Alex straightened the jacket with the royal insignia and smoothed his hair behind his ears. At his side, William shot him an inquisitive glance.
"Are you preening, Your Highness?"
"No. I'm making myself presentable."
"It's just tea."
The prince gave a little smirk. "For a smart man, you have far too many problems with court etiquette."
William blushed. "This place is twisted."
"You've already said that. At least once."
"Do I really have to attend?"
"Yes. I said you'd accompany me, and you will." He brushed a lock of hair behind William's ear, the warmth of his skin grazing his fingertips. "It'll be a nice distraction."
For the prince, it certainly would be. Having tea with women who were only interested in marriage would have been exhausting without the mage to act as a buffer.
And for some reason, Alex liked the idea of having him around.
"And besides, I can't be left alone with two noble ladies."
William blushed even more. "Aren't there maids or servants?"
"Are you afraid they'll pounce on you?"
"I'm thinking about your reputation."
Alex laughed and resumed walking down the corridor toward the northern terrace.
"My reputation is in no danger. But don't worry, the servants will be there."
"Then you don't need me."
"Protocol dictates that you follow me everywhere."
"That's not true. You just made that up."
The prince shot him an amused look. "And how would you know?"
"I've read and memorized all the court protocols for every possible circumstance, and nowhere does it say that the Court Mage must accompany the Crown Prince to his afternoon teas."
"Then it'll be the first thing I add when I become king."
"Do you truly want to make my life impossible?"
"Think of it as a little revenge for how you're making mine impossible."
William pressed his lips together and gave him a sharp look. Something in the pit of Alex's stomach twisted pleasantly.
The mage folded his arms. "Can I at least know who we're entertaining today?"
"Lady Rivera and her daughter, Annbell. The daughter is old enough to marry, which is why they're at court."
"Do you want to get married?"
"No. Actually, I was thinking of introducing you to her."
William blushed. "Don't joke!"
"Why? Don't you like women?"
"No."
Alex smirked and tilted his head. "So you like men?"
"I don't see why you're so interested in my preferences."
The prince parted his lips, but no answer came. Why had he asked those questions? He didn't care about William's private life—their relationship was strictly professional.
So why?
They reached the terrace in silence, where the two noblewomen welcomed them.
Lady Rivera wore a voluminous skirt of pale green, and her long brown hair gathered up at the nape of her neck. Her daughter, Annbell, wore a pink dress full of lace and frills, her hair loose down her back.
Alex stretched his lips into a pleasant smile and bowed to the ladies.
"Lady Rivera, Lady Annbell, it's a pleasure to see you again."
The two women answered with a perfect curtsy.
"Your Highness," the mother said, "it is an honor to have you here, and I thank you for accepting my invitation."
"The honor is mine, my lady." The prince gestured to William. "This is my Court Mage, Master William Traver."
The mage gave a stiff bow. "A pleasure to meet you."
They took their seats at the round table. The servants stepped forward to pour tea and serve the pastries. William kept his eyes lowered, as if uncomfortable for some reason.
Lady Rivera cleared her throat. "I heard you had a mishap at Astya's castle."
Alex smiled. "You could say that, though I wouldn't put it like that."
"Was it dangerous?"
"Quite, but I'm not sure it's the best topic for teatime."
They laughed, but William merely sipped his tea. If he was enjoying the company, he certainly wasn't showing it.
Annbell brought a pastry to her lips, her eyes darting from the prince to the mage as if she genuinely didn't know where to look.
"Master Traver isn't noble, is he?"
Alex smiled. "No, but he's a man with many qualities."
"Not that many," William interjected. "His Highness has far more than I do."
"When it comes to sword or horse. My mage is without a doubt far more cunning. I assure you, madam, he's perfectly capable of killing a man with nothing but words or a glance."
The two noblewomen laughed, but William shot him a frosty look, to which Alex replied with a smirk.
"And he's very handsome," Annbell blurted out. "I mean, it's not… the main quality in a husband, but…" She blushed, lowering her gaze to her tea. "Looks matter too, don't they?"
Alex tightened his fingers around the cup. "You're not entirely wrong, but I wouldn't call William such a striking man."
Annbell looked at him, puzzled. "Really? I've never met anyone more charming than him, though it's also true I don't meet many people."
"He just has a nice face, that's all."
Lady Rivera smiled pleasantly. "You're too humble, Your Highness. Your mage has the beauty of a god."
Alex clenched his jaw and forced himself to smile, though inside he wanted to snap back. Was William handsome? Yes, damn it, he was the most beautiful man he had ever seen, but there was no reason to keep repeating it.
Annbell turned to William. "Are you promised, Master Traver?"
"No."
"And… are you interested, perhaps?"
The mage furrowed his brow. "In an engagement, you mean?"
"Yes. A good marriage could grant you a title and financial stability."
"And I suppose the good marriage would be with you."
Annbell offered a modest smile. "Not necessarily, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in you."
Alex stared at the mage, breath caught in his chest. He would refuse. It was obvious he wasn't enjoying the conversation. And besides, he had told him he didn't like women.
William smiled. "Why not? I could consider your proposal."
Ice flooded the prince's chest. For a long moment he heard nothing but the pounding of his own heart in his throat. What was he saying?
He set the cup down with more force than he intended, and three pairs of eyes snapped toward his face.
"Your Highness?" Lady Rivera murmured. "Are you all right?"
Alex curled his fingers, tension and anger knotting in his muscles. He had to smile and lighten the mood, yet he couldn't. For some reason, William's words had pissed him off.
"Don't worry," the mage cut in. "His Highness is only jealous because your daughter complimented me and not him."
Lady Rivera laughed. "But you are charming too, Your Highness. You have a very different kind of allure from Master Traver's. You have the build of a soldier, while your mage has that of a scholar."
The prince forced himself to smile, at least with his lips, but inside he wished he could leave. Drag William somewhere and argue with him until he ran out of breath.
The rest of the meeting slipped by in shallow chatter and heavy silences. Alex did his best to keep the conversation cheerful, but the anger kept simmering inside him. He didn't even know why.
As soon as they had taken their leave of the two women, he grabbed William by the arm and dragged him into the first room he found. Some kind of poorly lit storage closet, narrow and suffocating.
"What possessed you to say that?"
William furrowed his brow and crossed his arms. "Lady Annbell was seeking a marriage. I just made sure she was genuinely interested."
"Are you saying you want to get married?"
"No. I don't recall making her any proposal."
That was true, but even hinting at it would spark gossip.
Alex sighed and rubbed his forehead. William must have mistaken that tea for some kind of business negotiation.
"You have no idea what trouble you just got yourself into."
"The Riveras rule a region to the north; they have enough political power and influence. A marriage with the daughter could secure support."
"So you are considering it!"
"No." William looked away. "I'm not interested in marriage. But you should be. Marrying Lady Annbell could do wonders for your reputation."
"I don't want to get married. I'm still young."
"You're twenty-two."
"And so? You're twenty-one."
William pressed his lips together. "You wanted me to help you become a good king, didn't you? That's what I'm doing."
"You're arranging my marriage!"
"I'm giving you suggestions you should take into consideration. And in any case, you should have held back earlier. You scared them."
"Your answer irritated me. It sounded like you wanted to get married."
And Alex still didn't understand why that had made him so angry.
"I'm sorry, but whether I want to marry or not is my own business."
"No, it's my business too." Alex poked a finger into his chest. "Because you're my Court Mage. And because the only marriage I'll allow you to have is with a member of the royal family."
William raised an eyebrow, and for a moment he truly seemed at a loss for words.
"A… royal?"
Alex clenched his jaw, a violent heat blazing across his cheeks. What had he just said? Why couldn't he ever keep his mouth shut?
"My sister, Myrina," he stammered. "She likes you. I think she has a crush." He brought a hand to his mouth and looked away. "A marriage with a royal would solve all your problems, right?"
"And that would be acceptable to you?"
"You're not bad when you're being kind. And you've always treated her well."
William looked away. "Too bad I'm not interested in women."
"A man, then."
"Do you have a secret twin, Your Highness? Because otherwise I don't see who I'm supposed to marry in your family."
Alex pressed his lips together and for a long moment felt nothing but deep embarrassment. Now he was arranging marriages for the mage? He had to be out of his mind. One of the servants must have spiked his tea with liquor.
"Forget it."
He left the room, and William followed him in silence.
"May I go to the library now?"
Alex waved a distracted hand. "Yes, yes, of course. Go ahead. And thank you for keeping me company."
The mage walked away, but after a dozen steps he stopped. He looked at him over his shoulder, his gaze softening for a moment.
"Your Highness, for what it's worth, I truly think you're very handsome."
He walked down the corridor, leaving the prince utterly bewildered.
Alex had no idea what had just happened, but for some reason that compliment warmed his chest. And he wondered yet again why talking about William's beauty had irritated him so much.
In the following days, the prince went back to spending most of his time in the training hall practicing with the sword. He saw little of the mage — but he did not forget that strange afternoon tea.