William furrowed his brow and gave the prince a sharp look. "You are truly childish."
"Perhaps." His Highness gestured for him to sit beside him. "But I want my raven to feed me."
"Can I refuse?"
"Absolutely not."
William sighed and sat down beside him. He picked up the bowl and began to feed him. The prince ate in silence, his eyes fixed on William's as if studying him. Even though nothing improper was happening, William found himself swallowing a knot of excitement.
When he had finished, he handed the bowl back to the cook.
"How did you find it?"
"Decidedly better than the last soup you cooked for me."
"I'm glad."
"So I think I'll forgive you."
William raised his head. "Are you serious?"
"Yes." The prince gave a mischievous smile. "But for that other thing, you'll have to wait a little longer."
"That won't be difficult at all," the mage lied. "I can wait as long as you like."
"Why do I get the feeling that's bullshit?"
William looked away and pressed his lips together. "You are impossible."
The prince took his hand and kissed his fingers. "My mage is truly a cruel man."
"Your Highness!"
"What an unlucky prince I am." He grazed his fingertips with his lips, then trailed them down to his wrist. "But today I feel very magnanimous, so I think I'll forgive you for being so harsh with me as well."
He gave him an amused look, then licked his palm. William flushed all the way to the tips of his ears.
"What are you doing?" he exclaimed, embarrassed.
"What's the matter, does it bother you?"
"We're in public! You can't—"
"You're adorable when you get embarrassed." The prince smirked and let go of his hand, then rose from the bench and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Back to work, William."
He moved toward the door that led from the kitchens to the rest of the palace, and Sven and Ian followed him. William smoothed his hair and touched his burning cheeks, then stood up.
A hand squeezed his shoulder. William turned around and the cook gave him a thumbs up with a smile.
"My compliments, boy."
"It's not what it looks like!"
She gave him a pat on the back, nodded, and returned to the stove. William walked quickly out of the kitchen, his cheeks burning with embarrassment, and caught up with the prince.
"Are you out of your mind?" he hissed. "The cook saw us!"
"And did she approve?"
"Your Highness!"
The prince laughed. "Forgive me, but I couldn't help myself."
"You shouldn't enjoy embarrassing me."
"I won't do it again, my raven. You have my word."
William hesitated, then grabbed him by the sleeve. "The whole palace knows, doesn't it?"
"I think… yes." The prince scratched the back of his neck. "Apparently everyone present last night heard what I said to you. And rumors at court travel fast."
"By the spirits, now they'll think I'm easy."
"I'm sorry, it's my fault."
"No, I…" William sighed. "You weren't yourself and I know you didn't do it on purpose, but I don't want to go through what happened at the Academy again. That's why I'd like to be yours officially."
The prince furrowed his brow. "Then I need to get to work right away."
He quickened his pace toward his study and William followed him.
"Your Highness, there are more important matters to attend to."
"Your safety comes before everything."
"Yours is more important. We need to figure out who is targeting you."
"We can handle both, Will. Together."
They reached the study and shut themselves inside. After tidying the desks, they sat down and began to work.
The situation in the north was even more critical; in addition to the attacks on caravans by suspected Xianese, there had been a surge of banditry that the local forts couldn't manage.
"We need to send reinforcements," said the prince. "Perhaps we should go ourselves."
"You promised Lady Aldeburn, didn't you?"
"Yes, she told me her march is in trouble and her resources aren't sufficient. It's all connected to the attacks on the caravans."
"Do you know whether the Empire has received our letter?"
"The one with the invitation for a delegation?"
William nodded and the prince shook his head. "Nothing yet, but I know the letter was sent. Not much time has passed, has it? A week or a little more — it's too soon to expect a reply."
"Perhaps you're right."
"In the meantime we should deal with the banditry and restore safety on the roads. Lydia Aldeburn says it's commoners who have lost their livelihood since the trade routes changed."
"An armed intervention wouldn't yield lasting results." William nibbled his thumb thoughtfully. "We should approach it differently."
The prince frowned. "In my view we have two options. First, we increase the soldiers patrolling the trade routes under attack. Second, we find a way for the economically affected villages to find other sources of income."
"The first option would require additional forts along the roads. Soldiers need places to rest and stay warm."
"And shelter from the snow," the prince added. "And we don't have enough of those. The villages in the area aren't equipped."
"And building forts takes time."
"Watchtowers would be enough. Actually, I think they're the best solution."
William frowned. "But those take time as well."
"We can hire locals. That way they'd have a steady income and would be less inclined to resort to theft."
"And in the meantime we could build the watchtowers, so that once they're ready we could restore trade along those roads."
The prince smiled. "Exactly."
William smiled back, and a wave of pride filled his chest. His Highness was not at all the shallow fool the Council enjoyed portraying him as; he was a sharp and practical man, and his idealistic, passionate side was what drove him to pour his heart and soul into the kingdom.
And to find solutions where there seemed to be none.
He transcribed the prince's order, ready to send it to the relevant ministers.
"Will?" His Highness called.
William looked up. "Yes?"
"I was wondering… the current trade routes, the ones heading east — which domain do they pass through?"
"Hmm, well — if I understand correctly, compared to the original routes they run further south. The journey is about a week longer, because it has to ford the river at its lowest and least turbulent point, but then it has to head back north to reach the only mountain pass into Xia that doesn't get closed by snow in winter."
"But this new route doesn't pass through Lydia Aldeburn's march, does it?"
"No, it should pass through the northern part of the von Riedel duchy."
The prince frowned. "Nikolas's father…"
"Is something troubling you, Your Highness?"
"No, don't worry. I had an idea, but it's a foolish one."
William raised an eyebrow. "You don't want to share it?"
"Never mind, I mean it." He stood up and joined him at the desk. "Is there anything else we need to deal with?"
"Only the recent attacks against you."
"Good. We've done well today." He leaned down and kissed him on the head. "Do you want to rest?"
"Perhaps some tea would be nice."
The prince nodded and stepped to the door to give orders. William leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes; he was beginning to feel tired. He glanced at the window: outside, the sun was low and would soon disappear behind the rooftops of the city.
The prince came back to him. "Ian will be here shortly with the tea. I told him to get it straight from the kitchens."
"We need to track down the culprit."
"After last night I'm beginning to think we're dealing with two different people, or two different groups."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, whoever drugged me wanted to kidnap me, but last night they tried to kill me."
William's eyes grew wide. He hadn't thought of that, but the prince was right. They couldn't be the same people — it wouldn't have made sense.
The prince pulled his armchair close and sat beside him. "I spoke with the Count of Hassex's son again. He knew nothing about the murder of the kitchen maid, nor about my attempted poisoning, but he gave me a description of the man who hired him."
"Do you want to issue a warrant for arrest?"
"It would attract too much attention."
"But it would make it easier to identify and catch him."
The prince bit his lip. "I know, but he might also flee. I think he's still in the city, perhaps to attempt to kidnap me in another way, and I don't want to let him slip away. I want to arrest him, so I can press him for information."
William looked down. His Highness was right: once they were arrested, they would have one problem off their hands and could focus on everything else. If they managed to escape, the matter would never be resolved.
"So how do you plan to move?"
"I'll send my men into the city, undercover. They could comb the slums and taverns looking for our man. It takes more time, but it's safer."
"Are you certain?"
"I don't want the population and the nobles to know that someone has made an attempt on my life. The crown must continue to appear strong."
William pressed his lips together, aware that at that moment giving the impression of holding a solid position was all that mattered.
"Do as you think best, Your Highness. But promise me you won't get yourself into trouble."
The prince smiled and kissed him on the lips. "I would never wrong you like that."
"Do you swear it?"
"On my own life, my raven."
They kissed again, brushing their lips together and savoring the warmth of each other's breath. The prince took his face in his hands, parted his mouth and grazed his tongue with his own. William let out a soft moan, sinking his fingers into the prince's blond hair, wishing he could melt under his touch.
The door opened. William flinched and pushed the prince back. He jumped to his feet and wiped his damp lips with the back of his hand.
"Ian! You were quick!"
The soldier raised an eyebrow, then composed himself. "Ah, right. I beg your pardon — I'll knock next time."
"There's no need," William said, trying to conceal his embarrassment. He went over to him and took the tea tray from his hands. "We weren't doing anything."
"Mmh. The tea should be safe, but you'd better check it as well."
"Thank you."
"What about dinner?"
"I don't know." William turned around. "Your Highness?"
The prince got up from the floor and rubbed his backside, an annoyed expression twisting his lips.
"Will, next time you want rid of me, don't shove me. It doesn't look like it, but you have strength in those arms."