It was fully dark when Mikhail again came to his senses. The memory of pain returned to him first and he gasped, springing bolt upright in his bed.
Slowly, he raised his arms and stared at his hands, clenching and unclenching his fists. The last thing he remembered was being in almost unbearable pain... of coughing up blood and then... everything went dark.
When he awoke, he felt nothing, and for a brief moment, he thought he might have been paralyzed.
His head, however, still felt foggy. Mikhail glanced around the darkened room and frowned.
It was empty. A sense of panic gripped him as he remembered that Ilya had been there, and that Ilya had collapsed on the floor at some point.
The Princess had also been there, and he could vividly recall those large, terrified eyes as she was dragged from the room by his men.
Mikhail stood and crossed the room on unsteady legs. As he opened the door, two guards in his own Bludston colors snapped to attention and saluted him.
"Where is Sir Ilya?" he asked.
"My Prince, Sir Ilya became unwell and was removed to your servants' quarters," came the immediate answer.
"Was the physician summoned?" he growled.
"No, my Prince, by your own order, no physician was called, but one of the maids that arrived from Bludston was assigned to tend to him. She should-"
"And the Princess?" Mikhail demanded.
"The Princess of Vezda has been confined to your personal guest quarters, and remains under guard, my Prince."
"She will need food... and clothing, I think," he muttered.
"We have already seen to these, my Prince."
"Good." he nodded.
"The Princess had asked time and again for an audience with you upon your-"
"No. Not... not today. Keep her there, securely, but see to it that she is comfortable," Mikhail interrupted. "Did anyone see the Princess being taken from the room?"
"I don't believe so, my Prince," the answered.
"Good. Was Grieta sent for?" Mikhail frowned.
The guard looked nervous.
"N-no, my Prince. If that is your order, I can send for the harem messenger."
"Yes... send the girl to me immediately," he ordered and closed the door.
With the Princess secured and a marriage agreement in place with the Emperor, his thoughts turned back to the North. If his brother was going to refuse to intervene in the affairs of the ancient ones, he would have to once again ally himself with Grieta. At least he had already done the difficult work of explaining the situation. Knowing that woman, she had probably already made plans of her own.
It would be more difficult to break the news to Ilya. He would be angry, and perhaps rightly so, when he learned of the attacks Mikhail had witnessed. In fact, he would be outraged to know that Mikhail had left without even investigating further.
The Prince reached for the rope and rang the bell for his servants. A few moments later, a sleepy-eyed young maid emerged from behind a tapestry and dropped a quick curtsey.
"How is Sir Ilya?" he demanded.
"Sleeping, my Prince. His fever broke a few hours past, and he rests comfortably now," she said and bowed her head.
"Good. That's... good," Mikhail murmured.
"Not sleeping!" a familiar voice called from behind the tapestry.
Ilya shifted the panel aside and emerged from the hidden door, looking quite disheveled, keeping one hand on the wall for support.
"Sir Ilya, you should be resting!" the girl cried.
"Mind your business, girl. You are dismissed!" Ilya said and waved an impatient hand at her.
The maid bobbed another curtsey and disappeared. Ilya continued walking a few more steps before collapsing into a nearby chair with a frustrated sigh.
"Well, my Prince, once again, the little savage from Vezda turns out to be more trouble than she's worth," Ilya complained.
Mikhail wanted to chuckle at this, but knew that Ilya was already in a sour mood. The two of them had barely survived the Princess's latest plot. He was certainly well within his rights to voice his displeasure.
"I've spoken with the Emperor, and he has agreed to a marriage between us," Mikhail admitted.
"Is that why she attempted to kill you?" Ilya scoffed.
"No. The Princess has some knowledge of blood bonds. She knows now what the marks mean. She used her own type of magic to try and suspend the bond long enough to make me talk," Mikhail explained.
"And it... worked?" Ilya asked, perking up noticeably. "You... you were able to talk? Does she know about-"
"No," Mikhail shook his head quickly. "She asked about Ora mainly, but I was able to speak a little about Grigori and the ancient ones. It did not work for very long."
"But still... she knows now... about the krovbond, and she actually performed blood magic... a member of House Eosin actually performed blood magic outside of Vezda! You were right. This could be it. She might be able to-"
"She cannot break the bond. She already said as much," Mikhail cut in quickly.
Ilya shook his head. The excitement had not gone from his face.
"She can learn! She can try! Even Grigori needed several attempts before he learned to make the bonds correctly. There has to be a way, and now that we know she's willing to use the blood magic-"
"It took Grigori at least a decade to learn the magic. The Princess will not stay here long enough to learn to break it!" Mikhail snapped.
"But you're marrying her," Ilya protested.
"Only so that Grigori may not," Mikhail growled. "I had to do it to protect the girl."
Ilya gave a short, hard laugh at this.
"The Emperor believes that she is pregnant. In a few more months, we will make it appear as though she died in childbirth, and send her to Frem, just as we'd planned," Mikhail continued, ignoring Ilya's contemptible glare.
"To protect the girl," Ilya repeated tauntingly. "You can lie to yourself if you must, but don't do me the dishonor!" Ilya seethed.
Surprised by the vehemence in his servant's voice, Mikhail pressed his lips together and gave Ilya his most intimidating stare.
"I promised Queen Ora that-"
"Again with that tired line!" Ilya laughed. "Of course... you promised Queen Ora. If that were truly your motivation, then drop her into the deep pit, surround it with armed guards day and night, and send Grieta with a message to Queen Ora's allies to come and take her, stage an attack. It's really very simple. But no, you have to keep her where you can see her... where you could touch her... now you've even convinced yourself that marrying her is keeping her safe. Do you really think that is what Queen Ora would want?"
Mikhail continued to stare at Ilya in silence. The question did not require an answer. He could order him to hold his tongue, but that would only further build the anger and bitterness in the man. It was better to let him vent. He would be even more upset when he learned about the attacks in the north.
"I did not think it would come to this, I really did not. I thought you'd learned not to attach yourself to anyone. I thought the Princess was a dalliance, an obsession you'd overcome once you had her, but now... now... you need to see yourself and what you're doing clearly. Your brother will not allow loyalty to anyone but himself. He forced you to kill Kalta. I am bonded to you as a slave for life simply because you tried to protect me. What do you think your brother will do with the Princess when he notices your affection for her... if he hasn't already, that is?" Ilya spat.
Mikhail normally had patience for Ilya's grumbling. It was something that Ilya did a lot-- a leftover from the days of their boyhood when they had been friends and not master and slave. Of everyone who served him, only Ilya was allowed to speak first, or even to argue with him.
Sometimes, however, he pushed it too far. He was walking close to that line now.
"Your brother would have no qualms ending her life, sacrificing her to the ancient ones as he did Queen Ora. You must realize that, at least. Do you know, the thing I find hardest to understand about all of this, is what exactly it is about her that causes you to take such risks? Is it the adorable way she's always trying to kill you? That lovely tongue of hers, always speaking such biting and critical words to you? Is the way she looks at you, with mistrust and calculation-- is that what you find so endearing?" Ilya scratched his head as if he really was considering it.
Mikhail wanted to snap at him, to order him to silence his tongue, but there was truth in his words. There was certainly more than just an attachment to the girl, and at times, he might have been too obvious about it.
The Princess herself had realized it to some extent, and had used his feelings to slip past his defenses more than once. He had to control himself better, and to do that, perhaps he should see to the needs of his body. He would be less susceptible to his passions if he sated them elsewhere.
At any rate, he would put off speaking with Ilya about what he had witnessed in the north.
"You need to rest," Mikhail cautioned. "We will speak of-"
His words were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Enter," Mikhail called.
Grieta's palace messenger, a short plain-looking girl with a sharp glint in her eye, was ushered in by a guard. She dropped a curtsey to him
"How can I serve you this evening, my Prince?" she greeted him.
"Send for your mistress. I will need her here for a few hours," Mikhail ordered.
"My apologies, my Prince. My lady Grieta is indisposed this evening. She is not able to visit you."
"Indisposed?" Mikhail repeated, glaring at the messenger. "Then perhaps, I shall visit her at her residence."
"Begging your pardon, my Prince, but my lady has left town for the evening. Urgent business, I was told. You will not find her at home," the girl answered quickly, bowing again.
Mikhail sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. He wasn't really surprised. Grieta always moved quickly. She had probably taken the first opportunity to contact her allies and report what was occurring in the north.
"There is no need to look so forlorn, my prince," the girl assured him. "There are plenty of other girls who would love to keep you company this evening. My lady Grieta mentioned that the new girl fits our Prince's preferences quite well. Shall I send for her, sir?"
"No, I..." Mikhail closed his mouth abruptly. Every time a harem girl was brought to his rooms in the palace, it was reported to the Emperor. It might help to convince his brother that the Princess was no more than another object of desire to him. Besides, it had been a long time since he'd had any sort of release.
"Very well, send for her," Mikhail agreed.