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Then another’s energy pushed against his mind.

“Did you confirm her guilt?”Toren demanded.“What was in the vial?”

Ber ground his teeth together, both from the increased headache and the reminder of the Centoi’s treachery.“Poison, given to her by Ilduin. I’d thought to kill him, but—”

“No.”His brother’s power whipped into his mind with the word, and instinctively, Ber channeled it away. How long had it been since he’d needed to do that? Toren didn’t appear to notice.“I assure you his death will be suitably painful. Guard the children.”

There was no time to interject an opinion. Although his connection with his brother was never really gone, Toren closed a solid mental wall between them before he could say a word. But the fury lingered. Oh, yes, Ilduin would die. If there was one attribute Ber shared with his twin, it was a sense of justice—and the more time Ber spent near his brother, the more he saw a match to his own ruthless resolve to enforce it.

No wonder no one had guessed that he’d acted to protect Toren.

In retrospect, the idea was almost laughable.

“Your Highness,” the healer cried. “Forgive me, but perhaps we should guard the babies in separate rooms. If this goes much longer…”

His answering nod caused his aching head to pulse harder. “They must be soothed. If possible.”

Ignoring the healer’s doubtful little whimper, Ber hurried over to take his son from Mey. Speran nearly launched himself forward, his little arms wrapping around Ber’s neck as Ber pulled him close. His son trembled against him, the child’s energy clashing against his meager shields until the power slipped through.

Though the energy filled Ber, he couldn’t grasp it. Couldn’t use it. Thankfully, the strength was nothing like Toren’s, so the increased power brought no pain. But out of instinct, he channeled it away, anyway, much as he’d done for his brother when they’d been children. Odd—he’d never felt the urge around other magic-users. Was the talent his birthright? Some skill buried in the blood of the Eyamiri?

He didn’t have time to think about it, nor the ability with his head pounding so fiercely. At the moment, it was imperative he get the babies settled calmly in the same room. He could focus on the rest later. He’d come too close to failing before.

The children wouldn’t be near danger again.

Despite the energydrifting through the throne room like the echo of Toren’s warning, Lord Ilduin was allowed to give a formal farewell before being dismissed. Tes stared at the man as he turned with his entourage, his lips pinched into a furious line as he trudged down the runner. Should she slip further into the crowd to avoid the group? Or step forward, confirming to the Centoi exactly where she was?

“Halt,” Toren commanded, power cracking across the room with his voice.

A few paces from the door, the group from Centoi froze like awkward statues.

Tes’s gaze darted toward the throne just as the High King stood, his face paler than she’d ever seen it. A surge of energy rushed from him in a flood, drawing gasps and yelps from the nobles as they sank to their knees, a custom Tes wasn’t required to complete. So Toren’s power rushed around Tes where she stood, shoving at her like a raging river in winter.

Icy and unrelenting.

Toren stepped off the dais and strode straight toward Ilduin. Behind the High King, Mehl and Ria scrambled to their feet, their movements stiff. Were they attempting to channel Toren’s magic? The lines of pain bracketing Ria’s mouth and Mehl’s pallor suggested that they were trying—and failing. But it didn’tstop Mehl from darting off the dais to follow his husband, Ria trailing more slowly behind.

“Tor, stop!” Mehl called.

Cold wrapped around her as the energy intensified. Tes shivered—and couldn’t stop. Even beneath the thick court gown she’d thrown on earlier, her legs trembled with the chill. She’d thought there was danger before, but this was death, frigid and true. She read it on Toren’s expression, as certain as a contract bound by blood and magic. The High King’s target wouldn’t leave this room alive, and anyone who felt this energy knew it.

“Tes?”Ber whispered into her mind.“Was there another attack?”

“Another?”The cold that filled her then was entirely her own. “What happened? Speran?”

“He’s fine. Everyone is fine,”Ber said quickly. Then a thread of anger slid into his mental voice.“But one of the nursemaids attempted to feed Elna poison. If I hadn’t been here…”

Suddenly, the deadly resolve on Toren’s face made perfect sense.“Ilduin was involved?”

“It was by his command, yes.”

Fury rose within Tes, burning away the cold. An earl from her own land had attempted to have her niece murdered. Sweet baby Elna, who’d never harmed a single person in her short life. Tes sucked in a deep breath before she could do something they would all regret—eventually. As much as she would love to join Toren in murdering Ilduin, it wasn’t the best path.

“We need to think of a better plan,”she sent Ber.

His tumultuous emotions hardly spelled agreement.

“Did you believe you would get away with your foul plan?” Toren demanded as he neared the entourage. Mehl caught hold of his wrist, but the High King shook him off. “Turn and face judgment, Ilduin of Centoi.”