36. Ameriden
Ameriden
Prince Navin had known when he was five years old that he would be sent to the Consort Trials.
His tutor had told him; no fuss, no grand reveal, just a simple fact.
At first, he hadn’t known what it had meant, only that he was to train his body, mind, and spirit in order to be worthy of being chosen by his future bride.
It wasn’t until Prince Navin had started speaking to noble children—similar to him in age—that he truly realized what it meant.
Even as a child, he knew the trials sounded outdated, even though they were so ingrained in hanfen culture.
Nobody had asked him, but he was expected to be a mighty warrior, a fierce intellect, and a heart worth loving by the time he was of age.
Prince Navin didn’t like that, so he carefully planned his escape.
It had been a miracle that he had pulled it off, and even more so when he realized none of the diviners could find him.
A boon Prince Navin had earned when he prayed to the Water Mother at night, praying that she would bestow him her dark shadows so that his people could never find him through scrying.
When his family didn’t come and Prince Navin had become Ameriden Perzar, he thought the boon had been gifted and that had been that.
Except, now he was sitting in a private chamber in the king’s castle, seated between the man and woman he loved while the woman who had become something like a sister to him chewed his ear off.
I forgot how angry Seira can get, he thought.
“You’re so fucking lucky Casimine had the right mind to use that spell—a spell that’s really fucking taboo by the way, not to mention difficult to do! Don’t think I don’t know my bard spells just because I don’t do magic!” Seira ranted, gesturing toward Casi.
Ameriden knew the spell had taken a lot out of Casimine.
They had shared the same damn class and he’d been there, right next to Casi when their professor had gone over the mechanics of the spell.
Knew how often it was stressed that the spell was only to be used in emergencies and any unregulated use of the spell were grounds for most authoritative governments to arrest a bard on sight.
The hallowed pallor of Casimine’s face was the biggest indicator of it all.
It wasn’t just the amount of energy Casimine had put into that spell, but how much it left Casimine weak in the aftermath.
He looked exhausted, though Ameriden knew a part of that was because of him.
Because Ameriden couldn’t just be brave and tell Casimine—or anyone—his biggest secret.
“It was an emergency,” Casimine murmured into the palm of his hand where he rested his chin. His eyes were struggling to stay open, but when they were, his gaze was fixed on Ameriden.
“Exactly!” Seira crowed. “An emergency we wouldn’t have been in if you had just told us who you really were, you big sack of rotten potatoes!”
Ameriden knew better than to argue when Seira got into one of her tirades, but even if he did protest, he’d only be repeating the same story he told Casimine.
Which wasn’t a story as Ameriden genuinely thought that Casimine’s dream was worth the risk of eventually being recognized and taken back to the Pernimas Dynasty…
he just hoped when the day happened, he would have been more prepared.
Unexpectedly, it was Tala who came to his rescue.
“To be fair, Seira, I was the one responsible for the ring. If anything, all this happened because I didn’t secure it better.”
“While I appreciate your honesty, Tala, based on what you told us, you were doing the right thing,” Seira said. “You kept this bastard from touching the ring and I even vouched for you with that Kerith guy.”
“And we’re both happy to speak on your behalf if the Valiant Circle aren’t pleased with what happened tonight,” Casimine offered. “I think that’s the least we owe you given you had to fight an invading army.”
Ameriden pouted. “It wasn’t an army, it was just a search and rescue mission—”
“It doesn’t matter what it was, the fact of the matter is they came here for you!” Seira exclaimed. “You are gods damned lucky Tala’s people were here to mediate between the two of them. Could you imagine if this had broken out into a full out battle? The last thing anyone needs is a war.”
“Ugh, I know,” Ameriden sighed.
He dropped his head back onto the chair he was sinking into.
Frustration and remorse—those were emotions he didn’t like, but knew part of making up for his mistake was to properly sit in it.
Still, there was nothing worse than knowing he disappointed the people he cared most about and given that those people could fit all on one hand hit Ameriden even harder.
“Do you?” Seira asked, leaning toward Ameriden’s upturned face, brows furrowed. “Because by the time we were able to move y’all into this chamber, some of those guests out there were whispering about how you were some kind of spy.”
“Pfft, him?” Tala gestured to Ameriden with her thumb. “Please, this guy doesn’t think five seconds ahead.”
“It’s true,” Casimine mumbled.
“I—” Ameriden cut himself off.
This is part of it, just let the people you love chew you out a little more and you’re going to let them.
“Oh, I know that,” Seira agreed. “But they don’t know that. And honestly? If the king’s captain comes through that door and announces we’re all going to jail, I wouldn’t blame him one bit. This endangered the princess, Ameriden. What were you thinking throwing the first punch?”
Fuck, he knew that, too. Punching his father’s emissary had been the wrong move—Ameriden knew that, he really did, but he hadn’t been thinking of the consequences of it in the moment.
The second he had heard his birth name, something in Ameriden had truly panicked and before he knew it, he let his fist fly.
It had been damn near instinctual, the urge to fight and escape.
But once he made that move, Ameriden realized he couldn’t just slip into the night.
Not with Casimine, Seira, and Tala still there.
The princess had been an after thought if he were honest with himself.
“I wasn’t. I wasn’t thinking,” Ameriden admitted.
“No, you weren’t.”
Seira huffed and just like that, it was like someone had let all the hot air out of her.
Now she looked as tired as Ameriden felt—fuck the way the whole room felt.
Casimine was nearly asleep, eyes shut in momentary rest. The only reason Ameriden knew he wasn’t asleep, was the way his boot was lightly tapping against the floor.
“Look, I spoke with Kerith, and based on all the information and what he was able to conclude is that this was all a big accident,” Tala explained.
“There was no way for us to know what that ring did unless we found a trusted enchanter to check it out and that wasn’t going to happen with me being tailed by some mystery assassins.
You said your family can’t track you with magic, so the biggest mystery here is how your family knew where to send the ring? ”
“It would have to be one of our fans,” Casimine’s heavy lidded gaze peered at Ameriden. “Nobody knows our schedule like them outside of Seira.”
“How would they know your schedule though?” Tala asked.
“We have a system with guilds, town criers, and local taverns. It’s basically a word of mouth through letters, but that’s how fans of bards stay in the loop.” Seira explained. “Once we secure a location and a time, I write up some letters and get them out as soon as possible.”
Tala frowned, crossing her arms below her chest, “Did you send any of these letters before you arrived in Eshorion?”
“I did,” Seira confirmed. “I sent out some letters the day I hired that arcanist to perform the teleportation spell for us.”
“That was on the Chroma Coast,” Casimine said. “We have a pretty large fan base there.”
“Right, they have a pretty large metropolitan area, too. It’s pretty diverse in terms of culture and population.” Tala frowned.
“What is it?” Ameriden asked.
“Well, just thinking if I were trying to find a unicorn in the middle of the ocean, I’d probably start in a city like that.
The port alone connects to almost every continent in Ordia, so it would only be a matter of time before someone from the dynasty would come across some information about you.
Not to mention Beryl is always a vacation hot spot.
It’s literally got something for everyone,” Tala explained.
“You think someone just happened to figure it out?” Seira asked.
“I mean, yeah,” Tala shrugged. “Like I said, you weren’t exactly disguised when you left, Seira.
Not to mention, if your fans can find you in the middle of nowhere in some shitty inn, it would make sense they could find you just as easy in the Chroma Coast. I think y’all underestimated how devoted these people are to you.
I mean, think about it. All it would take was one super excited fan talking to the wrong person and you’re entire life story would be spilled. ”
Tala had a point, not that Ameriden was surprised.
No matter how often she liked to diminish her own intelligence, Ameriden had seen it.
He had already thought she was amazing when they first met, but Tala had only grown more and more with every day that had past since the first. Water Mother knew she had held herself just fine against his parents’ warriors.
Knowing versus seeing was what had gotten Ameriden’s adrenaline going when they had been back to back.
And make up sex, don’t forget about that.
“Either way, that secret’s out of the bag now,” Tala said. “I don’t think you’re going to be able to escape it now.”
“That’s a fair point.” Seira kissed her teeth. “Fuck, even if we survive whatever the king’s decision is, we’re still going to have to deal with all of this.”
“You changed our whole lives, Amer, congratulations,” Casimine half-teased between his fingers.
For the first time since the fight ended, Ameriden collapsed into his own hands and buried his face.
The reality that every damn thing they had worked for—everything Casimine had worked for over the past decade or even more— was all up in the air.
There was no going back to performing with their fans blissfully ignorant of Ameriden’s identity.
No simple contracts for Seira to write up—no, now she would have to worry about political relations, and whether whatever kingdom they were performing in were on good terms with the dynasty.
Now, Casimine’s role as a prince would be outmatched by his birth title, and Ameriden didn’t want to be the fucking prince— that’s why he ditched his birthright in the first place!
“I’m sorry,” Ameriden groaned into his hands. “I didn’t mean for this to happen and I can’t change it, and I’m sorry.”
The silence was worse than Seira’s unchecked rant, and Ameriden wanted nothing more than to bury his head in Dumpling’s tank. If he didn’t already have the ability to breathe underwater, Ameriden would have set to drowning himself if he could.
“I know.” Casimine laid a hand on his head. “And I’m still mad, but I think I’ll learn to accept it.”
“You shouldn’t have to,” he said, and frankly, Ameriden wasn’t sure he wanted Casimine to forgive him. “Casi, I’ve fucked up your dream.”
“You—” Casimine exhaled, tired and annoyed. Ameriden wasn’t prepared when Casimine took hold of his hair and yanked his face up to meet his. “You didn’t fuck up my dream, you thick blow-hard! You are my dream.”
Ameriden’s tongue felt too large for his mouth as he gaped at him. Casimine’s gaze moved toward their bodyguard and his stern expression turned soft.
“You’re my dream,” Casimine repeated. “Both of you are. And I don’t care who knows it or what they think of it.”
The confession also appeared to have the same effect on Tala, because her posture suddenly shifted the way a soldier would when facing down their captain. She was embarrassed, but there was something almost hopeful in her eyes.
“Speaking of which…” Seira planted her hands on her hips. “Are we gonna talk about this messy love affair y’all got yourselves into when you thought I wasn’t looking?”
Shit.