"It would be wonderful if it actually worked that way, but unfortunately, a man's belly, even if he were queen, can't carry children."
"Oh. Then you should leave the throne to him. He's definitely better at it."
"Rudi, are you trying to make your big brother angry tonight?"
His brother hugged him. "Only if you stay with me and don't go where the grandparents are. If you're angry, you can't die, right?"
"No, I can't, but being happy works better."
"Then I'll tickle you all night long."
"You should be in your own bed."
"I don't want to!"
Alex looked up at Franziska, but his sister just shrugged. "We're all sleeping with you tonight. Orders of the youngest."
"By the spirits, we're not ten years old anymore. It's embarrassing to all sleep together, and there's not even enough room on the bed."
"It doesn't matter. Freya and I will take the two small sofas. Sven and Ian will sleep with us for extra security in case anyone manages to get past the guards outside. You, Myri, and Rudi can sleep on the bed."
"The sofas are uncomfortable."
Franziska winked at him. "Don't worry, brother. We can manage for one night."
"If you really insist…"
"If you'd like, I can have William come too."
Alex flushed. "You're joking?"
"No. Someone tried to kill you, but he saved you — and he did it in front of the entire court. If the assassin was there, they might decide to eliminate him to get to you. His room is in a poorly patrolled wing; right now, he's one of the people most at risk."
"I hadn't thought of that."
And it was strange — he had received a military education, and these were soldiers' matters. Nearly being killed must have clouded his thinking.
"Have him come here. If he refuses, order him to. I don't want him taking unnecessary risks tonight."
Franziska hesitated. "For the same reason, perhaps he shouldn't be sent away from court. I know it may seem contradictory, but he would be safer here."
Alex shook his head. "No, you're right. If he goes back to Lenz, they could kill him more easily. Even if Flori reinforced the guard, he wouldn't be safe." He clenched his fists. "Perhaps I can use the attempted murder to keep him here. He saved my life — they can't ignore that. They can't keep saying he isn't trustworthy."
Franziska smiled. "And there's the brother I know. Glad to see him back among us." She rose from the mattress. "I'll go and fetch your beloved mage — you just rest."
She disappeared into the adjoining room along with Freya, and Alex let himself fall back onto the pillows with a sigh.
Rudi was still holding him tight with his little arms, and Myrina had taken off her shoes and curled up against him.
She squeezed his arm. "I thought I'd never get to argue with you about silly things again."
"I'm sorry. Tonight I made everyone worry."
"What matters is that you're all right." She rested her forehead against his shoulder. "I love you, Alex. And I don't want to lose you."
"I could ever make my favourite little sister cry."
"Promise me you'll be more careful?"
"I promise."
"And take care of William, too. Sometimes it seems like he doesn't care much about himself."
"And you gathered that from the way he stabbed my leg?"
Myrina lowered her gaze. "He acted with a coldness that scared me. As if… it didn't much matter to him whether he would feel pain."
"He's an idiot. He always does things like that. He never cares for himself."
"But you love him, don't you?"
Alex brought a hand to his chest. "Obviously. He's my idiot."
A soft cough made him look up.
Standing near the doors was William, his brow furrowed, clutching his grimoire.
"Your Highness, are you trying to make me angry?"