It had been the fire that had drawn him in.
Jalgan had been in love with the prince for years, had been smitten the moment he had seen his portrait. Rumors of the prince's fiery personality had enamored him. Time had only deepened his love, and at last, he now had what he wanted. A marriage to Prince William Solace.
The anger in the prince's eyes hadn't fazed him in the slightest. If anything, it excited Jalgan. The fire in the prince was dangerous, yet... inviting.
Will wanted to play hard-to-get. And Jalgan was more than happy to play the game.
☀️☀️☀️
It had been a week since Will had met Jalgan. A week of pure agony.
Will was starting to unravel. When he had returned from being kidnapped, he had been barely able to eat, but had at least attended the royal dinners for the sake of his family. But now he blew off every social event that wasn't strictly politics; the thought of having to spend more time than necessary near him...
He could barely swallow a bite of food anyway. His fear was nearly crushing him, a constant state of fight-or-flight that kept him awake far into the night. The weight he had gained since his kidnapping was now gone, his face paling again. He knew he should eat, should sleep, but the fear refused to leave.
As was tradition of royal engagement, Will and Jalgan would spend several hours a day together under the supervision of a chaperone. Will had been tempted to blow Jalgan off, but the lethal gleam in his gold eyes made him realize that probably wasn't an option.
Either Perseus or Annabeth Jackson would be the assigned chaperone, with Nico as Will's bodyguard. It would always be lunch or a walk through the gardens. These times were painful-- mostly biting remarks punctuated by tense silence. Will dreaded every time his chaperone would appear at his door.
Shaking off his thoughts, Will stared at his plate, refusing to meet Jalgan's eyes from across the table. Annabeth stood guard at the doorway, while Nico stood behind Jalgan; both monitored Will's betrothed as though he would attack at any moment.
"You look wonderful today," Jalgan said. Will could feel those eyes piercing him, assessing his every move, waiting for his reaction. Will only gave the slightest nod, then lifted his gaze to look at Nico over Jalgan's shoulder. Nico tilted his head, then, very deliberately, tapped on his armor three times. Are you okay?
Nico and Will had developed a code of sorts, to communicate while Jalgan was around. Will rehearsed the code now: one tap for yes, two for no, three for are you okay, and four for I am here.
Will replied with one tap on his plate, shifting his silverware in his grip. A thought flared to life in his mind. "Jalgan, I have a question."
"Yes, dear?"
Nico stiffened at the term of endearment, but Will didn't let his anger show as he asked, "If you wanted my hand for so long and so badly, why did you send assassins to kill me?"
Jalgan raised a dark brow. "Pardon?"
Want to play dumb, you bastard? "The night of Queen Levesque's coronation, assassins from your... group came to try to kill me."
Will wasn't expecting to see shock come over Jalgan's face, then anger. "Kill you?"
"Yes." Will forced his voice to stay level.
Jalgan scoffed. "Those people were there to kidnap you, not kill you." He waved his hand. "That whole ordeal with you and the Shade Queen is of no importance. That was an old plan of mine."
To hear Jalgan dismiss such an event as nothing, when it had traumatized Will and made him afraid to sleep for weeks, and had no doubt left a mark on Queen Levesque...
He clenched his steak knife, watching his knuckles whiten. He forced himself to breathe, forced his hand to relax. "An old plan that detailed what, exactly?"
"Does it matter? It didn't work in the end." Jalgan cut into his meat. "I'll be having a stern talk with those people, Your Majesty. For now, I suggest simply dropping the subject."
Will gritted his teeth and forced another deep breath. Calm. He had to remain calm. Losing his temper would achieve nothing.
Suddenly, Annabeth stepped forward and addressed Jalgan. "My lord, I'm sorry to cut this appointment short, but the prince has important business to attend to soon."
Jalgan frowned. "We have twenty more minutes."
"It's urgent."
Jalgan frowned, clearly not believing her. Will was surprised when he said, "Very well."
Shooting Miss Jackson a look of gratitude, Will got to his feet. Jalgan stood up as well, leaned in, and kissed Will on the cheek, his hand finding Will's lower back. The prince stiffened, but made no move to pull away, repressing the revulsion crawling on his skin.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Your Majesty," Jalgan said before slipping out the door. Annabeth looked between Will and Nico, making sure the prince wouldn't be left alone, before following Jalgan out.
The second he was gone, Will gave a visible shudder of disgust. Something about Jalgan repulsed him, yet also terrified him. He scrubbed his cheek, gritting his teeth.
Then Nico was there, a comforting hand on Solace's shoulder. "Are you okay, Will?"
The prince nodded, then growled under his breath. "I hate him. He won't stop touching me." Nico's eyes widened, and he tried to step back, but Will shook his head. "Not you, Nico. I'm fine with you touching me." He rubbed at his face, then heaved a sigh. "I have four meetings after this, but all my energy is gone."
"You haven't been eating a lot lately," Nico pointed out, jerking his chin to Will's plate. "Maybe that's why you have no energy."
"Maybe." Will raised his head to stare at the entrance. "Wish me luck, I guess."
Nico kissed his temple. "I'm not going anywhere."
Will gave him a smile before walking out the door, his ever-faithful bodyguard on his heels.
☀️☀️☀️
"You think you could do it?" the Head Healer asked.
Lou Ellen frowned at the question, staring into the depths of her cauldron. "It's possible."
The Head Sorceress had decided to stay in the Aureole Kingdom for the time being; she had a feeling they would need her magic soon enough. She had sent a letter to Queen Levesque assuring her that she was now fine, and willingly staying in the Kingdom. Her instincts had been correct; the Aureoles were looking to her for some way to free their prince.
Next to the Head Healer, Nico di Angelo shifted his weight, onyx eyes unreadable. "Once Abaddon gets his hands on an Aureole crown, it's game over. We need to prevent him from being coronated." His eyes found Lou Ellen's green gaze. "Is there a way to break down the wards around him?"
"As I've said, it's possible, but for me to do so will take a while. About a month." She bit her lip. "I have a feeling Abaddon will wait until the night of the royal wedding to remove the spirit from Prince William. It's possible then that we can catch him off-guard and disable his wards. Probably even kill him without warning the Black Hand." She stirred the cauldron, watching the smoke drift through the air. "But we will have to be precise with our timing."
She could've sworn Nico's shoulders slumped. "Is there any way to prevent the wedding from happening?"
"Not one that I see. We can't kill Jalgan, and I have a feeling he will only notify the Black Hand if we try to hide Will somewhere." She shrugged. "Hell, he could summon his army just because he felt wronged or betrayed in any manner. We have to be careful about this."
"Agreed," the Head Healer murmured. He turned and frowned at Nico. "Go find Will. Make sure he's okay. We can't leave him unattended. Jalgan might try something."
Nico raised an eyebrow. "You think I'm not aware of this?" he snapped. He saw the healer's expression, and his gaze softened. "Sorry."
Fletcher waved his hand. "Don't bother apologizing. Just go find him." Di Angelo nodded, then vanished into the shadows.
Lou Ellen stared at the spot the ex-assassin had occupied. "They're courting, aren't they?"
Flethcer's eyes widened. "Pardon?"
She snorted. "I don't need my magic to sense there's something going on between the prince and his bodyguard. The way they talk about each other, and look at each other? It's as though they're the only people in the damn universe." She studied her spell book. "It's a bit endearing, honestly."
The healer wrung his hands anxiously. "Swear not to tell anyone. We can't have this reaching public ears, especially the king."
She raised an eyebrow, mimicking Nico. "The prince is hiding this from the king?"
"It's... complicated."
Lou Ellen frowned, then said, "I swear."
"Thank you, Sorceress." The Head Healer turned away. "If you would excuse me, I have duties to attend to." He vanished out the door, and Lou Ellen frowned at her spell book again, thinking up ways to start deconstructing Jalgan Abaddon's wards.
This was going to take a while.