The Child Prince (The Artifactor) (34 page)

“I gathered that,” Bellomi responded, tone a little wry.

“I have something I want confirmed.” She turned around to meet his eyes, face abnormally neutral. “Prince Bellomi Christoff Vogel braun Dragonmanovich.”

For a moment, he forgot how to breathe. He just stared at her with wide eyes, blood rushing to his head. How…? When…? Strangely enough, the first thing to tumble from his mouth was, “So
someone
still remembers my name.”

She gave him a perplexed smile. “So you really are.”

Odd, how it didn’t even occur to him to bluff his way out of this. But he knew that he could trust Hana with this secret. “Yes, I really am,” he confirmed quietly. “How did you know?”

“Little things. The vague description you gave me of your curse and your age, some of the stories that you told me during our dates, what you told me of your background, the history that you were looking up, the research you were doing, all of it added up to an overall picture that I couldn’t ignore. I kept thinking, surely not. But then I’d think about how Sevana suddenly showed up with you in tow and how secretive she was about where you came from and I’d become suspicious all over again.” She put both arms around herself, hugging herself hard, eyes on the ground. “I really hoped I was wrong, in a way.”

“Because I’ll eventually go back to a palace and not be around anymore?” he guessed, fervently hoping that was the reason.

“And that,” she agreed softly. “But it scares me that you’ll go back to a dangerous place that almost killed you the first time.”

“I’ll be
much
harder to attack this time, I promise you.” He’d been working day and night to create countermeasures to make sure of that. “They won’t get a second chance.”

She bit her lip and nodded, as if agreeing with him, but she didn’t look up.

His heart squeezed at seeing her look so perfectly miserable. On instinct, he folded his arms around her and put his head next to hers. He almost matched her in height, now, so he could whisper directly into her ear, “I will be alright, Hana. I swear to you I will be. And you’ll see me again after I reclaim my birthright. After being locked up in the Palace for ten years, do you really think I’ll spend the next fifty in it? I will come and go as I please, and they won’t be able to stop me.”

She put both arms around his waist and held him hard enough to leave bruises. “You don’t know what will happen when you get there. You’re the
future king
. You won’t be able to move freely after you’ve returned.”

He snorted, almost amused at the idea. “I was taught hunting and skulking skills by a mountain lion. You think palace guards are going to present a challenge?”

Hana gave a watery chuckle. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

Retreating a few inches, he put his forehead against hers, meeting her eyes directly. “You are…” his mouth went dry and he needed to wet his lips before he could rasp out, “…very important. I won’t lose you. I won’t let people’s preconceptions of how a prince should behave put a wall between us. I swear upon my name as Dragonmanovich that your fears will never be realized.”

“If you break that promise, I’ll have Sevana put another curse on you,” Hana threatened.

He studied her for a moment, trying to discern just how serious she was. It looked…very serious. “Sevana would probably do it, too,” he concluded with a slow smile.

“You know she would.” Hana’s eyes fluttered shut as she whispered, “You’re important to me, too.”

Bellomi kissed her forehead gently and then hugged her hard, reassuring her, reassuring them both.

Before Bel and Hana made it back inside, the king and his retired guard captain arrived. Aren, having no survival instincts whatsoever, barged right into her workroom without a single knock, issuing demands as he came in. “Sevana, this is Captain Axelrad. I want you to restore him to whatever age he wishes immediately.”

Sevana drew her wand in a lightning fast motion, pointing it at the king, her eyes narrowed into slits. “Let’s be clear on this, Aren. You live here on my sufferance and if you keep barging into my workroom like this, that won’t last for much longer. Your son is a perfectly pleasant houseguest.
You
, however, are trying my patience.” Not that she had much of that to begin with.

Aren eyed the wand hovering not a foot away from him and gulped nervously. Splaying his hands in surrender, he said carefully, “I will take note of that.”

That was probably the best apology a king could manage. With a huff, she slipped the wand back into her belt holster. “Now, where is this infamous guard captain?”

“Here,” an ancient voice creaked out from behind the king. Aren moved to the side, allowing the man through. Even though he moved in slow, unsteady movements, he carried himself like a military officer. His blue eyes were razor sharp with intelligence, what remained of his white hair neatly combed back, skin still bronzed by long hours in the sun. He carried himself with such dignity that he made the simple shirt, trousers, and jacket almost seem like a sharp uniform.

Sevana hummed to herself in approval. She adored working with the professionally competent. This man radiated it. “Captain Axelrad, I bid you welcome.”

“My thanks, Artifactor.” He shuffled forward another step, the cane in his hand taking most of his weight. “On behalf of this whole country I thank you for your aid.”

A weighty greeting, and Axelrad’s sincerity showed in his eyes and could be heard in the timber of his voice. It almost embarrassed Sevana. She cleared her throat to cover it up. “Thank me when we succeed. Now, I am told that you wish to take a de-aging potion to regain your former strength and spryness.”

Axelrad let out a rusty chuckle. “I won’t be much use, otherwise.”

Very, very true
. She turned and reached on the shelf behind her for one of the prepared potion bottles. Dangling it in the air, she informed him factually, “Each bottle is capable of reducing your age by ten years. How many bottles do you wish to take?” Since the man looked to be a hundred and thirty, she couldn’t begin to guess his real age.

“Two will suffice, I think.”

Ohh
?
How interesting
. Most men in his position would take advantage and down three or four, regaining their prime. It spoke well of him that he would only take what he needed. “Then we’ll start with two.” She handed that bottle off to him before reaching for another and handing it over.

He unstopped the cork top and gave it a suspicious sniff. “It doesn’t smell vile.”

“None of my potions do. It’s a sign of a poor potion maker if it tastes bitter or foul.”

Axelrad gave it one last inspection, downed the bottle in one go, then he smacked his lips slightly, ruminating for a moment. Aren watched him with avid curiosity. “Tastes like cinnamon and sugar.”

“Both bottles,” Sev reminded him, wanting to see if he really could get by with just two. If not, she didn’t want to have to get up later and fetch another bottle.

Shrugging slightly, Axelrad uncorked the other bottle and tossed it down as well. Before he could finish the motion, some of his hair had grown back on the top of his head. The wrinkles around his eyes and mouth eased into fainter lines. The sagging skin around his knuckles and at the edges of his jaw tightened into firmer flesh. He slowly straightened up, the cane in his hand becoming nothing more than an accessory with every passing moment.

“You look like you did when you were fifty,” Aren breathed in astonishment, looking Axelrad from head to toe and back again. “Remarkable.”

“I should be somewhere around fifty-six,” Axelrad responded, voice deeper and stronger than before. “If the Artifactor’s math is right.”

“It is,” Sevana assured him, looking him over from a different angle. “Are you sure that’s enough? The next few weeks will be very physically taxing.”

Axelrad snorted. “Not a man in the palace could keep up with me at fifty-five. Or at sixty-five, when I retired. I’ll be fine.”

It was his neck, not hers. Shrugging, she let it go. “Then let’s go into the main room and wait for Bel and Hana.” She waved them out, shutting her workroom door firmly behind her as they filed the short distance to the other room. Sevana barely took a full step inside the main room when the front door opened. Oh? Were they back already? She turned to look.

Bel and Hana stepped inside, Big closing the door behind them. But more interesting than their arrival was their linked hands.
That
hadn’t happened before. So, the prince had finally made a move, eh? He’d probably been waiting for the right moment (that moment being when he finally looked old enough to be courting her). But still, a prince and a librarian? Aren would have a conniption. Sevana smiled at the thought. “Bel.”

“Sevana,” he greeted, not showing a trace of shyness at being caught holding hands. “Are my father and Axelrad here yet?”

“They are. Join us.”

He simply nodded and followed her into the room, Hana at his heels. She took note of Aren’s reaction as they entered, finding their own seats. He’d taken her favorite chair near the fire, so had a clear view of his son’s linked hand with Hana. Aren’s brows furrowed, mouth opening to protest, but something made him snap it closed again. Sev glanced back at Bel and found him staring his father down, an open challenge on his face. Oh-hoooo. There was definitely some history there that she was missing.

She eased into the chair next to Sarsen, leaving the long couch for the two lovebirds. Even though she still had an empty chair in this room, Axelrad chose to stand next to the fireplace.
Perhaps a leftover habit of never sitting in front of his king
? Well, it hardly mattered to her. Clearing her throat, she called their attention to her.

“Alright, let’s start this planning meeting. We have two main objectives, as I understand it. First, to get enough gold secured to break Bel’s curse. Second, to find a way to usurp the Council’s power and shift it back to the governing family.”

“The first step, as I see it,” Axelrad rumbled thoughtfully, “is how to break into the palace without alerting anyone.”

“That’s already taken care of,” Bel assured him dryly.

Axelrad looked at him sideways, clearly not sure if he wanted to know. “Might I ask how, Your Highness?”

“Sevana has portals in several different locations in the palace,” he answered forthrightly.

The former guard captain’s eyes bulged in horror. “W-what?”

“Yes,” Aren said slowly, thinking hard. “I remember a hidden door of some sort opening before I stepped through.”

“It’s actually a grandfather clock,” Bel informed him. “We’ll have easy access in and out through them.”

It had been a wise decision to de-age Axelrad before having this conversation. As it was, hearing that someone else had open access through his beloved palace security almost gave him a heart attack. “B-but that’s—!”

“Oh calm down, man.” Sevana rolled her eyes to the heavens, praying for patience. “I’m the only one that knows how to turn them on and connect them to the right clock. It’s not like some unknown enemy can use them against you.”

Axelrad thought that through for a long moment before stating, “That doesn’t really make me feel any better.”

“Deal with it,” Sevana advised unmercifully. “Alright, we have free access. Who needs to go where?”

Bel piped up, “Just the treasure room for me. Sevana, how much gold do we need to bring with us?”

“Well, at least a cart load to do the final payment for the dragon, plus a good bit to wear when we walk into their territory…” She started calculating weight and such in her head. “I think I’ll need three carry-all bags to get everything we need.”

“Wait, wait, dragon?” Hana held up her free hand in protest. “I’m not following.”

The prince explained briefly, “In order to quickly break my curse, we have to borrow the power of a water dragon.”

Hana’s expression froze. “Isn’t there a safer way to break it?”

“Well, yes, but it will take too long.”

“So you’re just going to waltz into dragon territory with some gold and hope they’re in a bargaining mood?” she demanded incredulously.

“That’s about the size of it.”

“Bel, this plan sounds very risky.” Hana worried at her bottom lip with her teeth. “Surely it would be better to do this a different way.”

“I’ll be fine,” he assured her with a brief smile. He probably meant it to look reassuring, but it just reinforced the steel determination in his eyes. “I’ve faced a dragon once, after all, and came through without a scratch.”

“So you think that now that you’re experienced, there’s no real danger?” she growled in exasperation. “Didn’t it occur to you that you’re pushing your luck and the second time you face a dragon, you might not have enough luck left?”

He raised a hand and cupped her cheek in a gentle way, eyes softening. “I’ll be fine. I have an Artifactor prodigy guiding my every footstep.”

Oh sure, pass all the potential blame to her! Sevana let out a disgusted “Pah!”

Bel, probably well able to guess what she thought of this, gave her an amused look. “Don’t worry. If I do get eaten, they’ll remember it was my decision.”