9. Rowan
I didn't expect palace work to be this... quiet.
Not peaceful.
Not calm.
Just quiet in that suffocating, polished, everything-is-watched kind of way.
Every step echoed.
Every glance meant something.
Every servant moved like they were part of some invisible choreography I didn't understand.
And in the middle of all of it...
Him.
Prince Caelum.
Walking like the world had already bent itself around him.
I followed three steps behind, just like I'd been instructed. Close enough to intervene. Far enough to stay out of his space.
Professional.
Silent.
Invisible.
That was the job.
And I was good at it.
Didn't mean I liked it.
He didn't speak to me.
Not once.
Not since that corridor.
Not since I caught him.
Not since our wrists lit up like some kind of cosmic joke I couldn't laugh at.
And I told myself that was a good thing.
Less talking meant less thinking.
Less thinking meant less...
I clenched my jaw.
Yeah. That wasn't working.
Because even in silence, he was there.
Every step.
Every shift.
Every time he paused to speak to someone, I noticed the way people straightened around him. The way they listened. The way he didn't have to raise his voice to be heard.
Arrogant.
That's what it was.
Had to be.
The way he carried himself, like everything was already decided, like he didn't need to question anything, like...
Like he didn't care.
About the bond.
About me.
About anything outside whatever perfect, controlled world he lived in.
I exhaled slowly through my nose.
"Of course you don't care," I muttered under my breath.
Because why would he?
He was a prince.
He had everything.
Power. Status. A whole future lined up neatly in front of him.
And me?
I was just the guy hired to keep him alive.
Nothing more.
Nothing.
My thoughts cut off sharply as he stopped walking.
I halted immediately behind him, scanning the area out of instinct before realising he'd only paused because some advisor had stepped into his path.
They started talking.
Low voices.
Formal.
Boring.
I shifted my weight slightly, letting my gaze move across the corridor.
Routine.
Stay alert.
Don't think.
Don't.
"...Princess Aethylla will be arriving within the week."
The name hit me before I could stop it.
My attention snapped back.
Caelum didn't react much.
Of course he didn't.
Just a slight nod.
Controlled.
Calm.
Like it didn't matter.
Like it was expected.
"She'll want to finalise arrangements before the coronation," the advisor continued.
"Of course," Caelum replied.
Of course.
Something in my chest tightened.
Hard.
I looked away immediately, jaw clenching.
Doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter.
Why would it matter?
It shouldn't.
It didn't.
So why.
The image hit anyway.
Uninvited.
Him standing next to someone else.
Someone he was supposed to be with.
Someone who fit into his world in a way I never would.
Someone...
I swallowed hard.
My skin crawled.
Actually crawled.
Like something under it was reacting before I could shut it down.
"Get a grip," I muttered under my breath.
This wasn't my business.
It had nothing to do with me.
The bond didn't change that.
Didn't mean anything.
Didn't...
I exhaled sharply.
Yeah. Keep telling yourself that.
The rest of the morning went the same way.
Walking.
Standing.
Watching.
Silent.
Always silent.
He didn't acknowledge me.
Not really.
Not beyond the occasional glance that lasted a second too long.
Like he was checking something.
Measuring something.
Or maybe I was imagining it.
Wouldn't be the first time today.
By the time we reached another long hallway, this one quieter, less crowded, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.
I ignored it at first.
Work.
Focus.
But it buzzed again.
And again.
I frowned slightly.
That wasn't normal.
Carefully, I stepped back just enough to create distance without losing sight of Caelum. He was speaking to someone again, distracted.
Good.
I slipped my phone out quickly, checking the screen.
Kai.
Of course.
I hesitated for half a second before answering, turning slightly so my voice wouldn't carry.
"What?" I said quietly.
"Bro, where the hell are you?"
I blinked
.
"Working."
"You didn't show up last night."
Oh.
Right.
The club.
The stage.
The life I'd basically just... walked away from without thinking.
"I got a new job," I said.
There was a pause.
Then...
"A job? What kind of job makes you ghost me like that?"
I glanced up instinctively.
Caelum was still talking.
Still composed.
Still completely unaware of the chaos sitting two steps behind him.
"A weird one," I muttered.
Kai snorted. "That's not an answer."
I exhaled slowly.
"You're not gonna believe me anyway."
"Try me."
Another glance at Caelum.
Another pause.
Then...
"I'm working for the royal palace."
Silence.
Dead silence.
Then...
"You're joking."
"I'm not."
Another pause.
Then a loud laugh.
"Yeah, okay. Sure. And I'm the king."
"I'm serious."
"...Wait."
I could practically hear the shift in his tone.
"You're serious?"
"Yeah."
"How?"
I rubbed the back of my neck.
"Long story."
"I've got time."
I hesitated again.
Because saying it out loud made it real.
More real than I wanted.
But Kai...
Kai had always been there.
Through the racing.
Through the club.
Through everything.
If there was anyone I could say this to...
"...I met him at the ball," I said quietly.
"The prince?"
"Yeah."
"And?"
"And something happened."
"What kind of something?"
I swallowed.
My eyes flicked up again.
Caelum turned slightly.
For a second, it felt like he was looking at me.
I looked away immediately.
"Rowan?" Kai pressed.
I exhaled.
"Our wrists glowed."
Silence.
Then...
"What?"
"Yeah."
"What do you mean glowed?"
"Like... pink. Bright. Both of us."
Another pause.
"...Bro, that sounds like some soulmate fantasy crap."
"Yeah," I muttered. "Tell me about it."
"You're messing with me."
"I wish I was."
Kai went quiet for a second.
Processing.
Then...
"...Wait. So you're telling me you're magically bonded to a prince?"
"Apparently."
"And you just... accepted a job to be around him?"
"I didn't know what it meant at the time."
"And now?"
I looked down at my wrist.
It wasn't glowing.
But I could still feel it.
Like it was waiting.
"Now I know," I said.
"And?"
I huffed out a laugh.
A real one this time.
Because the whole thing sounded insane when I said it out loud.
"I'm trying to ignore it."
Kai laughed too.
Loud.
Unfiltered.
"Of course you are."
"Shut up."
"You? Ignoring a magical soulmate bond with a literal prince?" he continued, still laughing. "Yeah, that's gonna work out great."
"Better than dealing with it," I shot back.
"Is it though?"
"Yes."
"No."
I rolled my eyes slightly.
"You're not helping."
"I'm not trying to help," he said. "I'm trying to understand how your life turned into a fantasy novel overnight."
I snorted.
"Trust me, I'm still trying to figure that out too."
Another pause.
Then, softer...
"You okay though?"
The question caught me off guard.
I hesitated.
Because I didn't know how to answer that.
Because "okay" wasn't really the word I'd use.
"I'm fine," I said anyway.
Kai didn't sound convinced
.
"Yeah, you sound great."
"I am."
"You're lying."
"Maybe a little."
He sighed.
"Well, at least you're alive. That's something."
"Yeah."
"And you're working for a prince."
"Yeah."
"And you're magically bonded to him."
"...Yeah."
Kai let out a low whistle.
"Man, your life is insane."
I huffed out another laugh.
"Tell me about it."
"Just don't fall in love with him, okay?"
I froze.
The words hit harder than they should have.
"I'm not," I said quickly.
"Good."
"I'm not gay."
"Yeah, yeah," Kai said, clearly not taking that too seriously. "Whatever you say."
"I mean it."
"Sure you do."
I frowned.
"I do."
"Relax," he said. "I'm not judging. I'm just saying-maybe don't ignore something that literally lights up when you touch the guy."
I exhaled sharply.
"I'm hanging up."
"Alright, alright," he laughed. "Text me later. And don't disappear again."
"I won't."
"Good. Stay alive, bodyguard."
I smirked slightly.
"Shut up."
Then I ended the call.
When I looked up again...
Caelum was already moving.
Of course he was.
Like nothing stopped.
Like nothing paused.
Like everything kept going exactly the way it was supposed to.
I slipped my phone back into my pocket and fell into step behind him again.
Three steps.
Silent.
Professional.
Like none of that conversation just happened.
Like my life hadn't completely flipped overnight.
Like I wasn't standing here watching the guy I was apparently fated to.
I cut the thought off.
Hard.
No.
Not going there.
Not thinking about it.
Not dealing with it.
Just doing my job.
That's it.
That's all.
Except...
As he walked ahead of me, posture straight, expression unreadable,
That tight feeling in my chest came back.
Uninvited.
Unwanted.
Because all I could think about was what the advisor said earlier.
Princess Aethylla.
Marriage.
Coronation.
A future that didn't include me.
And shouldn't.
That was the part that mattered.
Shouldn't.
So why did it feel like something under my skin was rejecting the idea completely?
Why did it feel like...
Like it was wrong?
I clenched my jaw.
"I don't care," I muttered under my breath.
But my grip tightened slightly at my sides.
And no matter how much I tried to ignore it...
The thought stayed.
Persistent.
Uncomfortable.
Impossible to shake.
My mate.
Marrying someone else.
Yeah.
That didn't sit right.
Not even a little.