Apparently, they are unconcerned about my possible concussion because they didn't lead me to the healer. Instead, Samira and the medics guided me to Tolwren, who in turn led me to the King's chambers.

How helpful they are.

The room was the very definition of opulent.

Tablets of gold lay in narrow nooks around the room, depictions of myth and legend etched into their surface. A wide red carpet extended down the center of the room, and water bubbled freely through spun glass fountains on either side of the throne.

The King was garbed in plain white robes and pants, emphasizing his height and fitness. His ruby eyes were only a few shades off his hair though the whitening strands made the difference look greater.

He stared down at me beneath a furrowed brow.

"Do you now understand why you cannot guard the wall?" He asked in a soft voice.

He wants me to agree and bend to his whims. It has about as much chance as one of the two suns winking out of existence.

How do you plan on handling this situation?

I wanted to roll my eyes, but the King's presence made that impossible.

Like this.

"If I hadn't been there, more people could have, likely would have, died."

Straight to the point and rational. Not that that mattered. Haze wavered and coalesced beside the throne, forming a golden armored being with eyes of cobalt that almost seemed to glow.

Piety. The Kings Manifestation. While Love was far more frightening on the whole, primarily due to her capacity to go off the rails at any given moment, Piety was a different sort of beast altogether. He could cleave through every person in the room without trouble. The thing was cold, logical, and just as empty as the armor that made up its body.

"You know as well as I that they do their duty, as you are expected to do yours."

I quirk an eyebrow. What is my duty exactly? Not that it matters; the whole conversation is pointless. Any moment now, Tolwren's stabilizer, a little gizmo that looked like three clasp style earrings leading down the outside of the right ear connected by a chain-like cable, would fail.

It wasn't really a stabilizer; if anything, it functioned as an emitter or projector. Originally it was a crutch for children until they could adjust their eyes to refract the light to create the split personality body. They're the actual stabilizers.

But people got lazy. They stopped taking the more painful course, and not removing your "stabilizer" became commonplace.

I know I wrote it, but their stupidity does give me a small amount of shame.

"Vandel* you'd do well not to ignore me."

Tolwren hadn't fallen, so I did the only thing I could think of to buy myself time. I reached up to clutch at the bandage they'd wrapped about my head and pressed just hard enough for the stymied blood to flow.

Injuring yourself will only put off the inevitable.

I didn't answer him, but the truth is all I need is a little time.

Once I was sure it would seep through the bandages, I turned my attention back to the King. Taking a breath, I steeled myself. I just have to act like his son.

"Your Majesty," I incline my head as if I'm going to bow or perhaps drop to a knee until I saw the anger flash across his face.

"Father," he seems to accept my correction, so I continue. "Tolwren is your heir; Xander strives to be ready should anything happen to our oldest brother and be his will if nothing does. My place is with our people."

Piety steps forward with a hand closed around the colossal sword at his side. "Your place is wherever his Highness says it is." His voice was metallic, grating.

I glared, silently daring him to do something. Anything. I may not like my odds, but I do know his weakness.

"Highness," the voice belonged to a hunched white-haired old woman, one I had no trouble recognizing. After all, at sixty-two, she happens to be the oldest person in the city. All the others made their way into the desert to die.

Rue. I had to fight to keep the smile off my face.

The King waved her forward, and she moved, not to him but me. She lifted my chin and looked at me with narrowed eyes.

Dammit! She must've realized what I'd done! Please, please don't tell!

After a moment's scrutiny, she spoke. "Highness, I believe this conversation would be best suited for a different day."

Seems she favors you. I wonder how long that will last.

He sounded positively giddy at the prospect. Sadly but I can’t help but agree with his line of questioning, not that meant I was going to let him know that..

And here I was enjoying the hope that somehow you'd been rendered mute. Well, you can't win them all.

"Samira, I was under the impression my brother was to be taken to the healers if he wasn't stable." Tolwren rounded on my guard, attempting to look menacing and failing.

Samira dropped to a knee and inclined her head. "I believed so as well, My Prince."

"Prince Vandel* was likely attempting to conceal his symptoms. I will have a word with the medics sent to him. They should have spotted them anyway."

The King nodded, "See that you do, as long as it is after you've seen to my son."

"It will be done." She took me by the arm and led me off.

***

Why didn't Tolwren fall down clutching his head while screaming like a nutjob as I wrote? It makes no sense! Did I do this? Did making sure that Vandel* that I survived the Kirusk do this? I've heard about that butterfly and the hurricanes its wings make, but come on!

How could my survival change anything about Tolwren? All I did was slay the kirusk so that it wouldn't kill me.

Only the fact that I really might have a concussion kept me from smacking myself in the head.

By killing that damned elephant, I left Tolwren to stand impotently on the wall instead of being knocked around like I was. But, of course, his emitter didn't fail.

What do I do about it, though, knock him in the head? Or more likely see too it that something hits him in the head?

Pain ripples through my side, and I can't contain the groan of pain that slipped out. Looking down, I found Rue's elbow. "My Prince. I cannot say I'm pleased by you ignoring me. Perhaps you do have a concussion?

Had she been talking?

"How should I know? I'm no medic."

"Indeed." She stopped outside a wide set of double doors and looked at me. "You've either spent too long guarding the wall or were hit in the head harder than I thought."

"What?"

Her lips curved into a knowing smile. "Your way of speech is hardly befitting a Prince."

Damn. It's not surprising I missed something. I'm no actor.

I shrug. "It suits me, I think."

How long do you believe you'll be able to fool them?

It's not like they're really going to be suspecting me to be someone else. That's just crazy, even for a place mired in the dark age like this one.

Endurance didn't respond.

Her smile faded, and she opened the door.

I barely stepped into the room before a girl slammed into me like the human equivalent of a ballistic missile. We tumbled to the floor.

"You're an idiot."

Looking up, I have to admit I felt like an idiot. She was obviously one of the most beautiful girls I'd ever seen. She wore her red hair in a pixie cut, a svelte frame, and while everyone outside the royal line had golden eyes, hers seemed brighter.

I have no idea who she is. But, in my defense, none of Vandel's* prospective partners mattered after he died except the one time she ended up the consort of Tolwren.

It seemed like it could be her, though it was hard to really tell, considering neither of us was standing. What was her name? It has to start with an A. My leading ladies almost always begin with an A. Alise? Akita? No, I think that one's a dog. Arabelle? Amethyst? Not likely. Aster?

"Aster*, his Highness is injured." Rue looked ready to strangle the girl.

Ha! I was right!

Aster* rushed to remove herself from me, eyes roving over me until they reached my head. Her eyes narrowed.

"Idiot." Turning, she walked deeper into the room.

At least I know her name.

"You are just like your uncle," Rue noted absently as I stood.

"Am I? That's nice, I guess. Can we just get this over with?" I tapped my head. "I could really use some sleep."

She pursed her lips and ushered me forward. Together we moved through a room that was equal parts workshop and lab. On one side, they carved ships of different designs. On the other, Rue had several aides heating various vials and mixing in powders.

It was the exact reason she was kept alive by the King. Also, why I kept her alive. Rue just so happens to be the brightest mind in the Kingdom. I included myself to some extent in that list. With 26 different plants, numerous animals with toxins, the excessive amount of minerals in the desert alone, her mind was too valuable to waste.

Finally, she pushed me into a side room that looked a lot like a closet but must have doubled as an exam room; she pulled the bandages on my head free.

"You are quick-witted if nothing else," she muttered, "though there are better ways to remove yourself from his Royal Highnesses presence than reinjuring yourself—"

She trailed off, and her face pinched as she gently prodded the wound. "Especially a wound that should have killed you."

I watched Rue duck her head as she murmured to herself, not surprising considering how she and everyone else was dedicated to the desert mother. But considering I wrote out every prayer and none of them contained the word touched, I've no idea what she's saying.

When she looked up at me, it was different than before. "You will need bed rest for several days, no training for at least two weeks."

Two weeks with no training was fine, but any amount of bed rest was too much bed rest. But, of course, I'd no intention of telling her that. As long as I could get away from her before Samira showed up, I doubted I'd have any issues spending my days as I pleased.

I nodded.

Something tells me with the right moves I’m going to enjoy my life in this world that I created. Then again, all I want is to do a good day's work and slip beneath the radar, it can’t be that hard, can it?