Chapter 888 - 888: The heat flares

The Crown Prince continued.

"And now Astran stands on the edge of several changes at once. The crown is preparing to strengthen its ties with your house. The south may soon require your soldiers. And you…"

His gaze settled fully on Julian.

"You returned at the center of it all."

The prince repeated the word slowly.

"Most men find teachers. A few find talent. Very rarely does someone disappear with one reputation and return with another entirely."

Julian met his eyes.

"Then I suppose Your Highness has every reason to watch me."

"I do."

There was no hesitation in the answer.

They walked several more steps. The King's voice drifted from ahead, followed by the Queen Mother's laughter and the Duke's restrained reply.

Then the Crown Prince spoke again.

"You felt something earlier, didn't you?."

Julian did not ask what he meant. "I felt many things tonight."

"Another careful answer. I expected as much."

"And what exactly do you think I felt, Your Highness?"

The prince's smile disappeared.

"That is what I am trying to determine."

His words were simple. Yet something about them made the black flame inside Julian stir. He felt the heat beneath his ribs again, slowly bubbling back to the surface.

"There are powers in this kingdom that most people know only through stories. Some leave marks on those who come into contact with them."

He paused.

"And sometimes those marks react when they meet the right person."

It was then...

- the heat in Julian's body flared without warning.

It was not the low restlessness from before. This was sudden, violent, and overwhelming, as if the black flame sealed inside him had been struck awake by those words alone. Fire seemed to spread through his chest and ribs, climbing into his throat hard enough to steal the breath from his lungs.

For a moment the corridor tilted, and the whole world threatened to snap under the weight of it.

The Crown Prince watched him and smiled.

There was no surprise in that smile. Only confirmation.

"So," he murmured, "it still works."

Julian said nothing.

He forced air into his lungs and pushed the pain down through sheer control.

The Crown Prince's gaze lingered on the hand pressed to Julian's chest.

"I do not know how it functions completely," he continued in a quiet voice meant only for the space between them. "But subduing an entire Arch Mage with only this… that is already too powerful." He paused, and for the first time a trace of genuine wonder entered his tone. "Then again. How powerful must that man be to hand out such a thing as if it were a mere tool?"

The words settled heavily in the corridor.

That man.

Julian's fingers curled tighter on his chest as another wave of heat rolled through him. He forced it down inch by inch, until the worst of it no longer threatened to drive him crazy.

He did not speak anything.

Right now, he did not want the crown prince to put his suspicion on him. That would make everything go wrong.

If the prince was still testing, then he could read the silence as endurance. If Julian spoke, every word could be taken against him. So the better thing to do right now was to stay quiet.

As he had thought, the Crown Prince appeared satisfied enough by his response.

"You control it better than most would," he said. "That is interesting in its own way. A weaker man would have collapsed. A louder one would have started asking questions."

His smile thinned.

"You do neither. Which means you are either very well trained… or already familiar with things you should not know."

Ahead of them, the Duke's voice mixed briefly with the King's as the escort continued toward the guest wing. The sound felt distant, almost unreal beside the private pressure of the moment.

The Crown Prince studied Julian one last time, then spoke with finality.

"Then again, even if you understood everything, you still would not be able to accomplish anything."

He straightened, smoothed his dress, and walked forward without waiting for a reply. In a few steps he rejoined the others, leaving Julian alone in the corridor.

For a moment Julian remained where he was.

His breathing was still labored. The heat in his chest had lessened, but it did not vanish completely. He closed his eyes, forced his lungs to calm down, and waited until the shivers stopped.

"That was dangerous," he murmured under his breath. "Dangerous, yes. But not wasted."

As the black flame calmed again, Julian's mind worked almost immediately. Though the crown prince's action were sudden and caught him off guard, the crown prince didn't doubt him. He spoke like a man who already held the stronger position, yet didn't look at Julian as if he were facing something truly unknown.

He still thinks I am the same old Kraven, Julian realized.

Changed, yes, but still the Duke's son who had found some lucky chance and come home different because of it.

That mistake was useful.

As long as the prince believed he was dealing with a reformed wastrel, and not something much more dangerous, Julian still had room to move.

**inhale**

He took one more breath, controlled his expressions, and continued after the guests.

By the time he caught up, the group had almost reached the hallway leading into the royal guest wing. The Crown Prince glanced back as Julian returned to his place, and a faint smile touched his mouth.

"You recovered fast," he said.

Julian answered with a smile of his own. "You went easy on me, Your Highness."

The Crown Prince chuckled under his breath. "That I did."

Before either of them could say more, the Queen Mother turned her head.

She had been walking ahead with the King and the Duke, but some shift in tone or timing had drawn her attention back toward the younger men. Her white hair caught the lamplight as she looked over at them with a interest in her eyes.

"And what are you boys talking about?" she asked.

The Crown Prince responded at once. He stepped closer to Julian and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, as if they were merely two young men sharing private conversations.

"We are just catching up, Grandma," he said.