Chapter 153: Let Him Have It

Chapter 153: Chapter 153: Let Him Have It

"Sebastian is hiding something. I can feel it."

Nero crossed his Crown Prince’s office for what had to be the twentieth time, moving between the carved cedar desk and the tall arched windows overlooking the inner gardens with the restless energy of something that had discovered a locked door and taken the existence of the lock personally.

Luke watched him from the long sofa beneath the windows.

"You also said he’s been having a wonderful time hiding it," he pointed out. "Laughing more, disappearing with half your family, looking suspicious whenever you mention wedding clothes. You could simply let him enjoy himself and discover whatever it is when he decides to show you."

Nero stopped.

His violet eyes narrowed.

Luke lifted the crystal tumbler he had helped himself to approximately five minutes after arriving.

The whiskey was one of Nero’s better Sahan reserves, dark amber and smoky enough that Luke had already decided friendship required him to finish the glass rather than allow good alcohol to suffer neglect.

Nero looked at the drink.

Then at Luke.

"You came here because the tiger arrives today."

Luke placed one hand over his chest.

"I came because you are my friend."

"The transport convoy crossed the western checkpoint fourteen minutes ago."

"That is completely unrelated."

"You asked Hale what time she would arrive before you asked how I was."

Luke took another drink.

"The tiger seems nicer than you."

Nero stared at him.

"She is."

"I appreciate the honesty."

The office doors stood open toward a shaded gallery where afternoon light filtered through patterned stonework and scattered geometric shadows across the polished floor. Nero had dressed relatively casually for a day spent inside the palace, although his version of casual still meant fitted ivory trousers, a dark plum shirt with subtle silver embroidery along the cuffs, and enough expensive tailoring to make the word meaningless. His white-blond hair had been gathered into a loose knot at the nape, though several strands had escaped during his pacing.

Luke, by comparison, had abandoned his jacket over the back of the sofa and made himself comfortable in dark trousers and a pale shirt with the sleeves pushed toward his elbows.

He watched Nero begin moving again.

"You know you’re making this worse for yourself."

"I dislike unidentified variables."

"Sebastian is not an unidentified variable."

"He is when he starts smiling every time I ask what he plans to wear."

Luke laughed.

Nero shot him an irritated look.

That only encouraged him.

"Maybe the green suit really is the suit."

"It isn’t."

The certainty came immediately.

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Evidence?"

"He enjoys my disappointment too much."

"That sounds like evidence Sebastian is having fun."

"He is malicious."

"You like that about him."

Nero paused near the desk.

Unfortunately, that was true.

Sebastian had spent seven years treating Nero’s attempts to manipulate circumstances around him as irritating background noise. Now that he had apparently decided retaliation was appropriate, he was proving exceptionally talented at it.

The decoy suit was the worst part.

It was beautiful.

Nero hated that.

If it had been ugly, he could have objected on aesthetic grounds and forced a revision without exposing himself. Instead, the Fitzgeralt green looked great on Sebastian, the silver detailing was tasteful, the tailoring immaculate, and Nero had absolutely no legitimate reason to complain beyond the fact that they would stand beside each other at their own wedding looking as though they had dressed for separate political functions.

Sebastian knew precisely how much that bothered him.

The bastard had smiled when Nero suggested coordinating pocket details.

Luke leaned farther into the cushions.

"Let him keep the secret."

Nero looked over.

"You’re saying that because you already know."

"I don’t."

"Everyone knows."

"I genuinely don’t."

Nero studied him.

Luke spread one hand.

"I arrived today. Unlike your family, I have not apparently joined the underground organization dedicated to confusing you."

"That organization is expanding."

"Maybe because confusing you is entertaining."

Nero returned to the desk and finally sat, though the surrender lasted only long enough for him to move several documents aside.

A narrow velvet case lay beneath them.

Luke noticed immediately.

His expression changed.

"Oh, no."

Nero looked down.

"What?"

"That shape."

Nero’s hand settled over the case.

Luke started laughing.

"You bought him another collar."

"It is a wedding gift."

"He already has several."

"That is irrelevant."

"It is extremely relevant if the object you are purchasing is another collar."

Nero opened the case.

Luke leaned forward despite himself.

The laughter faded into appreciation.

The collar inside was unmistakably Sahan, though considerably more ceremonial than the deep-purple one Sebastian had received before Draxil. White formed the base this time, soft and nearly seamless beneath elaborate silver framework that curved around it in fine geometric patterns. Deep purple appeared only in narrow enamel lines through the metalwork, delicate enough to become visible mainly when the piece caught light.

There were stones.

Of course there were stones.

Luke looked closer.

"Those are diamonds."

"Some."

"Some?"

"Moonstones as well."

Luke leaned back.

"I assume you have once again interpreted Sebastian’s request for restraint in the most expensive possible way."

"The stones are small."

"How many?"

Nero did not answer.

Luke laughed again.

"That many."

"It is his wedding collar."

Nero’s voice had changed slightly.

Luke noticed.

The amusement stayed, but softened.

"You expect him to wear it at the ceremony?"

"No."

That answer surprised him.

Nero touched one finger to the edge of the silver work.

"He doesn’t want a collar with the wedding clothes. I know that much."

"And you survived this news?"

"Barely."

Luke smiled.

"So why commission it?"

"Because the wedding is the perfect excuse to give it to him."

Luke stared for half a second before laughing into his whiskey.

Nero waited.

"You are unbelievable."

"I am thoughtful."

"You are using matrimony as legal justification for jewelry escalation."

"That is not how legality works."

"You know exactly what I mean."

Nero closed the case carefully.

Unlike the previous collar, this one carried no Crown Prince insignia visible on the exterior. The meaning was hidden inside instead, worked into the locking mechanism and inscription where only Sebastian would know it existed.

It was private.

As private as anything Nero did could reasonably become.

Luke studied him for a moment.

"What does this one say?"

Nero’s mouth curved.

"You’ll find out after Sebastian does."

Luke lifted his glass in acknowledgment.

"Fine. Apparently you can keep secrets too."

Nero’s eyes immediately sharpened.

Luke regretted the sentence.

"If Sebastian can keep his," he added quickly, "so can you."

"That comparison is offensive."

"It was intended to be useful."

A distant sound rolled across the gardens.

Low.

Powerful.

Very definitely not human.

Both men went silent.

Luke slowly put down his glass.

Nero stood.

All interest in Sebastian’s secret vanished from his face with almost insulting speed.

Luke smiled.

"I knew I came here for a reason."

Nero was already heading for the door.

"I thought you came because I’m your friend."

Luke followed him.

"The tiger remains nicer."