Tears Of The Neko - 17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The next morning, Kayden was restless and cranky when Damien tried to keep him in the bed to rest. The boy had rolled away from him in a pout and was flicking his sleek black tail at him. Damien had to laugh at the image and was glad that Kayden was feeling well enough to show attitude.

He patted the boy's hip. "Come on, get up and get dressed then. It's warm enough to enjoy breakfast on the balcony."

Kayden's face lit up, and he started to move quickly out of the bed. A slight hiss told Damien that the boy still had some pain, and he grimaced. But as Kayden dressed in warmer clothes, he hid any pain he might be feeling.

Damien called out the door to John to bring their breakfast to the balcony, and he followed the little neko to the large glass doors. He watched the huge smile spread across Kayden's face as they stepped out into the sun.

"This is your home, Kayden," Damien reminded. "You can go anywhere you like, anytime you want."

Kayden just nodded as he stared in awe out over the gardens he'd admired. The sun was rising in a beautiful golden-orange glow over the horizon. The slight cool breeze ruffled his hair. It was an unseasonably warm morning and the sun felt good on his achy body.

Damien went back inside to get a blanket just in case and returned to find Kayden perched on the wide stone balustrade that surrounded the edge of the balcony. He sucked in his breath suddenly in fear that the boy would fall.

"Kayden, don't sit there," he commanded sharply. "Come sit here." He patted the stone bench next to him.

Damien could have sworn he saw a sly smirk as Kayden eased back down off the railing to the balcony floor. Kayden's eyes darted around the wall behind Damien, scanning the tall doors and decorative ledges and ridges well above the entrance.

Damien glanced back and saw what Kayden was looking at and his eyes narrowed. "Don't even think about going up there. I heard about your little tree incident," he warned playfully.

Kayden's green eyes shifted down as John came out with their breakfast. The manservant was smiling widely.

"Good to see you are both looking better today," he greeted.

Damien smiled. "Yes, I believe we are. Thank you, John."

"May I inform the others? I know a few who will be anxious to hear word of Kayden feeling better," he said, then added quickly, "and you too, of course, sir."

Damien smirked. "Yes, I'm sure they are very worried about me," he said sarcastically, and John flushed a nice shade of pink. "Based on the amount of chicken present here, I suspect I am not Garin's top concern at the moment, since I don't usually have chicken for breakfast."

"Well, sir..."

Damien laughed at his servant looking very flustered at possibly offending his master. "I understand. Do you think Garin could be bothered to find some jam for my bread? Oh, and tell Captain Brenner to meet me in my study at nine."

John turned, blushing bright red as he hurried to the door. "Yes, sir, of course."

Damien glanced at Kayden who seemed totally ignorant of what had just transpired, sitting innocently next to him, nibbling on a piece of chicken.

"You don't know it, kitten," he smiled, "but you have everyone in this house wrapped around your little finger. Including me."

--Neko--

No one mentioned--out loud at least--the possible threat that Roman posed. Kayden suspected that only Geoff Brenner, John Drystan and Harrison knew the real reason for the increase of security around the manor. The morning after he'd told Damien about Roman, he had heard the captain, Harrison, and Damien arguing about the threat to Damien's life. And while Damien didn't want to truly accept the fact that brother could be behind the poisoning attempt, it was hard to deny that Roman would be the one to benefit the most as well.

"He is just a year younger than you," Harrison had argued. "If ... something happens to you, he is the next in line for the throne."

"I know," Damien had sighed. "It's just hard to accept."

"And he is the one who brought in the extra help for the dinner that night. I suspect he brought in so many so we'd have a hard time finding the culprit," Geoff reiterated. "There isn't a record of every person he brought in, since they were just one day hires. And he seems to have paid them all in coin in advance. But we have no proof that he's even involved."

Damien paced the room. "Except for what he's said to Kayden."

"Unfortunately--" Brenner started but was waved off.

"I know, I know," Damien said. "It's not real proof."

"I think we should keep the speculation just between us three," Brenner said. "I don't want word to get out that we are onto him."

"What? So you just want to wait and see if he tries again?" Harrison snapped. "What if he succeeds?"

And Kayden had flinched visibly at that, but none of the men were paying him any attention at the moment.

"He won't," Brenner snapped irritably. "But I'm willing to bet he'll try."

"Well, he has always been a little power-hungry," Harrison said. They let the silence hang between them for a few moments. "And you know he's not patient. After he comes of age, if you are out of the way, he'll go for the king."

"I've already sent a messenger to the king," Damien stated.

"You have?" Harrison asked in disbelief.

Damien frowned at his brother. "I may not want to believe that my brother is guilty of treason and wishes my head on a platter, but I'm certainly not going to risk the life of the king on that hope either."

Harrison and the captain had nodded, taking in Damien's dark mood.

Kayden hadn't been surprised that Damien and Harrison were a little more morose after that. Believing their brother could be guilty of treason was a huge step beyond just thinking he would flex his power over a defenseless slave. But they had all believed him, this time.

It hadn't escaped his notice that a guard even stood outside their bedroom at night now. Kayden blushed to think that the guard could hear what was happening inside the room at night.

Kayden had only seen Roman a couple times now. It was from the window as he perched there idly looking out over the gardens and stable. Kayden bristled at the sight of the man. Even though he hadn't seen the Marquis inside the main house, Kayden still didn't trust that the man wouldn't show up. Both brothers acted cordial to each other in passing outside, and Roman was almost too nice lately, as if he knew that Damien was aware of what he'd done, but of course couldn't prove anything.