12. Fake It Till You Make It

Chapter 12

Fake It Till You Make It

A belly full of food, a long soak in a hot bath, and a comfortable bed with soft blankets meant I slept like the dead at long last. For the first time since ending up in this world, I caught up on sleep. Worries about someone trying to kill me or how I was going to get home slipped away.

When I awoke in the morning to someone pounding on my door, it took my brain an extra second to figure out where I was. As I groused to myself about unnecessary wake-up calls, I pulled on my pants and stumbled over to the door.

I opened it a crack and peered out to find a man in City Watch livery standing on the other side. My heart jolted into my throat and I was more awake than if I'd just inhaled three shots of espresso.

"Forgive the intrusion, Your Highness," the guard begged, bowing before I could even stammer out that he had the wrong guy. Clearly, he didn't. Well, not technically.

"What is it?" I grumbled. Thankfully, I didn't have to fake my early-morning grumpiness. There was nothing more terrifying than finding the cops on your doorstep first thing in the morning.

"Governor Brimsey has invited you to break your fast with him this morning. He has sent his personal carriage to fetch you. It is waiting in front of the inn," the guard stated, loud enough for all the occupants of the third floor to hear. Lovely. That helped my efforts to keep a low profile so much.

"Fine. Fine," I muttered, holding on to my spoiled and annoyed royal persona while I freaked the fuck out on the inside. "Go away while I get dressed. I'll be along shortly."

The guard gave an additional bow and retreated along the hall and disappearing down the stairs. The second he was out of sight, Nylian's door whipped open, and he hurried across to my room, still pulling on his shirt while his hair was a messy gold curtain behind him.

"What the hell are we supposed to do?" I demanded in a harsh whisper as I closed the door behind him.

"We need to get out of here. Best to sneak out the back and try to lie low on the east side of town until I can find us a caravan to join," Nylian stated.

This all made sense. If I went out trying to pretend to be the real Prince Victor Montcroix, I was going to be caught. But was running the best option? Or were we missing out on a great opportunity to dig up some valuable information for Nylian? It was risky, but it could prove worth it.

"Pack your things and get ready to go. I'll?—"

"What if I go to breakfast with the governor?" I asked.

Nylian had paced over to the window and peered out through a slit in the curtains, probably checking to see how many guards were surrounding the inn. He twisted around, his eyes wide. "What? Have you lost your mind?"

"Would it be that hard to impersonate him? It's not like their first thought is going to be that Prince Victor's body is now inhabited by a man from another world." I walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Plus, you need information on what the Edros royal family is scheming. The king and Prince Rufus have a relatively good relationship with Wolfrest, but we all know Prince Victor is the loose cannon everyone has to worry about. Maybe this Governor Brimsey is in cahoots with him, and I can get the dirt on what Victor was planning."

Nylian pulled away from my grip with a scowl. "You're insane."

Except he hadn't said it with the force I would have expected. It was soft and thoughtful.

"You know I'm right. The entire purpose of going to Galinaes is to find out if the royals are plotting against your family. You need the same damn information about Edros. It was the entire reason you allowed me to ‘tag along.' Except you didn't get that information from me because I'm not Victor, and I don't know what the fucker was planning." I chased after him as he paced the room, his expression growing darker with every step.

Nylian spun, getting right in my face. "The only problem is that if your performance doesn't convince the governor or if you say the wrong thing, you're going to be thrown into the dungeon, or worse, executed for impersonating the prince. I won't be able to save you if you get into trouble."

That was true.

"It's worth the risk," I said. "If we can mark Edros off your list of potential threats, you can focus your attention on all the others."

"Lockhart—"

"We don't have time to argue about this," I cut him off. I didn't want to listen to any more worries that might chip away at the confidence I'd cobbled together. "The carriage is waiting. While I get dressed, I want you to tell me everything you know about the prince. It'll help my improvising."

Nylian frowned at me, not liking this plan at all, but in the end, he nodded and began listing every detail he'd experienced personally or heard from another. Sadly, it wasn't much more than the vague details that I knew from my own plans.

Victor Montcroix had been born the second son and middle child of King Gerald and Queen Cordelia. He was a spoiled brat with an inferiority complex when it came to his older brother. While only twenty-four, he was completely confident that he could run Edros far better than his brother and conquer all the other kingdoms, starting with Wolfrest.

Unfortunately, there were plenty of nobles who held the same belief as Victor, or who at least believed they could manipulate him far more easily than his brother Rufus. The problem I faced was that I didn't know in which camp Governor Samuel Brimsey fell. Was he pro-Victor who wanted to steal the crown, or was he pro-Rufus?

The carriage ride across town was slow as it wove its way through the busy streets, heading to the south side where the homes grew larger and the roads were spotless. There were more trees and flowers in pots, adding bright, vibrant colors to the world.

Not surprisingly, the governor's mansion was the biggest building on the street, with a separate iron fence around it and several guards standing watch. Yep, there was no escaping cleanly from this place if things went horribly wrong. I prayed Nylian had listened to me and gone to the wharf to work on the caravan issue. Even if I got stuck, he could still move forward with his plan to sneak into Ulmenor.

I climbed from the carriage and schooled my features into a look of boredom as I walked past the two rows of bowing servants. A man in a somber but expensive navy blue pants and tunic ensemble and a neat mustache standing just inside the door bowed, but not as low as the servants. This man was likely the governor. At least, I hoped he was.

"Your Highness, you honor me by gracing my home with your presence," Samuel Brimsey greeted in a gravelly voice edged with the roughness of age. His hair was salt and pepper. It was receding at the temples, giving him a pronounced widow's peak, adding to the shrewdness of his expression.

"This felt less like an invitation and more like a summons," I sneered, clinging to the pompous-ass persona. "I don't care for being summoned. I don't even like when my father summons me."

The governor had begun to straighten, but dipped into a second, even deeper bow. "Forgive me, Your Highness. When I got word of your unexpected visit to Riverhold, I was eager to make you feel welcomed. If you had but notified me, I could have made ready rooms for your personal use. Something far more comfortable than the inn where you?—"

"And maybe you should have considered that I was keeping a low profile for a reason," I bit out in a low voice as I stood over the man. With a dismissive noise, I stepped back. "But the damage is done now. I was told we were breaking our fast. Let's get this over with."

"Yes, Your Highness," Samuel murmured and straightened, motioning for me to accompany him through a set of incredibly tall double doors where a long table had been set with shining porcelain plates and sparkling silverware. Candlelight danced at the end of pristine white candles all along the table while brilliant sunlight shone through the wall of windows. It was a gorgeously appointed room, and it felt ridiculous for just two people.

I walked to the head of the table, followed by a servant, while Brimsey started for the other end of the table as the host. I stopped dead in my tracks, closed my eyes, and let out a sigh loud enough to be heard in the next house over.

"Are we not the only ones dining?" I demanded.

"Yes, Your Highness."

I opened my eyes to find Brimsey had taken a couple of steps toward me, his face twisted in confusion. "Then I want you seated directly on my left. I don't want to spend the meal straining to hear you or shouting to be heard. Do you understand? I don't have time for all this useless pomp and circumstance."

The words had barely finished leaving my lips when several servants scrambled to move the governor's specific plates and silverware to the seat I'd indicated while the one servant following me rushed to pull out my chair for me to flop into.

As course after course was brought out, I peppered Brimsey with endless questions about Riverhold from inner criminal threats to outer threats from orcs to ogres to the elves of Wolfrest. I demanded to know about commerce, population, health, and every little thing I could think to ask about. I hoped that if I could keep him talking, he wouldn't have a chance to ask me a damn thing. Of course, that led me to the bigger problem of how to ask about Gushan and the royal family without tipping him off that I wasn't Victor.

We'd reached the end of the meal, and I still hadn't figured out how to get dirt out of him on the royal family, and he wasn't giving me any hints as to whether he sided with Rufus or Victor. It was safer not to chance it. If I could escape the mansion with my life intact, I'd call it a win. The important thing was getting out of Riverhold and into Ulmenor.

"Look, as lovely as this was, I can't waste any more time here. I have private business to attend to," I snapped. The legs of my chair scraped loudly across the floor, making me wince.

Gods, if this was convincing, Victor Montcroix was the world's biggest ass.

"You're right. We shouldn't waste any more time." The cold, stiff words from Samuel stopped my heart. Until this moment, he'd been nothing but ingratiating and polite. He stood as well and turned to the servants. "Leave us."

The second the door closed behind the last servant in plain black livery, the governor pulled a long stiletto from a sheath hidden at his back. I stumbled away, knocking my chair over to keep the sharp point from plunging into my throat.

"Who the hell are you?" he snarled, marching toward me with every step I retreated around the table. "You are not Prince Victor Montcroix. And what are you doing traveling with Prince Xeran?"

Shit! Here I thought I'd been damned convincing. I'd acted to match Nylian's description. Or was it Nylian's presence that had given me away?

My brain raced for a solution. Did I attempt to brazen it out? Or did I admit I wasn't him? If my best performance wasn't good enough, what was the point of trying to keep pretending?

I stopped retreating, said a quick prayer to the powers that had zapped me here in the first place, and shrugged. "Fuck it. I'm not Victor Montcroix, and I'm happy to tell you what happened, but I guarantee you won't believe me."

Samuel stopped and blinked pale-brown eyes at me. That didn't look like the answer he had expected. The point of his knife even lowered a touch. "But…" he exhaled.

"Holy shit! Were you bluffing?" I threw up my hands and paced a couple of steps away from him before turning. "That's on me. A bluff is way more convincing when you're holding someone at knife point. Lesson learned."

"You're not the prince," Samuel whispered, each word trembling. Yep, the asshole had been bluffing me and I'd fallen for it. "Who are you? Where is he?"

I braced my hands on my hips and frowned at the man, who looked considerably paler now. "Seriously, Governor Brimsey, you won't believe me."

"Can you at least tell me, is he dead?"

Wincing, I took a small step back, preparing to make a mad dash for the closest door. "I'm not sure, but yeah…probably."

The governor fell to his knees with a loud thud as his forehead dropped into his empty hand. "Oh, thank the gods," tumbled breathlessly from his lips.

Again, not the reaction I'd been expecting, but I had to roll with it. I jumped toward him and wrapped my hands around one arm, hauling him to his feet. If a servant poked their head into the room, this wasn't the best sight for them to see.

"Up we go," I groaned as I lifted the heavy older man. "Let's sit in a chair and talk for a bit." As we staggered to the head of the table, I dropped him into his previous seat and poured him a fresh glass of water. For this conversation, wine would have been better or some good old-fashioned whiskey, but it was still morning.

"First, what gave me away?" I inquired as I dropped into my seat.

"Barnaby reported to me yesterday, saying that you were acting strange." He paused and took a deep drink of water. I nearly asked who he was talking about, but I remembered the squirrely old man we'd caught following me as I shopped. "He said you wanted to know how to draft funds to pay for a mercenary escort. Normally, that's something you…er…rather, the prince would have ordered him to handle. He would never have bothered or even cared to handle it himself. He also stated that you were traveling with exiled Prince Xeran Elrich." The governor stopped and gave me a very pointed stare.

I waved him off. "We'll get to that later. I promise."

With a grunt, he continued. "That was enough to summon you here, but I wasn't convinced until you thanked a servant."

"I did?" I sat up in my seat only to flop down again. It was hard being an asshole. Don't get me wrong? I was great at being an asshole without trying, but someone like Victor Montcroix took extra effort, and that was difficult to sustain for extended periods of time.

"Now tell me the truth. Who are you? Why do you look and sound just like the prince?"

What the hell? I had warned him ahead of time. So I told him. Everything. All of it. Writing the book, finding the magic coin, falling off the bridge, waking up in Victor's body, running into Nylian. Every fucking thing. I even showed him the coin, which freaked him out, the same as that useless wizard.

By the time I was done, the governor was pale and sweating. The poor man even got up, stuck his head out the door, and shouted for someone to bring him some alcohol. Not that I blamed him at all. I'd been wanting another drink since that night at the first inn, but there had been little opportunity for it.

The poor servant arrived with the liquor, and Samuel grabbed the bottle from him and bellowed for him to get out. Only after he splashed some amber liquid in our now-empty water glasses did either of us dare to speak.

"I need you to understand my goal isn't to steal the throne from the king or Prince Rufus." I threw back a swallow and coughed my way through the burn. When I tried to continue, my voice was hoarse and low. "I don't want to rule anyone, and I don't want power of any kind. From what I've heard, Prince Rufus is a great guy. Let him have the throne after the king passes away. Besides, he's got to be twenty-six, twenty-seven, right? He'll be married any day now and popping out little princes and princesses, which will put me even further down the succession line. My goal is to help Prince Xeran clear his name and find the real threat to his family." Leaning in close, I dropped my voice to a whisper. "By the by, you don't happen to know if Prince Victor had a hand in that, do you?"

The governor shook his head as he reached for the bottle to pour more alcohol into his empty glass. "Not that I'm aware of. I might be stationed here in Riverhold, but I have some reliable sources in Gushan. Prince Victor made no secret of his happiness over the turmoil that struck the Wolfrest royal family. He's been pushing for the king to give him command of our armies so he can march them south to invade Wolfrest, but King Gerald refused. We've been at peace with Wolfrest for over a decade. No one wants to rush into another war for no good reason. After we heard Prince Xeran was exiled, Prince Victor left Gushan, taking a battalion of his trusted men. There hasn't been a single word of him in weeks, and many have feared the worst."

Fantastic. Prince Victor had decided to go rogue, steal Prince Xeran, and start a war. Instead, it was likely that he'd run into a bunch of ogres, gotten himself killed, and provided me with a new princely body to inhabit.

I stared at the alcohol that was still in my glass, trying to decide if I wanted more or if it was better to stay clearheaded. "What are you going to do next? What will you tell the king?"

Samuel scowled. "Unfortunately, I have to report that I've spoken with you. You waltzed right through the front gates. My men are loyal to me, but I know there are still spies about and one of them has certainly sent word to Gushan."

"Yeah, sorry about that. But until I encountered that Barnaby guy in the alley, I didn't know I was in Prince Victor's body."

A whimper escaped Samuel as he massaged his temple with one hand and drained his glass again. I kind of pitied the man. Now that he knew everything, he was stuck in a nasty position.

"Fine. You said you're leaving here in a couple of days and taking that elf prince with you?"

"Yes. Definitely."

"Good. Leave with that prince." Still holding his glass, he pointed one finger at me. "I'll tell the king that we spoke, and that you hadn't been to Wolfrest as far as I knew. After our meeting, you left Riverhold but didn't tell me where you were going. I'll tell him that I assume you're returning to Gushan."

I sat up, my brain struggling to believe that I was hearing. "And you won't tell him I'm a fraud?"

"Repeat that crazy story you told me? Not on your damn life! He'd never believe me." He set his glass on the table with a heavy thud and dropped into his seat with a sigh. "Your performance is believable. Watch for slipups with servants and you won't have any problems, even if you go to Gushan."

Really? He was going to allow me to assume the role of Prince Victor Montcroix, second in line for the throne of Edros. That was insane. Fucking insane.

"Boy, I'm fifty-seven years old. I fought in the last war with Wolfrest, and I have no desire to do it again," Samuel continued, narrowing his eyes at my skeptical expression. "King Gerald is a good man, and a lot less impulsive than he used to be. Prince Rufus is level-headed and patient. And considering your current relationship with Prince Xeran, it seems like you're in no rush to drag our kingdoms into a war. I can live with that. Riverhold has just enough prestige to it to do my ego good, and it's not so chaotic that I'm worn to a frazzle each night. I'm trusting you to not fuck up this comfortable life I've settled into."

My brain got locked up on the word "relationship" with regard to Nylian, but I let it go fast enough. He was right. I didn't want anyone to go to war, but we weren't off the hook.

"What about Barnaby? He suspects that I'm not Victor. He's got to be halfway to Gushan by now to whisper in the king's ear."

For the first time, a slow, sly grin spread across Samuel's face. "Barnaby would be the first to recognize you for a fraud. He's served as your personal attendant for over a decade. You can't hide shit from that little weasel."

"Fuck," I groaned. I'd suspected I'd blown it with him, but everything had happened so fast yesterday. There hadn't been enough time for me to work out a sensible plan.

"However, after meeting up with you, he came running to me with his doubts. I've kept him locked up so I could safely sort this nonsense out." Samuel's smirk grew into something more sinister. "Accidents happen on the road all the time. If ogres killed Victor and no one has heard from the rest of his battalion, does it make sense that the coward survived? I think not."

I bit my tongue to hold in the argument that he didn't need to die over this, but deep down, I knew he did. If Barnaby was sure I wasn't the real Prince Victor, there was no way in hell he was going to keep that a secret until the end of his days. The fewer people who knew, the better—and right now, Samuel had a pretty big incentive to keep my secret. He had a comfortable life that would carry him through his golden years. Why fuck with that?

"Got it. I'll try to stay away from Gushan so I don't stir up suspicion. Keep a low profile." It was for the best. Besides, there was a good chance I wouldn't come out of this adventure with Nylian alive. If I were lucky and I survived, maybe I could disappear in a small town somewhere as a bookshop owner.

"Though…" Samuel paused and tapped on his lips with one finger. His thoughtful expression scared me more than his sly one.

"What?"

"If you are so close to Prince Xeran and he is reinstated to his rightful place, it wouldn't be a bad thing for the two kingdoms to form an alliance. It would be a good marriage for both countries."

I choked on the air. It was time to get out of here. The governor had lost his mind.