Chapter 1
Sebastian: An Unwanted Assignment
Two years later…
“Could this day get any worse? My father’s going to kill me.
” Sebastian’s iridescent wings fluttered nervously as he spoke.
He couldn’t bring himself to meet the eyes of his superior officer.
Sir Leonard Hastings made a noncommital noise at the back of his throat, but the fact that he didn’t disagree made Sebastian feel even worse than before.
Leo almost always had an encouraging word to say.
When he couldn’t muster anything…well, that spoke volumes.
“Perhaps he won’t hear about it until after the banquet tonight,” Oliver said, his voice nasally as he held his nose closed to stop the flow of blood. “Sir Xander is a busy man, after all.”
“Little chance of that,” Sebastian said, giving his friend a lopsided grin.
It made little sense that Oliver was the one doing the comforting, when his injury would be the reason for Sebastian’s impending demise.
But, then, Oliver was not what Sebastian would consider a man who made sense.
The young man had been the grand duke of Moyar since he was barely thirteen and had moved to the palace to live with the king and princess.
Yet, because of the scars that covered half his face and most of his upper body, he choose to remain in self-imposed exile.
Now, Oliver spent most of his time studying medical texts and visiting his cousin, Princess Joanna, who, according to the rumors spreading through the court, was quite ill.
With what little free time he had left, he’d taken to training with the palace guards. Hence the bloody nose.
“It’s really not that bad,” Oliver assured him. “We both know I got more severe injuries during altercations at Farraday.”
“What altercations at Farraday?” Leo pressed. Oliver’s jaw snapped shut. He knew as well as Sebastian did that the young duke was not supposed to have been fighting when he’d been away at school. Even more so, he knew Sebastian wasn’t supposed to be letting him get into those fights.
“The ones with…the debate team,” Oliver said, blushing furiously. “They can be quite violent when the rounds don’t go their way.”
“Farraday doesn’t have a debate team,” Leo said, a smirk on his face. “And even if they did, you wouldn’t have been on it. Your proclivity for cutting remarks are hard won navigating the politics of the court, rather than in the hallowed halls of the schoolroom.”
Sebastian smirked at Oliver. “He’s got you there, Olly.”
“Ha-ha,” the duke said with a shrug. “You’re wrong, by the way.
If Farraday had offered a debate team, I would have joined in a heartbeat.
Joanna and I tried to start one, as a matter of fact.
Only…” He let his words trail off, and his fingers instinctively trailed over the scars on his face.
“Well, let’s just say that people were not eager to get too close. ”
Sebastian grimaced. “Then they were the fools,” he said. “I—”
Before he could finish the sentence, the door to the training courts slammed open and a hulking figure stormed in.
“Sebastian!” he roared. The young man winced.
His father, Sir Xander Doyle, made him feel small during the best of times.
Now, as Xander’s dark eyes landed on him, he felt positively tiny.
Sebastian left his friends and approached his father slowly. “Yes, Father?” he bit out. He straightened his spine, trying to make the most of his six-foot-five frame.
Xander loomed over him. “What were you thinking, letting the Grand Duke train with you?”
Sebastian swallowed hard. “I…er…thought that as a member of the royal family, he had the right to do as he pleased,” he said, his normally deep voice coming out as an undignified squeak.
“Lord Khone has taken part in training and conditioning regularly over the past few years; he does so whenever he’s in the palace. ”
“A practice you, as his personal guard, should have discouraged,” Xander hissed.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t aware that the duke’s personal guard had that kind of authority, Father.
” He knew, better than anyone, that it was impossible to discourage Oliver from doing anything once the young duke had decided something.
Sebastian had grown up with Oliver, as the son of his family’s cook.
He’d been there the night the fire had killed the duke’s parents, had followed behind him dutifully when King Alastair had sent him off to Farraday.
He considered Oliver to be his best friend, no matter what the rest of the world might think.
Xander scowled at his son. “You don’t need authority to bar a member of the royal family from putting themselves in dangerous situations,” he reminded him.
Sebastian frowned. He knew Oliver wasn’t particularly prone to bursts of temper, but the duke’s tongue had a way of getting him into trouble.
As such, Sebastian had been the one who encouraged him to train with the palace guards.
It gave him peace of mind to know that his friend could defend himself if he ever got into trouble when Sebastian wasn’t around.
He opened his mouth to say as much, but before he could, Xander forged on. “In fact, it may be time for a change of duties.”
A chill swept through Sebastian’s blood. “What?” he asked.
“I just got a message from Lady Quinn,” Xander said.
Sebastian tried to remain unsurprised at the mention of King Alistair’s spy mistress.
He’d often heard his father mutter darkly about the woman; why would she be sending him messages?
But, after glancing from side to side to make sure that no one nearby could overhear them, Xander continued, “There’s been chatter that a pair of Coleuran assassins, funded by certain parties from Moyar, are going to eliminate Emperor Zoun of Umber. ”
Sebastian’s brow furrowed. “What does that have to do with us?” he asked. “I wouldn’t think the palace guard would be involved in stopping an assassination attempt, particularly if the target isn’t a part of the Moyaran court.”
“Usually, it would not,” Xander agreed. “But relations with the Umberians are tenuous at best. They would dissolve completely if it came to light that Moyar was involved with an attempt on the Emperor’s life.
Lady Quinn would like to send a few of our men in to protect the Emperor and put a stop to the assassination attempt.
Preferably without drawing international attention to their efforts.
Because her man in Umber has not yet infiltrated the imperial court, Lady Quinn seeks volunteers from the palace guard.
In return, she’s going to send a few of her best men to train our people to identify spies from the other seven kingdoms. Think of it as an exchange program, if you will. ”
Sebastian sighed. “Why would a few palace guards have any luck getting close enough to the Emperor when her people aren’t even able to get close enough?” he wondered.
“Well, her people are trying to remain completely anonymous, whereas our men can be in plain sight,” Xander said.
“Her scouts think the attack against Emperor Zoun is going to be during the annual competition to design his latest outfits for the kingdom’s five-hundredth anniversary celebration.
You and the rest of the team could enter the competition, posing as weavers and tailors. ”
Hope filled Sebastian’s chest. If his father was right, that kind of opportunity could help him—
“Of course, she would have a few expert tailors on your team, so that what you come up with would meet the Emperor’s exceptionally high standards,” Xander said breezily. And just as quickly as Sebastian’s spirits had lifted, they now plummeted.
Sebastian gritted his teeth as he bit out, “Of course.” Of course, his father hadn’t remembered or, more likely, had remembered and dismissed the fact that his son had a great deal of experience in clothing design.
He’d wanted to own his own shop before Xander had forced him to join the palace guard.
Apparently unaware of his son’s thoughts, Xander continued, “So it’s settled, then. You will report to Lady Quinn to hear more details about your new assignment.”
Sebastian shot a look at Oliver, who was pretending he had heard none of what Xander had said. “What about Ol—Lord Khone?”
Xander shrugged. “Sir Leonard is more than capable of taking over as Lord Khone’s personal guard.”
Oliver rolled his eyes. “I don’t really need a personal guard,” he grumbled. “I’m not exactly helpless, if you remember.” His gaze flicked to Sebastian. “Sir Sebastian has seen to that.”
Xander scowled. “I remember that your current guard’s failure to consider your safety first resulted in an injury that could have been much worse. You will have a personal guard until I, or your uncle, say otherwise.”
Oliver gave a very put-upon sigh. “Very well,” he grumbled.
Sebastian caught Leo’s eye and gave him a knowing smirk.
Trying to keep Oliver out of trouble was a full-time job, as they both knew very well.
Oliver must have caught the glance, because he gave a smirk of his own as he said, “But, if I remember correctly, Sebastian isn’t fluent in Umberian, is he? ”
“No, but I’m sure that Lady Quinn will have at least one translator on the team,” Xander assured him. “I’ve already started looking for someone who can play the part.”
“Well, if you think it will help, I just so know of someone who can help Sebastian with the language barrier he’ll face in Umber,” Oliver said with an innocent look on his face. “Someone he’s worked with in the past and he’s trained personally.”
Sebastian immediately stopped grinning. Oh, no. He couldn’t possibly mean—
Xander regarded him with curiosity. “Oh? Who might that be?”
“Miss Lucy Savage,” Oliver said. “She’s a member of one of the wulfenkind clans, so she grew up close to Umber. But she recently came to the capital to look for work.”
“She did?” Sebastian yelped, before cursing himself. He wasn’t good at feigning nonchalance, not where Lucy was involved. Still, he thought he’d schooled himself better since…
“Well, she may not be in town much longer. According to what I’ve heard, she has had little luck.
But if you talk to her, she’d probably be willing to help until she finds a more permanent position,” Oliver said.
“Her mother is a seamstress, and she’s been helping her out since she was quite young, so she could also be of use on the more practical side of the job. ”
Sebastian opened his mouth to object. Lucy’s sewing abilities weren’t anything to write home about.
In fact, from what he remembered, she was better at ripping out stitches than sewing them.
But Leo jumped in before he could speak.
“Oh, yes, sir, Miss Savage would be an excellent addition to the team.” Sebastian shot his superior a betrayed look.
Oliver nodded. “And she’s fluent not only in Umberian and Moyaran but also in Coleuran, so she should be able to keep the team appraised of everything that could go on in the Emperor’s palace.”
“Excellent. Sebastian, I’ll put you in charge of finding her and extending her an offer.
Tell her that if she’s successful, you’ll put in a good word for her with Ms. Blusse down in the kitchens.
She’s always looking for scullery maids,” Xander said.
Sebastian tried to keep from grinding his teeth at hearing his mother spoken about in such an impersonal way.
From the impassive look on Xander’s face, he’d have never known that his father was speaking of his former mistress.
“Once you’ve found her, both of you can report to Lady Quinn for a full debrief.
Tell her I sent you. And, Lord Khone, I hope I don’t have to tell you that you shouldn’t speak of this to anyone. ”
Oliver nodded. “Understood, sir.”
Xander nodded and disappeared from the training courts. Sebastian waited until his father was out of sight to run his hands over his short cropped hair. Not only was he going to have to pretend to be something that would forever be out of his reach, but now he had to work with her.
He turned on his friend. “What are you thinking?” he demanded. “You know Lucy and I can’t be seen together anymore. And after that last letter, she made it very clear that she didn’t want to see me anymore.”
“I know that’s what Thaddeus Wilde said that you couldn’t be seen together,” Oliver corrected.
“But I don’t believe it for an instant. And as for that letter, I firmly believe you two need to talk and resolve your issues.
When we were at Farraday, you were inseparable, for Starkind’s sake.
You shouldn’t make excuses to avoid the woman. ”
“Says the man who makes up excuses to avoid everyone,” Sebastian grumbled.
Oliver shifted uncomfortably. “Fair point. But it’s better for everyone if I keep my distance.” Sebastian shook his head, but before he could comment, Oliver smirked at him. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go and find Lucy. She’ll probably be in the lower city this time of day.”
Sebastian bit back a groan. This was going to be a long day.