The Celestial King

by L Ward

  His attention was snatched when he passed one of the empty ballrooms on the first floor and hushed, angry voices echoed through the ajar door. He paused, recognising a soft Spanish accent.

  “I do not believe a word of it!” Sir Alvarez said sharply.

  “Please, Sir! You mustn’t blame me,” Sir Winscott replied. “I’ve no reason to be involved in this matter. Truly!”

  “I have no blame for you. I want to know the origins of this letter!”

  Evan heard the crumpling of fine parchment and dared a peek inside. The room was cast in cool spring blue and the fireplace slept in darkness. They were on the far side of the room by the windows, Alvarez stood feet away from a terrified-looking little Winscott, paper flailing above his head.

  “It isn’t my place—"

  “The King would not send such a note. My money isn’t welcome here? I did not come here just to invest, I came for my son’s wellbeing and to serve King Nathaniel as I should have his father.”

  Winscott swallowed and took the letter. Alvarez tucked his hands in his trouser pockets and waited. “It is likely some lowly noble of Court with little head for business,” he said offhandedly.

  “And why do they dislike my connections to the Spanish Court?”

  “Possible jealousy,” said Winscott, unable to comprehend the situation.

  Alvarez took the letter back and reread it with shaking hands. Evan couldn’t tell if he was angry or extremely upset. “I will be reporting this,” he said firmly.

  “Come now, just ignore it. We’ve had trouble with the Penningworth’s before, I suspect it’ll be the Mr again.”

  Sir Alvarez looked at Winscott uncertainly and his eyes drifted back to the page. “Never in my life have I experienced such messages.”

  “Hopefully it won’t happen again.”

  Evan leaned away as Sir Winscott began making his way to the door.

  “Would you toast the King’s victory with me?” He asked, turning on his heel with his bushy grey eyebrows raised.

  Alvarez hesitated a moment, handsome face creased with something akin to worry. “But of course. Who would refuse such an honour for His Majesty?”

  That was his cue to make off like a bandit down the corridor before they caught him eavesdropping. He slowed to a jog, rounded the corner looking over his shoulder and ran into Will’s solid frame. He stumbled and Will caught his arm, staring at him in mild irritation.

  “Didn’t peg you the type to go for a run,” he said smoothly.

  “Nice to see you too, Will,” he said, it took a minute for his eyes to adjust. Will was dressed in black loungewear with a plush grey hoodie over the top. His hair was a little mussed and he looked like he’d spent half the day in bed, but his apartments were several floors up. Evan smirked.

  Will opened his mouth to speak but something over Evan’s shoulder made his jaw snap shut.

  “And where the hell have you been?!” Gerard asked, storming along the glittery corridor.

  “In bed,” said Will, rigid as a doorframe. “Was puking and needed some air.”

  Lies. Evan’s magic sensed Will carefully, caressing his cells and gliding alongside his immune system, feeling his blood flow like a river. He was in perfect health, no telltale signs of inflammation or the muscle strain that accompanied vomiting.

  Gerard relaxed a little and eyes him with cold-hearted suspicion. “Drink less and ya won’t get a hangover ya dippy bastard.”

  “Stomach bug,” said Will. “I’ve given up the drink.”

  Evan and Gerard both started with surprise. The first to get drunk at functions was nearly always Will, especially when he was stressed or depressed.

  “Well that’s a start,” said Gerard slowly. “By the way, I’ve secured three possible brides for you.” His face lit in a stunningly young and brilliant smile.

  Now Evan was truly stunned.

  Will’s mouth fell open. “Bride?! Now?!”

  Gerard looked at him as though he was stupid. “We agreed I’d find ya a bride. Do ya not remember that little chat we had?” He stepped closer, inches from Will’s face.

  “Your choices are: The First Princess of Enchanted America, she will be more than willing to take your hand.”

  Will froze; Evan felt his heart palpitations. “I—"

  “You’d one day have your own kingdom to rule, albeit they’re not an absolute monarchy,” Gerard continued, eyes twinkling. “There are others, of course, the Emperor of Japan’s daughter and heiress Yumi is of very good breeding. Her father rules with an iron fist over a small but highly prosperous country.”

  Well, he would know. Evan remained calm and listened to Will’s pounding heart.

  “I—"

  “Your mother would be delighted if you perhaps considered a Spanish bride, but their throne is less desirable and she has many siblings,” he said briskly. “I’ll visit you later and show you the profiles I’ve collected and you can choose your bride from there.”

  “Gerard—”

  “Can’t you see he doesn’t want one?” Evan interrupted and instantly regretted it. The look on Gerard’s face was venomous.

  “Why? Who you got in mind that’s better?” Gerard asked darkly.

  A flash of panic darted through Will’s pupils like a trout upstream. “I—"

  “He’s a career man,” Evan said quickly, and watched the stark anger recede from Gerard’s handsome face. “He’s not long joined the Privy Council.”

  “Why would he want to stay as part of a fucking council when he could be next in line to a throne and fortune?”

  Evan swallowed and Gerard’s lips twitched a smirk.

  They stared at each other a moment and then Gerard did something that frightened the life out of him, he wrapped an arm around his shoulder and hugged him like a son. “This one knows about elevating his status in the world. He came from rags and made riches far beyond what he’d have ever made alone.”

  Irritation crept over Evan and he was too stunned to speak, he wanted nothing more than to peel away from this disgusting man’s grip but he was worried what he’d do if he did.

  Will glared at Gerard.

  “You were born with every opportunity, it’s about time you started seizing it,” Gerard’s voice cooled and he released Evan with a pat on the shoulder. “I’ll stop by later and show you those profiles, I want a girl chosen for you by the end of the week.”

  Will’s Adam’s apple bobbed like a cork and Gerard executed a swift bow to Evan. “A pleasure as always, Your Majesty,” his smile was saccharine and with a last hard look at Will, he swept on down the corridor.

  Will’s brows drew together and he stared at Evan in deepest confusion.

  “So he’s trying to marry you off now?”

  “I guess.”

  “That’s what he meant when he said marriage trade deal.”

  “Yeah.”

  Evan hesitated and glanced down the corridor to make sure they were alone. “What about…?”

  Will flew at him and shoved him through a set of double doors into one of the tutor rooms. Evan gasped and whipped round, skin glittering with magic. The door snapped shut and the fire roared to life. “Stop talking about Dante. You might be the prince, but you’ve no right to annoy Gerard!”

  He straightened up, tired of this bullshit. “You don’t even call him your dad anymore.”

  Will rolled his eyes. “Keep your fucking nose out, Evan.” He stormed out, slamming the door so hard the China resting by the fireplace rattled dangerously and the fire cast great vicious shadows up the walls.

  Chapter 37

  Will

  The dank cloud of depression hung over him like a grim reaper as he lay in his bed later that evening, bucket by his side feigning illness. God, he felt like such an idiot- pathetic for pulling a stunt like this. Perhaps when Gerard showed up he really would become ill at the sight of his potential brides.

  Dinner bypassed him and he lay there waiting for d-day which eventually came ar
ound eight in the evening. Gerard’s sharp rap on his bedroom announced his presence and he flourished in under the pale, worried gaze of a servant. He slammed the door in Chris’s face as though he wasn’t even there and brandished the three brown envelopes at Will.

  “Wait until you get a good look at these!” He said brightly and handed them over.

  It took a lot of strength to reject the idea of tossing them on the fire, but he managed and slit the first open. A portrait of The First Princess of America smiled back at him with twinkling hazel eyes and long bright-blonde ringlets. Her skin was lightly kissed by a sun Britain rarely saw.

  Will stared at her feeling nothing but guilt and resentment until her face became irritating and he flipped the paper. It was full of facts about her from her favourite foods to Orbing teams and her blood type. “She’s… sporty.”

  “Marrying her would let you co-rule one of the largest nations in the world,” Gerard said wistfully.

  Will opened the next envelope without reply. A dainty and very beautiful Japanese girl gazed back with lips redder than burst cherries and charcoal-dark eyes. She swam with mystery and indifference, but again that same emptiness resided in him.

  “Looks like more of a challenge but the Emperor of Japan assures her as a good and obedient wife. If you’re right about it you can do what you like with her, money talks more than bitches.”

  Will skimmed her interests and took out the final photo. A plump girl with hip-length reddish brown hair and enormous grey eyes smiled sweetly back: the Spanish Princess.

  “You’ll have no trouble getting heirs on that one she has hips fit to bursting, tits the size of boulders, and she comes from a large family of large families. They breed like rabbits at that court,” he clicked his tongue thoughtfully.

  “I’ve already got an heir,” said Will and an icy droplet of regret ran down his spine.

  “No, you don’t,” Gerard spat. “You want your heirs to be of the highest breeding, and taking a wife like her,” he tapped Princess Carolina’s picture, “will ensure it. Her mother took one a year for seven years and we already know you’re not shooting blanks.”

  Will wrinkled his nose and handed back the profiles.

  “You and Frances are heirs to the Starstone empire, son, I just want to see you settled and progressing. My businesses were up and profiting by your age and I married an aristocrat of Spain. I don’t like seeing you mucking about with commoners and not reaching your true potential.”

  “I’m not ready for this.”

  Gerard’s cold gaze pierced his skin. “Why?”

  Will hesitated, running through the endless excuses in his head, tactfully avoiding the subject of Dante.

  “I know what I saw on Saturday and ya need to wind ya neck in,” Gerard’s tone was hot with warning.

  Will frowned feigning innocence.

  “Don’t fucking pretend ya don’t know what I’m on about, kid. What’s wrong with ya?” His small nose wrinkled. “Can’t you help yourself or something? Is this some kind of mental illness?” He demanded, voice rising with anger.

  The fireplace was blazing up the wall and Will felt himself shrinking. He didn’t dare speak; his heart was doing it for him.

  “I’ve told ya I’ll not have people laughing at me because of you,” he said.

  Will opened his mouth and without warning Gerard’s thick fingers wrapped around his throat, squeezing and pushing him further into the bed. “I gave you a chance, kid, and you blew it. You could’ve had Nathaniel’s throne and you failed. So, what’s it gonna be?”

  He could breathe, but barely. Panic was beginning to crawl up his throat and black dots danced before his eyes like sugarplum fairies.

  “I’m sick of you being weak, pathetic and a complete brat. Your sister made something of herself and here you are flirting round a court that can’t stand ya and pining after boys you can’t have!” Gerard’s face blackened with rage, the shadows casting monstrous crevices on his face.

  Will sucked a breath and tried to speak but Gerard’s thumbs pressed down harder and he thought he was going to die.

  Gerard snorted. “Now, are you gonna stop with the boy thing and make something of yourself? Or are you gonna carry on and lose everything?”

  Will’s eyes widened, he grabbed Gerard’s arm and pushed with all his strength. The man let go and he gasped, lungs swelling with great gulps of air.

  “If I find out you’ve gone behind my back again I’ll have you disinherited and ostracised from any part of the industry I own. I’ll ruin you, kid. I can make sure you’re banished, or if I fancy it I can have you dealt with so you’ll never see the light of day again. So, what’s it gonna be?”

  Will swallowed and fought the urge to touch his neck, to lash out and beat the living shit out of his father. Terror and adrenaline went hand in loving hand. For a minute he couldn’t move or speak or even breathe. Time stood still and the fire was crawling across the ceiling like a demon out of Hell. “I’ll look at the profiles,” he croaked.

  Darkness gave way to Gerard’s saccharine grin. “There’s a good lad,” he patted his back. “You look a bit green and I’m not a nurse so I’ll leave those profiles with you and when you’re better come find me and we’ll make some arrangements. Remember, if you don’t, I can easily bring this back on other people,” said Gerard. He flashed a gritty smile and left with a bang.

  Will’s stomach heaved and he leaned over the side of the bed. Nothing came up. Now he understood how Nath must’ve felt when Elijah told him if he couldn’t have Evan he’d be forced down the aisle, forced to play husband to someone he didn’t want. His head was spinning and he lay back dizzy and exhausted; his neck throbbed. The past couple of days had been wonderful, better than wonderful, and now his happiness was being royally punished.

  The papers lay beside him and a sudden anger tore him from the bed, he cast them into the fire and watched them curl in the flames. Anxiety clawed at his throat and he spun on his heels, hands clamped either side of his head. Temptation. Gerard wanted to send him far from the temptations of Court and into the arms of a foreign girl he didn’t want so Gerard would have a second shot at a throne. He was a man hellbent on power and was more than willing to throw his own son into the flames while masquerading as a noble father arranging a suitable marriage for his child.

  To think his career was just beginning to blossom, he was gaining high favour with the new King and at this he could be facing a promotion that would put him into a higher position of power within the council than his own father. His eyes widened to saucers. The council ranks were a highly competitive system and after Elijah’s death, Gerard had begun to fall. Nath didn’t respect him the same way as Elijah had and Gerard knew it. The thought of Nath sent his mind in another tailspin of confusion. He was beginning to move on, respect and serve Nath as a brother and friend. He straightened up suddenly, spun in a circle and collapsed into a black leather armchair. The fire bathed him in warmth and luminous sunset. Nine days until the mission and regardless if Nath failed or succeeded, no doubt he’d be shipped off before he could return to pack his own things. His belly churned and he fought the urge to be sick when a thought struck, Gerard had been busy making plans and negotiating with the Americans, he’d been pushing Nath to attack despite their numbers and the calls for ceasefire. He was planning for Nath’s downfall and trying to hurry him into it so he had reason to pull investments and plant them in the new world. Will lurched at the idea. Treason. He racked his brains like a horse cart and a cog clicked loudly and with force into a hidden little crevice.

  Something was very wrong here and it appeared Gerard knew more than he was letting on. He’d disappeared from the castle and been absent a lot recently and now he was forcing him into an alliance with a foreign land where he could muscle in on their throne with his riches and favour. What if…?

  On reflex he reached for the bottle of vintage whiskey on the table but his hand fell and he stood up. He’d promised himself he woul
dn’t, that he would stop now. Dante wasn’t a man of the drink and didn’t appear to hold much respect for hard liquor.

  Dante…

  He moved away from the bottle and paced the room, hands behind his back. If Gerard wanted to abandon ship, he wasn’t going to be part of it even if it cost him dearly, but right this second wasn’t the time for confrontation even though his hands shook with violent need to kill his father for the threats he’d made. The girls were lovely, their lives exotic, rich and tempting, but none of them were Dante and he refused to become just another spineless pawn in his father’s game.

  But if he didn’t…

  The thought made him pause. If his father was committing treason then he wouldn’t just rain hell on Dante, he would do it to Nath too. This probably wasn’t even about Dante; this was some sick need to completely dominate his life. He wasn’t watching where he was going and banged into the table spilling drink on his trousers, the pungent aroma stinging his nostrils.

  Without bothering to change from his pyjamas he flew out of his rooms and joy-rode a magic carpet to Nath’s office, banging on the door like a fire alarm.

  “Sir, His Majesty has taken leave to his mother,” said one of the guards.

  Will nearly mowed down four servants, three aristocrats and Sir Alvarez on the way to the Dowager’s rooms. He’d been there thousands of times when dining with Nath’s family and Miriam hadn’t changed a thing since Elijah's death.

  “Nath!”

  A servant opened the door and he burst into the sitting room where Nath, Miriam and Evan were sitting around the fireplace having tea.

  “Get out,” Will said to a servant.

  “Will!” said Nath. “What’s gotten into you?”

  “I think Gerard is the spy.”