The Lunar Prince

by L Ward

  Irritability got the better of him and he had a quick smoke out his window relishing the chilly wind and drizzle. This time when he lay back in bed sleep welcomed him with open arms.

  Chapter 13

  Thursday morning was complete trash and his mood only soured further when Will turned up, dripping in wealth and stinking of privilege. The smirks and bladed stares grated on him, their fight was all over the university this morning; Rayne and Andrew had taken it upon themselves to tell every living soul.

  Nath arrived late, apologising sincerely as he took his seat looking tired and a little hungover. If the headlines were anything to go by, no wonder. Meetings with the Privy Council must run long into the night.

  Evan ran a hand through his floppy fringe and waited until the end of class to talk about last night. The last thing he wanted was to air this out in public. When he was sure Will was out of earshot, he said, “I suppose you’ve heard about what happened last night.”

  “What?” Nath blanched.

  Evan told him about the fight watching the briefest look of relief warp into anger.

  “Nath’s lips pursed irritably and he searched Evan’s eyes. “Taking his anger out on me is one thing, taking it out on you is another. Please, allow me to deal with it for not being there when you needed me,” he said, bowing low.

  “I’m okay, really, it’s not your job to police him. I just want to forget about it.” He was beginning to regret telling Nath, he didn’t look up to dealing with this kind of shit today. Evan’s heart leaped. He opened his mouth to argue but Nath’s gorgeous smile silence him.

  Will brushed past making eye contact, looking smug and playing with the flames on his fingertips. His smile faded when he saw the thunderous look on the prince’s face and the surrounding air flickered with spent magic.

  “I want to sincerely apologise—”

  “Not to me, to Evan,” he snapped.

  Will stared at him, lips twitching in amusement. “For what? Last night? He should be the one apologising to me,” he said and lifted his shirt revealing a bruise over his toned, tanned stomach.

  Nath’s eyebrows quirked in surprise. “Oh good, it matches your ego.”

  The urge to laugh was immense but Evan controlled himself by holding his breath.

  Colour rose in Will’s cheeks; storm clouds thrashed behind murderous pupils. A lot of cogs appeared to turn in his mind; he disappeared in a haze of smoke and spite.

  “I’ll ensure he stays away from your room,” said Nath, dimpled.

  “He can fuck off but you’re still welcome,” said Evan.

  Nath’s smile became a grin. “I’m happy to hear that. Anyway, the meeting is on Wednesday evening. Come to the east wing at seven and someone will show you in.”

  “Great,” Evan smiled swallowing the sour tang of nerves. He studied Nath’s drooping shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I didn’t sleep well last night,” said Nath.

  “Maybe you should take a nap. No lessons this afternoon,” said Evan.

  Nath laughed. “I might just do that; I’ll see you tomorrow.” He stunned Evan with a flirtatious smile and disappeared to the depths of the palace.

  Evan stared after him until long after the halls fell silent and the dazzling walls dimmed to ordinariness. This was getting embarrassing. He threw his bag over his shoulder and dipped out into the blustery gardens hoping to cool himself off before he faced Court.

  ∞∞∞

  Surprise warmed Evan like a bath of sunlight when he walked into lore on Friday afternoon to discover Nath nestled beside his chair. His smile was heartbreaking, the veins in the walls shone with radiance and glistened with mysteries. The dark smudges of yesterday were fading and he no longer looked on the verge of puking his guts up.

  “I felt like a change of scenery,” Nath greeted as Evan took his seat, thrills shooting to his fingertips.

  Will’s fury soared to new heights; his olive skin paled when he walked in on them laughing together. His point was made when later in the session he laughed at some derogatory comment Blaise made about lesser people and looked pointedly at Evan.

  “It’s nice talking to someone civilised for a change,” Nath said to Evan loudly enough for Will to hear.

  Evan lit up like a morning blunt and admired the vivid orange embers drifting around Will which burst prettily in showers of magic.

  ∞∞∞

  Dinner was a difficult affair plagued with anxiety and self-doubt. Evan’s appetite was shot to shit which by his standards meant he required hospitalisation.

  Cass was nuttier than a bag of squirrels.

  Jeremiah offered words of encouragement but there was no settling a born competitor staring down the barrel of challenge.

  Evan, on the other hand, was deeply apprehensive about the moment of loss, that sinking feeling of defeat. It was strange, he wasn’t in this because dueling was a heart’s desire, but over the past few weeks he’d grown to enjoy it. A tiny voice in the back of his head asked what if?

  The chamber hummed with choired voices; it stank of storms and adrenaline and the palace’s heart drummed to the beat of magic. Evan stood among the nine other competitors watching Dulcatt assuage the crowd. Their audience was growing in numbers now, uni spirit running higher as time passed. Evan could imagine how hyped the palace would be when the summer events began.

  The scoring had been changed; they’d be ranked as duos. Each pair would receive a rating and the duo with the lowest would be served a double elimination.

  “Team skills are essential in this field of work,” said Dulcatt, checking the competitors from his list. His scroll winked out of sight and the first pair were drawn. Angelika and a curvy, black girl Evan didn’t know versus Andrew Winniken and Blaise Atlantis. They took center stage and a hush fell over the audience.

  Something caught Evan’s eye, and he spotted the prince slipping among the audience, fashionably late and looking dapper in black. Evan’s heart choked him forcing its way up his throat like a sentient, throbbing potato.

  Hand drop. Angelika plunged the stage into darkness, tendrils of shadow lapping at their toes. The temperature began to plummet, frost crystallised the walls, spreading like a vicious arctic fungus over the windows and sealing the doors shut. It was impossible to see anything, until a haunting creak overhead brought a shower of sunlight into the room blanching the shadows, drenching Angelika and Valentina in daylight.

  Valentina panicked, whipping up a gale which worsened the bitter temperature.

  The crowd hissed, screeching at her to stop.

  Angelika was frozen in place, dark eyes bulging and arms outstretched like some sort of prophet. She was tugging desperately at her shoes, frozen to the ground.

  Blaise’s laughter shattered the silence and the crowd rumbled with anticipation. Angelika’s hands became cages and shadows billowed around her, but it was useless. Andrew made a slashing motion with his arm and the ice blocks encasing their feet shattered. A barrage of snowballs rained down on them and both girls crashed to the ground in resounding defeat. Scattered cheers erupted from the crowd.

  “Match!”

  Andrew and Blaise threw themselves into theatrical bows for their fans.

  Darius and Fabian hollered the loudest, banging their fists on the bistro tables and glaring at anyone who wasn’t clapping. The walls shone with emotion as the crowd’s excitement fueled the palace’s power.

  “That’s what happens when you don’t change up your game,” said Cass, knowledgeably.

  Evan was balls deep in anxiety watching two more pairs took to the stage. A tall, green-eyed boy with smooth ebony skin matched with Kristyn whom he saw in a gang of girls and gays tailing Will around the gardens.

  Dulcatt stood by and watched as they were flattened scoring the second lowest to Angelika’s duo.

  Evan nearly shat himself when Dulcatt paired him with Cass and, before he could compose himself, they were front and center. What terrified him most was Nath
watching. Thank fuck he didn’t have to fight Blaise again. Their opponents were Cass’s alchemy friend Sandjem and a short, shifty-looking guy from the newsletter. He couldn’t take a humiliating loss in front of Nath who hovered on the sidelines, dimpled and gorgeous.

  Hand drop.

  Streams of fire barricaded them, sides and behind. This part was easy; Evan allowed his magic to coat his skin in a cool layer of protection. Water poured from the ceiling, the flames recoiled in a cattish snarl and mist boomed around them. Nice display, but these were old tricks.

  “Hold on,” Cass hissed through the suffocating fog. The ground rocked to her melodic tremor and Evan squatted to keep his balance, clenching his fists and looking like he was taking a massive dump. Up ahead, flames sparked and died, the moisture too much for the weak pyromancer.

  The humidity became suffocating, Evan gasped for breath his hair damp and skin clammy. His heart was racing, the hydromancer threw up his arms and the humidity formed a cloud. “Cass!” he cried stretching his hand out and trying to cast it away, but it was too strong for standard spells and incantations.

  “I’m on it!” she shouted, red as a fox, ponytail static and crackling with magic. With a cry she flung a punch into damp air, everyone stared and a horrible smell assaulted them. The boys were plastered in mulch and stinking.

  The hydromancer stopped, watching his cloud being sucked out the window. The pyromancer, however, saw his chance and opened both palms and a wave of suffocating heat washed over them.

  Evan focused his power reaching out with the tendrils which formed a sort of healing barrier between skin and hot air. Cass wasn’t wasting any time she slammed her palms down and rocks erupted from the floor sending both boys sprawling.

  “Match!”

  Evan relaxed, his magic settling down to rest. The room erupted in a shower of silver and dimensional fragments, glittering with a thousand worlds of energy. They placed third; average; but were through to the quarter finals.

  Cass hobbled into Jeremiah’s arms, exhausted from using too much magic.

  Angelika’s team scored lowest and were eliminated.

  “One step closer to victory!” said Nath, wearing a pants-dropping grin.

  Evan flushed head to toe. “Yeah, all thanks to Cass.”

  Nath’s eyes glittered with knowing. “I don’t think it was entirely Cass,” he said.

  “I just stood there,” said Evan.

  Nath shook his head and said, “I know you did something.”

  Evan’s skin tingled with excitement.

  “I have documents to look over tonight, but I’ll be around this weekend,” said Nath, arcing a graceful bow.

  Evan returned it reeking of awkwardness and making his prince laugh.

  “I can stay longer next week, there’s been an influx of work recently.”

  “It’d be pretty epic to see you again,” said Evan, cheeks rosy as he held Nath’s dual-toned jewel-toned gaze, drinking him in thoroughly as he left.

  “Let’s grab a table and celebrate!” Cass threw an arm around Evan and Jeremiah.

  “Can safely say I’ve got my appetite back,” Evan laughed.

  Chapter 14

  Evan dreamed beneath the shower on Saturday morning. It was ten, Cass and Jeremiah hadn’t surfaced, so he grabbed a bacon-filled croissant and tea, and headed for the sunny gardens.

  The wind carried the spicy smell of autumn, tossing Evan’s fringe and cooling his lips. Pixies skipped along the path to where a group of students were spread across benches and sprawled in the grass, music humming in the background. Rayne sat alongside them with a sketchbook and paints. God, even Blaise was nestled among them grinning like a wolf over his pack. Fuck the cool kids.

  Molten butter burned his lips a little as he took a bite and sat on one of the free benches with a book. Half an hour passed before his friends appeared giggling and playful. “I see the celebrations didn’t stop last night,” said Evan as soon as they were within earshot.

  Cass stuck out her tongue and dropped beside Rayne to check out her painting while Jeremiah hung with the guys. Evan rolled his eyes, attention zoning back into his book. Minutes passed and the gathering grew silent.

  He looked up and his heart melted at the sight of the prince gilded in sunshine strolling over to him looking hotter than ever in a black hoodie, jeans and laced boots.

  A couple of girls swooned, giggling in a flurry of excitement, but Nath wasn’t looking at them.

  “Would you honour me with a walk in the royal gardens?” Nathaniel asked, eyes full of stars. Every shade of the galaxy swirled around him, and Evan knew it was his powers putting on a performance. Excitement welled in gasps and magic glittered on the breeze.

  Giddiness tickled Evan in all the right places. “Of course,” he said accepting the offered hand. People were staring, some open-mouthed catching flies. He was rendered speechless by Nath’s charming smile on their way back to the palace.

  A pair of journalists were setting up tripods near the main entrance, they looked up like dogs who scented the hare when Nath passed.

  “Your Highness!” one of the men shouted. His eyes landed on Evan; the camera flash was blinding.

  Nath smiled politely but kept walking.

  Both east wing guards stood aside, bowing low the moment they spotted the prince.

  They swept through the familiar corridor and into an expanse of sprawling windows and ornate displays with gold-framed paintings of royalty long passed. The palace defined magnificence, beaming with pride in the morning sunlight, the intricately paned French doors swung open, and they stepped into the same autumnal day in another world.

  The garden was bordered by trees donning various shades of life and death, exotic flowers bloomed overwhelmingly in a rainbow of colour and shrubs burst from every corner filling the air with a variety of intoxicating smells. Lush jade grass formed unusual patterns, and tranquil birdsong ignited the warmth of the magical air.

  “This place is incredible,” he said breathlessly.

  Nath’s returning grin made him weak. “You’ve hardly seen it yet,” he replied.

  “I’ve already seen the best thing here,” said Evan, mesmerised. Nath went pink and flashed his dimples.

  They followed the winding path through staggering evergreens which gave way to a stunning lilac pond full of rainbow fish. Hundreds of beautiful cerulean flowers bloomed on its banks, and when Evan looked closer they were formed entirely from droplets of water. His favourite were flowers the purple shade of fantasy which puffed tiny clouds of pink pollen.

  “It’s private out here,” said Nath, their fingers still laced together. “My apologies for interrupting your book, by the way.”

  “Are you kidding?” Evan laughed. “You’re much more interesting.”

  Nath’s brows knitted. “I wouldn’t say that,” he said, voice lofty and teasing. “However, there’s something else that might be.” He took them a sharp left then and through a wonderfully romantic orchard tunnel engulfing them in the sweet smell of apples, the ground crunchy with leaves. “Look up,” said Nath.

  Dangling from the branches, kissed by sunbeams, were not only the plumpest apples he’d ever seen, but their spectrum of colours expanded the rainbow from deep, glittering red to a brilliant orange, nuclear green and sea witch blue. An apple of the purest gold hung just above Nath, he reached up, plucked it, and passed it to Evan. “Try it,” his grin was wicked.

  “If I do will I fall asleep for a hundred years?” Evan asked, eyeing the fruit with the strong impression he shouldn’t even touch something so rare and exotic.

  Nath laughed handsomely and said, “don’t worry, if you do there’s a prince nearby to kiss you back to life.”

  Evan’s teeth pierced the delicate skin, syrupy juice filled his mouth and his gums began to tingle. Warmth rose inside him reminding him of beach days and vibrant colours.

  “The gold ones make you feel summery, it’s the best word I would use,” said Nath, hands
behind his back.

  “It’s pretty accurate,” Evan agreed taking another bite and marveling at the sugary goodness. “What about the others?”

  Nath turned his gaze back to the apples. “The orange ones are great if you’re ill, the deep purple make you sleep, turquoise give a super energy boost, the silver make you stronger, and the green amplify your senses ten-fold.”

  “What about the red ones?” asked Evan, tossing the core to a fat bird.

  “They’re, uhm, an aphrodisiac,” he flushed, smirking devilishly.

  “So they make you horny?”

  “Yes,” said Nath, cheeks glowing redder than his horny apples. “Come on,” he led Evan on through the trees, apples ticking by in rainbow constellations. Magic laced the atmosphere, thrumming in every plant, tree and exotic creature he laid eyes on. There were rabbits, beautiful sun-kissed bunnies with fur trailing yards behind them, but Evan was stunned to note some of them were covered in feathers, not fur.

  The orchard ended in a spooky wood, and as they trekked the loamy soil became scorched earth. Fragments of burned trunks slumped in piles of cinders; leaves trashed beneath their feet coating their shoes in a layer of charcoal.

  “Where are we going?” Evan asked. He was beginning to wonder where Nath was actually taking him when they slammed to a halt before a towering slab of sizzling granite.

  Nath smiled, eyes twinkling with mischief as he edged through the gap, extending a palm and pulling Evan with him.

  Magnificence rose before them; a seasonal aspen blazed in full autumnal glory. A thick, bleached-bone white trunk stretched into claw-like branches covered in leaves of fire dripping tangerine embers to the scorched earth.

  “Fuck me,” Evan breathed.

  Nath was more interested in watching Evan than the tree, eyes swimming with unspoken wishes. “This is the aspen in its full autumn glory,” he said, “it’ll only be this magnificent for a few more hours and the embers will die until the first day of winter.”