The Celestial King

by L Ward

  The room burst with light from the torches, the fireplace sprang to life and the men were falling over themselves to flood Nath with dozens of questions.

  “It’s perfectly doable, we’ll ensure they’re trapped without any way of calling for backup before we launch an attack. Intelligence says they’ve found weak spots in the force field around the city and we can slip in undetected with a little expert assistance,” said the King.

  “Could this be a suicide mission?” Gerard asked sceptically.

  People stared. How dare he question the King?

  “I think it highly unlikely,” Nathaniel said calmly.

  A breath and the room relaxed. Magic began to drift from the ceiling and the tension cast monstrous shades of rage around them.

  “This attack will be a surprise to the warlocks and the people. I will tell Undermouth I’m taking time to write a sum up my offerings and he is to cease any harm against the civilians,” he continued, looking at each man in turn.

  “They’ve done as you demand, Your Majesty, but the people are enslaved and many forced into the catacombs,” Sir Winscott dabbed at the sweat on his brow.

  Evan held his breath. The catacombs were basically rat pit prisons far below the city itself where only the most heinous criminals had been locked. Elijah had closed them fifteen years ago after a review of conditions found they were uninhabitable. People died in the stinking darkness long before their sentences were up.

  His gaze turned to Will. He looked pale; nervous. Throughout the conversation he kept looking to his father with a mixture of resentment and anxiety. Little did he know the trip would (for them) start much sooner than the proposed fourteen days. He swallowed and tried to focus on the conversation, Gerard flustering to know what Nath was planning and Sir Alvarez trying fervently to calm him down.

  Voices bounced back and forth in tandem piping up suggestions or slices of information. The meeting lasted for hours and they emerged to a black sky bleeding a vibrant orange.

  ∞∞∞

  Evan was bursting the whole way through dinner at Court. Tuesday’s were always full of festivity and dancing and it would be considered improper for the King and his Consort not to dance and make merry. For now the country was safely in limbo and lives were still functioning- for the most part- as normal. He may as well enjoy the evening and trust in Nath’s judgement.

  “Looks like Will’s breaking the news to Dante,” Evan said as they danced breathlessly.

  “We won’t be gone long,” said Nath.

  “You did say it wasn’t impossible that we could die.”

  “Not impossible, but unlikely, especially given we have you,” Nath’s breath tickled his ear sending warmth down his neck. “And if we do this correctly you mightn’t heal more than a bruise.”

  Evan laughed and said, “has he left you alone yet?” He knew about the unsigned notes turning up in Nath’s office usually wedged into the doorframe or among his post or documents. Some of the notes were quotations of verses from literature Evan wouldn’t haven’t dreamt existed. The words were deep, romantic, sorrowful. He suspected part of the reason Will did it was to make him feel uneducated or inferior and if that was the case he’d succeeded a little. The competition didn’t exist but it still drove Evan to plan a little romance or take the reins during meetings, which he’d quickly learned earned a lot of admiration from Nath, and made him twice as likely to initiate some fun once it ended.

  “The tone has changed but the underlying message is still there,” Nath sighed and they left the dance floor for champagne. At least Will had stopped sending letters to places Nath shared with Evan, whether it was out of respect or fear he couldn’t tell. “They have slowed dramatically over the last week or so.”

  Evan’s shoulders relaxed; he continued to watch them through the corner of his eye, their serious expressions turning to laughter and the occasional touch.

  Dating.

  “Your Majesty, do you have time to discuss the Prince’s Neurological Trust’s Lycanthropy Department?” a young female reporter appeared at Evan’s side.

  “Oh, of course,” he said, tensing. He hated interviews, they made him nervous and he was under constant pressure to not say the wrong thing, especially about werewolf topics. He led her over to a table and gestured for her to sit.

  “Is it true they’re performing experiments on current lycanthropes to continue pressing ahead with a bill you yourself proposed?” She said at once.

  Evan blinked. The champagne made things fuzzy and bright. “Yeah, but it’s not sinister at all, these are innocent people who’ve been screened and will continue to be screened for some time before integration can happen.”

  “But you admit that’s what the King is pressing for? Werewolves in civilian society?”

  Evan studied her. She was choosing her words. Sir Wintor had made him study endless recordings and transcripts to help identify keywords or underhand phrases. It’d seemed tedious at the time but useful now. “The King doesn’t wish innocent families and children a short and perilous life of confinement to the dangerous wilderness.”

  “How does the King manage his own transformations?”

  Wow. Talk about cutting right to the point. “I decline to comment.”

  “It must be difficult at times living with a lycanthrope. It’s well documented that the infected can suffer bouts of madness or mood fluctuations depending on the moon cycle,” she narrowed her eyes, pen flying across her pad.

  Evan opened his mouth to speak but she cut across again.

  “In fact, recent works by Mr Irvine Christopher Lupus state clearly that even without the presence of a full moon a lycanthrope will show symptoms such as dietary and mood changes—”

  “That’s fantastic news for Mr Lupus,” Evan smiled brightly.

  “Is it true the King has shared his curse with you?”

  “You’re asking if he’s bitten me?”

  She nodded.

  Evan controlled his anger. “This interview is terminated. What’s your name?”

  “Another problem?” Will appeared looking pleased with himself.

  “Questioning His Majesty’s lycanthropy and if I’ve been bitten,” said Evan.

  She jumped to her feet looking sheepish. “I didn’t come here to cause trouble,” she eyed Will warily.

  “Hand over your notes,” said Will, holding out a palm prickling with fire.

  The woman hesitated, her green eyes flicked to Will’s stony expression and she dropped the pad on his fiery hand. It turned to ash in moments.

  “We hold every right to punish you for defamation or slander if you choose to publish any derogatory article about your time here. You’re dismissed. Please don’t return,” Will said coldly.

  Evan was surprised at his efficiency and the woman cleared off at once. He glimpsed Dante smirking at Will, eyebrows raised with impression.

  Nath wasn’t happy to hear about the journalist when Evan wandered back over feeling calm once more.

  “I’m glad she was thrown out.”

  ∞∞∞

  It was later that night when he rolled off Nath breathless and dizzy that he finally felt relaxed. Nath lay beside him panting and gazing dreamily into space. The room was dark, full of stars and smelled outdoorsy of smoke and midnight. Cool air on hot skin found him curling into Nath’s warmth.

  “I’ve never been more relaxed,” Nath smiled, wriggling his toes.

  They lay in silence hugging and watching the stars go by breathing in unison; every moment more precious than the last.

  “We’ll leave in three days and aim to be back within two. It’s going to be immensely difficult but our ambush should give us a solid advantage,” Nath said quietly.

  Evan looked up from his haze of reassuring cuddles and post-sex hormones. “What’ll happen when the palace realise we’re gone?”

  “Widespread panic. However, they also won’t want the enemy to know three important figureheads are missing, least of all the Kin
g himself.”

  “How are we going to escape?” Evan asked, frowning.

  “I’ve a secret exit to the gardens and from there we cloak our way out using Will to buy us our exit. Nobody will question a Starstone going for a hike.”

  Genius. Evan smiled. “What about the horses?”

  “Don’t worry. The details are for me to worry about,” Nath offered a warm grace. “The warlocks will agree to deliberation. It’s their belief that they can garner more from a compliant vantage point rather than by force considering the problems they're facing in regards to the rifts. Undermouth is a pompous man, he would much rather I hand over my crown and kiss his bare toes than attempt to breech palace security and risk it fighting back.”

  “They can’t attack the palace anyway,” Evan wrinkled his nose.

  “Our forces are too powerful and with how much damage their travel system has taken they’d struggle to acquire warlocks capable of working out our complex enchantments, let alone someone who could bring them down. I upgraded them myself before the last mission, I didn’t want to risk a potential mole knowing how to disable out enchantments,” said Nath looking extremely pleased with himself. “We also have an army here and only a fool attacks a king in his own castle. Kathryn the Great saw to that.”

  Evan searched Nath’s face and saw beneath the calm surface he was anxious, scared and eager to get this over with.

  “I hate exposing you to danger,” Nath said after some time. He took Evan’s hand and kissed every finger.

  “You’d be exposing yourself to extreme danger by not bringing me,” Evan replied.

  “If there’s anyone in this universe I would die for it’s you.”

  The magnitude of the words rocked Evan’s world. His lips popped in a comical o and his heart choked him like a sock in the throat. “You’re the King.”

  “A King without his Consort is but a man without means,” said Nath.

  He interlaced their legs and kissed Nath’s inner wrist watching his perfectly mismatched eyes glitter. “You won’t be dying with me around.”

  “Hopefully not, and neither will you. There’s no cost I wouldn’t pay to protect you,” Nath sealed his promise with a kiss. That promise was the only one that made Evan truly uncomfortable, and he hoped if it came to it, Nath wouldn’t keep it; if it came to protecting Nath on the other hand, Evan would happily be his human shield.

  ∞∞∞

  Morning kissed Evan’s cheeks rosy and he found himself out of bed blissfully after eight on a weekday. He discovered Nath’s note alongside breakfast. He’d left him to sleep after a wonderful night and today he’d be conducting routine weekly interviews with press downstairs and wouldn’t be needed until ten.

  Fuck yeah.

  He put on music and danced in his underwear as he washed up, shaved and pulled on a nice shirt, jeans and cloak. Smoke rippled faintly from its edges, a touch Evan now loved. He gazed at his reflection, he was still the same guy but now his hair fell the way he could seldom achieve before and his shirt alone was more expensive than everything he’d ever owned put together. This was his life now and he understood the privilege it gave him alongside the pressure. He’d never felt pressure to be perfect before, nor had a nation of people waiting for him to fall; waiting for that slight slip of the tongue, that moment of uncertainty or weakness and they’d slander him as badly as they did the King. Well, not everyone. Nath did have a backing and a growing number of supporters; people liked the way he’d been dealing with issues.

  Avoiding the paper was something he wanted to do with increasing desire recently but he couldn’t for the sake of his work as much as his sanity.

  More devastation as Polymouth Forest, home to some of the England’s rarest magical vegetation, was destroyed by dark forces along the northern coast. The warlocks are waging war not just against the nation and the very fibers that held the magical world in place, but also nature itself.

  Rebel brawls.

  Citizens taking vigilante attitudes.

  Growing reports of missing persons.

  Explosions near magical sites.

  The Fae Colonies enforced a ban on all warlock immigration and tourism after attacks were launched against their docks two days ago in retaliation for the King’s assault. It was their attempt to claim the Fae Colonies but they fought like the vicious forest creatures they are and drove them away in the name of King Nathaniel and they planned to send reinforcements when travel was safer.

  Evan stood up, chair legs scraping on the jet stone. This was gargantuan news.

  He made it to Nath’s office and managed enough restraint to knock. Even though Nath would welcome him with open arms he knew it’d appear disrespectful if he barged in and he was in a meeting.

  There was a pause.

  “Who is it?” said Nath.

  “Your husband,” said Evan.

  “Come in.”

  Evan opened the door and wasn’t at all surprised to see Will sitting in the guest’s chair opposite the King, leg cocked and eyes full of horrors. He shut the door quickly and a barrier shot up so fast it rumpled his clothes.

  “I was informing Will of the mission plans,” Nath said calmly.

  Evan’s eyes went quickly to Will who was understandably, if uncharacteristically, panicked.

  “There won’t be any rifts to escape through this time, Nath,” he said.

  “They won’t be needed.”

  Will’s dark gaze searched Nath’s intimately and he got slowly to his feet. “I swore loyalty to you and I meant every word of it. Of course I’ll come with you, not as a servant of the crown, but as a friend.”

  Nath’s brows dipped in a frown.

  Evan’s face must’ve been a picture of amazement, and probably quite funny. Will glanced at him several times during the silence.

  “Very well,” said Nath.

  “But I’ve known you long enough to know there’s more you aren’t telling me,” he continued. A look of something close to hurt flashed across his face but quick as it fell the mask returned and Will was ever the handsome villain.

  “I’ve been dabbling with the moonlight travel.”

  Evan swallowed his anxiety. He’d known, of course, he’d offered support and any assistance Nath needed but it was dangerous work and Nath had to be precise, there wasn’t a millimeter to slip. He’d teleported small objects and summoned the magic holding it steady for as long as he could before releasing. It was like a magical muscular flex.

  Will’s nod was slow, tactical. “I knew you would.”

  “It worked the first time when the moon was nothing more than a sliver. Imagine what I could do with more- what I know I can do with more,” Nath’s voice was breathy, excited. “If we needed to it might be an option again.”

  “You don’t need to convince me,” said Will. “I’ve never lost faith in you but what I don’t get is why you’ve not lost faith in me?”

  “Because I know you better than anyone and I can read you like an unlocked diary.”

  Will’s shock was evident and the air sparkled with fragments of silver. Their secrets buzzed a hive-like murmur making Evan’s jaw tingle; he could taste the magic.

  “You’re an analytical man, Will, you must’ve guessed by now,” Nath continued, sinking comfortably to his desk chair and studying him with an air of authority.

  Will’s looked at Evan and then back at the King. “You really think there’s a mole.”

  “I know there’s a mole.”

  Will’s lips twitched in something like a smile. “But you don’t know who it is.”

  Nath didn’t say anything.

  “Any suspects?”

  “It’s easier to tell you who aren’t suspects: the people in this room and my mother.”

  Will sighed and rubbed his forehead in a way Evan had seen Gerard do. “You think this mole’s gonna pass on more palace intelligence.”

  “I strongly believe we’d be putting ourselves in far more danger going with forces than
as a trio,” said Nath.

  Will’s eyes slid to Evan and a log on the fire split open in a shower of sparks and anger. “Nath, what happens if you die?”

  “It’s highly unlikely—”

  “You’re the only blood royal left.”

  Nath swallowed. “Evan and I are fully prepared if the worst should happen. In the event I die, Evan’s name will become law. He will hold my reign.”

  “And if he dies?”

  Nath sighed. “Will, are we here to discuss the mission, or the unlikely event of my demise?”

  Will swallowed. “Mission, Your Majesty.”

  “Then be prepared to leave the day after tomorrow.”

  Will’s face blanched but he nodded, expression calm. “Is there anything you’d like prepared?”

  “No. Tell no one. At this stage the mole has passed information to enemy sources and possibly assisted with planning the attack on our last mission. My theory is they’ll strike again and that’s why I falsified the mission.”

  Will raised an eyebrow. “Smart move.” He made himself comfortable by the fire, relaxing on the loveseat with complete confidence, it gave Evan a glimpse of the friendship Nath and Will had shared, and more.

  “We’ll head straight over the border once we slip from the palace. Be prepared, with the three of us and our powers combined we are extremely dangerous,” said Nath looking from Evan to Will.

  Chapter 27

  Evan was beginning to truly hate interviews, and as he looked upon the long stretch of time ahead that would be littered with journalists and prying eyes, he sighed. Thanks the gods this was worth it.

  He was glad to get out on a break during the afternoon. Work, however, seemed to follow him everywhere.

  “Do they really filter the questions the public sent in so they’re all pc when they air?,” said Ian as Evan turned up for a brief family visit.

  “They open them to make sure they’re not death threats, dangerous or illegal,” said Evan. “The actual questions aren’t filtered. I’ve been asked some shocking shit.”

  “Language, Evan.”