Page 4

Chapter 4

Julius

J ulius jumped down from the back of his horse, still breathing heavier than usual as he handed the reins over to a stable boy. A second horse cantered up beside him, coming to a stop a few feet away.

An elegantly dressed young man with windswept hair slid to the ground and handed his own reins to a second stable boy. He watched the boy and horse retreat before turning to the prince with a raised brow.

“What’s gotten into you today, Your Highness?” he asked.

Julius threw him an irritated look. Cade knew it annoyed him when his oldest friend used his title while they were alone. Which was why Cade did it, of course.

Cade laughed and clapped Julius on the back. “See! You’re not usually so easy to rile.”

Julius grunted in response, and Cade’s brows drew together, his voice lowering. “Is it about the ball? Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts?”

Julius laughed wryly, finally goaded into speech. “I don’t have the luxury of second thoughts, do I?”

Cade’s eyes widened, and he cast a swift glance around them to ensure they were still alone. Shaking his head, he murmured. “Not out here.”

He strode toward one of the back doors of the palace, not looking to see if Julius was following. Julius hesitated for a moment before sighing and catching up with his friend. Even if he’d kept his mouth shut as he had intended, Cade would have only kept needling him. Julius had given too much away with the frantic pace of their ride. But he’d been desperate to drive out thoughts of the coming ball—and a certain face that kept haunting his mind and preventing his usual mental peace.

As soon as Cade shut the door of Julius’s private sitting room firmly behind them, Julius threw himself into one of the chairs by the row of windows. Cade just stood in the middle of the room, looking at his friend with an expectant expression.

Julius ran a hand over his face. “What do you want from me? Second thoughts? It’s not as if I ever had a choice to begin with. Sovaran princes always have arranged marriages. This is my duty, and I always do my duty.”

Cade winced sympathetically. Arranged marriages weren’t a normal fixture of the Sovaran nobility. Only Julius got to receive that particular gift.

“Your mother consulted with several of us, you know,” Cade said after a silent moment. “And she confided her final choice in me.”

Julius looked at him, his brows raised. He hadn’t known that. His small inner circle of friends—all young men from noble families—had kept quiet about it.

“Do you want me to tell you a bit about the girl they’ve chosen?” Cade asked hesitantly.

Julius held up a swift hand to stop him. “You know the rules. My long-ago ancestors decided that the Legacy’s power will be more potent if I’m taken by surprise by my future bride.”

“I wasn’t going to tell you her name,” Cade said in a rush. “But surely I could tell you a couple of minor things about her without doing any harm? Just to ease your mind.”

Julius considered for a moment before shaking his head. “What’s the point?” he asked morosely. “Better not to risk it. And I don’t want to get you in trouble either.”

“Fine, but you won’t help anything by worrying about it. Your chosen bride is —” Cade hesitated briefly, something passing over his face that Julius couldn’t read. Cade quickly cleared his throat and continued. “I just mean to say that your parents were thinking of you when they made their choice. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”

Julius wanted to believe him. He might even have done so if not for that suspicious pause. There was clearly something about his chosen bride that Cade didn’t want to tell him. Was she significantly older than Julius?

He sighed. Did it even matter who she was? Even if she was beautiful and clever and kind, he still resented being the only person in the kingdom who couldn’t choose for himself.

“It’s not really the ball anyway,” he said without thinking about his words, his eyes focused out the window. “I’ve always known it was coming, so that’s nothing new. But I met a girl, and I want her out of my mind!”

Cade froze halfway through lowering himself into a chair, his eyes widening. “Is she beautiful?”

“Very,” Julius responded before his eyes snapped to his friend. “I mean, no. Drat it! That’s not the point.”

Cade sank slowly the rest of the way into his chair, his expression strained. “This is bad.” He flung up his hands. “Who is she? We already know all the girls at court, so how have you met someone new? And without my knowing anything about it!”

Julius tried not to let his guilt show on his face. “I went for a walk a couple days ago. After the heat wave broke.”

“A single walk?” Cade leaned forward, his voice serious. “Julius, you aren’t in love with a girl you met on a single walk. Your emotions are playing tricks on you. It’s just a form of rebellion against your coming engagement. Your mother warned me to keep an eye out for something like this.”

“In love?” Julius repeated in tones of revulsion. “I should think not!” He looked back out the window, afraid his face might be too revealing. “It’s not butterflies I’m feeling in my stomach—it’s nausea!”

“Nausea?” Cade leaned back in his chair, his concern clearing only to be replaced with confusion. “Did the girl seem threatening in some way?”

“Threatening?” Julius surged to his feet, staring at his friend incredulously. “Hardly.”

Cade put up both hands in a placating gesture. “I’m just trying to understand. You don’t fancy yourself in love with her, and she didn’t make some sort of threat against the crown…so why is she so hard to forget?”

“Because I—” Julius broke off, but Cade continued to watch him expectantly. Julius finally groaned and collapsed back into his chair. As briefly as possible, he related the story of his meeting with the girl on the hill, forcing himself to include every point of his own bumbling, ridiculous behavior.

Cade remained silent until Julius finished speaking at which point he let out a loud crack of laughter.

“Priceless!” He wiped moisture from his eyes. “I would have paid money to see you stripped of all charm around a member of the public. I thought I was the only one permitted to see that side of you. The mighty Julius, felled by a child.”

“She wasn’t a child.” Julius tried not to sound defensive. “I did think she might be a younger daughter from one of the noble families, but I don’t think she was.”

Cade raised an eyebrow. “Not a child, and ‘very beautiful’. Are you sure embarrassment is the only reason you can’t get her out of your mind?”

“Of course,” Julius said stiffly before groaning again. “I can’t believe I was such a fool. I always thought myself socially capable—I’ve had more than enough training. Tell me the truth. Has everyone been lying about my charm to my face and laughing behind my back all this time?”

Cade went into a fresh peal of laughter. When he finally subsided, he shook his head.

“You have your moments, sure.” He grinned at Julius who threw a pillow at his head.

Cade caught it, and his voice turned more serious. “Truly, I’ve only ever seen you drop the charm when we’re alone. Sometimes I’ve worried about what a strain it must be to so rarely be free to be yourself.”

Julius frowned. His friend was trying to comfort him, but his words did the opposite. Julius had never thought that his personality was so very different from the role he was forced to adopt—but his friend talked as if they were entirely separate. Was he the only one to have seen the real Julius? The incompetent, unworthy person behind the royal mask?

“You’re too hard on yourself,” Cade said with a sigh, almost as if he could read Julius’s thoughts. “You’ve always been like that. I wish your parents had broken with tradition and given you some brothers and sisters. If you weren’t alone, you might not go around with the weight of the kingdom on your shoulders at every moment.”

Julius shrugged. “I’d still be the heir.”

“I suppose so.” Cade sighed. “But honestly, if you’re looking for official permission to let this go, I’m giving it to you. We’ve all of us had moments we’re less than proud of. I’ve never seen you do less than an excellent job as crown prince, and a single awkward conversation doesn’t change that. Honestly, I wish you had more opportunities to freely be yourself.”

Julius shook his head. Cade was a good friend, but he didn’t understand. Julius’s parents—and the entire kingdom—relied on him to do his job properly and ensure the well-being of all of Sovar. With everything he had already sacrificed—and would be called upon to sacrifice after the ball—he couldn’t afford to falter.

But he still appreciated Cade’s efforts. Having one person he could confide in had always helped to lift Julius’s spirits when he felt overwhelmed.

“Thanks, Cade,” he said quietly, keeping silent about his ongoing doubts.

Cade grinned. “What else are friends here for? It’s your job to be prince and mine to make sure you don’t drown in all the duty. If you like, I can solemnly pledge to remind you of the incident any time you start to think there’s nothing to you but your crown prince role. I could even enlist the others to help in that noble task.”

“No, thank you,” Julius said firmly. “Telling you was bad enough. I just want to forget the whole incident ever happened. Didn’t you say I have official permission to do that now?”

“Absolutely.” Cade sprang to his feet. “Now I just need to go wandering those hills behind Manor Row so that I, too, can meet a very beautiful girl.”

Julius also stood, his insides tightening at the thought. The last thing he needed was for Cade to end up meeting the girl with the flowers. He would no doubt end up revealing Julius’s identity if that ever happened.

“The ball is tomorrow, so I think we both have more important things to do,” he said.

“As you command, Your Highness,” Cade said, with a knowing grin.

Julius ignored it. “I, for one, am going to wash up.”

He had ridden hard, making the most of the opportunity to escape all the preparations for the ball. He just hoped the ride and the talk with Cade would be enough to prevent him dreaming of the girl again that night.