When Cameron’s eyes opened once more, he was no longer inside the squire, but laying in a soft, warm bed, bundled up tightly, and unable to move. He blinked slowly, eyes focusing on the intricately carved ceiling letting him know he was back at the palace, but could not gather specifics on which particular room, when he realized he couldn’t move his head. He strained, wriggling underneath the blankets, when the sound of a creaking floorboard stopped him immediately. He waited and listened, hearing the creaking again, followed by the sound of a body shifting in a chair, standing up.

Then there was a soft knock at the door, the gentle taps echoing in the silent room, and Cameron could hear footsteps from whoever was in the room with him walking towards the door and opening it.

“How is he?” Marcus’s voice came out clearly even with his hushed tone.

“He’s got a concussion, six cracked ribs, and a punctured lung. What the fuck do you think?” Logan respond, matching the servant’s volume.

“That bad huh?” Marcus asked, his whispered tone growing louder as he stepped inside. Cameron closed his eyes pretending to still be out as the two men’s voices grew closer, trying to listen in.

“Yeah. That bad.” Logan said, “I could have killed Lendrick then and there. When was the last time you heard of a two on one assessment?”

“Two on one?” Marcus gasped out. “Never. The mortality rate would skyrocket.”

“Exactly,” Logan said, a growl beginning to rise in his voice, “Doesn’t it seem a little weird that the only time we’d ever hear about that, is a foreign dignitaries assessment of your soon-to-be Seneschal?”

“I… That…,” Marcus stuttered, trying to grasp what Logan was implying. After a moment he sighed before giving a reply, “You’re paranoid my friend. You’ve spent too much time in the corrupt chaos of free-space.”

“Have I?” Logan shot back. “Or have you spent too much time assuming your neighbors are your allies? Let’s be real here, the only reason Makir and Amreith haven’t invaded is because the last time one of them did, Augustus was so efficient and brutal he broke their offenses within the first week. Ever since then, they’ve been quiet and friendly to our faces, but don’t think for a single second they’ve forgotten that embarrassment.”

There was a long silence, and Cameron felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as he feared he’d been discovered, but his worries ceased when Markus spoke up again.

“I just…. I can’t see either of the princes’s trying anything like what you're suggesting. Especially right now with a representative from the mother planet here.”

“I wouldn’t put it past them, and neither should you. Don’t leave your fate in the hands of strangers Marcus. You know this.”

“I do Logan. I know it very well.” There was another long pause before the servant cleared his throat in an official like manner. “Erm. Well. Anyways. I was just here to check on Master Pellyn and see if you were hungry. Dinner has already been served, but I had save some for you two down in the kitchens.”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

“Sounds good to me Marcus,” Logan said, “I’m starving and I doubt the kid’s gonna wake up tonight anyway. Lead the way.”

“Naturally.” Marcus said, and Cameron could envision the bow he no doubt made, before here two pairs of footsteps receded from earshot, followed by the gentle closing of his door with a click.

Cameron let out a sigh of relief before slowly sitting up and stretching, mulling over the previous conversation in his mind. There was a painful twisting in his gut as he ran his finger tips over his injured head. Had Logan been right? Were those two really there, not to test him, but to kill him? He could hear Kurz’s words ringing in his mind, how he didn’t want to drag out turning his Squire in a slag heap. In the heat of the moment, one could assume that was just some not-so-friendly trash talk, but in retrospect…

“I can’t tell if you look cute when your deep in thought… or just confused.” A breathy feminine voice broke him from his thoughts causing him to jump. He turned slowly to see Sybil Moore the Earth representative standing in the archway, leaning against the wall, with a hand on her hip.

Cameron, surprised at her presence, recovered quickly, answering her proclamation after a few seconds with a cheeky grin, “Why not both? I hear that adorable stupidity is in right now.”

She smiled as her eyes met his and giggled, before crossing the threshold and sitting at the foot of his bed. She took a moment, quietly appraising his form, before she spoke again, “How are you feeling? I heard things got a little rough out there.”

Cameron shrugged, still smiling despite the throbbing ache in his temples, “I’ve been better. I don’t think my body appreciated bouncing around a metal casket like a rag-doll, but I’ll survive.”

“A casket huh?” She asked, her lips curving into a knowing smirk. “Well isn’t that such… appropriate phrasing.”

“How do you mean?” Cameron asked, cocking an eyebrow in confusion.

“I mean,” she continued, “That from what I heard, those two officers had more of their bodies fused to the inside of their Squire’s electronics than what could be recovered. They’re sending them back to Amreith in two jars, not coffins.”

“Oh… you heard about that huh?” Cameron said, a feeling of disgust welling up inside of him, causing a sour taste to rise up in the back of his throat. He smacked his lips, trying to find the right words.

“I hear everything, sweetheart.” She said, standing up and sashaying slowly past Cameron to the far corner of the room where a liquor cart stood. She pulled out a random brown spirit sloshing around in a crystal bottle and opened the stopper. With an appraising sniff and approving nod, she poured herself a glass, looking over her shoulder as she spoke.

“The only thing I can’t figure out is why everyone’s being so weird about it. Care to illuminate the situation for me?”