Sven crossed the banquet hall, making his way through the nobles until he reached Alex.
"Your Highness, there is a small matter that requires your presence."
He had spoken loudly, and his words immediately drew everyone's attention, just as Alex had hoped.
The prince feigned a sigh. "Can it wait until tomorrow? Or at least until the banquet is over?"
"Unfortunately not, Your Highness. I'll only need half an hour, but we should deal with it right away."
Alex turned toward the nobles and smiled. "I'm sorry, my lords and ladies, but the duties of a prince call even in the middle of such a delightful banquet. Please continue, I'll return shortly."
He left the hall with Sven and headed toward the Hall of Blades.
"Do you think they believed it?" he asked the captain.
"Hard to say. I'm not sure my wife did, and your father seemed displeased. Tomorrow he might scold me for not handling the emergency on my own."
"You can blame me if you want. Just don't tell him about Will."
"I won't, Your Highness. It wouldn't be the first time His Majesty has reprimanded me. I'm far more worried about Franziska, though. She's perceptive."
"You're right. My sister may have figured something out."
"Do you think she'll talk?"
"No, she wouldn't. Not after I helped her marry you in the first place." Alex sighed. "I only hope no one else has figured out what I'm about to do."
He stopped in front of the door and, for a moment, felt nothing but sheer terror. William was on the other side, waiting for him to come in. Unaware of what the prince was about to ask.
It took just one step, but that frightened Alex more than any battle he had ever fought.
"What if he doesn't return my feelings?" he murmured.
"I doubt that will happen. Your bond is… deep."
"But he might not feel ready. Or he might feel that he doesn't deserve them."
"In that case, it wouldn't be any different from what you're already doing, would it?"
Sven was right. They would keep spending their nights together and stealing kisses in the palace corridors—but at least that bond would finally have a name.
Even so, it was like committing to a relationship that might not even have a future—but Alex wanted it nonetheless.
He wanted William by his side, and he didn't want to share his life with anyone else. If he had to marry, he wanted it to be with the mage.
He took a deep breath and pushed the terror back down into his stomach.
He didn't need that fear. Everything would be fine.
He lowered the handle and opened the door.
----------------
William leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.
Soft music drifted through the air, muffled by the walls. It came from the banquet hall; the musicians must have started playing again. Who knew whether His Highness had managed to—
The door opened, interrupting his thoughts.
The prince stepped inside. For a moment, his expression looked more frightened than happy, then he gave William a wide smile.
"Will."
William stood. "The speech was perfect, Your Highness."
"Only thanks to you."
"I didn't do much, just a few small fixes. The credit is all yours."
The prince reached him and embraced him. "I'm sorry I left you alone with Ballard. I wish I could've gotten out of that stupid dance."
William hesitated, then wrapped his arms around the prince's waist. "You couldn't. You did the right thing dancing with Lady Vanessa. The nobles must have appreciated it."
"I would've liked to dance with you."
"There will be other occasions."
Alex pulled back and brushed his cheek. "I'm sure there will."
He leaned in and kissed him, and William parted his lips to welcome him. The prince's tongue brushed against his, making him feel as if he might melt.
He buried his fingers in the prince's jacket, while His Highness tightened his grip in his hair.
The prince's mouth was fire—warm and mesmerizing—and William wanted nothing more than to throw himself into the flames and let himself be consumed.
The prince broke the kiss, his warm breath grazing William's lips. "There's something I want to give you. A gift."
William looked at him, confused. "Why? It isn't my birthday."
"I know, but I still have to give you this."
The prince took a deep breath, stepped back, and knelt in front of him.
William flushed, and a faint hope blossomed in his chest. Could it be that he was…
"Your Highness, you shouldn't bow to anyone."
"You're not just anyone. You're my mage and the person I'm in love with."
"But kneeling like that…"
"Are you going to scold me tonight as well?"
"Your Highness, I don't enjoy scolding you. But if someone were to come in and see you, you—"
"Sven is standing guard."
The prince took one of his hands and kissed the back of it, then each finger, and finally the center of his palm. His lips burned against William's skin, sending small shivers through him.
"Let me do this, all right?"
William nodded, his throat dry, his heart pounding in his ears.
The prince pulled out a jade pendant and pressed it into his palm and gently closed William's fingers around it.
His sky-blue gaze met William's with such intensity that it made his stomach turn.
"Will, this pendant is a token of my feelings. I want to give it to you, along with my heart and my soul."
The cool hardness of the jade pressed against William's palm. A deep joy filled his chest, and his heartbeat quickened in his throat.
"Your Highness…" he whispered, his voice trembling.
"You are my other half—the one who makes me whole. And I want to be yours, if you'll have me."
William should have refused—he knew that. There was no real future for them, not between a prince and a foreign commoner. And yet… he didn't want to give up his sun, even if it meant being selfish and getting hurt.
"You already are, Your Highness. And I am yours—always. Now and forever."
The prince gently slipped the pendant from William's hands and fastened it behind his neck. William brushed his fingers over the surface engraved with Xianese characters; the green jade gleamed like silver in the soft moonlight.
"It suits you perfectly," the prince murmured, caressing his cheek.
"It's a truly beautiful gift. Thank you."
His Highness stepped back and offered him his hand. "May I have this dance, my raven?"
William smiled and placed his fingers in his. "I was hoping you'd ask."
And they danced to the rhythm of the faint notes and the beating of their hearts. With smiles on their lips, and gazes and hands unwilling to let go.
In silence, because in that moment nothing else mattered but the two of them—alone together at the center of the world.
When the music from the banquet faded, their steps came to a halt as well, and they remained facing each other, bathed in silver light.
The diadem on the prince's forehead made him look even more charming than usual, and William found himself staring at him longer than he should have.
The prince tilted his head and a small smile curved his lips. "Do you like what you see, Will?"
"I'd be lying if I said no."
The prince's hands slid down his back in slow caresses.
"Tonight—"
"I'll come to you," William interrupted. "I want to make love to you. If you'll allow me."
Alex smiled softly. "Of course, my lovely raven."
"Will you grant me a kiss as well?"
"You're very formal this evening."
The prince leaned in and laid his lips on his. His tongue brushed William's, and his hands slipped beneath the mage's clothes, stroking his back.
William's skin burned with heat, and a moan swelled in his chest.
"Ah… Your Highness…"
"Tonight I'll take care of you." He kissed William's neck. "But we must part again now."
"That's a pity. I was enjoying this."
William would have liked to stay with him for the rest of the evening, dancing in the silence of that room and watching him shine in the moonlight.
He straightened his jacket and made sure his hair was in order, then hid the pendant beneath his clothes, against his skin.
"I'll go out first, Your Highness."
The prince nodded and gave him one last kiss on the forehead, then let him leave the Hall of Blades.
At the threshold, Sven offered him a faint smile, and William returned it.
"I look presentable, don't I?"
The captain nodded. "And you seem happier."
Because he was, even if he didn't think Sven could truly understand. William had longed for his sun for so long—from the moment he first saw him in an alley in Lenz—that he could barely believe it was really happening.
But it was happening, and his heart swelled with happiness.