Page 9 of The Moon Blessed King
‘Why?’
‘Because I know what those cells are like,’ Lio spits out. ‘And no one should be there. Not him. Not Brielle. Not any of the others. And even if he said he wanted to go back, be a martyr because ofduty– you wanting to keep someone safe from harm does not make you a bad person, little brother. It means you care.’
And Lio cares too. Cat has barely exchanged more than a few words with the man since they returned; he was not kind to himwhen they first met either. And still, he cares. He cares enough to put Cat to shame. He should have treated Lio so much better.
‘I promised him his freedom,’ Elician argues. ‘Forbidding him from going home is denying him freedom.’
Lio shrugs. ‘Fine then, what about this? If he wished to never return to Alelune, and equally wished to have nothing more to do with you or your reign, what would you do?’
‘Let him go. Give him anything he needed and just…let him go.’
Cat couldn’t do it. He couldn’t be granted such a thing and not need to dosomething. He couldn’t live each day and refrain from wanting to go back – Brielle and all the others are waiting for him. He will either return to Alelune a prisoner or go to set them free.
‘There you go then. Freedom to live, not freedom to walk into torture. That’s enough in my book. As for Cat…he deserves the chance to choose. And it seems he has. Did you force him to accept your offer?’
‘No.’
‘Did you force him to marry you this quickly?’
‘No. I…There’s no stability or certainty without it. The last time a Soleben monarch swore an oath to an Alelunen – their queen wasmurdered.’
‘That wasn’t your fault either,’ Lio murmurs.
‘I should have stopped it. I was too late, too slow…but I should have stopped it. Cat deserves proof that I won’t break my vow. And I won’t let my government find a way to put it off until that’s exactly what it will mean.’
Cat pushes himself up. Lio and Elician turn towards him, twin expressions of guilt on their faces. He rubs the sleep from his eyes and says, ‘It’s not your fault,’ as he joins them by the fire. ‘I don’t blame you. And I’m not a child. Neither when we met nor now. I knew who you were before you knew who I was. Don’t apologize for what happened then…and don’t apologize for giving me a chance to save my people now.’
‘See,’ Lio says, nudging Elician’s shoulder. ‘This is why communication is important. We’d hate to spend the next few years second-guessing ourselves every few minutes, wouldn’t we?’
But for once, Elician doesn’t pay Lio any mind. His attention is solely on Cat at his side. ‘Are you sure?’ he asks.
‘Yes,’ Cat replies. ‘Are you?’
And there is no doubt, no hesitation, as Elician nods and once more swears the same.
The day they are due to reach the capital, Adalei tells them both to change into more presentable garments. She reveals a circlet she had adjusted from the precious jewels she brought with her. She orders it on Cat’s head. ‘You’ll be riding in as Stello Alest,’ she tells him. ‘And soon announced as his betrothed. First impressions matter.’
‘It won’t be a first impression; people have seen me in the city.’
‘Do you truly believe that anyone remembers your face? Or were they too busy desperately trying to turn away?’ She doesn’t say it to be cruel, but the truth is a bitter thing. He places the circlet on, and Elician makes a noise of discontent.
‘May I?’ he asks, already reaching towards Cat’s head. Cat drops his hands to his side and submits himself to Elician’s attention. The band shifts this way and that. It is ever so slightly too big, and it needs to be angled just right. But once Elician is satisfied, he steps away and his head tilts to one side. ‘You’re beautiful,’ he says.
‘And you,’ Cat offers in turn. Adalei insisted on a matching set of clothes for them both, exchanging Cat’s Reaper uniform and Elician’s borrowed wares for dark trousers and leather boots, offset by a smooth purple velvet tunic embroidered with silver stars. The rich vibrancy of the fabric draws out the darker hues of Elician’s skin. His beard has been trimmed into a careful neatness, his too-short hairarranged to something approaching respectability even if it is still startling to see his curls so diminished.
‘I look like death,’ Elician huffs, turning away.
‘Death has always been beautiful,’ Cat replies, nonplussed. Elician pauses at that, lips quirking ever so subtly before he nods and offers Cat a hand in climbing up on his horse once more.
They reach Himmelsheim by midday. Zinnitzia and Lio have ridden ahead to inform the guards at the gate they are coming. Cat half wonders what she could possibly have said to make them believe that their crown prince has returned, but Elician’s mother is still in residence at Himmelsheim. She will have the authority to corroborate the truth of Elician’s existence, and when they approach the walls of the great city and the start of the long winding road up to the peak of a dizzying spiral, they receive no resistance.
Instead, Lio greets them when they arrive. Elician sees him first, and it’s the first time since he’s returned that he looks genuinely pleased. Someone gave Lio a uniform, and he is dressed just as he was the day Cat met him. He is still too thin, cheekbones far too evident and hair too short (same as Elician), but for once: he looks like himself. ‘Helooks good,’ Cat offers, and Elician smiles as bright as the sun.
‘Yes,’ he says. ‘He does.’ They draw near and Lio has everything prepared for them. The city guard form a circle around their group, bracketing them in on all sides. Elician thanks those who catch his eye, a few unable to hold their silence and welcoming him back with looks of awestruck befuddlement. ‘Was there any trouble?’ he asks Lio.
‘No,’ Lio replies. ‘Honestly? I think everyone’s been hoping for some good news for a long time. And finally? They have it.’ He leans in close to his king, familiar and comfortable. Whispering, ‘Let’s go home, little brother,’ as the city’s trumpets sound their arrival and the people of Soleb turn to watch their Sun Blessed Prince guide his horse through its city gates.
CHAPTER THREE
