Prince of Traitors

Jasper

Alix tosses me a shiny red apple as we cross through the kitchens. I catch it and bite into its crisp flesh as he grabs one for himself from the bowl on the worn wooden table in the centre of the rom. The juice rolls down my chin; I wipe it with the sleeve of my shirt. It's a plain brown one, meant for sneaking out of the palace like this.

My twin shuffles his apple from hand to hand for a beat before biting into it. He wears a similar plain shirt, his shoulder-length golden-brown hair tied back from his face. We've left our antler circlets in our rooms; we have no use for them tonight.

The kitchens have a path that runs out through the western wall of the palace grounds, so the staff can easily come and go to the markets in the city. Alix and I use this path to bypass the main gates of the palace.

We pause along the path, ducking behind a tree as a pair of patrolling guards walks past. One of them yawns. They don't notice us, and we wait for them to turn their backs to us before we dart out from behind the tree to continue on our way.

I'm almost positive our father knows about our midnight escapes. If he does, he never mentions them.

The moonlight glints off the Miran River that runs alongside the palace. We cross the bridge into the cobblestoned streets that lead to the market square. During the day, the streets bustle with people, vendors shouting their wares. At night, the lamps are doused and the market and streets stands empty and quiet. Summer bugs chirp in the dark around us as we stroll along the streets and enter the large, open market square.

A laugh creaks from me. "Do you remember racing our horses through here?" I ask.

Alix chuckles around his bite of apple. "We were idiots," he says. "Father was furious." We walk side by side through the square.

I finish my apple and carry the core in one hand, my other hand stuffed into the pocket of my trousers. I laugh at the memory. We'd been only fourteen, and ridden our horses through the market square, racing along the cobblestone streets. Colored dye dripped onto our heads, staining our hair. When Father lectured us about it later, Alix pretended to listen while I tried not to laugh. "It's amazing no one chased us out of Highcaster."

Alix snorts. "Can you imagine if Father caught us doing that today?"

My laughter fills me with warmth. "I think his ambassadors would let Odrend fall to ruin."

"When are they coming again?"

I think for a moment. "The ambassadors from Taja and Cronas arrive next month, I think. The court has been frantic about it," I say.

"Think Father will let us out of this one?" Alix asks. He brushes a lock of hair back from his forehead.

I shake my head with a chuckle. "I doubt it," I say. The ambassadors are arriving specially for our twentieth birthday. "Future kings, and all." I wave my hand regally, like Father does when he greets his subjects.

Alix chuckles, but his smile does not reach his eyes. "One future king," he reminds me. I shrug a little, watching my feet as my boots scuff the cobblestones.

Alix and I shared the same womb, the same home all our lives, the same promise of a life of royalty. But in the three small minutes between our births, Alix and I had been gifted very different futures. As the older twin, the throne will someday be mine. When I marry and my wife bears sons, Alix will be pushed further and further from the crown. He likely won't sit on our father's throne a day in his life.

My younger twin schools his features into impassiveness when Father mentions my inevitable ascent. But he can't hide the tightening of his shoulders, the curling of his fingers that make his knuckles turn white. He can't hide his envy. His rage at being born the second son. Not from me.

I scrub at the back of my neck, feeling my nails leave streaks in my skin. "Who knows, maybe no girls will find me fetching and I'll have to become a monk," I say after a beat. Alix laughs, exuberant. We grin at each other, all tension dissipated for now.

"Monks are celibate," Alix says. "Do you really want to live and die a virgin?"

I punch him in the arm and he bursts into laughter. "Piss off!" I snap, but I cannot stop from laughing.