Nik's journey to Hagiatrocos had been pleasant; he spent much of the trip dozing in the cooling wind as the ship leisurely made its way south. He had watched the sunset from the prow most evenings as the landscape slid past. He’d never been so far from the capital before. The beauty of the provinces of Euphiles and Gisean, although they had only stopped for a couple of days at each, had been a wonder. He strolled through the ruined Gisean Grand Amphitheatre, where Tarcassian had performed his poetry four centuries before the birth of Doukar the Great. Nikolonium decided to return some happier day to take in more of the pleasures of Gisean.

Eventually the ship pulled into his destination, the second city of the empire, Hagiatrocos. He watched from the deck of the ship as they approached, taking in the city. The great shining city of Hagiatrocos, refounded by Doukar Hagia the Wise over two hundred years ago, was the greatest sight of the trip. The city was smaller than the capital city of Dardano, of course, but was still beautiful and impressive. Where Dardano was a city of domes, Hagiatrocos was a city of spires, made from the local white marble, as opposed to the mostly yellow stone of Dardano. Where Dardano straddled the river Rubo, Hagiatrocos was a coastal city, sitting on a rocky promontory that extended directly out into the Melancthon Sea. Overhead, gulls wheeled and called out to each other. The Palace of Hagia dominated the skyline of the city. The great white palace, its two great spires the tallest in the city and possibly the world, would be his home for the next few days.

The city's strategic location at the center of the southern coast meant all the riches from the southern part of the empire flowed through the city on their way north to Dardano. He knew some in Dardano resented the wealth of the patros of the southern capital, calling them gauche parvenus. More importantly, the Patrianous of the church had denounced the beliefs of the Fratos of the Hagiatrocos church as heretical, condemning the anti-constralitists. His family didn't care, but Nik was following the developing schism closely.

The southern church believed Oma had placed a small part of His divine essence into His prophets, which gave them powers of divination. This was clearly nonsense, as the essence of Oma was indivisible. It struck him and the northern branch of the church as coming perilously close to the idolatry of the Circiniads, who prayed to "saints", normal humans somehow elevated above the rest of the race. Nik didn't fully understand the concept, nor did he care to. All humans were equally humble before Oma, unless they angered Him with heresy, like the Circiniads, or the intransigent Recorems who still refused to give up their ancient religion. The Circiniads were even known to make pictures of their god and worship them as idols. For humans to attempt to depict Oma was the height of blasphemy. His suspicion, and Locanion's, was that the Circiniads were influencing the southern faith. Once he had the ear of the Doukar Nik would stop these dangerous heresies and engage in a holy war to stamp out the Circiniads once and for all. The health of the empire could have no surer guarantee than pleasing Oma.

There was no point dwelling on these thoughts now though, and he brought his mind back to the present as he made his way into the palace to see his revolting older brother. His carriage rattled on the white cobble stones as he was driven through the streets, noumens gawking at his procession. He had come all this way just to see Euphastolon of all people. It was a sign of his desperation now that Meronion was gone. Euphastolon was a man devoid of loyalty who must have damaging information on Cordelian, so he'd come in the hopes of turning them against one another. If he could get Euphastolon to talk, he'd have the evidence he needed for the church to make their move. Cordelian had made no move to rescind Euphastolon’s exile, even though his exiler, Meronion, was dead. That had to grate on Euphastolon.

Still, his stomach sank when he finally saw the smirking face of the Third Prince again, waiting for him in the main chamber of Hagia's palace. It had been more than a year since they had last met; not long enough for his liking. They went through the rituals of greeting, Euphastolon being disgustingly smug the entire time, before making their way to a private audience chamber. The room was on the small side and not especially luxurious, but the view out onto the sea was spectacular. He and Euphastolon sat opposite each other across a heavy gilt table, clearly used to meet petitioners. The message was not lost on Nik, but he let Euphastolon have his power play.

"Fourth Prince Nikolonium, it's so mediocre to see you again!" Euphastolon said. Surprisingly, despite his sarcasm, he did look happy. He was tanned and looked healthy, although his nose was distinctly crooked. Part of Meronion's legacy.

"You haven't gotten any taller. You brought gifts from home at least?"

"Of course," Nik replied. He might hate Euphastolon, but there were some traditions you didn't break. Tradition was ensuring his safety too, as even Euphastolon would feel uncomfortable about harming a guest.

He hoped.

"Where's your wife, Lady Ionola?" Nik asked. He wanted to see what kind of woman had to put up with this maniac.

"Not here, she and her father are off doing..." Euphastolon thought for a moment and then shrugged. "Well I don't know. Something boring."

"Shouldn't they be here to greet a prince of the empire?"

Euphastolon smiled. "I didn't bother to let them know you were arriving earlier than we thought. Not worth upsetting their plans for the day."

Nik gritted his teeth. This was a significant insult. He waved to the servants to bring out the gifts to change the subject. He'd meet the wife and Primus later and give them their gifts.

His own gift to Euphastolon was a luxurious silk cloak, brightly colored. All the better to spot Euphastolon lurking in a dark alleyway. Theodorian had sent one of her pieces of jewelry of course, which Euphastolon praised expansively, and Ophelion had sent him a scroll of religious wisdom about the importance of forgiveness. He hadn't known Ophelion to show interest in theology before. Perhaps she hoped Euphastolon would mend his ways. She was still at the capital for now, although the ten-month mourning period for Meronion was more than half over. Pelagius and Helastus between the two of them had sent an ornate fruit knife.

Cordelian had sent some Danrian apples, the official royal breed and grown only in the immediate surroundings of the capital, and which Euphastolon was known to love. There was a sealed piece of parchment included in the small crate, which Euphastolon quickly secreted away in a pocket. Nik had opened the crate at sea and seen the note there, but hadn't been able to open it without breaking the elaborate seal – Cordelian hadn't trusted Nik. He'd decided not to tamper with it in case Euphastolon realized something was wrong. He needed to win the man over, not anger him further. Besides, the note might be incriminating, and it could be useful if he could get Euphastolon to hand it over later.

"Pelagius and Helastus should have sent two gifts, but still, perhaps you could consider the knife and its sheath as one from each." Nik tried to excuse them.

Euphastolon rolled his eyes, as he unsheathed the bronze knife and examined the edge. "Who cares. Tell them I love it."

He began to use the knife to peel and carve up the apples, which still looked good even after a month on the boat. Nik reached for one but Euphastolon waved him off.

"Get your own. You can get these any time, but for me, this is all I get."

Nik bit back an angry retort. He was here to try to get Euphastolon to cooperate with him, not alienate him. Euphastolon had never been known to share anything he perceived as his. For a few minutes neither of them said anything as Euphastolon quickly demolished his first apple. He only spoke again once he reached for his second.

"So why are you here, Niknik? To inspect the city for the Doukar and all that, sure. But why you? You are about the last person I expected."

"Who did you expect, Cordelian?"

Euphastolon just laughed. "Cordelian leave the capital while he's still working his claws into Fornulus, without Meronion to get in his way? Not a chance. I thought it would be Ophelion, of course. Or Pelagius. He might like the Southern women."

"Sorry to disappoint you." Nik glanced around. A tapestry to his left, which showed a scene from Doukar Honoria's life, caught his eyes.

"I can't lie, it is a disappointment. Doesn't seem like you've heard the good news, either, otherwise you would have brought more gifts."

"What news?" Nik turned back to his brother.

"I'm going to be a father!"

Nik almost recoiled in horror. This beast, a father?

"How wonderful," he said, as convincingly as he could.

Euphastolon started to slice up yet another apple. "Can't say I'm excited. Well, Ionola is, and her dad is giving me all kinds of presents, so it's not all bad. I sent a messenger back to the palace."

"We must have crossed paths on the ocean." He had to acquire suitable gifts for Ionola, as those he'd brought weren't sufficient given this news.

"I'm here to see you," Nik said. There was no point being subtle. Instead, he would try to shake Euphastolon's composure with directness. "I want to know the truth about what happened with the Empress."

Euphastolon shrugged without even looking up from his apple. "I thought you'd wait a day or two to butter me up before bringing her up."

"Is there a point?"

"I could take you around the city, and you could buy me drinks and pretend to be brotherly."

"I just want to know what happened to the Empress, Euphastolon."

"I heard she died. Some big tragedy as I recall. So long ago I can barely remember to be honest. What was her name again?" Euphastolon popped some more apple into his mouth. The man was a glutton.

"According to Meronion you killed her."

"Imagine having your own sister suspect you. What a tragic life. I could weep for my own sake, but that would be unseemly."

"That's all you have to say about your sister? She's dead."

It had only been a few minutes, and already Nik felt himself losing his temper. Something about Euphastolon had always driven him to anger. Probably the fact he was a murdering, lying disgrace.

"No kidding, so that's what all those ceremonies were for! To be honest I wasn't paying attention. I assumed whoever died had nothing to do with me, since nobody invited me to any funeral."

"You should take it up with Cordelian, he makes those decisions. He must have wanted to exclude you."

"Nobody came down for my wedding either, except dear old Theo. Some of the local patros tried their luck with her." He leant in toward Nik, lasciviously. "I heard some of them even succeeded."

"You don't care about Meronion at all, do you?"

"It's none of your business how I feel. Anyway, we didn't leave on good terms. I thought she might kill me one of these days. Good riddance."

Nik rubbed an eye with the heel of his hand, trying to stay calm. He couldn't deal with this man. He tried a different tack.

"Euphastolon, why are you here?"

Euphastolon looked confused. "Meronion forced me out of the capital, remember? Sold me off like a piece of meat. Speaking of which, I heard she did the same to Ophelion. Bet that really pisses you off."

"If you were back in the capital, you might be able to convince Cordelian to call it off."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? Pervert." Euphastolon sneered at him.

Nik slapped a half-eaten apple out of Euphastolon's hand. Euphastolon reached over the desk and grabbed his collar, and for a long moment they stared at each other, their faces only a few inches apart. Nik was trembling with anger.

Finally, Euphastolon snorted and shoved his younger brother away. "You haven't changed, still got that temper."

Nik leapt up and strode around the room for a minute, trying to slow his breathing. This wasn't going well. Once he had gotten himself under control, he returned to the point he had been trying to make.

"As you pointed out, Meronion's dead. So why are you still here?"

"I haven't gotten any orders to leave."

"Cordelian hasn't tried to bring you back. How sad for you."

Euphastolon's smirk returned. "Ah, now I get it. You think you can turn me against Cordelian."

"You're not known for your loyalty, and neither is he. He got rid of you as soon as it suited him to do so."

"Sorry to disappoint you Nikki, but I like it here. I'm the local Doukar and I do whatever I want. The weather is warm, the food is good, and the women have never met a prince before. No clucking siblings to harangue me, my wife worships me, and the church is accommodating. They're happy to have a member of the royal family here."

"So you're happy with Cordelian using you and then tossing you aside? Cordelian's probably already planning to have you killed."

It took a moment for Euphastolon to reply. He stared off into space and seemed confused, but then blinked a few times and focused back on Nik.

"You saw the letter, didn't you? 'Course you did. If Cordelian's sending me letters it means he still has a use for me."

Euphastolon coughed slightly, hitting his chest, before continuing. " I'm not afraid of you, Nik the Twit, but I am afraid of Cordy the Lion. Besides, can't make the wife travel in her condition. I'm happy down here. Just get me a regular shipment of Danrian apples and I've got everything I need. Hurry it up next time though, because I think these ones are starting to turn. They taste sour."

Nik stood and walked over to the window looking out onto the sparkling blue sea. "I don't suppose there's any sense in appealing to your civic pride or conscience either."

Behind him, Euphastolon laughed briefly, before it turned into a cough. "I don't have either of those flaws. I do what I like."

Nik turned to leave. Of course these sort of appeals would go nowhere, but there was another strategy. While Euphastolon might be happy down here, Pel had pointed out to him that Zeusis had bigger dreams than being the long spear in a short bunch. He wanted to take his family to the capital and rise even higher. He might have better luck seeing if Zeusis could put some pressure on Euphastolon. He should let some time pass before approaching Euphastolon again, to give them both time to calm down. In the meantime, Nik would work on his wife’s family.

He began to take his leave, but stopped, looking at the half-eaten slice of apple Euphastolon was about to finish off that had caught his eye. It had blood on it where Euphastolon had bitten into it. Looking up at his brother's face, Nik saw his lips were red. He frowned.

"Euphastolon, you’re bleeding." He gestured to his mouth.

The older man looked almost dazed, but snapped out of it, and poked at his gums. His gloved finger came away red with blood.

"That's not right." Euphastolon started to get up, but only made it halfway before tottering and collapsing back into his chair. The dazed look was starting to come back.

"I don't feel right..." Euphastolon muttered. Nik was beginning to get concerned and moved closer to his brother. Then, he suddenly had a horrible thought.

"The apples." He breathed. Nik whipped around to one of the servants. "Get a surgeon, now!" The young girl ran out as Euphastolon's strigulos crowded around him, trying to determine how they could help.

Euphastolon spat up some blood. "Poison? D-damn you Cordelian. Didn't I do what...you wanted?"

For once Nik had to agree with his loathsome brother. Damn Cordelian! He'd poisoned the apples, just as Zecorates had done to his mother three hundred years before. It had probably appealed to his love of history. Cordelian must somehow have realized what Nik intended, and wanted to snip off the loose end before he had a chance to pull on it. Or maybe he'd just had enough of Euphastolon.

If Euphastolon died, not only would Nik get nothing out of him, but it meant Cordelian had used him to commit murder. He would never forgive the cold-blooded snake.

The strigulos had Euphastolon down on the ground by the time a surgeon came, trying to get him to rest, but he kept coughing up blood. Nik couldn't see much among the crowd of the bodies, but Euphastolon seemed to be bleeding heavily and clutching at his throat, struggling to breathe. Nik swept the box of apples from the table and sent it hurling against the far wall, cursing Cordelian loudly, and startling the rest of the occupants, who were focusing on the downed prince. They quickly hurried him out of the room.

It took several pain-filled days for Euphastolon to die. Nik wasn't there at the end, but he heard Euphastolon died clawing at his throat in agony. Normally Nik would have seen such a death for such a man as justice, but Cordelian had used him to achieve this.

Surprisingly, Euphastolon's wife, Ionola, seemed genuinely grief-stricken by her husband's death. Just how had Euphastolon acted around her for his death to cause her grief? They talked a few times and Nik could tell she was a decent woman, not the sort of person he would have imagined could love his brother. Eventually her family had forced her to stay away from her husband's bedside, worried how her grief could affect the baby, it being their last connection to royalty. They couldn't risk losing that.

Nik had tried to comfort her as best he could, but her father Zeusis was almost nakedly hostile to him. The timing of Nik's arrival and Euphastolon's death did not sit well with many of the local patros. They greeted him with frosty politeness wherever he went. What could Nik say to defend himself? He couldn't very well accuse the Eukrates with no proof. He insinuated that Cordelian might be responsible to Zeusis, but this just made him even more hostile. Nik should have stayed for the funeral, but Zeusis implied he couldn't guarantee Nik's safety at this point, given how the patros were feeling at losing their prince.

He had no doubt the patros had sent tablets across the sea to Fornulus, demanding he arrest Nik on suspicion of murdering his brother. Fortunately, arresting a member of the inner royal family was no small matter, so nobody in the city felt able to detain him without the explicit consent of the Doukar. Still, Nik had no doubt he would run into an "accident" eventually if he stayed, perhaps at Zeusis's order. Cordelian probably would have covered for the man if that had happened. Besides, the longer the news sat in the capital without him there to defend himself, the worse it would be for him.

So, less than half a month after Euphastolon's death, Nik was sailing back home again. Although leaving before the funeral was another insult to their city, most of the patros were happy he was leaving. With luck, he could get back home before Cordelian was able to turn the court against him. The bastard had set this up perfectly, killing Euphastolon and framing him for it. He intended to get rid of Nik and Euphastolon in one fell swoop. Well, Nik wasn't going to make it easy for him.

The trip home felt much longer than the outward bound one. Nik was painfully aware that every passing moment meant another moment for Cordelian to work his schemes. He was losing all this time with nothing to show for it - in fact he was worse off than he'd been before he left. So much for finding some evidence to give to the church. He ordered the ship’s captain to make all speed, and prayed to Oma.