Alex frowned. "Nothing at all?"
William closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again and shook his head.
"There are no traces. Or at least… I can't sense any."
Wonderful. Alex had hoped to shed some light on the mystery, but they still had no clue.
"You shouldn't have sent Caedos away."
He shouldn't have let that happen.
William shot him an irritated glance. "I doubt things would've been any different with Caedos here."
Alex rolled his eyes. Exactly what he needed—a stubborn, arrogant mage. "If it wasn't magic, then it must've been poison."
"Do you know how to verify that?"
"I'm no expert, but I have an idea."
He gestured for William to step back, then drew his hunting knife and slit open the belly of one of the animals. William grimaced in disgust and retreated to a corner of the room, pressing a hand over his nose.
"That's disgusting."
"Stubborn, arrogant, and squeamish too, apparently."
"I've never butchered an animal."
"Me neither, but I've seen it done. Anyway, we're not butchering it—we just need to check the organs. If it was poisoned, we should find traces of it in the liver."
Alex slid his hand inside, but his fingers met only emptiness. The belly was hollow, as though it had been emptied out, yet the skin was intact.
He withdrew his hand and looked at his glove. The fingertips were smeared with a sticky black substance that didn't look like coagulated blood at all.
"The organs are missing."
"All of them?"
"Yes, and it makes no sense. How could they have been removed without opening the belly?"
William stepped closer and frowned at Alex's hands. "What's that stuff on your fingers?"
Alex rubbed his fingertips. "I don't know—it's slimy. Could it be the poison?"
The mage grabbed his wrist and sniffed at his fingers. "It smells… familiar."
"You recognize it?"
"Not exactly. Remember when I told you that I spent my childhood indoors?"
Alex nodded.
"I didn't have much to do, so I read a lot. I learned a lot of things that don't concern magic—and poisons are among them. This one smells familiar, but I can't recall which one it is right now."
"Could it have dissolved the animals' organs?"
"It's possible. Several poisons can do that."
Alex studied him for a moment, then put the knife away and covered the animals with the cloth. They hadn't discovered anything, and time was running out. If he didn't solve the mystery and catch the culprit before his father's arrival, he'd become the laughingstock of the court.
He couldn't afford that.
"Let's go to the clearing. Maybe we'll find something there."
And he couldn't afford any mistakes, if he wanted to keep breathing.
-----------------------------------
After leaving the ice cellar, Alex and William joined the gamekeeper in the courtyard. He was waiting for them, and they followed him into the woods of the royal hunting grounds.
The air was warm and smelled of resin and rotting leaves. Sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting golden streaks on the ground. A heavy silence hung around them, broken only by the crunch of their boots on the undergrowth.
Alex frowned. He knew these woods, and they had never seemed this quiet to him. Finches and sparrows usually filled the air with their chirping, not to mention the rustling of squirrels among the branches.
"What happened? Why is it so quiet?"
The gamekeeper, a few paces ahead of them, stiffened. Alex stopped, raising an arm to hold William back too.
"I want an explanation. Now. You know what's going on, don't you?"
Their guide slowed until he came to a stop, then turned around. Unease flickered across the deep lines of his face. "You shouldn't have come."
William frowned. "What do you mean? You were the one who asked for the crown's help."
"It's a trap, isn't it?" Alex cut in.
The gamekeeper nodded.
"Was it the Castellan?"
The man gave him a sorrowful look. "It's not what it seems, Your Highness."
"Really? Because to me, it looks exactly as it seems. You've betrayed the crown—and now you're begging for mercy?"
The man shook his head and pressed his lips in a tight line. He wasn't even trying to defend himself? By the spirits, what was wrong with these people?
Alex took a step forward, but William's warm fingers brushed against his wrist. That pleasant tingling spread again across his skin.
"Your Highness, perhaps the gamekeeper can explain what's happening." The mage locked eyes with the man. "That's why we're here, isn't it?"
The gamekeeper nodded. "The Lord Castellan is waiting for you. He'll explain everything."
He resumed walking. Alex clenched his fists and followed. Maybe he was walking straight into a deadly trap, but right now he saw no other option.
After nearly half an hour, they reached a clearing.
A ring of pines and beeches surrounded it, and at the center lay about a dozen dead deer. Their bodies were untouched, their black eyes staring blankly at the sky.
Lord Lynden stood beside the corpses, gaze lowered. He turned only when he sensed their presence. "Your Highness, I'm so sorry."
Alex's eyes darted from the deer to the nobleman's face. "I want to know what's going on—and I don't want to hear lies."
The Castellan nodded, wringing his hands. "It was the boy. Reyne. He's a devil."
"Reyne? The prostitute?"
"Yes. He arrived about ten days ago, along with the storm. He asked for shelter, and I gave him a room near the stables for the night. The next day, there were others—armed men. They took my wife and daughter hostage."
"And the soldiers stationed at the castle? I know you had guards, why didn't they intervene?"
"They killed them in their sleep. I don't know how." His voice shook. "When I woke up the next morning and looked out the window, I saw their bodies piled up in the courtyard."
Alex shuddered. What kind of mess had he just walked into?
He glanced at William, but the mage didn't seem interested in the conversation. His gaze was fixed on the deer.
Fine. If he wasn't going to join the questioning, Alex would handle it alone.
"Why did you betray us?"
Lord Lynden shook his head. "I didn't. He said that if we didn't follow his orders, he'd harm my family and the servants. I had no choice—these people depend on me."
"So you were willing to let him kill me."
"No! I… He said he only wanted to take you hostage, to use you to force the king to surrender."
Alex crossed his arms. "And now why are you helping us?"
"He's become dangerous. This morning he was… nervous, and angry."
"I can imagine. Last night he tried to kill my mage—and failed."
Lord Lynden turned pale. "I didn't know, I swear."
Alex rubbed his forehead. Maybe he was a fool, but he believed him.
Not that it really mattered right now. "The situation isn't ideal."
"You'll help us, won't you?"
"I'll do what I can, but it's just me and the mage."
"Reyne is a mage as well."
William spun around sharply and furrowed his brow. "Are you sure?"
Alex pursed his lips. Oh, now he was interested?
Lord Lynden dabbed his temple with a handkerchief and nodded. "I've seen him in action, and he always carries a grimoire with him."
"Have you seen his spirit?"
The noble shook his head. "I don't think he has one."
Alex turned to the mage. "Is that possible?"
"Yes, if he uses corpses as a source of magic." William rubbed his chin with his fingers. "The death of the deer is strange. He could have used it to gather magic for spells, and he did the same with the soldiers' corpses."
Lord Lynden clutched Alex's arm. "Your Highness, I beg you, you must save my family!"
"Do you at least know where they've been taken?"
"Ah, I…" He let go of the prince's arm and lowered his gaze. "No."
Alex huffed in annoyance. Just as he had imagined, but he couldn't ignore the fact that two innocents were in danger.
"William, can you track them?"
"Not without Caedos."
"Then I'll have to think of another way."
William glared at him. "We should focus on the magic. On the dead deer."
"There are people in danger."
"That's not important."
"You must be joking. What could be more important?"
"Magic. We're dealing with a mage; everything else comes second."
Had he gone mad? How could he be so insensitive?
Alex shook his head. "You can't be serious."
"I'm always serious, Your Highness."
"Then I was wrong."
He had thought William was good and generous, just incapable of showing it. After all, the mage had been concerned about Myrina's ankle.
But maybe it had only been an act to win their favor. Pretending, just like the rest of the nobility. And Alex had fallen for it.
He clenched his fists. "Fine. If you think it's that important, investigate. I'll take care of the hostages."
"Your Highness, we shouldn't split up. You said it yourself."
"I said that before realizing you're just like everyone else."
And to think Alex had convinced himself that bonding with William wouldn't be so bad.
The prince turned to the gamekeeper. "Are there any secluded spots nearby where they might be holding the hostages?"
"There are some huts here in the hunting ground. But outsiders shouldn't know they exist."
"They might have stumbled upon them by chance, or some servant revealed their location."
"That's possible."
"Will you save my family?" asked the Castellan.
Alex nodded. "I'll do my best. You should go back and act like this conversation never happened. Try to keep everyone alive until my father's reinforcements arrive."
"Thank you, thank you!"
"You shouldn't." William's voice was as sharp as a sword. "Don't you realize it could be a trap?"
"I'm not forcing you to come with me. If you don't want to risk your life, I understand. Go back to the castle and wait for help."
"You're going to get yourself killed!"
Alex gave him a look full of sadness. "And you shouldn't care. You said yourself that other lives don't matter, didn't you?"
William's eyes widened. "I didn't mean that."
"No, of course not." Alex shook his head. "You know, after tonight, I really thought I could bond with you. You seemed trustworthy enough for me to entrust my life with, but apparently I was wrong."
They weren't on the same path, and they never would be.
"If you'd just listen to me…"
"No," Alex exclaimed. "I don't want to hear excuses. There are people risking their lives. One of them is a little girl. And you're saying they're not important?"
William pressed his lips together and stared him straight in the eyes. "Your life is more important than anything else. You don't understand; you think every life has the same value, but it's not so. If I die, no one will care, but if you…"
"I care! I will always care if someone suffers, whether they're a noble or a peasant! Is it so hard to understand?"
"Your Highness…"
"I care, and that's all that matters." Alex turned his back on him. "Do as you wish, William, but don't you dare stop me."
"What will I tell His Majesty if something happens to you?"
"That I died while performing my duties."
And maybe, for once, his father would be proud of him.
He gestured to the gamekeeper. "You, lead the way."
The man nodded and stepped into the undergrowth. Alex followed.