‘No,’ said Laurent.
The soldier in charge gestured to his men to secure the room, then to check the three lifeless bodies.
‘A servant found two of your men dead at the perimeter of your apartments. He ran immediately to the Regent’s Guard. Your own men have yet to be informed.’
‘I gathered that,’ said Laurent.
They were rougher with Damen, manhandling him into a restraining grip like the ones he remembered from the early days of his capture. He surrendered to it, because what else could he do? He felt his hands pulled behind his back. A meaty hand clasped the back of hi
s neck.
‘Take him,’ said the soldier.
Laurent spoke very calmly. ‘May I ask why you are arresting my servant?’
The soldier in charge gave him an uncomprehending look.
‘Your Highness—there was an attack—’
‘Not by him.’
‘The weapons are Akielon,’ said one of the men.
‘Your Highness, if there’s been an Akielon attack against you, you can bet this one’s in on it.’
It was too neat by half. It was, Damen realised, exactly why the three assailants had brought him here: to be blamed. Of course, they would have expected to survive the encounter, but their intentions held all the same. And Laurent, who spent his every waking moment searching for ways to have Damen humiliated, hurt or killed, had just been given the excuse he needed handed to him on a platter.
He could see—he could feel—that Laurent knew it. He could feel too how badly Laurent wanted it, wanted to see him taken, wanted to trump both Damen and his uncle. He bitterly regretted the impulse that had led him to save Laurent’s life.
‘You’re misinformed,’ said Laurent. He sounded like he was tasting something unpleasant. ‘There has been no attack against me. These three men attacked the slave, claiming some sort of barbarian dispute.’
Damen blinked.
‘They attacked—the slave?’ said the soldier, who was apparently having almost as much difficulty digesting this information as Damen.
‘Release him, soldier,’ Laurent said.
But the hands on him didn’t let go. The Regent’s men didn’t take orders from Laurent. The soldier in charge actually shook his head slightly at the man holding Damen, negating Laurent’s order.
‘Forgive me, Your Highness, but until we can be sure of your safety, I would be negligent if I didn’t—’
‘You’ve been negligent,’ said Laurent.
This statement, calmly delivered, caused a silence, which the soldier in charge weathered, flinching only a little. It was probably why he was in charge. The grip on Damen slackened noticeably.
Laurent said, ‘You’ve arrived late and manhandled my property. By all means, compound your faults by arresting the good-will gift of the King of Akielos. Against my orders.’
The hands on Damen lifted. Laurent didn’t wait for an acknowledgement from the soldier in charge.
‘I require a moment of privacy. You can use the time until dawn to clear my apartments and inform my own men of the attack. I’ll send for one of them when I’m ready.’
‘Yes, Your Highness,’ said the soldier in charge. ‘As you wish. We’ll leave you to your rooms.’
As the soldiers made the first movements towards leaving, Laurent said, ‘I assume I am to drag these three derelicts out myself?’
The soldier in charge flushed. ‘We’ll remove them. Of course. Is there anything else you require from us?’
‘Haste,’ said Laurent.