Captive Prince

Damen walks past and closes the door to his room, finding Nicaise watching him. Nicaise was sleeping with the Regent when they received news of the attack, which upsets Damen. Damen says Laurent doesn’t want to see anyone, and after an uncomfortable silence, Nicaise leaves. Guards stop Nicaise, but invoking Laurent’s name and attitude gets Damen through the checkpoint.

Damen stops at the cross where he was whipped, uncomfortable with the memory. He dons scavenged clothing to avoid detection and wonders what the assassins’ plan was, exactly, but he climbs to the roof. From there, he listens for passing people, avoiding light. He can see out of the city toward Akielos, though he knows it’s different under Kastor. Damen waits for the bustle of dawn to escape unnoticed. The Regent’s guard finally emerges, lighting lamps and waking people up, but Damen hides on the rooftops.

In an alley, Damen spots a man and a woman exiting a brothel and recognizes the man as Govart. Govart fights Damen, the woman screams, and the Regent’s guards flood the alley. They restrain Damen and sentence him to death for treason, but Orlant and Jord interrupt, claiming that Laurent sent them to get Damen. The two groups draw their weapons, and Jord shows a Councillor’s medallion as proof of Laurent’s orders.

The guards take Damen to the audience chamber, where Laurent is appealing to the Council and the Regent. Laurent claims that Damen was the target of the attack and only ran because he’s rebellious. The Regent accuses Laurent of colluding with Akielos, noting how Laurent has avoided visiting Delpha. Laurent agrees to patrol Delpha, and the Regent releases Damen and then makes Laurent kiss his ring, caressing Laurent’s hair and noting how he was a “lovely boy.”

Damen and Laurent are alone in the audience chamber, and Damen debates whether he feels grateful. Though Laurent saved him in this moment, it’s Laurent’s fault that Govart was his enemy at all, and Damen has only been “saved” back into slavery. Laurent rejects Damen’s gratitude, saying they’re even and implying that he feels guilty about his treatment of Damen. Laurent says he’s leaving for Delpha without Damen and threatens to keep a shorter leash on Damen from now on.

Damen memorizes his room and the confines of the chain that holds him. He notes that the only thing that changes each day is the color of the pillows. A servant brings Damen breakfast, and he throws it on the floor.

Radel criticizes Damen for the mess and tells him that Laurent ordered Damen not to leave the room until he returns from Delpha. Laurent leaves in two days and will be gone for several months. Damen sits alone and recalls the events of the assassination attempt. He realizes that Laurent had a reason to lie to the Regent about the events and asks Radel for a meeting with Laurent.

An hour later, the Regent appears instead of Laurent and asks about the assassination attempt. Damen defers to Laurent’s account, but the Regent presses for more details. Laurent enters, and the Regent says Damen’s account of the assassination matches Laurent’s. The Regent criticizes Laurent, who deflects his insults.

The Regent leaves, and Damen tells Laurent what he noticed about the assassination attempt. Damen thinks Laurent killed the last assassin to prevent a confession, since the confession would have been that the assassins were Akielons sent to sexually assault and kill Laurent. This event would provoke war between Akielos and Vere, and Akielos, comprised of provinces called kyroi, couldn’t stand against the attack. Someone hired Veretians to pose as Akielon assassins to provoke the war, and Damen thinks Laurent should tell the Regent. Laurent suspects that the Regent hired the assassins.

Damen realizes that the Regent intends to seize the throne in Vere, attack Akielos, and rule both countries, using Laurent’s death as an excuse to start a war. Damen warns Laurent against going to Delpha, but Laurent already knows that the Regent intends to orchestrate an attack in Delpha to kill Laurent and blame the Akielons. Damen offers to accompany Laurent, saying he knows the area, can defend Laurent, and can be trusted. Remembering how he tried to escape, Damen realizes that Laurent doesn’t trust him. Laurent says he wants Damen to rot in his room and then turns to leave. Damen says Laurent would have beaten the Regent by now if he was capable of it, and Laurent hesitates but then leaves.

For two days, Damen listens in frustration as Laurent’s men prepare to travel to Delpha. Before dawn on the last day, Radel wakes Damen and gives him Veretian clothes to wear. Radel sends Damen to the courtyard, where Damen is astonished to receive a suit of armor.

Servants strap Damen into his clothes, and he notices that there aren’t enough men to fight. Radel tells Damen that he must fight as an ordinary soldier in addition to his duties as Laurent’s attendant. Jord tells Damen that they’re getting more men and supplies at another city, Chastillon, as well as many of the Regent’s men. Jord’s face tells Damen that the Prince’s guards know the dangers they face. Jord implies that Damen is sleeping with Laurent, which Damen denies. Laurent interrupts, and Damen complains about Govart being in charge of the guard. Laurent sends Jord away, and Nicaise approaches. He gives Laurent his earring, claiming that Laurent lied when he offered to take Nicaise as a pet, but Laurent says he’ll be back.

The Regent bids Laurent a dispassionate farewell, giving him the badge Auguste wore at Marlas. Damen is impressed by how many commoners come to cheer Laurent’s departure and renews his intention to protect Laurent. However, he doesn’t plan to ever return to the Veretian capital and looks forward to traveling south, toward Akielos.