He sipped his wine. The banquet hall was filled with tables seating those from the different kingdoms as well as the Monks of the Way of the Dove. Once again, Elias found his gaze pulled towards Prince Gerard, who sat amongst his family.

  Princess Senta spoke to him. He nodded, face blank and serious.

  Does he ever smile? Laugh?

  If Prince Gerard did, Elias had not seen a hint of it, and he had been studying the dragon warrior a great deal.

  What is he like? Is he as serious as he looks?

  They’d met almost a month ago, and so often, Elias found his thoughts consumed by the man. He wanted to get closer. Wanted to speak to him. Study him. He wanted to get to know the man who’d survived Elias’s attack.

  And the man who’d almost ended Elias’s life. His pulse quickened at the thought.

  Sometimes he imagined showing Prince Gerard his scarred left leg. He wanted to say, “You did this to me.” Not in an accusatory way, but to reveal the odd bond they had. A bond created by war. And survival. Their lives were entwined. But only Elias knew it.

  Of course, he’d never reveal the truth to Prince Gerard. That would require revealing his identity. And he had taken a vow to never do that. Only a handful of lightning archmages knew who he actually was.

  Still, he liked to fantasise about telling Prince Gerard. He wondered how the dragon warrior would respond. Perhaps they could reminisce about the day they’d almost killed the other. He swallowed a laugh.

  I’m being ridiculous. Who relishes being almost killed by someone? Apparently, me.

  He’d had other fantasies too. But they’d involved less clothing and revealing more of their bodies. He licked his lips, gut tightening. He took another sip of wine. He’d tried a few times to get closer to the big, silent man, but he’d had little success.

  It was as if Prince Gerard wished to keep distance between them. But why?

  “Elias,” Colette whispered. “How do you eat these things?”

  He turned to his cousin. Colette poked her fork at a black shell with large, thin spikes.

  “That’s a sea urchin. You don’t eat the shell. It’s already been opened for you.” He pointed at the squishy orange parts that could be accessed through the opening in the top. “You just eat the inside.”

  Her eyebrows pinched together, and her nose wrinkled. “Okay,” she said, not sounding particularly certain. Slowly, she scooped out the centre and chewed. Her face scrunched up, and Elias tried not to laugh.

  She swallowed. “It’s … interesting. But I’m not sure I like it.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” He smiled. “I’m not a huge fan either. Just eat what you like on the plate.”

  Empress Emmeline’s light tinkling laughter rang out. “Sea urchin is a delicacy,” Empress Emmeline, who sat opposite them, said. “But I suppose only those with a developed palate can truly appreciate such fine foods.”

  Pink stained Colette’s cheeks.

  “And I suppose growing up in such a … rural and isolated environment does not create a refined palate.” The empress smiled at Colette. “It is a pity you were not provided with a more expansive and cultured upbringing.”

  Elias glanced at his father, who sat beside the empress. But his entire attention seemed focused on his food. He did not pay attention to his wife’s words. And even if he did, Elias doubted his father would notice the underhanded insult his wife was giving to an eighteen-year-old girl.

  The empress glanced at her children, Anais and Beau, who’d already eaten their sea urchin. “I made sure I introduced my children to a variety of foods. So they could visit any kingdom and not disgrace me.”

  The empress returned her gaze to Colette. “No doubt your family weren’t aware they should introduce you to such things. I’m sure it was not intentional neglect on their part.”

  Colette’s cheeks turned a darker shade of pink.

  Elias smiled. “Yes, well, my mother’s side of the family have never been too concerned with trifling things like refined palates. They were too busy creating powerful sorcerers, like my mother.”

  The empress’s smile tightened.

  Elias’s mother had been a strong lightning sorcerer. Not so strong that she’d been an archmage and had to hide her true powers. But strong enough to be known for it. And far stronger than his stepmother, who was an average wind sorcerer like her children.

  “Too bad her son didn’t follow in her footsteps,” Beau snapped. “Seems like dud sorcerers run in the family too.” He looked at Colette.

  Everyone had been told that she, like Elias, lacked any true ability and that was why she had been sent to be educated by Elias in courtly manners.

  The empress smirked. Beside him, Colette straightened. No doubt she wanted to blurt out that both she and Elias were powerful. Thankfully, she held her tongue.

  “Yes, it is such a shame.” Elias shrugged. “But at least I got my mother’s beauty. People called her the most beautiful woman in all the kingdoms. I am glad I at least followed in her footsteps in that manner.” He smiled at the empress. “And of course she was adored by all.”

  His stepmother’s lips twitched. Beau and Anais glared.

  Because people still talked about his mother, her beauty as well as how loved she was. Meanwhile, although Empress Emmeline was widely respected, no one would ever say she was loved or adored. And she did not compare in looks to Elias’s mother. And Elias knew that bothered the empress.

  The empress smiled thinly, seeming to have collected herself. “Some people are obsessed with the attention that beauty brings them.”

  “Ha. Yes, my dear.” Emperor Hugo patted his wife’s hand. Plate empty, he seemed to have finally joined the family conversation. “That is very correct.”

  Elias slid his finger along the stem of his goblet. “How true, Empress. Some people are very self-centred indeed.”

  He paused. “And sometimes no matter how people try, no matter if they import the best silks from the Court of the Flowers, employ the best tailors in Walham Street, and encase themselves in the finest jewels from the Windy Peaks, they still cannot attract the attention they so desperately crave.”

  His father laughed. “True, Elias. That is very true too.”

  The veins on the back of his stepmother’s hands stood out as she gripped her goblet. Because Elias had just listed where she imported her silks from, where her tailor was located, and where she got her jewels, for herself and her children.

  His father’s laughter finally petered off. “Some people are just not that attractive, no matter how they try and try.”

  “Yes,” Elias said. “It is very sad. And pathetic. Wouldn’t you say, Father?”

  The emperor nodded.

  A muscle beside his stepmother’s eye spasmed.

  His father didn’t notice the tension simmering between his son and now wife. But then, he’d never been good at noticing anything.

  He’d not noticed when the empress, his new wife, had removed all evidence of his first wife from the Lightning Palace. Nor had he noticed when she’d removed his mother’s portrait from Elias’s room. Instead she’d replaced it with one of his father and stepmother.

  Elias had run to his father, a weeping nine-year-old boy. He’d begged for his mother’s portrait to be returned after his stepmother had refused him.

  His father had frowned and turned to the empress. “My darling, perhaps we should put the portrait back.”

  With a deep sigh and a shake of her head, she’d said, “Unfortunately all the portraits were damaged.”

  Apparently, there had been some flooding in the part of the palace where they’d been placed.

  “It’s such a shame. I wish I could bring one of them back. But I can’t,” Empress Emmeline had said to Emperor Hugo.

  His father had believed her words. He’d always believed his second wife over his son.

  When Elias had claimed, “She doesn’t like me,” and, “She gives all my belongings to Matteo,” his father had repeatedly taken her side.

  “He is just adjusting. It is new for all of us,” she had said. “He is not used to sharing with others.”

  His father had nodded and told Elias he needed to try harder and embrace their new family. He’d never once seen through Empress Emmeline’s twisted words.

  Emperor Hugo had often been praised for being a good-natured ruler, kind, generous, and empathetic. Unfortunately for Elias, his father was also a fucking fool. He could not see the bad in anyone. Ever.

  He could not see that his new wife hated his son and the memory of his dead wife. Nor could he see how she and the councillors of Zephyrias had manipulated him to give up Elias’s throne to his younger stepbrother.

  “We need a strong sorcerer on the throne,” his stepmother and the councillors had all told the emperor. “We need to show Draconia we have a powerful future leader. And a single leader would be less confusing to our own people. That is what is best for our kingdoms.”

  Elias had watched as she’d clutched the emperor’s hand, leaning in close and smiling as she’d guided her husband like clay in her skilled hands.

  The original signed treaty between the Kingdoms of Voltaria and Zephyrias had stated that Elias and Matteo would reign together one day. There’d even been talk of the stepbrothers marrying, since there was no blood relation. But the empress did not see Elias as a suitable match for her eldest son.

  His father had quickly come around and agreed that Matteo should be the one and only heir. Many Voltarian councillors had opposed. The combined Kingdoms of Voltaria and Zephyrias functioned under a constitutional monarchy. Whilst the kingdoms had two joint rulers, they also had a council who voted.

  But despite some opposition, in the end, the vote was passed. A new treaty had been signed naming Matteo as sole heir.

  Honestly, Elias did not mind that Matteo was heir. Elias had never been interested in the throne. He hated all those dull duties involved in ruling. He wanted the kingdom running well. But he did not want to be the one who ran it.

  Still, for his father to give up Elias’s birthright with so little resistance stung.

  Now the entire council, half-Voltarian and half-Zephyrian, were solidly in the empress’s pocket. They knew where the true power lay within their joint ruling couple.

  “Do not tell your father about your powers,” his Great-Uncle Jules had told him once he’d tested Elias and realised the extent of Elias’s powers.

  “Why not?” Elias, only just twelve, had wanted his father to be proud of him and love him as he’d done before Empress Emmeline had entered their lives.

  His great-uncle had gripped Elias’s shoulder. “Because he is besotted and will keep nothing from Empress Emmeline. And honestly, the man never could keep a secret to save his life.”

  So Elias had followed his great-uncle’s advice. He’d never told his father his abilities. Even when the empress had used his lack of power to hand the throne solely to Matteo. Elias could not rely on his father.

  “Are those your mother’s earrings?” his father asked Elias, voice softening.

  The empress’s eyes glinted.

  Chapter

  Ten

  Elias stroked a dangling sapphire-and-silver earring. “Yes. These belonged to Mother.” He smiled. “They are one of my favourites.” And one of his mother’s belongings that he’d hidden away when things had started to disappear after Empress Emmeline became his stepmother.

  His father smiled. “They were your mother’s favourite too. She always wore them. Almost every day.” He stared at his son. “You really do look just like her.”

  The empress turned away.

  Because she could remove all the portraits of his mother from the castle, she could remove all her things, but she could not remove the emperor’s memory of his first wife, whom he still loved just as he loved his second.

  And the empress hated that. Hated that she still competed with a woman who’d been gone for twenty years.

  Perhaps that was why she hated Elias. Because he acted as a living reminder of his dead mother. And not only did he remind the emperor of his mother, but the people adored Prince Elias as they’d adored his mother. Many throughout Voltaria and even Zephyrias called for him to be future ruler instead of Matteo.

  Elias’s mother had been called the lightning empress. Which was why Elias had been called the lightning prince.

  Servants came and took their finished plates. Colette had forced herself to finish her sea urchin. Elias had not touched his. Around them individuals began to rise. Several approached the newly married couple at the front table.

  Elias stood. “Well, we should make the rounds. Come, Colette.”

  She jumped to her feet and followed him. She glanced back towards the table as they made their escape. “Empress Emmeline is not as … nice as I thought she would be.”

  Elias laughed. “No.” He took her arm. “Avoid her as best you can.” Especially since Colette hadn’t developed a thick skin or the ability to lie fluently. And she had secrets that needed keeping.

  “That painting is so impressive!” Colette exclaimed as she stared up at the vaulted ceilings, painted to depict a sunny sky with clouds.

  Elias smiled at her. She seemed to be always so in awe of everything. His chest twinged. He did not wish to be the one to toughen her up and cause her to lose that sense of wonder in her eyes. “Yes. The monks have done a good job designing the upper part of the monastery.”

  He scanned the crowds, finding himself once again seeking out Prince Gerard. He currently spoke with his newly married brother.

  “I’m going to get us some drinks,” Elias said to Colette.

  Moments later, when he returned, he found Colette speaking to a young dragon. Elias gave him a once-over. He appeared to be of an appropriately similar age to Colette. She giggled and blushed as the young man spoke.

  Elias stopped a little distance away, allowing his ward to flirt. But he kept his eyes on the two as he sipped his wine.

  “Prince Elias!” a lady, surrounded by several others from Botanial, Voltaria, and Zephyrias, exclaimed.

  “Good evening, Lady Marigold. I haven’t seen you in years.” Elias smiled. “You haven’t aged a day!”

  “You charmer!” Lady Marigold laughed. “And you have grown up completely!” Her eyes softened. “You know, you look just like your mother.” She placed a hand over her heart.

  Those gathered around her murmured their agreement and nodded.

  “I hope you don’t mind me saying that.” Lady Marigold touched his arm.

  “Not at all. I take it as a great compliment.” Elias smiled.

  His stepmother had tried once to make him feel bad for looking like his mother, saying it was a pity he did not look more masculine, like Matteo. But how could Elias regret resembling his mother?

  As it was, if he squinted when looking in the mirror, he could almost believe he was seeing her. Almost.

  “Unfortunately, I lack her magical ability.” Elias pouted. “But I have some skills.” He looked around at those who stood by him. He placed down the goblets of wine on a small table. “Would you like to see a trick?”

  Then he spotted Prince Luther behind everyone. Their eyes locked.

  “I hope this brightens your wedding feast, Prince Luther.” Elias lifted his hands. “May your marriage always be filled with love and … sparkles!”

  Light flashed and danced on his hands and then shot into the air above. Those gathered around gasped and clapped.

  So much power surged within Elias. A weaker sorcerer did not have even a tenth of his power. And many weaker sorcerers could not control that little amount without their engraved bracers.

  But here I am, showing everyone a tiny glimpse of my ability. Holding the storm of power back with so little effort. And they all have no idea. They all think me weak and powerless. How wrong they all are.

  He exhaled and smiled as everyone clapped.

  “Thank you.” Elias laughed as he stopped. He gave a wry smile. “Unfortunately, that is all my powers can achieve. I may have been born a rather pathetic lightning sorcerer. But it makes for a pretty party trick.” He flicked his hair over his shoulders before once again lifting his hands and creating his sparkles.

  From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the dragon warrior, who watched Elias and his sparkles. Elias’s breath caught.

  Does he know? Can he feel that this same magic was the one that struck him down?

  Elias let the sparkles stop and met Prince Gerard’s gaze.

  Of course not. He had no idea it was me. How could he?

  His fingers spasmed as if wanting to show off his power once again. But this time he wanted to reveal his true power to the dragon warrior.

  Elias looked away. What a foolish urge! Still, he found himself turning towards Prince Gerard and taking a step, letting the strange pull he felt guide him. Elias wanted to learn more about the dragon warrior.

  And Elias was not betrothed yet. He could flirt a bit. Perhaps they could find somewhere quiet to get to know each other better. He took another step towards the man.

  “Well, it is our wedding day,” Prince Luther said, voice raised. He had his hand in the crook of Warden Onyx’s arm.

  Everyone turned towards the prince. Warden Onyx stood beside him, face stony and blank.

  “And since the night draws ever later, I think it best that my new husband and I retreat to our rooms whilst we still have energy.” Prince Luther winked. “After all, we still need to seal this marriage.”

  Warden Onyx’s face did not change. He did not appear to be a man looking forward to consummating his marriage.

  Laughter, clapping, and cheering broke out. Prince Luther and Warden Onyx strode away. Prince Luther threw a smile over his shoulder. He gave a little wave as the two left.

  Elias huffed. He really did not know what was going on with the two of them. But thankfully that continued to be none of his concern.