Chapter 13 - My Brother
Andri stirred beside the fire. Weakly, he seemed drawn toward its warmth. Antonius looked over immediately.
"So you're cold after all."
The words escaped before Antonius realized he had spoken them.
He pulled the child closer.
The heat from the fire had begun to collect beneath the rocky overhang.
Andri's scaled body remained cold.
But slowly, very slowly, his pulse strengthened.
His breathing deepened.
"Andri. Can you hear me?"
Antonius looked down at him.
"You are not allowed to die."
The boy did not answer.
Antonius brushed a hand through his hair without really thinking about it.
Mother used to do the same.
The scales covering Andri's body caught the firelight.
For some reason, they reminded him of something.
Something from Mother's jewel box.
The thought lingered.
As did another.
While checking Andri's injuries, Antonius noticed an old scar across his lower back.
A terrible scar.
The infant he had seen in the dungeon had possessed a tail.
The monster he had seen today had not.
Could it have been cut off?
The thought settled heavily in his chest.
Time passed.
Minutes.
Hours.
He fed wood into the fire and waited.
And waited.
Until at last—
"Your Highness!"
The voice nearly brought tears to his eyes.
"Theodoros."
Behind him came Ioanis.
And behind Ioanis, the knights of the Nikēphoroi Knights.
The rain had finally begun to weaken.
Struggling through the mud, they descended into the valley.
A small fire.
A boy sitting beside it.
And a child sleeping safely in his arms.
Theodoros stopped dead.
Alive.
They were alive.
"...Your Highness."
Antonius was covered in mud.
Cuts marked his face, his arms, his chest.
He looked nothing like a crown prince.
Yet he was alive.
Relief surged through Theodoros.
Then anger followed immediately after.
"What were you thinking?!"
His voice echoed across the rocks.
"You endangered your own life! Have you forgotten your responsibilities as Crown Prince?"
Antonius remained silent for a long moment.
Then he raised his eyes.
His eyes shone with a fierce light.
"I know my responsibilities."
As he spoke, he glanced down at the child sleeping in his arms.
The ash-brown scales.
The scar where the tail had once been.
The small body covered in mud.
"A Crown Prince must keep his promises."
Theodoros frowned.
"What promise?"
"I made a promise to Mother."
His hand rested lightly on Andri's head.
"She told me to be kind to him."
"And stay by his side."
Antonius lowered his gaze.
"I gave her my word."
Theodoros glared at the sleeping child.
"This monster nearly killed you."
"That is true."
Antonius nodded.
Then he spoke as though stating the most obvious fact in the world.
"And that monster is my brother."
For once, Theodoros found himself speechless.
Ioanis silently handed Antonius a dry cloak.
Antonius accepted it.
Then wrapped both himself and Andri inside.
This time, neither of them was lost.
