Master of the Dance by T C Southwell

fifteen half-brothers, only eight remained, yet there always seemed to be a profusion of princes.
    Now that Minna was safe from the threat of kidnapping, Kerrion was able to leave her with her maidens and Kerra, sometimes with Blade as well, although the assassin preferred the solitude of his rooms. On the third day of the mourning period, Kerrion returned to his study to find Jadar waiting for him, looking nervous. The King sat behind his desk with a sigh, eyeing the elderly advisor as he bowed.
    "What has happened now, Jadar?"
    "Prince Jovan has freed his brother, Sire."
    Kerrion leant forward. "Dravis is free?"
    "Yes, Sire. It happened late last night, when everyone was asleep."
    "Including the guards, I suppose."
    "They were overpowered, but they recognised Prince Jovan's colours on the men who bound them."
    The King jumped up and walked over to the window. "Where is Jovan?"
    "Fled, My King, with his brother."
    "Have the courts sent men after them?"
    Jadar nodded. "But they will be well hidden in the city. It will be an impossible task to find them."
    "Damn!" Kerrion thumped his fist on the wall, then stared out of the window. "I did not think Jovan would do this. He does not even like Dravis."
    "It does seem strange, Sire, unless Prince Jovan believed Prince Dravis to be innocent. He has always been a stickler for justice. Had he not been a prince, he might have become a judge."
    Kerrion rubbed his brow. "Yes, that is probably it. Now my wife is in great danger again."
    "From Prince Jovan?"
    "No, from Dravis." Kerrion waved a hand at the advisor. "Leave me, I must think."
    Jadar withdrew, and Kerrion left his study to stride down the echoing corridors to Minna-Satu's rooms. He found her engrossed in a game of peeress with Kerra, and she looked up in surprise when he entered. After ordering the maidens out, he sank down on a cushion, and she studied his grim expression.
    "Something grave has happened. Is it Chiana?"
    Kerrion shook his head. "It is Dravis. Jovan has freed him."
    She gazed at him while she digested this. "You think he will try to kidnap me?"
    "No, I think he will try to kill you. And Kerra, if he learns who she is. From what Chaymin told me, he would like to harm me as much as possible."
    "What of our sons?"
    "I do not think he would dare to try to harm Shantar or Ashton, but I will assign more guards to their rooms."
    "Guards will not stop him."
    "He will not come here himself, he would be arrested on sight. Nor could he send a Cotti assassin to kill them, but he could send one to kill you."
    Minna stared at the peeress board, her expression bleak. "Then I shall have to send Blade -"
    "No. He is hiding in the city, Blade will never find him." Kerrion poured himself a cup of wine from the bottle beside him. "I will assign two bodyguards to stay with you when I am away. Jovan will have told Dravis about Blade, and I think when he discovers that he cannot get to you, he will send an assassin to kill Blade. Now that he is safely hidden, Jovan may send a letter to the courts, accusing me of blackmail. If the judges believe him, they could order the palace searched, and if Blade is found..."
    "He will be executed."
    "Yes. Our plan will fail. The laws have not been ratified yet."
    Minna picked up a silver bell and rang it to summon a maiden, whom she sent to find Blade. The Elder Queen turned to Kerrion again.
    "Let us hear what Lord Conash has to say on the matter."
    "Doubtless it will be scathing."
    The assassin arrived a few minutes later, looking a little disgruntled at being summoned from whatever he had been doing. Minna sometimes wondered how he filled his time, but had never asked him. He bowed to her and sat at her invitation, shooting a glance in Kerrion's direction. Minna told him what had happened in terse sentences, frowning when he helped himself to a goblet of wine and drank it while he listened. When she had finished, he shrugged.
    "So long as I am warned, I can leave the palace before it is