The Celestial King

by L Ward

  Evan hadn’t realised how hungry he was until the spicy chicken wraps were before him and he gorged them, ravenous.

  “I’m concerned about how he got such injuries. I’ve asked around and not one person has a clue how he obtained them,” Nath frowned.

  Evan remembered the bruising on his abdomen the morning before and told Nath what he’d seen. “We’ll have to wait until he wakes up to ask him though.”

  Nath nodded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I hope he hasn’t been disloyal to the crown.”

  Evan’s stomach soured. He’d had the same thoughts; possibly everyone did. He finished his food and they sat watching Will’s chest rise and fall with normal motion.

  Gerard poked his head in the tent looking solemn and pale. “How is he?”

  “He’s healed but he’ll probably need a day to rest,” said Evan.

  “What was- uh- wrong with him?” Gerard moved to sit at Will’s side.

  “His ribs were broken, one clipped a lung, the other pierced his skin and infection had set in,” said Evan. “He wouldn’t be in this state if he’d just asked for healing, but he’d rather spite himself than ask me for something.”

  “It’ll be interesting to find out what’s caused this,” said Nath.

  “Your Majesty,” Officer Callum bowed into the tent. “Sincere apologies for interrupting, but the response from Edinburgh has arrived.”

  Nath kissed Evan’s knuckles and they left with Officer Callum.

  Soldiers huddled around the fire waiting for the King. He scanned the letter, pupils dancing in the firelight.

  “The fools are refusing to release the chairman. They’re threatening to unleash more of their experiments if I don’t cease and desist,” he said slowly.

  “Won’t the dragons finish off whatever they have?” Evan frowned,

  “Not if they’re outside the city. Our spies have run into bother along the Scottish coast. It’s easier to tear the rifts and man’s abominations are seeping into our lands. The beaches are blackened and the sea is fierce.”

  Evan’s heart sank. “What are our choices?”

  “We potentially lay waste to the city,” Nath said slowly.

  “Or?”

  “We let Edinburgh fall to the dark side. Soldiers have gone missing; the area is dangerous and storms are above the council’s towers. I can’t send good men and women into that,” he sighed. “It’s a lose-lose situation. They’re asking me to destroy my own city and what innocent civilians are left in it.”

  “Is there nothing we can do?”

  “They’re bound in curses and dark magic. The only thing that can penetrate a warlock’s spells is dragon fire.”

  “Then you have no choice,” said Evan.

  “Blood will be on my hands,” Nath said quietly. “Blood I never wished spilled. I requested their answer by nightfall and I’m running out of time to reply,” he ran a hand through his blonde hair. The air crackled with silver uncertainty and cerulean anxiety; the flashes reminded Evan of Christmas lights and merry nights.

  “You’ve got time to decide. Ask Gerard what he thinks,” said Evan.

  “I know what his answer will be and so do you,” said the King, brows twitching.

  “He’d deploy the dragons,” he breathed.

  Nath nodded slowly. “I know what Gerard would do, the same thing my father would. The question I’m asking myself is: what would Nath do? And deep down I know King Nathaniel isn’t a war lord.”

  “Not in bloodlust and brutality, but you can outwit these warlocks, Nath. Remember what your mum said, be the kind of king you want to be, not what’s expected of Elijah,” Evan said squeezing his hand and smiling.

  Chapter 9

  Will.

  It was later in the evening when he woke flushed and light-headed.

  Gerard had sat by his side most of the afternoon watching him rest. He now eyed Will with wary concern. “Not like you to be such a sleepy head,” he flashed a tiny smile.

  Evan came into the tent still bundled in traveling clothes; pupils huge from using so much magic. “How are you feeling?” he asked, and invaded Will’s space by lifting back the sheet and running his fingers over the sensitive yet painless spot where his wounds had been.

  He flinched and slapped the hand away, realising a moment too late what he’d done. “Shit. Sorry—”

  “Show some respect!” Gerard spat.

  Evan ignored him and pressed his fingers to the mark.

  Will watched the skin pool with his natural tan, pinkness completely disappearing. He was vaguely surprised he hadn’t woken to searing agony; instead all he felt was tiredness.

  “Any nausea?” Evan repeated.

  “No, Your Grace,” Will said, relaxing back and biting his tongue as the healer lay a hand across his forehead.

  “Bet you’re tired, though,” Evan’s smile touched his soft, meadow-green eyes.

  Will averted his gaze. Evan had a strange cuteness about him he’d noticed while being forced to sit in meetings with him for hours, hold amicable conversation whenever their paths crossed at Court, and plan a fucking coronation for him. The coronation that should have been his, if his fucking father hadn’t started the fire that burned his relationship to the ground. “Thank you for the healing, but I’m fine now.”

  Nath strode into the tent, hair tousled and radiating handsome like the full moon’s light. “Care to tell us where you got such dreadful injuries, Will?” He wasn’t messing around.

  Will sighed. “Fell off my horse.”

  “When?”

  “Yesterday morning.”

  “You already had the bruises that morning. I saw you checking them in the tent,” said Evan.

  His eyebrows furrowed and he shut his eyes. “Morning before, then.”

  “Stop lying to me, Will. If I find out you’ve been fraternising with enemies and gotten yourself beaten up for it, then mark my words, you will be punished,” Nath said dangerously.

  Will’s heart skipped a beat and he looked at each of them in turn, lingering on his father the longest.

  Gerard’s gaze was hard; his mouth became an upturned crescent.

  “I swear I haven’t been disloyal to you, Nath,” the words slipped his tongue. “Your Majesty.”

  “A loyal person would be honest about how they became so seriously injured on duty,” said Nath, sinking into a seat beside Gerard.

  Will looked between them, sweat prickling his forehead. If he told the truth he didn’t know what his father would do, or if Nath would have him arrested. Then it clicked, the best solution was to dodge the question for now, buying time for him to dig himself out of this mess. He relaxed into the hammock and closed his eyes. “I feel like I’m gonna pass out.”

  Evan’s unwelcome fingers trailed over his wrist sensing his pulse and whatever his tingling magic was feeling for in his blood. “Low blood sugar, dehydrated and in need of rest,” he concluded.

  “Then perhaps he’ll be more willing to talk when his belly’s full,” said Nath, summoning one of the cooks to bring Will his dinner.

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “I didn’t raise you to be this ungrateful,” said Gerard, gesturing to Evan.

  Anger rose in Will’s chest but he fought it down. He couldn’t tell them what really happened, not without serious consequences.

  Dinner was placed before him, a medium-heat curry that he didn’t feel up to eating. He forced down every bite as slowly as possible, trying to drag out the time.

  Eventually Evan, Nath and Gerard left to discuss the political situation and he was finally alone with the crippling isolation of his thoughts.

  Will did what he did best, played with fire. The brazier’s light danced ballet, people of flames and cinders twirled on their toes and a huge dragon rose extinguishing them all. He could create anything, make these figments perform in unimaginable ways, but he couldn’t sort his own life out.

  He got up slowly and took out some paper and a pen, lay back i
n his hammock and wrote a letter.

  Chapter 10

  The decision was finalised and the message was on its way to Edinburgh. Nath had agonised for hours over it and in the end felt confident he was making the right choice.

  The night’s rest was refreshing, and when Evan checked Will's progress the following morning he was satisfied to see him up, dressed and in a better mood. And by better he meant not setting his anxiety on edge.

  “Nath showed you mercy last night. If another king suspected you of treason, you’d be dead by now. So, where did you get those bruises?”

  “I were messing about near the river yesterday and fell down the rocks,” said Will.

  “And you didn't think to tell anyone?”

  “No. It were my fault.”

  He shook his head and turned to leave.

  “Evan?” Will’s voice was quick, almost panicked.

  He turned and met Will’s gaze. Seriousness washed his face a new shade of handsome.

  “I know this looks bad for me, and Nath has every right to distrust me, but I swear I’ve not been disloyal to him, or you. Whatever you think this,” he gestured to his abdomen, “was, it wasn’t anything to do with the crown. I respect Nath. Do you know we were best friends before we started dating?”

  “Yes,” said Evan. Chills crawled up his spine. Something was wrong. “Nath hasn’t spared me any details.” It seemed to strike a chord because Will’s face lost all emotion.

  “You only know half the story,” he said coldly.

  “You’re right, but the difference is I know a lot more about you than you know about me,” said Evan. “It’s not even just about Nath. I’ve no personal reason to trust anything you say when you tried to assault my husband, attacked me in my own rooms, got my sister pregnant and kissed me at my engagement party. You’re insane, Will. Absolutely mental,” it felt incredible to finally get the words out as though a tornado had lifted him into the sky and he was soaring higher and higher.

  Will was unreadable. He didn’t speak.

  A silence passed and they stared at each other.

  “We’re leaving in ten minutes, do you need any more healing?” Evan asked slowly.

  “No thank you, Your Grace.”

  Evan left the tent; the uncomfortable feeling didn’t shift even when the cool morning air kissed his cheeks.

  ∞∞∞

  They were loaded and on the road again; by tomorrow they’d reach the border.

  Hills were trekked as the King explained calmly to Gerard why he’d chosen to surrender the city.

  “I couldn’t let thousands of innocent people trapped there die. The boundaries are too deadly for them to pass but the battle between monsters and magic would incinerate them. Surrendering preserves their lives. His Grace has formally notified the media explaining the situation.”

  Gerard shot Evan a wary look. “They’ll call you on your weakness.”

  “If sparing human life is weakness then I accept your judgement,” said Nath.

  “You let a major city fall to the dark side surrendering your own citizens anyway!”

  “They’ll be spared, and I have several tricks up my sleeve,” his lips curled in a smile. “The surrender was on condition they ensured the safety of the chairman and all citizens, and the dragons will not be removed. I’ve threatened them, the only power they currently have is running the inner city, the other Scottish cities and towns are preparing their defences, each major metropolitan area will receive some form of dragon kin.”

  Gerard relaxed a little, appeased.

  “Admirable work, Your Majesty,” said Will.

  “Might I ask what these tricks are, Your Majesty?” Gerard asked slyly.

  “We’re already en route to capture some of their major parliamentary buildings and the decree they’ve signed enables me to enforce a trap of the dragons and cursed boundaries encasing them all in a dome.”

  “They’ll kill the citizens—”

  “It’s a loop hole for a reason,” Nath smiled coyly. “If they kill the citizens, they’re incinerated. If they attempt to leave or launch an attack, they’re incinerated.”

  Gerard blinked and his face lit boyishly in a smile. “That’s a brilliant idea, Your Majesty.”

  Pride enveloped Evan in the warmest of hugs.

  The trek through the flower-strewn hills and pretty countryside faded to blackened sands and echoes of lost villages. They passed a small ruin on the outskirts where nothing remained; bodies lay blackened in crumbling buildings and wooden market stalls had been turned to ash.

  Evan’s stomach was the soggiest pretzel that ever fell apart. He buried his face in Nath’s furs, gulping oxygen. These had been real people with real lives. Places that had once thrived and were now wastelands of death.

  The atmosphere crackled, large stretches of light wavered and rippled where the tears between worlds were forming.

  When night fell, the unpolluted sky mapped the galaxy. Andromeda whirled in the distance a brilliant splatter the colour of spell castings, glittering with enchanted gems. Magic seeped into the air showering everything in a dense layer of silver.

  “It’s beautiful and horrific,” said Nath as he and Evan looked up at the stars from the sheltered wood. They’d reach the border tomorrow; it loomed in the distance like a waiting grim. “This devastation was beyond what I realised. These were all innocent lands” he gestured to the expanse of blackened earth.

  “The warlocks will pay for what they’ve done,” said Evan, looping their fingers together. “Tomorrow.”

  Nath turned to him, lips curling in a soft smile. “Tomorrow,” he whispered and kissed him beneath the canopy of stars.

  ∞∞∞

  They returned to the tent a while later dizzy and warm. The general mood was relaxed and even Will joined in with the festivities. Stars speckled the campsite and mythical creatures danced in the fire.

  Dawn broke and Evan’s stomach burned furiously with nerves. The wind smelled of wood smoke and smouldering magic. The sun glimmered through hazy, bruised clouds.

  Rifts became tears, flashing images of the non-magical world bustling about daily life, largely unaware of the monsters seeping through; people walking through jungles of concrete dressed uniformly, absorbed in their electrical devices. Death was impending, run! Evan wanted to scream but it’d do no good. They were oblivious to everything but their own lives.

  The world became darker when they reached the valleys close to the border. The atmosphere looked as though it’d been struck by a thousand meteors leaving smoking craters and fissures oozing magical oils in brilliant colours. The pressure made his ears pop; the ground beneath their feet turned sooty with a few relics of villages long gone.

  Then came the torrential rains. Rains so intense water swept the wastelands. The horses screamed as a fork of lightning struck the ground exploding in a violent shower of sparks, the heat grazed Evan’s skin. He blanketed them in magic fending off the burns. A fissure was torn, dimensions whirled before their eyes in a blinding kaleidoscope of time.

  Evan clamped his eyes shut, there was an explosion and he felt the heavy flanks beneath him take off. He wrapped his arms around Nath and buried his face like a coward. If anyone was shouting he couldn’t hear over the end of the world.

  Chapter 11

  They were drenched to the bone, wind lashing at their furs, and a dense purple haze billowing over the lands. Evan had no idea how they were still moving at breakneck speed; how they weren’t dead yet. He daren’t open his eyes until they slowed to a trot. The rain vanquished and the world went dark.

  Nath was panting heavily, soaked and shivering. Hooves thundered behind them and they turned from beneath the shelter of the valley and were greeted by Will’s soaking-wet presence. “Where are the others?” Nath asked.

  Will’s brows were drawn with worry. “We must’ve separated. The rain’s blinding.”

  “We’ll wait for it to leave off and make our way over the border,” Nath
decided.

  Anxiety flushed Evan with hotness. “Alone?”

  “I strategised for this moment. It was too obvious,” he said with a chilling laugh.

  Evan stared. “The rain?”

  Nath shook his head and ran his fingers through his dripping hair. “I wonder if they knew we were coming. Storms along the border have been quiet these past few days, that would’ve been an exceptionally violent one, if it wasn’t a direct attack.”

  Evan and Will exchanged horrified looks.

  “I thoroughly studied the maps; this area is covered by valleys and caves so we should be safe, but we must still cross the border. There’s an ally waiting for those faithful to the crown,” Nath said slowly, meeting Will’s hardened gaze.

  “I’m guessing I’ve failed your loyalty test?” he asked testily.

  “No, quite the opposite. You seem to be the only one of our noble entourage to track their King,” said Nath.

  The rain thundered outside, and being damp was very uncomfortable. Evan tried to summon the sun but with such dense fog it was impossible, at least while he was still learning to handle his power.

  “I can dry us off,” Will suggested, though his face said he’d rather not.

  Nath regarded him a moment and whether it was a genuine act of amicability, or because his soaking furs made his teeth chatter, Evan didn’t know.

  Will’s palms raised and he summoned the combustive particles, drawing them together in micro explosions. Despite the humidity the air glimmered, decorated with flecks of orange, bathing them in warm air.

  Evan enjoyed the sensation of water leaving his clothes and his skin becoming supple and warm once more. “Thank you.”

  Nath was fluffed up in his furs looking more adorable than anything else. Water trickled in droplets down the gemstone horses, unaffected by the weather conditions. “And now, we wait.”

  They shared sips of water from Nath’s flask and watched the heavens shower them with purple. When it eased to a low patter, their vision cleared through the fog. They were very alone.