Chapter 91: Personal History

Chapter 91: Chapter 91: Personal History

Nero tilted his head, genuinely puzzled by the question rather than embarrassed by it, which somehow made Sebastian more curious.

"Why would you ask me that?"

Sebastian rested his forearm against the table and studied him across the small private terrace. The harbor below them had turned brighter as the clouds shifted, sunlight scattering across the water while the canvas awning above their heads moved gently in the sea breeze.

"Because you know practically everything about my medical history," Sebastian said. "You knew my pheromonal instability before I agreed to remain in Saha, you’ve seen every blood result for the last six months, and I strongly suspect you could tell me the date of my first rut if I asked."

"I could."

Sebastian stared.

Nero calmly lifted his water glass.

"That was exactly my point."

A small smile touched Nero’s mouth before he took a drink.

Sebastian leaned back, considering how absurdly one-sided their knowledge had become. Nero knew the medication Sebastian had taken at twenty, the frequency of his cycles, every failed compatibility assessment, and probably more about his endocrine system than Sebastian himself had bothered remembering.

Sebastian, meanwhile, had no idea how an enigma’s rut actually worked.

"So," he continued, "are you suppressing yours?"

"Yes."

"With medication?"

"Sometimes."

The answer made Sebastian’s brows draw together.

"Sometimes?"

Nero set the glass down and shifted comfortably in his chair, one long leg extending beneath the table.

"Enigmas have more control over their cycles than dominant alphas do. I can usually slow the hormonal escalation before it develops into a full rut, provided I regulate my pheromonal output and pay attention to the early symptoms."

"For how long?"

"Several months, depending on circumstances."

Sebastian frowned.

"That cannot be healthy indefinitely."

"It isn’t, which is why I don’t do it indefinitely."

"So eventually you either allow the rut or use suppressants."

"Correct."

Sebastian glanced at him.

"When was your last one?"

Nero paused.

Only briefly, but Sebastian caught it.

"That hesitation is suspicious."

"It was a few months before you came to Saha."

Sebastian automatically calculated backward.

That meant Nero had gone well beyond his usual interval.

"And since then?"

"I’ve controlled it."

"For six months?"

"Mostly. I used suppressants twice when the hormonal markers climbed higher than I wanted."

Sebastian’s attention sharpened.

"Because of my transition?"

"Primarily."

Nero’s tone remained matter-of-fact, but the explanation made Sebastian sit a little straighter.

"A full enigma rut around someone whose secondary gender is actively restructuring would have been an unnecessary risk. Your receptors were unstable enough without introducing that degree of pheromonal pressure."

"You never mentioned any of this."

"You had more immediate concerns."

"That does not mean I shouldn’t know."

The words came out more firmly than Sebastian intended.

Nero’s expression changed slightly, the amusement fading into something quieter as he regarded him across the table.

Sebastian looked down at his glass.

"I mean, if your body is being affected because of mine, I should know about it."

"I know what you meant."

There was no teasing in the answer.

That somehow made Sebastian more aware of the subject than before.

He traced one finger along the cool rim of his glass.

"How did you manage before me?"

Nero’s eyebrows drew together.

"Manage what?"

"Your ruts."

The prince remained silent for a second.

Sebastian looked at him more carefully.

There had always been something peculiar about Nero’s personal life, although Sebastian had never thought about it enough to identify what. Nero attended private clubs, maintained friendships with people like Luke Vesper, traveled constantly, and possessed the kind of beauty that made strangers look twice even when they knew exactly who he was.

Yet Sebastian could not remember hearing about a single relationship.

Not even gossip that survived longer than a few days.

"How many relationships have you had?" he asked.

Nero’s expression flattened.

Sebastian blinked.

"That bad?"

"None."

Sebastian waited for the clarification.

It did not come.

"No serious relationships?"

"No relationships."

The answer made him sit back.

"What about casual ones?"

Nero looked toward the harbor.

That was the first time Sebastian had ever seen him genuinely attempt to escape a conversation through scenery.

His curiosity intensified.

"You went to university. You traveled constantly. You spent half your early twenties attending royal events, private parties, and whatever questionable establishments Luke dragged you into."

"I still attend questionable establishments with Luke."

"That is not helping your case."

Nero sighed.

Sebastian studied him.

"So what did you do during your ruts?"

"Suppression, isolation, medical management."

Sebastian stared.

Nero reached for his glass again, and something clicked into place with enough force that Sebastian nearly laughed from disbelief alone.

"No."

Nero’s hand stopped.

Sebastian leaned forward.

There was no embarrassment in Nero’s face, exactly, but there was an unusual stiffness around his mouth that Sebastian had never seen when discussing sex, attraction, or anything else the prince normally treated with shameless confidence.

"Oh, you cannot be serious."

Nero’s gaze narrowed.

Sebastian’s disbelief only deepened.

"You’ve never slept with anyone."

Nero remained silent long enough to answer the question without speaking.

Sebastian stared at him.

"The man who has spent seven years making indecent comments at me is a virgin."

"I fail to understand why you consider those facts contradictory."

The answer was delivered with such wounded dignity that Sebastian had to turn his face away toward the sea before his expression betrayed him.

Nero exhaled slowly.

"You are finding this far too entertaining."

"I’m trying to process it."

"Try faster."

Sebastian looked back.

Nero was still sitting with perfect royal composure, white-blond hair stirring around his shoulders in the breeze, beautiful enough to appear almost unreal against the bright harbor behind him.

And completely inexperienced.

Sebastian shook his head, still trying to fit the information into everything he already knew about Nero.

It should not have surprised him this much.

For seven years, Nero had been shameless about wanting him, but he had never actually crossed the line Sebastian had drawn between them. He had manipulated circumstances, appeared at events he had no reason to attend, rearranged schedules, sent anonymous gifts, and exploited every possible loophole.

But he had promised to wait until Sebastian approached him.

Apparently, he had kept that promise literally.

"You really waited."

Nero’s expression shifted.

"I told you I would."

"You also spent seven years manipulating me from the sidelines."

"That is a dramatic interpretation."

"You convinced an ambassador to move an entire reception because you knew I would be there."

"The original schedule was inefficient."

Sebastian laughed.

There he was.

The menace Sebastian knew.

"And through all of that, you never slept with anyone."

"No."

"You talk like a man who corrupted half the continent."

Nero’s mouth curved reluctantly.

"I have an excellent imagination."

Sebastian laughed again, then looked at him more carefully.

"I actually love this."

That silenced Nero.

Sebastian reached across the table and rested his fingers against his wrist.

"Not because you waited for me as though that makes you better than anyone else. I don’t care about that." His thumb moved over Nero’s pulse. "I love that you were insane enough to spend seven years trying to manipulate me into noticing you while still refusing to break the one promise you made."

Nero’s smile returned.

"I was very patient."

"You were a menace."

"Patiently."

Sebastian withdrew his hand, still smiling.

The contradiction was painfully Nero.

Possessive enough to bend circumstances around Sebastian, disciplined enough not to take what had never been offered.

And somehow still a virgin.

Sebastian looked at him openly.

"You’re very cute."

Nero stared.

Sebastian’s smile widened.

That reaction alone made the discovery worth it.