Chapter 100: Officially His

Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Officially His

By the time Sebastian and Nero entered the main ballroom, Sebastian had remembered that royal birthday galas were less about celebrating the person born and more about giving several hundred influential people an excuse to examine one another under expensive lighting.

The Crown Prince’s palace had transformed after sunset.

The grand reception rooms opened into one another beneath high ceilings and suspended crystal fixtures, while dark purple banners embroidered with silver Sahan motifs softened the pale stone walls. Musicians occupied the raised gallery above the ballroom, their strings carrying easily through conversations and the delicate clinking of glassware, and the long windows facing the gardens reflected a crowd dressed in enough formal fabric and jewelry to fund several infrastructure projects.

Sebastian adjusted the cuff of his deep green jacket.

He felt fine.

Actually fine.

No weakness lingering in his legs, no dizziness, no pressure building beneath his glands, and no medical sensor currently screaming that his body had invented another catastrophe.

Nero still had one hand at Sebastian’s back.

He had maintained some variation of physical contact since they left their private rooms.

Sebastian suspected the physicians would call it unnecessary.

Nero would probably call it preventive medicine.

Tonight, however, there was another edge beneath it.

Sebastian had promised him a gift after the party.

Apparently Nero had interpreted that information as sufficient reason to spend the entire evening looking at Sebastian as though he intended to unwrap him personally.

"Stop that."

Nero leaned closer without breaking stride.

"Stop what?"

Sebastian glanced sideways.

The Crown Prince looked devastating in full Sahan formalwear, black fitted beneath dark purple and silver, the structured coat emphasizing his height without adding unnecessary bulk while the ceremonial mantle fell from one shoulder. His white-blond hair had been left long and perfectly straight down his back.

His violet eyes were fixed on Sebastian.

"That."

Nero’s mouth curved.

Sebastian looked away before he encouraged him.

The first familiar faces waited near the private royal section.

Christopher reached Sebastian before anyone else.

He wore black formal robes cut with softer lines than Nero’s military-influenced clothing, subtle silver work catching at the cuffs when he took Sebastian by both arms and looked him over from head to toe.

"You look better."

Sebastian smiled.

"I am better."

Chris studied his face for another second, then pulled him into a careful embrace.

The relief in it said considerably more than the words.

Dax stood beside him in black and silver, broad enough that even beside his enormous son he carried the heavier presence Sebastian had once wondered whether Nero might have inherited.

His purple eyes moved over Sebastian with clinical efficiency.

"You’re walking normally."

"Good evening to you too."

"That was the greeting."

Chris sighed.

Nero appeared entirely unbothered.

Then Sebastian heard Lucas.

"So this is what passes for checking whether someone is healthy in Saha?"

Dax’s attention moved past Sebastian.

Lucas Fitzgeralt approached with Trevor beside him, both already dressed for the gala, and Sebastian immediately recognized the precise moment the atmosphere deteriorated by several degrees.

His father looked immaculate in dark green and silver, pale blond hair brushed neatly back from his face, while Trevor wore deeper tones that complemented his dark hair and purple eyes.

Lucas looked Sebastian over first.

His expression softened.

Then he saw Dax.

It hardened again.

Dax folded one hand behind his back.

"He looks healthy."

"You examined him for approximately four seconds."

"I possess eyes."

"You also possess the bedside manner of an executioner."

"I am not a physician."

"That has never stopped you from giving medical opinions."

Trevor closed his eyes briefly.

Chris reached for a champagne glass from a passing tray.

Nero murmured near Sebastian’s ear, "They lasted almost twelve seconds."

Sebastian bit the inside of his cheek.

Lucas heard him anyway.

"Do not encourage him."

Nero straightened with remarkable innocence.

Sebastian stepped between the impending continuation before either family could turn his first formal appearance in six months into a revival of whatever ancient disagreement Dax and Lucas had failed to resolve.

"I’m fine."

Lucas looked at him.

Sebastian spread his hands slightly.

"You can both stop inspecting me. Claude cleared me, Roberta cleared me, the flight was uneventful, I slept normally last night, and I have eaten enough today that Nero no longer looks personally offended by my caloric intake."

Nero’s hand tightened at his waist.

"I remain attentive."

"That is a generous description."

Trevor smiled first.

Lucas’s shoulders finally relaxed.

He stepped closer and touched Sebastian’s face, thumb brushing once near his temple.

"You do look good."

Sebastian leaned into the touch for a moment.

"I told you."

His father exhaled.

That seemed to be the point at which six months of worry finally loosened enough to stop dominating his expression.

Trevor hugged Sebastian afterward, less cautiously than Chris had, one hand pressing firmly between his shoulder blades before letting him go.

"We missed you."

"I know."

"You’re coming home after the wedding."

Sebastian blinked.

Nero’s pheromones sharpened instantly.

Trevor looked toward him.

"For a visit."

The pressure disappeared.

Sebastian stared at Nero.

"You are ridiculous."

"I heard an incomplete sentence."

Dax smiled into his drink.

Lucas noticed and immediately looked irritated again.

Fortunately, palace staff approached before another round could begin.

It was time.

The formal announcement had been planned weeks earlier, though the engagement itself was already public enough that there was no genuine surprise left to create.

Still, this was different.

Sebastian had not stood beside Nero before the Sahan court since accepting him.

He felt the change as they moved toward the raised central platform.

The conversations around them softened.

Faces turned.

Nero’s hand shifted from Sebastian’s back to his hand, their fingers interlocking as naturally as breathing.

Sebastian looked up at him.

Nero seemed calm.

He knew better.

The enigma’s pheromones barely escaped his control, yet Sebastian could feel them wrapped around him, warm smoke and restrained fire threaded with something increasingly possessive as hundreds of people watched them walk together.

The announcer introduced Nero first.

The Crown Prince of Saha.

He announced Sebastian second.

Marquis Sebastian Fitzgeralt, heir of the Grand Duchy.

Then came the title that changed the room.

"Fiancé of His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Nero Ezekiel Altera."

Applause filled the ballroom.

Sebastian had expected the words to feel ceremonial.

Instead, his first reaction was to Nero.

The prince turned toward him.

The expression on his face was almost alarming.

Satisfaction, certainly.

Pride.

Possession sharpened into something so blatant that Sebastian nearly laughed despite the hundreds of people watching.

Nero lifted their joined hands and pressed a kiss against Sebastian’s knuckles.

The applause grew louder.

Sebastian’s mouth curved.

"You are enjoying this far too much."

Nero lowered their hands but did not release him.

"I have waited seven years to hear someone announce you as mine in public."

Sebastian’s chest tightened.

"That was dangerously close to romantic."

"I can make it worse."

"I’m sure you can."