5. Rowan
The moment I stepped through the door after the ball, it still didn't feel like I'd actually left it.
My body was here, technically. My keys were in my hand, my jacket still smelled like too many expensive perfumes I couldn't afford, and my shoes were scuffed from walking places I didn't belong.
But my mind?
Still stuck under those chandeliers.
Still stuck on him.
Prince Caelum.
And that glow.
That stupid, impossible pink light under my sleeve when our wrists reacted like the world had just rewritten itself without asking permission first.
Fated mates.
I almost laughed just thinking about it again.
Because it sounded like something people in palaces believed in to make their lives feel less empty.
Not something that should've touched me.
Not someone like me.
I shut the door behind me as quietly as I could.
The apartment was dark except for the glow of the streetlights bleeding through the curtains. Too quiet in a way that made my thoughts louder than they already were.
Luna wasn't here.
Right.
College.
That part still didn't fully settle in my head sometimes.
She was older now, technically independent in ways we'd both fought for, even if she still came home most nights when she didn't have late lectures or group work.
She was building something.
A life I was supposed to be making easier for her.
Not harder.
I dropped my keys into the bowl and leaned against the door for a second, letting my head fall back.
My wrist still tingled.
Not glowing anymore.
But remembering.
Like it didn't care that I was trying to forget.
"Get it together," I muttered under my breath.
But I wasn't talking to the room.
I was talking to the part of me that kept replaying his face.
Blond hair catching light like it belonged in a painting.
Blue eyes that looked at me,
And then didn't.
I pushed off the door and walked inside.
The apartment felt too big without Luna's things scattered around. Her mug still sat in the sink from yesterday morning. Her laptop charger was plugged into the wall. Evidence of her being here, even when she wasn't.
It made everything feel less empty.
And more lonely.
I was halfway to the kitchen when the TV caught my attention.
Still on.
Some morning broadcast running in the background like noise was better than silence.
I should've turned it off.
I didn't.
Because then I saw him again.
Caelum.
On screen.
Perfect posture.
Controlled expression.
Cameras flashing like he was the only thing worth looking at in the entire country.
"The Crown Prince continues his official duties following last night's Crescent Ball event..."
My jaw tightened instantly.
Of course they were still calling it that.
Event.
Like it was just some fancy night out instead of...
Instead of what it actually was.
My wrist burned faintly at the memory, and I flexed my hand without thinking.
Pink light.
His face shifting for half a second.
Recognition.
And then nothing.
Like I'd imagined the entire thing.
"Yeah," I muttered bitterly, reaching for the remote. "Of course you're fine."
I shut it off harder than necessary.
Silence rushed in immediately after.
Worse than the noise.
Because now there was nothing to distract me from thinking.
And thinking was dangerous.
I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to move again.
Coffee.
Shower.
Work.
Normal things.
Things that made sense.
Things that didn't include destiny or glowing wrists or princes who looked at you like you didn't exist and then somehow took up space in your entire head anyway.
But even as I tried to ground myself, my thoughts kept slipping back.
The ballroom.
The tray in my hands.
The moment everything stopped.
And him.
Always him.
I dragged a hand through my hair and laughed once under my breath.
"This is ridiculous."
Except it wasn't stopping.
By the time I was done showering, I felt slightly more human.
Not fixed.
Just contained.
Like I'd shoved everything uncomfortable into a box and closed the lid hard enough for it to rattle but not break open.
I got dressed without thinking too much about it. Black shirt. Dark jacket. Clothes that made me invisible in daylight and noticeable in the right kind of darkness.
The kind I worked in.
The kind I survived in.
I grabbed my keys again.
Paused.
Looked around the apartment.
Luna's room door was closed.
She'd probably text me later between lectures.
"Work," I reminded myself quietly.
That's what I did.
That's what mattered.
Not princes.
Not destiny.
Just money.
Just survival.
The city outside was already awake in that loud, impatient way it always was. Cars moving too fast. People moving too slow. Everything pretending it had somewhere important to be.
I didn't take the usual route.
I ended up riding instead.
Bike waiting like it always did when I needed something faster than my thoughts.
The engine roared alive beneath me, and for a few seconds, that was enough to drown everything out.
Wind.
Speed.
Motion.
No thinking.
Just movement.
But even that didn't last.
Because my brain didn't know how to shut him out.
Blond hair.
Ocean eyes.
That moment.
That pause.
"Stop it," I snapped under my breath, leaning into a turn harder than I needed to. "It meant nothing. He made it mean nothing."
But my wrist tingled again.
Like it disagreed.
Like it remembered something my mouth refused to say out loud.
Fated.
I laughed sharply.
"Yeah. Sure."
I rode until the noise in my head dulled into something manageable.
Not gone.
Just quieter.
When I got back later, the sun had shifted lower, stretching shadows across the building like tired hands.
I killed the engine and pulled off my helmet, exhaling slowly.
"Just another day," I muttered.
That's when I felt it.
Wrong.
The air inside the apartment wasn't empty.
I knew before I even opened the door.
My hand tightened around the handle.
"...Luna?" I called out.
No answer.
Then voices.
Male.
Controlled.
My stomach dropped instantly.
I pushed the door open.
And everything stopped.
Luna was sitting on the couch.
Fully dressed.
Back from college earlier than usual.
Hands folded in her lap like she was trying very hard not to move.
And next to her,
A royal guard.
Uniform.
Crest.
Arrogance.
Stillness that didn't belong in our living room.
My body reacted before my mind did.
I stepped forward immediately, positioning myself between him and her.
"What the hell is this?" I demanded.
Luna looked up at me like she'd been holding her breath.
"Rowan, "
"Stay behind me," I said quickly, not looking away from the guard.
The man didn't flinch.
Didn't even look threatened.
That alone pissed me off more than anything.
"I'm here for you," he said calmly.
I let out a short, humourless laugh. "Yeah? You broke into my home for that?"
"We knocked."
"That doesn't make it better."
He ignored that.
Classic.
"I have a proposal from the Crown."
My jaw tightened.
Of course he did.
Because nothing in my life could just be normal.
The guard reached into his coat and pulled out a sealed document.
Official.
Stamped.
Royal seal.
My stomach sank a little further.
No.
No, no...
I already knew before he said it.
"You were present at the Crescent Ball last night."
My pulse kicked.
Luna shifted slightly behind me.
"I was working," I said flatly.
"Yes," he replied. "And you made contact with Prince Caelum Aurelius."
The name hit like a strike.
My throat tightened.
Behind me, Luna made a small, confused sound.
I didn't turn.
Because I couldn't afford to.
"Whatever you think you saw," I started.
"It was verified."
Silence.
Heavy.
Pressing.
My wrist burned faintly again, like it was mocking me.
The guard stepped forward just slightly.
"You are being offered a position."
I didn't respond.
Because I already knew I wasn't going to like it.
"Bodyguard assignment," he said.
That was when I actually laughed.
Once.
Sharp.
Unbelieving.
"You've got the wrong guy."
"No."
The certainty in his voice made my stomach twist.
"You're offering me a job?" I repeated slowly.
"Yes."
"For who?"
His pause was deliberate.
"Prince Caelum."
Everything inside me went still.
For a second, I couldn't even breathe properly.
Not anger.
Not confusion.
Just... disbelief.
Of all things.
Of all outcomes.
Of all ways this could've gone,
That one.
I shook my head once. "Absolutely not."
The guard didn't react.
"Compensation is significant."
"I don't care."
"Five thousand five hundred per week."
That stopped me.
Not because it was tempting.
Because it was insane.
Luna's breath caught behind me.
I felt it more than I heard it.
My hands tightened slightly.
No.
I couldn't think about that.
Not like that.
The guard slid the document forward.
"You are already marked."
The words landed too heavy.
My wrist tingled again.
I hated that it reacted before I did.
I hated that part of me even considered listening.
I looked at Luna.
At my responsibility.
At everything I was barely holding together.
Then back at the guard.
My voice came out quieter than I wanted.
"I want to see him."
A pause.
Then...
"Request acknowledged."