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He pulled off his jacket, vest, shirt, and trousers, and stumbled toward the water.

Another hour, then two, then three. Kaerius clicked and listened, clicked and listened, as the last warmth of his body seeped away into the water. The screams of the gulls overhead jerked him back to wakefulness as his mind drifted, and he clicked and listened again.

Then, while his mind was almost clear, he dragged himself from the icy water, dried himself with his trousers again, dressed, and stumbled up the steep path. At the bottom of the road, he looked up the hill and felt the deep, cold ache of despair. His exhausted body did not have the strength for even half the climb, and he nearly crumpled to the ground right there.

The fever in his veins had kept him from freezing solid, and it strengthened him now for a few more uneven steps. Then a door opened, and several of Brighton’s young soldiers came out.

“Prince Kai!” one of them cried out. “Where have you been? We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

In the water. His hands were so stiff and clumsy he could not form the signs correctly. He would have been embarrassed, but he was too tired and cold to care what they thought.Requesting help for Her Highness.

The soldiers hauled him up to the princess’s chambers, and he was so stupefied by the cold that he did not notice or understand what they were doing as they undressed him and put his icy body beneath the blankets of his pallet with some rocks warmed by the fire. Someone called for Sir Vincent, and by the time he arrived, Kaerius was so deeply asleep that the physician’s examination did not rouse him at all.

“Why is his hair wet? What madness is this?” Vincent muttered. “I really don’t know why he’s alive at all. His heart’s scarcely beating.”

Brighton had roused from sleep just after lunch and was now alert, though still fatigued and nauseated with the pain in his head. He said, “He was going to… something about asking for help, I think?”

Marin frowned. “From whom?”

The physician looked at Brighton too. “In the water?”

Brighton’s concerned frown deepened as he looked down at Kaerius’s white face. “Yes,” he said at last. “But he doesn’t look like he received the answer he wanted.”

The princess, Brighton, and Admiral McDonagh ate a grim, silent meal in the royal quarters as the sun went down over the sea. General Preston had already departed for the border, having done all he could to strengthen the city’s defenses. The admiral would board the one warship remaining in the harbor as soon ashe finished his meal, and they would set out for the mouth of the bay, to reach the defensive position before dawn.

As Kaerius’s icy blood slowly warmed, his fever returned. He drifted toward an aching, breathless awareness and lay on the pallet for several minutes, trying to figure out where he was and why his chest felt like it was being crushed. At the sound of the admiral’s voice as he bid Marin goodnight and farewell, Kaerius sucked in a painful breath and rolled over to his stomach. The room was dark, for Marin had wanted to let him sleep, so he staggered to the door of the suite just in time to see the admiral as he departed.

“Farewell, Prince Kai,” said the officer. The man bowed to him sharply, as if he believed Kai to be a true prince.

Kaerius nodded.

“How do you feel? Would you like some dinner?” asked Marin. She stood at the sight of him and smiled tremulously, as if determined not to mourn for herself, but only for her country.

I am not hungry.It was true; he felt too empty and feverish for food to sound appealing at all. His pulse throbbed in his ears and his skin crawled with chills, but he ignored the strange sensations as he focused on her face. He dropped to one knee and bowed his head.

“Kai, come sit down. You look ready to keel over.” Brighton’s strong hand gripped Kaerius’s shoulder, and the larger man hauled Kaerius to the nearest chair with a grunt of effort. Then he put a hand on the prince’s forehead. “Good grief, you’re burning up! I thought we’d lose you to cold, not fever. Where were you all day?” Brighton’s voice shook.

To ask my people for help. I told you that. But they were not close enough to hear me.He took several deep breaths, trying to get enough air.My father has a younger brother. The line of succession is not entirely wrecked, even if I am cut off from it.I had hoped to rule my people someday, but if I must spend my life to defend you, Your Highness, I am honored to do so.

Marin said to Brighton, “Did you understand that?”

“Not much of it.” The guard put his hand against the table to steady himself. “Something about defending you.” He swallowed and met Kaerius’s eyes. “Tomorrow the Boravian ships should be visible. I suggested to Her Highness that we watch from the upper lookout. Until I see proof that Ralph’s threat has teeth, I see no reason to give him an inch.”

Kaerius nodded.Agreed. And when we see the ships, I will kill Ralph. Whatever sacrifices must be made, Boravia will learn not to threaten Her Highness.

The guard frowned in confusion. “Don’t… don’t make this more difficult than it has to be,” he said at last.

The Mer prince shot to his feet and nearly toppled over. He bared his teeth at Brighton and clicked them angrily.I am not the one causing trouble! I am not the one threatening Her Highness! Do not expect me to sit back while Ralph abuses her kindness and generosity. I consider you a friend, but do not push me, Brighton.

Brighton’s frown deepened, and he studied Kaerius a moment longer. “Drink some tea to loosen up the gunk in your chest,” he said finally. “Then get some sleep. I’d appreciate it if you were ready to defend Her Highness tomorrow.”

Kaerius’s chest heaved, and not entirely from his turbulent emotions. He closed his eyes for a moment and swayed, his teeth still bared.I am always ready to defend Her Highness.

He bowed to the princess and straightened only by force of will, then stumbled back to his pallet, where he collapsed into an exhausted, feverish sleep.

The night seemed interminablylong to Kaerius, who drifted in and out of dreams and dazed awareness of Sir Vincent holding his head up to drink mugs of tea and inhale the scented steam. He drank a little, coughed until the world spun around him, and fell back into the darkness.

When Marin opened the door separating her inner chambers from the vestibule in which Kaerius slept, the light was still soft and gray.