Til Death

13. Daniel

ADRIAN

Glancing around his bedroom door, Adrian spotted Daniel and Blake desperately trying to be quiet as they drunkenly roamed the halls of the Sagewick palace. He had two options:

1. Follow them and continue to watch over Blake or...

2. Let them be. Let them bond.

They'll have to spend the rest of their lives together, so they might as well start getting along now. Adrian leaned a bit further out as he watched Daniel pull back on Blake's hold around his hand. Daniel shook his head, but Blake just smiled and insisted, "Come on, Danny."

Adrian's brows raised. Danny, huh?

And like that, Daniel crumbled and allowed himself to be dragged again. Adrian gave that hopeless boy a week before he kissed the ground Blake walked upon. No one stood a chance against Blake's charms, the way an intensely cute cat could sway a dog lover. Some things are just too soft not to pet. And Daniel Bellerose seemed like a weak enough man to fall in love with anyone. Adrian planned to toughen him up a bit before he left. Or at least manipulate him into thinking jumping in front of bullet to protect Blake was not only a viable option, but the only option.

Adrian checked his watch and folded back into his room. He sent Emma Winslow a text message: [I'm not worried about Blake and Daniel. Blake will have him whipped in no time.]

With a chuckle, Adrian enjoyed his little joke and got himself ready for bed. He debated going downstairs for a small bottle of A Negative Blood, but his bed called his name. His full name. Middle name too, which only two other people in this world knew. He only forced himself to stay up a little longer to go through potential candidates. No one seemed quite perfect enough to be Blake's assistant. Adrian only accepted perfection. They needed to be as helpful as they were friendly. Lord knows Blake needed a friend.

The moment he agreed to chaperone Blake to Sagewick was the same moment Adrian realized this would be his final job. After this, after spending the last century with the Winslow family, Adrian craved something new. He grew tired of his quiet life.

From somewhere in the castle, there was a boom and something heavy fell to the ground. Many things crashed and splintered. Adrian stood without a second thought, running out of his room totally barefoot. He could only make it halfway down the hallway. His eyes didn't even grace the next corner when what felt like a wall slammed in front of him and knocked him to the ground hard enough to make him slide all the way back to his room.

The corners of his vision burned as stars twinkled and blinked in and out of his vision. Fear grabbed a hold of his throat when Adrian realized he couldn't move. Couldn't even lift a finger. His last mistake was closing his eyes to gather himself...

He couldn't open his eyes again.

A voice in the corner of his brain whispered, "I'm back."

#

DANIEL

It wasn't often that the crown prince Daniel Bellerose overslept.

Sleeping through the night at all was rare enough. He had grown accustomed to tossing and turning and waking hours of constant thought. Usually, Daniel woke before the sun graced the sky. He never even needed alarms. But that morning wasn't aligned with his normal routine. It wasn't every morning he woke up in a different bed. It wasn't every morning Daniel woke up with a beautiful boy inside his arms.

Peeling his eyes open, Daniel found Blake snuggled against his chest, Blake's head resting on top of his arm.

Blake's long fingers clutched his shirt and Daniel didn't dare move, too infatuated with Blake's long eye lashes and the curls resting against his forehead. Daniel studied the curve of his bottom lip and the point of his cupid's bow. Underneath his fringe, Daniel could spot a secret mole just against his hairline. Blake's brows furrowed a bit as he snuggled closer to Daniel. Daniel didn't dare move too fast to avoid waking the wizard.