Chapter 30
Nothing happened when Nuri arrived at the mansion. Falc had stuck with the story that Silver was missing, and even though Nuri had sat down for dinner on his own, aiming to lure Silver out, the Emperor had remained absent.
Nuri had collected as many things as he could fit into a single suitcase, telling Falc he was going to be spending time at his apartment, and had walked out just as easily as he had the night before.
The butler tried to pry out more information, but gave up when Nuri refused to answer any of his questions.
That’d been four days ago, and aside from Falc’s messages, Nuri had been left alone.
He continued to go to work, telling himself he’d send the email announcing his departure each and every time, only to get distracted by everything piling up thanks to the CEO’s absence.
Silver didn’t come in, and no one could get ahold of him, which left Nuri picking up the slack, dealing with backed up departments and frazzled workers.
Since he’d always been read in to everything pertaining to the company, he was able to fill in the blanks Silver left behind, but that also meant Nuri was left doing two high stress jobs instead of the one.
By the fifth day, he was close to giving up and storming the mansion to demand Falc get Silver to end this charade.
He knew what this was. Silver was following his order to let him go in the most passive aggressive way possible, by refusing to show himself and forcing Nuri to realize how hard things could be on his own.
The joke was on him though, because all this was doing was proving all the reasons it was in Nuri’s best interests to sever this toxic bond between them.
But if he happened to also miss him, especially at night when he found himself lying awake, in his empty bed, the quiet of the room impossible to ignore, so what?
He’d get over it.
Ten years not being parted from the man for longer than a few days would of course cause him to develop a codependency.
Nuri was standing outside HQ, holding his multi-slate with Falc’s number already pulled up, deliberating, when the device started to ring.
“Royal Secretary,” Eli greeted when the call was connected, “we have a situation at the palace and request your aid.”
“What situation?” Nuri headed for his car. The Imperial Guard might follow Silver’s orders, but Eli was an honorable individual, if he said there was a problem, there really was one.
“We’ve been unable to reach the Emperor,” Eli said, “and today is the handoff of traitor Romeo Brixton. He’s all set for transfer off planet, but law dictates that it must be overseen by the regent.”
Since Silver was M.I.A, that meant Nuri was the next best thing. He’d long since gotten leave to act as his stand-in for things like this.
But…
“When was the last time you spoke with him?” The Imperial Guard also acted as a protective detail for the emperor.
Even when he went to work, a car followed discreetly behind, there to step in and defend him at the first sign of trouble.
He didn’t allow them to tag along everywhere, but it couldn’t have been too long since—
“We’ve been out of touch for almost a week,” Eli sounded displeased. “It’s been a long time since he’s last pulled a stunt like this. Not since in college when the two of you snuck off to Mab.”
Eli was only five or so years older than them and had just joined the detail when that event had happened.
Silver had woken Nuri before the sun, ordering him to follow without question. It hadn’t been until they’d boarded a yacht that he’d finally revealed his plans to retreat to the hot springs for a break after the grueling week of exams they’d experienced.
He’d had a packed schedule with the press, wherein he was meant to express his interest in one day taking the throne from his father.
It was supposed to help renew the people’s faith in him as the heir, but Silver had waved Nuri’s concerns away when he’d brought it up, calling it tedious and pointless since he’d get the crown no matter what the public thought of him.
Sij Rein had been furious, and Nuri’s pay had been docked for allowing the prince to indulge in something so childish.
Silver had dutifully attended everything his father scheduled for him from then on, and they hadn’t disappeared like that again.
Until apparently now.
“I urge you to convince him to return,” Eli was still talking, but Nuri wasn’t listening nearly as intently as he had been before.
He started his hovercar and sped out onto the main road, only staying on it for a minute or so before switching to side streets that would help cut down the time it would take to reach the palace.
“I’m on my way,” he told Eli. “ETA eleven minutes.”
Where the hell could Silver be?
The hot springs?
If he thought this was a way to trick Nuri into traveling all the way to Mab to retrieve him…Didn’t that seem like a lot, even for Silver?
Nuri ended the call with Eli and immediately dialed Falc. “Have you heard from him?”
“Not yet, Master Narek. I fear—”
“Be very honest with me, Falc, I mean it,” he cut him off. “Is this some ploy of his? If you’re helping him—”
“I assure you,” Falc stated, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. “He’s really missing?”
“I swear on my honor, Master Narek.”
“I’ll be home in a few hours.”
“Understood.”
Nuri didn’t. He didn’t understand any of this anymore.
What was Silver really up to?
He wasn’t…hurt, right?
No, he couldn’t be.
This was all an act. He’d left Falc and Eli out of it, sure, but that didn’t mean it was anything other than another carefully constructed rouse to get Nuri right where he wanted him.
One of the Imperial Guard were waiting by his parking spot when he arrived at the palace, and he followed him into the building out a side exit, to a path that led to an attached area with a helipad.
Eli was waiting there with several others, including the Minister of Justice and a handcuffed Romeo Brixton.
“I need a word once this is done,” Nuri said as he quickly made his way up the steps to the platform, making a beeline for Eli.
“Is it about the Emperor? He can’t stay away for much longer, there are several galactic missives waiting for his approval,” Eli told him. “You need to convince him—”
“I don’t know where he is.” Nuri meant to keep that between them and discuss it once this was through, but he was starting to get anxious, and the confession burst out of him before he could hold it back.
Eli froze. “Pardon?”
Romeo’s sharp laughter sliced through the already tense atmosphere, and they both turned to him.
Nuri stepped closer, noting the bruises peppered across the man’s face, and the way he was favoring one leg.
He’d been kept in a high security prison all this time, awaiting a proper trial, which had finally taken place two days ago.
Fortunately, neither Silver nor Nuri had needed to be in attendance for that, and the verdict had been clear.
Romeo was banished from Ignite and stripped of his Imperial title.
The helicopter was going to take him to the nearest shuttle station, where he’d board a spaceship.
Since Eli and the Minister of Justice were present, Nuri wouldn’t need to go with them all the way, but it was still required of him to physically see the prisoner loaded onto the helicopter.
“Do you know something about this?” Eli demanded, glaring at Romeo, but that only caused the man to laugh more.
“Not at all,” Romeo replied once he’d gotten a hold of himself, staring at Nuri all the while, “but I’m not surprised he’s vanished.”
“Speak,” Nuri ordered curtly.
“If you have any part in—” Eli began, only to be interrupted.
“I’m guessing he confronted you and you denied everything.” Romeo grinned at Nuri. Gone was any hint of the sweet guy he’d pretended to be all of these years.
“You made it all up,” Nuri reminded. “Of course I denied it.”
“We used to be close when we were children, did you know? Until one day, when I got tired of doing everything he told me to do, and I stood up for myself. As soon as my cousin realized he could no longer control me, his demeanor toward me completely changed. It was like I was suddenly invisible.”
“I fail to see what this has to do with me.”
“Nuri. You can tell me. The two of you had a fight, didn’t you? You stood up to him and he didn’t like it.”
“Take him away,” he ordered the guards. He didn’t owe Romeo an explanation, so there was no point correcting him. Especially since, while he may have gotten the order of events wrong, he wasn’t entirely off the mark.
They hadn’t fought about Romeo or the lies he’d spun, but Silver and Nuri had fought.
“Come with me,” Romeo asked, fighting against the men trying to drag him toward the helicopter.
“To what end?” He lifted a brow. “You were only trying to drive a wrench between his majesty and myself. There’s no need for us to pretend to be friends.”
“I wanted to use you to hurt him, I admit it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t really have feelings for you.”
Nuri scoffed. “Goodbye, Mr. Brixton.”
“You’ll see!” Romeo called out as he was overpowered. “You’re no longer fun to play with, so you’ve been tossed aside!”
“Don’t listen to him, sir,” Eli urged, hands tightening into fists at his sides as his group boarded the copter.
“There’s got to be a good reason the Emperor has gone dark.
I’ll send out a search party immediately.
We’ll find him. Don’t worry. But…Forgive me for being blunt, but if the two of you did have a disagreement, please try and make up with him.
You’re the only one he even remotely listens to, and now that he’s upset his aunt, things are going to get complicated for the palace. ”
“You should go.” There was no point in discussing this now, especially when Nuri’s migraine was throbbing and his confusion was already heightened. “Make sure that asshole gets on the ship.”
“With pleasure, Royal Secretary.”