man. “This is Prince Eruadarhd of the Fifth Royal House. There are people after his life. Take him and hide him until I come back.”
Eri went quiet in the stranger’s arms, looking at him curiously.
“Wait,” the stranger said, but at that moment, there was the sound of branches breaking, awfully close.
“Go!” Warrehn snapped, closing the aircar’s door. “They’re armed!”
Thankfully, the pilot seemed to take him seriously, and the aircar took off. Warrehn didn’t wait for it to disappear out of sight. He dove back into the forest just as his pursuers broke into the clearing. Blaster shots rained down around him. Warrehn ran, his eyes burning and his chest tight with anger and loss. Only now had he realized that he had no idea whom he had given Eri to. All he could remember of the stranger was dark brows and blue eyes. He had no idea where to find his brother.
I’ll come back for you, he swore. I’ll find you.
If he survived at all.
***
Castien Idhron didn’t like children. They were loud, obnoxious, and whiny: qualities he had no patience for. He wanted to return the child to the boy who had so rudely shoved him into Castien’s arms, but the boy had already disappeared into the forest. He considered landing the aircar, but the sound of the blaster shots quickly changed his mind.
Besides, if what the boy had claimed was true and the toddler really was a prince of one of the Calluvian royal houses, refusing to provide assistance would be more trouble than it was worth, since all members of the P’gni Order of High Hronthar were supposed to be always willing to help.
His lips twisting, Castien put the aircar into autopilot and finally studied the child in his lap. He had to admit that the child in question was remarkably adorable for a little monster. Chubby cheeks, a golden mop of hair and huge violet eyes that were looking at Castien with equal curiosity.
Right now, the toddler was quiet, but Castien knew from experience that it was unlikely to last. When Castien had been a senior initiate, he had spent too much time teaching the children of the Order, which was where his dislike for little monsters came from.
“What is your name, child?” he said, forcing his voice to sound nice and patient. Unfortunately, he wasn’t exactly nice by nature and patience was something he was still struggling with. No amount of meditation and mental exercises could completely purge the teenage restlessness and aggression. Master Kato, the Grandmaster of the Order, said that it was normal for a seventeen-year-old to struggle with controlling his aggression, but Castien didn’t need the old Grandmaster’s assurance to know that his peers were far less disciplined than he was. His lack of control still didn’t please him. Being just like his peers wasn’t enough; he’d always striven to be better.
Because he was. He was the youngest certified mind adept the Order had ever produced, the youngest Master Acolyte, and the expectations for him were higher than for others. Castien didn’t mind. He’d always been a perfectionist, ambitious and driven, and the goals he’d set for himself were far higher anyway.
“I’m Eri,” the toddler replied, sucking on his thumb.
Eri. Prince Eruadarhd of the Fifth Royal House.
Frowning, Castien reached out for his multi-device. The aircar was too close to the Great Mountains and there was no reception for GlobalNet here, but Castien had a small backup of royal records compiled by the Order.
When he set the multi-device down some time later, he looked thoughtfully at the toddler in his lap. He hadn’t truly believed that the child was a prince, but everything had checked out. The child really seemed to be Prince Eruadarhd, the three-year-old son of the recently deceased King and Queen-Consort of the Fifth Grand Clan. The boy who had handed him the toddler was Crown Prince Warrehn, his older brother. Castien was a little annoyed that he hadn’t recognized him immediately, but in his defense, it had all happened so fast and he hadn’t gotten a good look at the boy. Not to mention that he’d had little interest in the royal children. The High Hronthar had always stood apart from the twelve royal houses of Calluvia. The Order did answer to the Council to some extent, but officially, the Order was forbidden from meddling in politics. Officially.
Castien eyed the child as he considered and discarded different options. It wasn’t difficult to see who would benefit from the assassination of