Meilyr was certain Osian would press his lips to his temple, as though they truly were lovers.
He touched the prince’s hand, still on his shoulder, and tried to catch which one of them had brought the thought into the air. Osian’s breath stirred close to his bruised cheek before the prince let him go and descended to the parlour.
Meilyr followed, skirts bunched in one hand. ‘I will come with you.’
Osian stopped just beyond the stair, and the compulsion sharpened.
‘Please allow me to come with you, My Prince.’
He reached the base of the steps, and Osian considered him. ‘I would feel more at ease with you here,’ the prince said.
‘I would feel more at ease by your side.’ Meilyr’s heart stumbled at the admission. ‘And,’ he added quickly, ‘I would imagine Your Majesty would feel more at ease being able to keep an eye on me, since I have a habit of getting into trouble when left alone.’
A frustrated flicker of fondness. ‘If I asked you to stay, and not leave this room?’
‘I tried confinement, unless you are arresting me again?’ That earned him an endeared tilt of the head. He went on, ‘Besides, why waste a knight at the door when they can come with us? Blythe is better at your side than as a door-guard.’
Osian shook his head slightly. ‘I should refuse you.’
‘You could, and I would pace, and fret, and…’ Too much truth.
But there was something in the rain, in the sight of the town, oblivious to the coming storm. Meilyr wanted Osian close, and knew he would regret it if he let him leave alone.
‘Aldreda and Wystan may not be too eager to speak openly in front of you,’ Osian tried. But even he was reluctant to separate.
Meilyr leaned into that. ‘Then I will wait outside like a good consort until my prince has need of me.’ The formality strained his tongue, but it was not that which coloured his cheeks.
They stood close together, drawn by that invisible thread. Osian relented. ‘You know you can be quite stubborn when you put your mind to it.’
‘I grew up with Celyn.’ Meilyr strode past him, before the urge to touch him overwhelmed everything. ‘It was a necessity.’
On the way into the main keep, Aldreda stepped out of a side room andshocked Meilyr by embracing him so intensely his spine cracked.
The emotion was subdued as she set him down. ‘Still no sign of Gelens,’ she told Osian. ‘I pray for their sake they go all the way across the sea, or drown in it.’
They all stepped into the solar to speak privately.
‘If Gelens has gone to Sanford, or one of the others…’
‘Then we will deal with it,’ Osian said. His hand rested comfortably on his niece’s head, where she had erupted from the divan and thrown both him and Meilyr into one soggy, heart-moving embrace. Her arms were quite small, so he and Meilyr were crushed together. ‘How is Wystan?’ Osian asked.
‘Cagey and wistful,’ Aldreda said. ‘My least favourite joke. I’m letting him breathe the open air for now, but only because he helped last night. And as you said, it might encourage the other rats to slip up. I wouldn’t let Meilyr out of your sight though, and not just because he’s so nice to look at.’ Her rage brimmed. ‘Wystan, Gelens, all of them – they will pay for this, one way or another.’
‘Edeva,’ Osian said gently. His niece looked up at him with vast, loving eyes. ‘Were you helping Jocosa with those apples?’
She nodded, understanding, and released them both reluctantly. ‘I’m really glad,’ was all she said, sniffling slightly.
‘What about Meilyr’s brother,’ Osian asked Aldreda. ‘And the gardener, Haydn Sayer?’
‘They will be held until this mess is cleared up, especially the gardener. I know he was just being an idiot, but he did hope you would die.’ She looked at Meilyr. ‘Remember that, won’t you?’
He could not forget it.
‘He was manipulated,’ Osian said.
‘I’m well aware, but something about this still tastes foul. No one has mentioned Gelens by name yet, including the crownsworn fearing for their lives. Pedr surviving certainly wrecked things for them, but why would Gelens run like this? Why confirm the doubt?’
It hung over them all unpleasantly.