Myrek cradled the small, still body of his son as he ran into the emergency room of Mahdesh City Hospital. The doors swished open as he rushed inside.

A nurse jumped up from behind the desk. "What is wrong with the boy?"

"I have no idea," Myrek replied in Mhajavi, thankful his language skills had improved in the last few weeks. "He woke up with a headache, then threw up his breakfast. A few minutes ago he had a seizure."

The nurse pressed a button and spoke briefly to a doctor before turning to Myrek. "Dr. Udam ordered a brain scan. Please follow me."

Myrek followed her down a corridor and into a room with a state-of-the-art scanner dominating it. A technician directed him to lay Vilem on a bed. His son lay still, eyes closed, but thank the gods, he was still breathing.

A middle-aged Mhajavi man rushed into the room and introduced himself, in fluent Ziganese, as Dr. Udam, head neurologist. "What seems to be the problem?"

Myrek repeated what he'd told the nurse, then added, "As you may know, my son suffers from an inherited blood disorder called annariblut."

"Annariblut," the doctor repeated, a puzzled look in his face.

"The name reflects the fact that the disease occurs primarily among the annari, the children of the aristocracy. But I've never seen this set of symptoms before, so it may not be related."

The doctor examined Vilem, running his hands over his torso and limbs, then his neck and head. "When did he hit his head?"

"I didn't know he had," Myrek answered. "He was fine yesterday."

The doctor turned to face Myrek. "I'm going to run a full body scan now. He may be bleeding internally."

"Internally?" Gods, the condition was getting worse. "Will it take long?"

"Just a few minutes," the doctor said in a soothing voice. "Please, Your Excellency, go sit in the waiting room. I will send for you as soon as I finish my examination."

"Yes, of course." Myrek smoothed Vilem's blond curls from his forehead and dropped a kiss on his son's pale cheek. "Take good care of him."

"We will," Dr. Udam assured him.

After one last look, Myrek left the lab and headed back to the familiar waiting room. He'd been here several times since arriving on Mhajav, but Vilem's condition had never seemed this serious before. After the adrenaline rush of racing to the hospital, he felt numb and helpless, feelings he despised. He clenched his fists in frustration. He'd spent a lifetime training to rule Zigan. But what good was absolute power if it couldn't save his own son? Dear gods, what would he do without Vilem?

Back in the waiting room he found Vilem's nurse Lokri and her son Tadu waiting for him. She jumped up when she saw him, worry in her blue eyes. "Is Vilem going to be all right?"

Myrek ran a hand through his hair. "I hope so. The doctor is running a scan to see if he's bleeding internally."

Lokri's face paled. "Oh, no, what could've happened to him?"

"Sit down." Myrek took her hand and drew her down on a divan next to him. Lokri had been Vilem's nurse since birth. She loved the boy like her own son. "The doctor said Vilem must have hit his head. Do you know how it could have happened?"

"No," she whispered, her face paling even more.

"I do," Tadu said quietly.

Myrek's gaze swiveled to the boy's guilty face.

"What happened, Tadu?" his mother asked in a tone that brooked no disobedience.

The boy looked at his shoes. "We were playing last night."

"After you were told to go to bed?"

"We weren't sleepy. We had a pillow fight, and Vilem bumped his head against the wall." He looked up, his blue eyes huge in his freckled face. "He didn't hit it hard, though, and there wasn't any blood. I checked."

Myrek put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It isn't your fault, Tadu. But you should've said something when Vilem's head hurt this morning."

"I didn't want to get him in trouble," the boy muttered.

Lokri took her son's face in both hands and made him look at her. "Listen to me, Tadu. You will never get in trouble for telling the truth. If anything happens to Vilem, you have to tell me."

"Yes, Mother."

"I know it isn't fair to you, Tadu, but Vilem isn't like other children." His own words sent a stab of pain deep into Myrek's heart, but it was the truth. Vilem wasn't a healthy child and never would be. Not without some kind of miracle cure.

"Why don't you take Tadu back to the embassy?" Myrek suggested to Lokri. "There's nothing to do here but wait."

Lokri nodded and rose, followed by her son. "Yes, Prince Myrek. Call if you need anything."

"Thank you. Please tell my assistant to cancel all my appointments for the day, and let Prince Rulik know what has happened."

"Yes, of course," she murmured. "Please let us know if there's any change."

He nodded, unable to speak around the lump lodged in his throat.