Alex frowned. Why had William suddenly gone pale?
He stepped down from the table and froze. A woman lay sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood, her eyes wide and empty.
"She's dead."
And they hadn't even noticed. They had had sex on the table without knowing there was a corpse just a few steps away.
William brought a hand to his mouth and gagged. Alex wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"Will, are you okay?"
"Before… I tripped over something."
"I imagine it was her."
William shot him a glare. "Someone killed her, do you understand? We let our guard down. Someone could have killed us!"
He wasn't entirely wrong, but this was the palace, and as far as Alex could remember, no one had ever been killed within those walls. It had always been a quiet, safe place; the last thing he would have imagined was someone committing murder.
"Get dressed, Will. We need to warn my father."
With trembling hands, William picked up his trousers and tried to put them on, but his movements were so stiff he couldn't manage. Alex knelt in front of him and helped, then buttoned the shirt and settled the robe over his shoulders.
"Are you all right?"
"No. I'm not used to… this."
"Go to my chambers. I'll join you as soon as I've spoken to my father."
William turned sharply, his eyes like knives. "Absolutely not. I'm not leaving you alone."
Alex hesitated, then nodded. "All right."
They finished getting dressed, then left the room and called for a servant. His father arrived about ten minutes later, followed by a couple of nobles and several soldiers.
"What the hell happened?"
"A murder, Father, judging by all the blood."
Alex led him into the Council Hall. The body was in the same position as when they had found it; the clotted blood suggested a deep, fatal wound.
"Judging by the uniform, she seems to be one of the kitchen staff."
His father curled his lip and turned to the soldiers. "Search the entire palace. I want the murder weapon and the culprit found. And someone call the physician."
"I already did, Father. He should be here any moment."
"Good." He dismissed the others and looked back at Alex. "What were you two doing here?"
"William had to retrieve something and I accompanied him. It was dark, he tripped over something, and when we lit a candle we saw her."
He hoped his father wouldn't sense the half-lie. He certainly couldn't tell him what they had really been doing in there.
The king looked at William as if to verify his words, and the mage nodded.
"I needed a small bottle of ink. I didn't imagine we'd find a corpse."
"Were the doors locked?"
"No," Alex said. "Now that I think about it, isn't that strange?"
"It is," his father confirmed. "It must have happened while we were at dinner."
"The killer might no longer be here."
"Or it could be someone from the palace."
"And why kill her?"
The king shrugged. "Jealousy, debts, or blackmail. Even a quarrel that ended badly. There are many reasons." He looked at them. "Withdraw for the night."
"Why? I can help you, Father."
"It isn't necessary. You've returned from a long journey; you need to rest."
Alex parted his lips to protest, but his father stopped him with a glare.
"Go to bed. I'll have soldiers stand guard for the night, so get some rest."
The king gestured for them to go, and Alex dragged William out of the Council Hall. He would have liked to stay awake and help his father, but he was tired and needed sleep. He wasn't clear-headed enough to be of use to anyone.
They reached his chambers, and Alex pushed William inside before anyone could see them together.
"Maybe I should go to my own room," William said.
Alex took off his jacket. "I'd rather have you here." He retrieved a nightshirt and handed it over. "If you want to sleep dressed."
William pressed his lips together. "I'd rather not. I like feeling the warmth of your skin."
"Fine."
Alex kissed his forehead, then they both undressed and slipped beneath the covers. For a while they remained silent, wrapped in the shadows of the night.
"Your Highness, what if that woman wasn't the killer's target?"
Alex turned toward him, even though it was too dark to see his face. "You think they meant to kill someone else?"
"Maybe. Or maybe they didn't mean to kill at all." William slipped into Alex's arms, his warm breath brushing his neck. "She was in the Council Hall—maybe she saw something she wasn't supposed to see."
"A thief? Not that there's much to steal in there."
"There are documents."
"But nothing truly important."
"Then a quarrel?"
Alex stayed silent for a moment. "I don't know. It's strange that a kitchen servant was in the Council Hall." He held him against his chest and tangled their legs together. "But we shouldn't think about it. My father will take care of it."
"And you're fine with that?"
"Are you asking me to disobey?"
"As if you hadn't thought the same thing earlier." William rested his head on Alex's shoulder. "We can look into it too. Tomorrow."
Alex smiled and kissed his temple. "I have the feeling we're about to get into more trouble."
"Ever since we met, that's all we've been doing. First the trap in Astya, then Narea and Lenz."
"And now a murder in the palace."
His father had downplayed the incident, perhaps to keep him from worrying, but Alex had the feeling it was far more serious than it seemed. Someone had killed a maid in the Council Hall. William was right: the killer might have been aiming for something else. A theft or… another victim.
What if they wanted to kill a noble or a royal advisor? Or a member of the royal family?
The mage's breathing grew deeper and steady, a sign he must have fallen asleep. Alex reached for the bedside table and retrieved a dagger. He hid it under the pillow, then wrapped his arms around William's waist and pulled him close to his chest.
Ignoring the excitement that was once again rising in his chest, he fell asleep.
The next morning, what woke him was an annoying beam of light straight into his eyes.
Alex cursed and blinked. Little by little, the wooden frame of the canopy bed above his head came into focus, along with the weightless veils tied around the slender columns.
He rubbed his face, numb and heavy with sleep, and turned toward William. He was still asleep, lips parted as if inviting a kiss, his breathing steady. He was so beautiful and graceful that a surge of excitement ran through Alex.
By the spirits, what was wrong with him? He had always been a man with an appetite hard to satisfy, but he had never been this aroused.
No, there had to be a reason he grew hard just looking at him, and he doubted it was the love he felt. Could it really be caused by the Crown Pact?
Or was it someone's doing?
Alex frowned, but push the doubts aside. He had no time to think about it; first, he had to solve the mystery of the murder.
He bent over William and kissed him. "Wake up, sleepyhead."
The mage curled his lip and buried his face in Alex's chest, snuggling against him like a chilled kitten. Alex stifled a laugh, pushed himself up on his elbows, and stroked the back of his neck.
"Come on, get up, we have work to do."
William mumbled a few words in Xianese.
"Will—"
The bedroom door opened and Alex stiffened. Fuck!
He pushed William under the covers, between his legs, and hoped that hiding place would be enough to avoid arousing suspicion.
His personal maid reached the bed in silence and startled when she saw him already awake. "Your Highness! You are up early this morning."
Alex forced a smile. "Good morning, Elva. I have some work to do today."
"I see." She gave a small smile. "May I present your breakfast in bed, or shall I have it prepared on the table in the other room?"
Alex was about to answer when something warm brushed against his cock. He bit his lip. What the hell—did William want them to be discovered?
"Your Highness?"
"In the other room is fine, Elva," Alex breathed, trying to keep his voice under control. "Once you're done, you may withdraw."
Elva bowed and began arranging breakfast on the small table. Alex lowered his gaze between his legs again and stifled a groan when William caressed him once more. Was he using his mouth? Or his tongue?
Not that it mattered—he was fully erect again.
He glanced toward Elva and prayed she would hurry and leave. She finished setting out the little tarts and bowed.
"Is there anything further you require, Your Highness?"
"No. That's all, you may go."
Elva left the chambers, and Alex pulled away the blanket. William shot him an outraged look, his cheek pressed against Alex's penis.
"Is this one of your morning perversions, Your Highness?"
"But you were the one licking me!"
"That's not true!" William pushed himself up on his elbows. "I woke up with your penis in my face and you were holding my head between your legs."
"The maid came in. I had to hide you."
"And you couldn't wake me?"
"I tried—what do you think?"
William pierced him with a glare, then glanced down at his member and turned red.
"May I… get up?"
"Breakfast is ready. I'll join you in a moment."
The mage sat up, but did not move away. He seemed conflicted. "Do you… want me to take care of it?"
Alex parted his lips. He was tempted to say yes. By the spirits, he wanted that mouth on his skin so badly! But the doubt that had surfaced earlier pushed at his thoughts again.
If his fears proved correct, he couldn't ask that of him.
"There's no need. I'll handle it myself." He kissed the tip of his nose. "I wore you out too much yesterday. Today I'll behave, my lovely raven."
He got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. He needed release, needed to put his thoughts in order and try to solve all those problems before they complicated his life even further.
It didn't take him long to climax, but even though his cock had gone soft again, the excitement kept pulsing. William thought it was caused by the Crown Pact, but Alex had felt something similar before, and he had no pleasant memories of it.
He stared at his palm smeared with semen, then clenched his fist. A drug? But who would ever dare administer an aphrodisiac to the Crown Prince?
"If I tell him, he won't take it well at all."