Again the prince stopped Kiram's protest with a wave of his hand.
"Javier has made the royal bishop look like a fool. Worse yet, a fraud who can't recognize a possessed man when he stands before him and who knows less of heaven's designs than a pack of schoolboys and a Haldiim mechanist." Prince Sevanyo shook his head. "Word of the bishop's folly has already spread too far for him to suppress it. Now the royal bishop can only hope that in punishing Javier he can make an example of what happens to those who would embarrass him."
"You can stop him, can't you?" Kiram couldn't help the begging tone in his voice. Prince Sevanyo shook his head.
"Javier is dear to me," the prince admitted. "But when he chose to convert he placed himself firmly in my brother's grasp and well beyond the realm of my protection. Only the king could forgive Javier and he chooses not involve himself in this matter."
Kiram bowed his head into his hands, silently cursing Javier for not having the sense to lie or at least flee. Certainly a single locked door couldn't keep Javier prisoner here. So, why stay?
"Are you strong enough to stand?" the prince asked Kiram.
Kiram looked up and met Prince Sevanyo's cool gaze, unsure as to what could have sparked this new direction of inquiry. The prince glanced to one of his pages and the boy came close.
"I think so." Kiram replied. "I feel better."
Sevanyo nodded. The page offered him a chalice of wine, which the prince took a single drink from before waving the boy aside. He returned his attention to Kiram.
"The royal bishop will be arriving here tomorrow. More than likely he will expect to interview you as well as Javier."
Sick dread clenched Kiram's chest.
"Time is short," Prince Sevanyo said quietly then he raised his voice. "It is good that you are feeling recovered, but I can see that I and all of these fine men of my father's court have kept you awake too long." The prince indicated the surrounding courtiers with a theatrical wave of his gloved hands. "You have been good enough to answer my question and I appreciate it greatly. We should leave you to your rest."
The prince's guards straightened and several of the courtiers turned their cups and dishes over to servants, making ready to depart with the prince. Kiram wondered briefly at how strange it would be to live constantly surrounded by so many other people.
Then Prince Sevanyo surprised him by grasping his hand suddenly.
"Before I go, let us both pray that Javier sees the error of his ways," the prince told him. Something hard slipped from the prince's glove and pressed into Kiram's palm. "Let us hope that down in the room directly below this one, he feels our ardent prayer and comes to his senses."
Kiram nodded. He remained still and silent while the prince bowed his head. Then Prince Sevanyo stood and Kiram closed his hand around the key the prince had slipped to him.
"Take care," Prince Sevanyo told Kiram.
Then he left and the crowd of guards, servants and nobles trailed out after him. For a few minutes Kiram lay still in the bed, mustering his strength and resolve. The royal bishop was on his way, and Kiram had little doubt about which door this key unlocked.
His first steps were awkward but as he moved his strength and balance returned. He packed only what he could easily carry and knew would be needed. Of Javier's things he chose the strongest of his fencing swords as well as the simplest of his clothes and all the money he could lay his hands on.
The golden glow of dusk filtered through the academy as Kiram left his room and crept down the stairs. Smokey, sweet scents of roasting meats and fresh bread wafted up to him and he guessed that most people would be gathered in the dining hall for the evening meal.
Still, Kiram had to crouch in the shadows of the staircase and wait for the night warden to pass on his patrol of the academy halls. As soon as the big man was out of sight Kiram raced to the room where Javier was being held. Cadeleonian holy symbols had been painted on the door and Kiram thought he recognized Holy Father Habalan's writing. He quickly unlocked the door and slipped inside.
Only a sliver of fading sunlight illuminated the barren room. Javier looked up immediately.
Kiram almost cried out at the sight of him. His arms and legs were bound with heavy shackles and he still wore the filthy, bloodstained clothes that he'd been dressed in the night they fought Donamillo. At least a week had passed since he'd last shaved or probably bathed. And yet he still stood straight and proud. He met Kiram's gaze with a quick smile.
"Tell me you brought soap and I'm yours forever," Javier said.
"I brought your sword, a change of clothes, and a key to the door." Kiram forced himself to return Javier's smile, though it made his heart ache seeing Javier like this.
"Better still," Javier replied.
Kiram brought the pack but Javier simply caught him in an awkward embrace of lean muscle and chains. Kiram grasped him in return. They held each other for no more than a moment, but relief and longing made it feel almost endless and unbreakable.
"I missed you so much," Kiram whispered.
"I'm just glad you're all right," Javier murmured in nearly the same breath. "They wouldn't tell me what had happened to you. Only that you were fevered. I feared-" His voice caught, almost breaking on the emotion beneath the simple words. "You can't know how good it is to see you."
"It will be better when we're away from here." Kiram drew back. Up close he could see how very lean Javier had grown, but the force of his embrace assured Kiram that he still possessed the strength to run and ride.
"The royal bishop is on his way," Kiram informed Javier.
Javier nodded. "Sevanyo told me as much."
"We need to get you out of these chains." Kiram hoped the tools he'd packed would be enough. He hadn't reckoned on having to dismantle such massive shackles. They looked like things meant to restrain bulls, not men.
"I think I can crack through the links-"
"It's all right, Kiram."
Then Javier opened his hands and white sparks skipped up from his fingers and darted over the locks of the dark shackles. The chains clattered against the floor as they fell aside. Kiram stared at Javier. He'd made it look so easy-almost as effortless as in the days when he'd worn Calixto's medallion.
"If you could have done that for yourself, you should have already have been out of here," Kiram told him.
"I couldn't just leave you." Javier looked almost embarrassed. "So I decided to wait."
"In chains?" Kiram demanded in a hash whisper.
"If my guards thought that chains were enough to hold me, then it kept them from using anything stronger and it allowed me to stay here at the academy." Javier spoke as if this were what any sensible prisoner would do.
"The bastards could have at least given you a bath," Kiram muttered. He handed Javier fresh clothes and tried not to feel a pang of guilt. While he had been tended and gently treated, Javier had been living like an animal.
Javier tossed his blood-caked clothes aside and dressed quickly. He took his sword with a look of relief, as if he'd felt the absence of a weapon as sorely as a bath.
"I think most everyone is eating right now. Hopefully we'll be able to get to the stables unnoticed," Kiram informed Javier.
"Are you sure you want to come with me?" Javier gave him a hard, appraising gaze. "There'll be no coming back if you do, you know."
Kiram knew.
If he rode away with Javier now he would leave everything behind: steam engines and the Crown Challenge, his appointment to the royal court and the accolades of his fellow scholars. Beyond even that he risked losing both friends and family. The uncertainty of it all frightened him, but not enough to make him believe that he could simply let Javier go and live with the regret. He'd seen what became of men who sacrificed their hearts' desires for security. He'd seen what it had done to Musni.