Captive Prince

Three guards take Damen to Laurent, who looks surprised and slightly drunk. Laurent positions himself by a table, and he and Damen realize that the three guards aren’t Laurent’s men. Two of them attack Laurent, while the third attacks Damen. Damen knocks the man down, drawing the attention of another. Damen pushes one guard into the other, causing him to kill his companion. Laurent has already killed his assailant and slits the last man’s throat while Damen holds him upright. When Damen grabs Laurent’s wrist, wrenching the knife to the floor, Laurent takes a step back.

The Regent’s men enter, discovering that the dead men and their weapons are Akielon, and attempt to arrest Damen. Laurent tells them that Damen protected him, ordering them to release Damen and clean the apartment. Alone and unrestrained, Damen realizes that he could leave, but he suspects that Laurent is hurt. Investigating Laurent’s goblet, he concludes that Laurent was poisoned with a disorienting aphrodisiac, and he taunts Laurent. He decides to flee, but Laurent says that would be an admission of guilt: Everyone would assume the Akielon assassins were operating under Damen. However, Damen says he can’t trust Laurent and leaves.