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“No, no. I think you are going to need to finish that. Here. Take the whole bottle. Go on now, good knight.” Alekur grabbed the bottle, thrust it at him, then let out a puff of laughter. “Go on. Do your duty.”

Automatically, Jav rose to go. His legs were moving on their own, telling him to keep obeying his orders, even as his mind was frozen with shock. It just… couldn’t be.

“Oh, and I laid her out nicely for you. Do have some fun before the end. Just be sure to get the deed done and the proof before morning. But the night? There’s no rush.”

Jav went still at those words, just short of the door. He turned his head slightly, almost a twitch. Had he heard what he thought he was hearing?

“Did you hear me, knight?”

“Yes, sire,” he said quickly. “But I’m not sure I understand.”

“Oh, don’t feign innocence. I’ve seen you wanting her.”

That took a minute to sink in, but he didn’t try to deny it. He ought to, but he couldn’t figure out what to say. His thoughts were blurred, whirling. Slowly, he turned ever so slightly, to look over his pauldron at the prince. His voice was rough, barely audible when he spoke. “Is that why you chose me?”

“It is, as a matter of fact.” Alekur grinned, eyes glinting. “You’re a sharp one.”

“That’s cruel.”

“No, it’s not,” Alekur shot back, utterly confident.

“How is it not?—”

“I think it’s romantic and rather generous of me.” He took a swig straight from a new bottle, then jabbed a finger at Jav. “Because what’s more, I’ve seen her wanting you.”

Jav’s brows only furrowed. He couldn’t be understanding any of this.

“Give her one good night before the end. That’s what I say.” Alekur raised his glass again. “If she’s to die, why let her die a maiden? Go have some fun.”

“Very altruistic of you, sire.”

Alekur’s face hardened. He rose and stepped around the table and forward, just a pace or two away now. “It is altruistic of me. I could have slit her throat myself.”

“But it’d have been over so quickly.”

“True. Very true. But I’m giving you—and her—a few hours to enjoy each other and choose whatever tragic end for her you like. Better to die bravely in your lover’s arms than like a stuck pig, don’t you think?”

The bile rose in his throat. Whatever he was thinking, he mustn’t have concealed it that well, because Alekur’s expression went steely and cold.

“I don’t care what you think. Do you serve this throne or not?”

“Of course, my lord.” He served Nefrana, but he wasn’t an idiot.

Alekur’s voice was hushed, the anger sharply reined in. “Someday, that throne will be mine. I want no other competing claims. You claim you can’t be bought, but I know you know what it’s like to have nothing. You can know that again.”

Jav stared back at the prince’s black eyes and wished he could see evil or madness there. But he didn’t. He saw dark reason. And purpose. Their gazes were locked, and he couldn’t look away.

“You can know that again,” he repeated. “Or you can do as I ask, and when the Knight Captain’s retirement is at hand, your loyal service will be remembered. Do you understand?”

He squeezed his eyes shut, then forced them open again. “Understood. Of course, my lord.”

Alekur’s shoulders eased slightly, and his voice softened. “She is a mage. You are a knight devoted to Nefrana. It’s the law of the land. The law of your goddess. The sentence for all mages is death. You know this.”

“I do.”

“I don’t need to question your devotion, do I, knight?” He said it gently, almost kindly. His words more coercion than threat, but mostly a reminder—Jav had no recourse. If it was true that Iseris was a mage— But how could that be? But if she was, then everyone would be on Alekur’s side. Iseris was already dead.

“Not at all, sire. Not even the oceans run deeper than my devotion.” That was not a lie. But he was glad the prince hadn’t specified devotion to whom.