Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
It took a few days for Sebastian’s mood to improve after his experience in Craterra. We still hadn't discussed our almost kiss. I wanted to, but it likely only happened because emotions were high. At least that was the bullshit excuse I kept telling myself.
Sebastian met me at my room at a little after seven, and we made our way to the castle for our wielding session.
We decided on the archives tonight which pleased me.
I wanted to study the book on Blythe again.
With everything going on, I had forgotten about trying to discover why I was given my constellastones in the first place.
Although considering the fact that I could barely wield without knocking myself out, I was leaning towards the idea that Blythe just made a really big mistake.
We stepped into the cylindrical room, the shelves lined of manuscripts ranging from fables to bibles.
The bookkeepers dimmed the lights in the evening, adding an alluring ambiance to the space.
I inhaled the smell of dusty parchment and snickered to myself as I remembered the joke I made when I was here with Pia.
Sebastian gave me a sideways glance. “What's so funny?”
I waved him off. “Nothing.”
“It's clearly not nothing.”
“I can't repeat it in front of you.” I sucked my lips in to prevent my laughter from breaking free.
“Why not?” he asked as we ventured further into the library.
“It's just a dumb joke.”
“I like jokes,” he replied, starting his ascent up the stairs.
“Do you like jokes that are at your own expense?”
Sebastian chuckled softly, and we climbed to the top floor. The entire room was empty besides us, making for the perfect aid in avoiding being caught.
“You seem to be in a better mood,” I pointed out.
“Turns out pity parties do actually help.” He huffed a laugh.
Sebastian chose a set of chairs stationed in front of a large window, the glass creating one of the only gaps in the bookshelf. He sat down in one of the seats, but I wandered towards the view, flattening my palm against the cool glass as my eyes journeyed outside.
I could see everything for at least a mile away.
The waves of the ocean crashed along the shore, starlight glimmering on top of the water.
The dormitory was so clear that I could tell which rooms were occupied by the windows that emitted light.
In the forest on my other side, trees danced in the wind, a parade of greenery that flowed all the way to the academy.
The heat of my breath created a film of fog on the glass as I sighed. Delani would have adored this view. I wondered what she’d been doing while I was gone. My mother probably tried to rope her into taking my position at the village's archives, but she would never accept.
Sebastian, suddenly, was awfully close, and my body was well aware of it. I sensed his presence before even turning around.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” his voice whispered near my ear.
I nodded, looking back towards the sea, red from the remnants of the setting sun. “It is. Deceiving, though. The kingdom looks so breathtaking from this height that it almost tricks you into believing its innocence, that there’s not a ton of bullshit going on behind closed doors.”
“From my experience, beauty is almost never accompanied by innocence.”
His breath warmed the back of my neck, and my skin pricked up from his words cascading down my spine. He had no idea the effect he had on me by simply speaking.
“Where did you learn that? One of your dirty books?” I teased, toying with the hem of my shirt.
“How did you know?”
I shot my head around and he flashed me a tantalizing wink. “I can joke, too.” He chuckled.
“Very funny.” I rolled my eyes. “But really—where did you learn something so wise?”
His torso moved in a half-shrug. “Beauty is never just how it appears at first glance. Everything that is beautiful has a secret. Something that balances it. The sky has its storms. The sea has its waves. You have an attitude.” His lips tipped into a smile before he turned suddenly and returned to his chair.
My heart battered against my ribs.
Did he just call me beautiful? He also said I have an attitude, but I guess that proves his point.
Flustered and needing a distraction to prevent myself from doing something stupid, I took off through the archives, making straight for the section I required.
Scanning the shelves, I found the book with ease, right where I’d left it.
Having likely been the last person to hold it, a film of dust had accumulated on the cover.
I blew it off, then flipped through the pages while I meandered back to where I’d left Sebastian.
I threw myself into the chair beside him and unlaced my boots, wiggling them off my feet and letting them drop to the floor beside my chair.
“Comfortable?” he asked from my left.
“We’re gonna be here a while, so might as well be.” I pulled my legs up so that my whole body was in the chair and settled the book on my lap.
Sebastian cleared his throat as he removed his own book from his rucksack, the cover of it showing an illustration of a crown. All of a sudden, something dawned on me.
“Oh my gods,” I said, completely and utterly dumbfounded.
He raised an eyebrow and adjusted himself to face me more head on. “What?”
I gawked blankly at him, not saying anything more and heartbeats passed.
“What?” he asked again.
“You're a prince,” I stated.
“Yeah? And?”
“I just realized it.”
Sebastian’s lips curved up into a smile, the first true one that I'd seen from him in days. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“Well, I didn't just realize it. Your father is the king, so obviously you're the prince. But it's not something I really ever think about—no one ever refers to you in that way.”
“That's because I’ve asked them not to.”
“Why? Sebastian Hawthorne, Crown Prince of Caelestis, has a nice ring to it.”
“I don’t use the title because I have no intention of following in my father’s footsteps,” he said seriously.
“Well I’d sure hope not. He's a royal fucking jackass.”
My comment broke Sebastian. He released the most heartfelt laugh I had ever heard from him. “I would pay anything to hear you say that to his face.”
“I’ll do it for free,” I scoffed, turning more in my chair. “Why not, though? Isn't it every man's dream to have all of this?” I gestured vaguely with my arms.
He shrugged. “For most maybe, but I want a simple life. I don't need any of this. I don't want to rule a kingdom that has ruled me my entire life.”
Understandable. His father hadn't set the best example.
“Plus, politics really aren't my forte.”
That, I agreed with. “Mine, either. I don’t quite understand it all, if I’m being honest. I’ve never stepped foot outside of Caelestis, and why?
Because it would be considered treason? Seems stupid to me.
I hardly think traveling across the continent should be considered trying to overthrow our government. ”
“You’re safer in our borders, anyway.”
“Who's to say it's not safer elsewhere? Like Mealioria?
“I’ve been to Mealioria. Trust me, you have it better here. There's no beaches in Mealioria.”
“How have you been there?”
“Long story.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Oh, whatever. All I’m saying is, if I were queen, things would be different around here.”
“How so?”
“Well, for starters, I wouldn't hold the gifted on the castle grounds with a tall, mysterious guard watching their every move.”
“You forgot charming,” Sebastian pointed out with a grin. “What’s your next order of business, Queen Willawood?”
I tapped a finger to my chin. “I would secure the eastern territory and safeguard it from harm. Keep the land free of mortals and allow it to just exist as nature wishes.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice.”
“It would. I also would scratch this whole kingdom bullshit and just rule the entire Prilarean empire alongside my sister. Maybe a man, too, should I find one worth keeping around.”
Sebastian snorted a chuckle. “I know I said politics aren't my forte, but they certainly aren't yours.”
“Why not?” I raised my brow. “It sounds like a solid plan to me.”
“How would you execute it? How would you get all of the kingdoms to follow you? What would you say or do to prove to their citizens that they should trust you with their lives? And what would you do about an army if not enough citizens volunteered willingly?”
I sucked my lip under my teeth. “I haven't gotten that far yet. Tell me, though, why is the crown prince also one of the king's head soldiers? Your father wouldn't bend the rules for his son?”
“That was somewhat of a compromise for my refusal to take on most of my royal duties, but also I chose to be a soldier.”
“Why?”
Sebastian looked me dead in the eyes. “Revenge, I suppose. Justice.”
For his mother, no doubt.
Tapping a finger to my chin, another question struck me. “Do you have a crown?”
“I do.”
Hot.
“Can I see it?”
“Next time you inevitably find yourself in the soldiers' housing without permission, sure.”
“Can I try it on?”
“You are full of questions tonight.” Sebastian laughed.
“Questions and hypotheticals are my forte. Get used to it. So can I?”
He smiled. “Sure.”
Can I wear it alongside nothing else while you throw me down on your bed and—
Oh gods, Maeve, stop.
“I must say, I quite like that the first thing that comes to mind when you see me isn't that I’m the prince.”
“You may wish otherwise if you knew what really came to my mind,” I shot back.
“Is it that I'm the most handsome and talented soldier you have ever laid eyes upon?” he asked with a teasing smirk.
Yes.
“No,” I lied. “It's that you’re the strange man who reads erotic novels outside of my bedchambers every morning.”
Another laugh burst free from Sebastian as I jumped out of my chair, tossed my book to the side and dropped down on one knee in front of him. “I am at your service, Your Highness,” I said with a bow of my head.