Page 11 of Ties of Dust

“I don’t think I can face the public room tonight,” Cassius said, forcing a friendly tone that was in no way reflective of what he was feeling. “I’ll ask them to bring a supper to the room. You’re very welcome to join me.”

He flagged down a maid and requested food to be delivered, then led the way up the stairs. He could tell which room was his because there were already two guards stationed outside it. Nevertheless, the bodyguard made a point of preceding him into the room and checking it thoroughly.

“I see no sign of danger, Your Highness.”

“I’m sure my guards already checked.” Cassius closed the door on the corridor and sank wearily into a chair. “But I applaud your thoroughness.”

The bodyguard cleared his throat. “I will leave you in peace, Your Highness.”

Cassius flicked a strand of hair off his forehead, his brow wrinkled in confusion as he studied the bodyguard. The boy was standing stiffly, looking wildly uncomfortable.

“To go where? They’re bringing our food here.”

“I will eat separately from you, Your Highness.”

“Unnecessary,” Cassius assured him, waving a hand.

“I must respectfully disagree,” said the bodyguard. “I appreciate your consideration, Your Highness, but I am ready to guard your door with the others.”

“Absolutely not,” Cassius said sharply, straightening in his chair. “You’re clearly dead on your feet, and we have a full day of travel tomorrow. If you pass out from exhaustion as soon as we set out, it will be a significant inconvenience for everyone. I insist that you sleep. I won’t pretend I’m excited to share a room with a stranger, but it’s the only option available to us, so we must make the best of it.”

The bodyguard made no answer, his posture more rigid than ever. Cassius thought he saw the boy’s lip quiver, and he barely held in a sigh. The whole situation was so ridiculous. Was common decency going to require him to soothe the boy’s feelings on top of everything else he had to contend with?

All at once the absurdity of the situation broke over him—that this near-child, whom he felt the need to coddle so as not to upset him, had been Lord Armand’s idea of indispensable protection for Carrack’s crown prince. He should probably take note of what that said about the bodyguard’s magical abilities—given magic craft was one area in which Lord Armand was truly knowledgeable, unlike diplomacy—but in that moment, he was more inclined to laugh.

He refrained from doing so, but the impulse softened his irritation and made it possible to give his new companion a genuine smile.

“Come, it’s not such a disaster. I must be the only prince to ever fall into such a ridiculous mess, but I’m sure neither one of us will bite the other.”

“We can’t,” the bodyguard responded unexpectedly.

“What?” Cassius blinked.

“The tethering enchantment,” the boy explained. “That’s what a tethering enchantment does. Well, this one does more than the basic, which is impressive, given even a generic tethering enchantment is a sophisticated form ofmagic craft. Lord Armand must be very skilled to have worked in such intricacies as the distance limit, and the compounding and inverted safety restraint.”

“The compounding and…what?” Cassius felt like a dunce. Clearly the bodyguard had far superior knowledge of magic craft.

The boy’s tone was impassive as he replied. Too impassive. “The extra aspect of the enchantment that will activate if you suffer harm during the course of the tether, and will cause me to suffer twice whatever harm befalls you.”

“Ah.” Cassius winced. “That is the most regrettable part of this deplorable business.”

The bodyguard didn’t respond, instead pushing on with the original explanation. “As I said, this particular enchantment is impressive. But in addition to its extra features, it will function as a basic tethering enchantment. The fundamental aspect of tethers is that they prevent either party from raising a hand against the other.”

“Oh.” Cassius tilted his head to the side. “I see.”

It made sense. Lord Armand was seven kinds of a fool, but he did genuinely think he was protecting his prince. He wouldn’t have tied Cassius to someone who might use that access to hurt him.

“Well, now you know you’re safe with me,” he said, trying to lighten the tension. “I couldn’t harm you even if I wanted to. Not that I would wish to. To be frank, it would feel like hitting a child. How old are you? You look about fifteen.”

For a long moment, the boy didn’t answer. Then, to Cassius’s surprise, he abruptly dropped his formal posture and rubbed both hands down his face in a gesture of weariness.

“Your Highness, can I please implore you to allow me to stand guard out there?”

“You can.” Cassius leaned his elbows on his knees, fascinated by the bodyguard’s strange behavior. It was time to try to figure the boy out a little. “But I’m afraid it will fall on deaf ears. Whether we like it or not, we’re to spend a great deal of time in each other’s company. I think we’d best get to know one another a little. For example, I don’t even know your name.”

A knock on the door prevented the bodyguard from answering. He stood stiff and silent once again as Cassius received the food and thanked the maid who was delivering it. Once she’d withdrawn and the door was closed behind her, he turned back to his companion.

“Where were we? Ah yes, your name. The princess called you Flor. Do I take it your name is Florian?”

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