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No, the prince served one purpose and one purpose alone: he was Aurelius’s pathway back into the line of succession, to the status and future that was rightfully his.
And that meant he had to be smart about this. He had to be controlled. He had to be restrained.
And above all, it meant he had to be honest about what might be going on with his body—no matter how ridiculous and unbelievable it seemed.
31
TEIGRA
Her forearm ached as she finished yet another letter.
Her eyes were as rough as a cat’s tongue. Her hand was numb from gripping the reed pen. And worst of all, her stomach rumbled with the sheer agony of hunger. She’d been too worried to eat when they’d left Prasni Zorio. That meant it’d been a full day without food.
It must have been two or three in the morning now, and she’d only just reached the halfway point. Fifty letters were rolled in the basket beside her desk, wrapped in thin ribbons of yellow silk, with each to be signed by Ms. Securia.
She’d been very clear about that. It was her name that would go on the letters, and no one else’s.
Every few hours, the high envoy had marched into Teigra’s office to critique her work and ensure she hadn’t drifted off, obviously not trusting that Jaspar would administer her punishment properly.
She was right to be suspicious—all throughout the evening, before both he and Ms. Securia had finally gone to bed, the mid envoy had popped his head in cautiously, whispering that he could take a few letters on the sly so that she could finish sooner.
When she’d refused, fearing even more trouble, he’d told her to keep her chin up, promising that he would show her around the city once her credentials had been accepted.
That was very sweet. He was very sweet, even though she had done nothing to deserve it.
And if there was one benefit to take away from this wretched day, it appeared that Calix did not actually know of Aurelius’s mission. When her cousin had recounted his experience in the bathhouse, Calix had seemed genuinely shocked by Aurelius’s presence.
That means Zosime hasn’t told him.
But why not? It just... it just doesn’t make any sense.
The first option Teigra could think of was that Zosime hadn’t read the folio yet. That seemed very unlikely. The princess surely hadn’t just stumbled across their carriage—she must have been waiting for them at the border, assuming that the herald at least would be inbound. And anyone who’d steal a document like that would want to uncover all the secrets and bargaining chips within it right away.
The second option was that Zosime had read it but hadn’t understood its significance. That seemed possible. After all, you had to read between the lines to understand the diplomatic codes and innuendos. The letters that detailed Urosina’s final mission in particular were practically in a foreign language. There was certainly nothing that talked of oncoming war or that Aurelius would be sent to seduce Calix to secure a military agreement.
And yet, even that option held little hope. For even if Zosime didn’t know the true worth of what she had, it was only a matter of time before she’d hand the folio over to some royal advisor who would.
And the third option, which confused her the most, was that Zosime had read the folio, and had understood it, but that she’d deliberately not told Calix?
Though it was frustrating the way Mother doted on Jaronas, of seeing him occupy the position and prominence that Father had long intended for her, she would never dream of undermining her brother. Because that would only damage House Cosmin further. Her own flesh and blood and name.
But... that isn’t how ruling families think, is it?
Aurelius so often spoke about Benedict in the cruelest terms. The same way Mother spoke about her siblings as well—Uncle Balser and the archon and Urosina when she’d been alive. It often seemed there was more jealousy there than love. Like they’d sooner ruin their own family than see their siblings surpass them.
And Urosina’s papers had given no insight into the relationship between Zosime and Calix. Maybe it was cold? Maybe she knew of his sexuality, and feared the consequence for their whole line, just as Ura had feared about Aurelius? Maybe Zosime saw this whole situation as an opportunity to bring him down, and was making some kind of plans?
Teigra sighed. There was no way of knowing which reason it was. And regardless, it meant there was a little more time for Aurelius to work his magic.
As the hours passed and the evening grew into morning, her thoughts wandered into what Aurelius had described in the bathhouse. Not the explicit details he was always eager to share, knowing that it made her feel uncomfortable, but the strange sensations that he’d described—the unbearable heat and the feeling like he was losing control of his body.
Aurelius hadn’t seemed worried about that. But she couldn’t shake a growing pang of concern. After all, his mission was essential to all of them. And whole scrolls had been devoted to detailing the creatures that could cause such sensations!
But, no, that can’t be right...
If that were true, that would mean Prince Calix is a...
Her pen lifted from the parchment, the swish of brown ink soaking into the fine valleys of the soft skin.
