The Power and the Glory

Book 4 Chapter V: Paranoia

Warning: contains vampirism, attempted fratricide, and Lian generally being a mess (wow, what an understatement!).

I need my golden crown of sorrow
My bloody sword to swing
My empty halls to echo with grand self-mythology
-- Florence + the Machine, King

Chaos reigned through the palace. No one was sure what had actually happened and a hundred different rumours flew around. All that was certain was that Prince Imrahil had been found apparently dead, and he woke up while the doctor was examining him.

"I don't understand it," the doctor said repeatedly while the entire family crowded around a very irritated Imrahil. "He was dead! I know a dead man when I see one!"

News of his death had already been sent hastily to the empress. Now another messenger was dispatched with the news that they'd made a mistake. The messenger arrived just as the empress's carriage was leaving the Silver Palace in a hurry. At first none of her guards believed the second message, and there was a confused moment while everyone talked at once and no one heard anything anyone else said.

Back in Yaruael Palace everyone finally calmed down enough to listen to Imrahil's explanation.

"I had a headache last night," he said, "so I took a tablet for it. I was half-asleep so I must have taken too many."

"You--" Mihasrin stopped himself and took a deep breath. "Don't you know how dangerous that is?"

Imrahil couldn't help thinking of Death. "I know now. I'll never do it again."

"This makes no sense," the doctor continued to insist. "I checked his pulse and found nothing, I listened to his breathing and found nothing! He wasn't sedated, he was dead!"

Hartanna frowned at him. "Do you think someone can die and come back to life?"

"Of course not!"

"Then obviously you were mistaken."

~~~~

Gilreon was the only person who didn't accept Imrahil's explanation. He continued to watch Imrahil at every chance he got, and now there was something new in his eyes that had never been there before. Fear.

It came as a surprise to Imrahil when he realised his half-brother was actually afraid of him. Then he found he enjoyed it. Now he could make Gilreon leave him alone simply by staring him in the eye and smiling. He'd never thought there was anything particularly frightening about his smile, but it made Gilreon shudder and turn away.

He finally confronted Imrahil about it several days after the supposed tablet mishap. He cornered him in the bathroom when Imrahil was brushing his hair, and stood in front of the door so he would have trouble reaching the handle if he tried to leave.

"What did you do?"

Imrahil looked at Gilreon and smiled. He made a point of making his smile as wide as possible. Gilreon flinched but didn't back down. Damn it. Apparently he was getting over his fear. Imrahil immediately began considering how to bring it back.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," he said in his sweetest, fakest voice. He put down the hairbrush so he wouldn't be tempted to throw it at his half-brother. "What do you think I've done?"

Gilreon glared at him. "You did something weird and I want to know what it is. Did you try to kill yourself?"

He had no way of knowing how close he'd come to the truth, but his words brought back the memory of Death and her throne room. She had said something before sending Imrahil back -- something he didn't understand and didn't want to think too much about. "You're going to give me so much extra work after this." Being reminded of it immediately sent him into a terrible mood. Imrahil only barely stopped himself lashing out.