The Celestial King

by L Ward

  Will steadied his crystal glass on the table watching light refract from the stem. “Money has always been Gerard’s focal point.”

  “And he has more than most,” said Dante. “What’s your focal point?”

  The question caught him way off guard and he ran his fingers through his hair. A nervous gesture; one of his first.

  Fuck.

  “Honestly? My career. I pretty much never stop,” said Will. No point in lying. His main focus was the royal family, or what remained of it. “I like having a job with great importance and responsibility. I’ve never thought about leaving palace service.”

  “Not even for a second?”

  Will shook his head and drank a hearty gulp.

  “I admire a man with such dedication,” said Dante, twirling his finger around the rim of the glass, it rang sending shivers down Will’s back. “Are you interested in philosophy? Have you studied?”

  “Only as much as any other noble,” he chuckled. “It’s a subject of questions really and at the end of the day none of us truly know the right answer to anything because everyone is unique and everyone’s right is different.”

  Dante shifted, leaning further across the table and never breaking Will’s gaze. “The only person we can ever speak for is ourselves, yes?”

  “To an absolute degree, yeah. Humans have a funny pattern of predictions though. Do you think the past fully reveals a person’s future?”

  Dante shook his head. “Some core aspects yes, but people change and grow with time. Everything does, even the earth we stand on changes. The only thing that never changes is human spirit; the desire to live, love, lose and experience feelings that are chemical and physical.”

  Will studied him closely from his gelled brown hair to his blue eyes deep enough to dive into for all eternity. His pulse couldn’t have been normal. “No wonder your parents named you Dante.”

  He laughed and reached for his wine, drinking while continuing to hold his eye. “Perhaps. It is also a common name.”

  Will shot him a disbelieving look and the laughter returned harder than before.

  Dessert was rich and creamy but unfortunately Will meant the food. He took Dante over to the fireplace and touched a finger to the large viewing shard sitting in its rack before the sofa.

  “How about some of that comedy we talked about?”

  Dante was grinning from ear to ear. “It’s Friday there should be an evening of stand-up somewhere. Do they host those in this country?”

  “Yeah but the good ones are filtered so you have to know where to look,” said Will. The air tingled with magic, humming as the shard began to glow and images flashed across its translucent surface becoming bolder and almost holographic. He found his favourites and relaxed on the sofa beside Dante, close enough he could wrap an arm around his shoulders, and he did.

  “I’ve seen this man before in a live show in Barcelona,” said Dante, pointing to a middle-aged black guy on the screen. “He’s very talented.”

  “He’s probably my favourite,” said Will, slightly more occupied with their closeness than the comedian. “I’m into dark humour and controversial shit.”

  “A man of refined tastes,” said Dante, shooting him an impressed smirk. Their faces were inches apart and it cost an enormous amount of strength to not dive right in for a kiss. “Let’s see whose are better.”

  It didn’t take long for them to relax and laugh, Dante falling into his chest. He felt excited, nervous; bursting with energy. It’d been a long time since he’d been relaxed and happy. It was making him giddy and he needed to get a grip. Dante was just a guy and he was William Starstone, what did he have to worry about? Even if people hated him they admired his power, worshipped his money and fawned over his looks, but this was different and he couldn’t put his finger on how.

  Wine brightened to champagne and snacks arrived. The evening was flowing a treat and Will’s face hurt from laughing so much.

  Lateness loomed and Dante checked the clock.

  “Hours have passed, as always when one enjoys themselves.”

  “I’ll walk you to your apartments,” Will smiled. He helped Dante back into his silk blazer and escorted him out. The halls were quiet and the walls glittered prettily. The palace was an endless stretch of dreams he couldn’t wait to revel in.

  “This is one of the most enchanted places I’ve ever been to,” said Dante. Their footsteps echoed along the jet stone floors and torches bobbed in their wake, much to do with Will’s slightly overhyped magic. “In Spain I saw many magical sites and ruins, but this palace is flowing with life.”

  “Places are charged with the energies of memory,” said Will, knotting their fingers and hoping to the gods Gerard wasn’t around tonight. Dante’s curious look urged him on. “Everyday life builds a feeling, an essence in the air. Ya know what I mean?”

  Dante nodded.

  “That sets the foundations and any other events shape the charges. It’s why some places feel haunted centuries after events occur because the sovereigns commit their powers upon death to the palace. It’s enchanted with life and grows more powerful as it feeds on the energies its inhabitants release; most of all the royal family. It’s why the palace glitters.”

  Dante’s blue eyes roamed the walls sparkling with their own kind of curiosity. “I’ve heard the stories of the royal enchantment. It’s a beautiful thing. They say the King courted his husband for longer than is usual and kept his love from the public eye to give Prince Evan a chance to choose.”

  Will masked his discomfort with expert tailoring. His fingers didn’t clench, his breath wasn’t snatched and his palms refused to sweat. Instead, he smiled. “Yeah. He tried to hide it from Elijah because he didn’t want Evan summoned to the King’s chambers to be wed within days of their meeting. We could all see he was in love but he wouldn’t admit it.”

  “Not every relationship has a happy ending like that,” said Dante.

  Will glanced wondering what he meant. “Like you and your teacher?”

  Dante laughed again and it sliced the discomfort like soft butter. “I don’t think that was ever destined to last.”

  “Are your parents still married?”

  Dante shook his head and looked away out one of the windows, way out over the distant hills and rain-streaked charcoal sky. “My mother died a few years ago.”

  “My condolences.”

  Dante’s smile was faint.

  They walked in silence and Will was beginning to regret asking. He couldn’t help it, Dante had spoken of nobody but his father and a few close teachers, some too close. It didn’t sound as though he had many friends where he came from either.

  “My apartments are along this wing,” he said as they slipped through a set of doors into a cool corridor. It was nice and overlooked part of the nearby forest. He bet Dante heard the morning birdsong in its fullest degree. A patrolling guard passed round the corner.

  Dante’s smile was back in place, his eyes full of warmth.

  Will kissed him tenderly and a weird sensation fluttered through his belly followed by a flooding of arousal.

  When he drew back they were both a little breathless and warm.

  Dante leaned in for another kiss. He tasted of bubbles and smelled faintly of citrus.

  It was hard to go, but he had to. As much as he wanted to push Dante through his door and straight into the bedroom, he wouldn’t. Any time he jumped into bed with someone it ended badly and he didn’t want Dante to be another bad memory.

  He didn’t head straight to his rooms, instead he took a blissful walk around the covered courtyard. The rain smelled of relaxation and change and the air was crisp with springtime.

  Dante.

  He couldn’t shake him from his head, or the way he’d acted about his mother. Clearly it was a topic he was avoiding, unlike discussion of Evan. Will sighed watching his breath mist the air. He did it again and thought back on all the times he’d done it as a kid and how much had changed. The drumm
ing of the raindrops calmed his fluttering heart and the torches bobbed however he wished shooting little sparkles and dragons from their depths.

  ∞∞∞

  A knock came early Sunday morning rousing him from wonderful dreams and within moments his door closed and a voice followed.

  “Sir William, are you decent?” said Dante.

  Will sat up wearing nothing but boxers and a blanket. Footsteps approached the bedroom and stopped before the door. Surprised washed him a new shade of bronze. Normally he was the kind of guy who’d throw open the door and punch the living daylights out of whoever dared wake him, but Dante’s voice was welcoming and wonderful.

  “I was wondering if you’d join me on a morning hike since the sky is beautiful and spring is here?” he asked, sounding the tiniest bit nervous.

  He’d given clear instructions to his personal guards (the flankers from their last hike) to allow Dante access to his rooms when he was present. He got up quickly and cracked the door. “Five minutes for a shower and it’s a date.”

  Dante grinned. “I’ll send for breakfast. We can’t go on empty stomachs.”

  Five literal minutes later he met Dante in his parlour just as the food arrived. “I see you recovered from my kisses then.”

  “It took the royal medical staff many hours to resuscitate me,” said Dante, wearing a dashing smirk. “They told me I might have rabies.”

  He laughed and dropped a glistening sugar cube in his tea. “What made you wanna go hiking this morning?”

  “I enjoyed our last trip and I think there are some things we need to talk about.”

  Will nodded slowly not liking where this was going. He kept his calm as they finished their breakfast and headed into the sunshine and breeziness he’d long hoped for. The change was evident and soon the blossoms would fall.

  They were heading into the woods when Dante’s smile faded. “I wanted to talk to you to apologise for leaving you in the dark about my mother. She is a sensitive subject for me.”

  Will relaxed visibly and let out a breath.

  Dante shot him a confused look.

  “I’m not relieved to hear about your mother’s passing, I thought you were gonna say you didn’t want to see me anymore,” Will instantly regretted the words. It was like opening a gaping wound and letting in the flies. He immediately wanted the pack all of his problems in a cardboard box and bury it in the woods.

  “If I didn’t want to see you any more I wouldn’t have let you kiss me,” he laughed.

  Will smiled. “What happened to her?”

  Dante’s silence was broken by beautiful birdsong and the rustling of twigs and earth. “I’m not over my grief. I told you she passed away, but really she was murdered.”

  Will shot him a look and Dante’s lips twitched automatically as though to put on a smile.

  “It happened a few years ago, and in truth it delayed our coming to England. My father wanted to arrive three summers ago, but when she was taken he fell to pieces. He’s only been himself again more recently because he thinks it’s time we achieved what we were set out to do.”

  “Come to England?” asked Will, wondering what would have happened if Dante showed up back then. Would things have ended differently between him and Nath?

  “It was a secret at the time. My mother and father were going to surprise me with a move to England to join the King’s Privy Council. The late King Elijah wanted him as a very senior member. He traveled here to the palace to sign an agreement and left my mother and I at home,” Dante took a pause as sunlight fell through the branches kissing their faces with warmth. He wore pain beautifully. “The second night he was away someone killed a few of our guards and cursed many more to silence. Their sorcery broke our enchantments and they got into the house. We were sleeping, I in my room and my mother in hers, they murdered her and disappeared without a trace.”

  Will’s footstep faltered and he shivered with cold. The sun didn’t feel so welcoming after all. He looked at Dante, unsure of what to say, belly prickling with anxiety.

  “Are you okay?” Dante showed more concern for Will than himself.

  “Fine,” he said quietly. “So you..?”

  Dante nodded slowly. “I slept through the whole thing and was woken by the Policía Nacional when a panicked maid found her and remembered I was in the house too. I demanded to see her. They didn’t want me to, but I forced my way in and found her…”

  Will wrapped an arm around him unable to understand that kind of pain. To hold the knowledge your mother was being murdered in your home while you slept was another thing entirely. “Did they- did they find who did it?”

  “No but they believe it was someone out of the area, likely outside the country. The killer was powerful and left no trace- likely a trained assassin or warlock. They made it very clear to attack when my father was away,” he said bitterly.

  “Why?”

  “My father is wonderfully unusual as in he’s willing to talk personally to me. He was frank and said he believes her death had something to do with his arrival in England and the job offer from the late King.”

  Will stared. Old mental clogs creaked and very slowly began to turn.

  “He cannot be sure who it was and nothing else happened. This time we were delayed for other reasons, but we were safe and everyone here has been welcoming to us. This time there were more available positions in the Privy Council so nobody was risking their job if we arrived now,” Dante still rightfully sounded angry.

  Will knew members of the court could be vicious, backstabbing and selfish but very few among them were truly dangerous. Most of the time it was gossip, scandals and affairs that lit up the hallways and swept the stairs, but there were a minority of people that Will knew capable of dangerous things.

  “I dislike being morbid on such a beautiful day.”

  Will looked up and they were moving again through the breakaway trees and onto the sun-drenched meadow. Bright green shoots burst from the soil and the wind smelled fresh as raindrops. “You’re being truthful which is more than I can say for a lot of people.”

  “Court is a basket of cobras, yes?”

  Will laughed. “What’s the Spanish Court like?”

  “Lively, colourful and just as poisonous as the English one. Everyone has their skeletons, but not everyone hides them in a closet,” said Dante.

  They stopped walking and admired the view, and by that Will meant Dante, and locked their fingers.

  Chapter 26

  Tuesday afternoon brought a beautiful rain shower, an arch of pride stretching the horizon as Evan and Nath slipped past the cool rocks and stepped into view of the seasonal aspen in full candy-floss bloom.

  “You said you wanted to see every season,” Nath smiled and squeezed his hand. They’d stolen an hour of the afternoon, Nath bursting into his office and literally sweeping him off his feet to get outside before anyone could interrupt.

  “I’ve never seen so much pastel,” said Evan, blinking up at it in disbelief. Fluffy yellow chicks tweeted from woven nests of feathers and twigs and beautiful bunnies grazed beneath the shade. The tree was adorned in blue, pink, lilac and green blossom and smelled sweeter than cherry pies dusted with sugar. It was later now and the sun was starting to sink casting the tree in a wonderful shade of buttercream.

  “Breathtaking,” said Nath, gazing at him with a handsome smile.

  Evan kissed him, smirking at the way colour rose to the tips of his pointed ears. He pulled Nath closer, savouring every touch.

  “YOUR MAJESTY!”

  And just like that the moment was gone.

  Nath sighed and Gerard’s call came louder this time. He laced their fingers and led Evan from the beautiful scenery back to the chilly gardens. The grass was beginning to pop with daisies and daffodil heads were rising from the shoots.

  “Your Majesties,” he inclined, out of breath with his eyebrows in his hairline.

  “News?” asked Nath.

  “Governor Undermo
uth has made a proposal,” he said quietly, dark eyes searching the trees.

  Nath swallowed and began striding toward the palace. “We’ll talk more in my office.”

  Evan’s stomach was a bag of feral cats as they made their way along glittering corridors, brushing past the odd student out of class or cluster of courtiers or servants. They reached Nath’s office in record time.

  “Where is the proposal?”

  Gerard unfurled it across the table. Evan read over Nath’s shoulder.

  “No. I won’t agree to it,” said Nath, rising slowly to his feet.

  Will turned up, as did Sir Alvarez and two other Council members. The barrier was replaced and they each bore expressions of horror when they read the letter.

  “Of course it’s the only thing they ask for, it’s their greatest goal,” Gerard said quickly.

  “They’ll have the prise my crown from my cold, dead fingers,” said the King and everyone stared.

  A silence ensued.

  Evan’s heart was going haywire.

  “Their threat is growing stronger, but it’s held off only by the broken rifts,” said Sir Alvarez. They were the words nobody wanted to hear but everyone needed to hear them. “What can we bargain with?”

  “Only more cities, more civilian lives or the palace itself,” said Gerard hotly, looking at Sir Alvarez like he was as trespasser.

  Nath glanced at him. “I’m not planning to bargain with them.”

  Gerard stared in abject disbelief. “Your Majesty?”

  “We are going to launch our second attack with as many of our military personnel as can be spared. It’ll be a small group, yes, but we’ve every arsenal to succeed. With the rifts down this is the perfect time and I suggest we leave in two weeks for our first attack when we reclaim Edinburgh.”

  Evan stared in shock. A beat or two passed before it dawned that this was the front Nath was putting out. They’d be leaving sooner than he’d expected. It wasn’t hard to feign surprise at these words. He looked to Nath wearing a masterful expression of determination, eyes steely and fierce. In any other world he would be the perfect villain, but not this one.