The face that greeted Samson was pale and weasley. There was something about those green eyes that seemed off, and the way his mouth curled in disdain was far from polite. “May I help you?”

Had he gotten the wrong door? Samson raised his hands. “I am here to see His Highness.” He knew this was the right place. Or at least, it had been when he’d lived here. Perhaps Elias had moved rooms in the time since. It was entirely possible that this was the wrong room now.

Light, almost invisible brows narrowed, and the man turned his head. “Elias, there’s… a ruffian here for you?”

“Let him in.”

So he did have the right place. The scrawny man opened the door the rest of the way, but as Samson entered, his eyes trailed him as though untrusting. Samson didn’t pay too much mind to him, however, as he found himself staring at his surroundings wide-eyed. Elias’s sitting room wasn’t quite the same as it had been before. Things had moved around and some of the furniture had been changed. The decor had gone from light blue to mostly deep maroon, with vases of fresh roses scattered about.

The loveseat where Elias sat, freshly bathed and hair still a bit damp at the ends, was the very same that Samson had fallen asleep on countless times before. Elias lounged comfortably, legs propped on the coffee table before him. His mother used to snap at him for that very thing. But she wasn’t in the room, and Samson wasn’t about to correct it, especially not when his eyes traveled to the man’s hair, where a small golden pin held it back from his face.

“You look lost,” Elias said, rising. He stepped forward. In his freshly pressed clothing and with every aspect of him neater than he had been able to manage on the ship, the man was immaculate. Samson hadn’t seen him in all his glory in so long.

“Your Highness.”  Samson bowed. How long had it been since he’d bowed properly? The ship hadn’t been the place for it– it had felt almost mocking to attempt it when he was keeping Elias captive. Now, surrounded by everything that was his, before him in all his beauty, it felt like he was complete, somehow. Like things were finally as they were meant to be.

“Did you get what you wanted?” Elias asked.

“In a way.” He was being paid, but he had not been given the exact permissions he had wanted. “Sometimes I feel I am unprepared for negotiations with Her Majesty.”

Elias nodded, letting out a dry laugh. He stepped forward. “That’s just what it’s like to be around her,” he said. “Come, walk with me.” He paused as he approached the door, the wiry man pulling it open. “Martin, do not follow us.”

The man frowned. “Elias, do you really think it’s a good idea to go off alone with–”

“Do not make me repeat myself.” Even when he’d been bound to a chair on the ship, Samson had not seen Elias cast such a cold glare.

The man didn’t reply, just nodding and standing still as the pair exited. Was that meant to be some sort of servant? From the way Elias spoke to him, he must have been. But his entirely too casual manner made Samson uncertain. What sort of servant to the royal family would call the heir by name? What kind of servant would hesitate to follow an order or argue?

The door closed behind them and Samson followed Elias’s lead without question. “That’s Martin, my attendant. He’s been with me for a few years.”

Even after a few years spent clinging to Elias’s lips, Samson hadn’t been so bold. The thought of this man dismissing all respect and formality made Samson’s skin crawl. “Are you close?”

Elias shook his head. “My mother chose him. I prefer to spend my days alone if I can manage it.” That sentiment didn’t make Samson feel much better. When he’d been here, Elias had always bemoaned being alone for any length of time, always complaining that it was better to have company even during the most singular of tasks. After all, why work through some arduous studying on his own when he could have Samson sitting at his side?

“You could always fire him.”

Elias smiled, and for a moment everything was fine. If Elias smiled, Samson could be happy, no matter what else happened. “Mm, I try to avoid doing things to provoke my mother’s wrath.” He paused when they reached a large door, and Samson pulled it open for him instinctively. It led to the garden, where the two of them had wandered so many times before. “She’s not always fond of me. You got lucky that using me as a bartering tool worked.”

Samson bit down on his tongue. “She should be grateful that you’re here.” It wasn’t proper to disparage royalty in their own kingdom, let alone inside their home, but if he was guilty, then by the way she spoke of Elias, Her Majesty was just the same.

“You left ten years ago, yes? Do you even know what happened? I earned her disdain.”

For a moment, the path of hedges before him disappeared. The roses, vibrant in their blooming, were nonexistent. All Samson saw was a swath of red. He took a breath. “I do. You were a child. It was unfair of anyone to ask you to fight.”

Elias’s face was almost blank as he stopped, cupping a rose in his delicate hand. “It’s funny. That’s exactly what an old friend told me.” He stared ahead at the flower for a moment before blinking. “You remind me of him a bit, now that I think about it.”

Shit.

Elias couldn’t know. Any similarities he picked up were too much. One wrong move, and Elias’s mother would be furious. There was no telling if she’d keep up any part of their deal if Elias found out. He couldn’t risk that.

“I don’t think he’d ever have made it as some sort of immortal pirate, though.” Elias laughed dryly. “He was too gentle for that. Had absolutely no pain tolerance, either. I don’t think he could have handled dying for me.”

He would have. Even then, as weak and small as he’d been, he would have stepped in front of a bullet for Elias in a heartbeat if it had meant keeping him safe. Maybe he wouldn’t have been able to handle the pain back then, but he would have done it anyway. Screaming on the floor in agony, he’d done it before, he would have done it for Elias. “I hope that my presence doesn’t cause you any pain bringing up old memories.”

Elias shook his head. “It makes me sad to think about him. And angry. He left me the moment I became the laughingstock of the nation. But you have nothing to do with him. I won’t fault you for similarities you can’t control.”

He left. Is that what Elias thought? That he had been too embarrassed to stand by his side? That he had just abandoned him when he was most needed? He wanted to fall to his knees then and there, to beg Elias for forgiveness. His legs trembled with the thought. Was that what he’d believed the whole time? If he had ever gathered the courage to mention it, or if he’d lashed out in anger, his mother certainly wouldn’t have corrected it. That was a convenient narrative. Samson watched Elias pull a rose from the bush, careful of its thorns.

Anything he ached to say would give away too much. And if he was found out, would he ever be forgiven? And, even if forgiveness was an option, if Elias knew who he was, would his mother ever allow the possibility of seeing him again?

“I cannot imagine anyone leaving you.”

Elias laughed, but it was hollow. “I’m not exactly the coveted jewel of the empire.”

He was coveted. Oh how he was.

“Do you know why I’m being married off?”

Samson didn’t answer.

“Because it’s the only way I’ll ever be useful to the kingdom. To not be in it.”

It was difficult to find the right words for a response. This wasn’t something he could just have an outburst over, no matter how much it frustrated him to hear that. “I don’t believe that’s true.”

Elias shook his head, stepping forward. He reached out, and for a moment, Samson’s breath was unsteady. “You wouldn’t.” Elias’s fingers brushed his hair over his shoulder, before placing the rose in the pocket of his jacket. “What is the point of all this loyalty? You act as though you belong to me.”

The point? There was no point. Elias had always been his sun and his moon, his reason to breathe. Maybe things were different now, but there had been a time, not all that long ago, when falling to the man’s arms had been all he had. And it had been enough. “I would not be able to sign if not for your efforts. Even apart, you’ve made a difference in my life.” It didn’t matter if Elias couldn’t know that it had been his own hands that taught him. Without that guidance, without the impact he’d made upon the entire kingdom, everything would be so much harder. “I respect all that you’ve done. You deserve someone who will cherish all that you do.”

Elias’s hand rested on Samson’s chest, palm pressed over his heart, warm against the scar that had been formed just the other day. “If I call upon you in the future, will you be there for me? Or was that death some sort of grand display for nothing? You speak so sweetly, but I need to know where your commitment lies.” Despite the heat of his skin passing through all of Samson’s layers, searing against his heart, he spoke coolly.

“I will always come when you call.”

In an instant, Elias’s hand was gone, but the heat lingered. “Then when I need you, I will summon you back. I trust that dying was not an empty gesture.” His lips pressed together tightly and he continued walking as though nothing had been exchanged at all. Samson’s fingers brushed over the petals of the flower in his pocket. They gave way delicately beneath them. “I’m concerned about what happened in the temple. I do not want my mother hearing about it. Is that understood?” His tone was harsh and authoritative in a way that it hadn’t been before. Elias had spoken casually almost the entire time he’d been aboard the ship, and though he’d carried himself differently at times, he hadn’t sounded so commanding.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“No one has made an attempt on my life since I was a teenager. I believe you weren’t involved, but… How would anyone have known that I was there? Unless I was seen at the docks and this was spontaneous.”

Samson nodded. “I have my doubts.” He hadn’t had the chance to think through the motives very well in the immediate aftermath. Between recovering, fighting, repairs, and now landing in Kremal, his thoughts had been more scattered than they ought to have been. “Do you have enemies that I am unaware of?”

Elias shook his head. “I think you would know about it. He could have been a disgruntled Kremali citizen. Or even Asrian. But he spoke Kremali with an accent.”

“I didn’t notice.”

“It was faint. But I’ve heard that chant so often that any deviation stands out.” He laughed dully.  “I will be in Kremal until the wedding. After that, Yadan. Send me a letter at each port you visit so that I can keep track of you. I want you investigating this.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” He nearly sighed with the relief of it. He would continue to have contact with him, then. Elias had handed him a rather unpleasant task, but at least it would offer some reason to continue communication. “Are you staying in Yadan permanently after your wedding, then?”

Elias nodded. “Yes. I’m being sent off to stay out of trouble. Klaire will keep me in line, so I’m told.” He scoffed, rolling his eyes back and taking a seat at a small table and gesturing for Samson to sit across from him. “Yadan requires an heir to marry before taking the throne. This will be convenient for her.”

Samson nodded. “If I do not see you again before then, I hope that you two will be well-matched.” It wasn’t a lie, he supposed. For Elias’s sake, it would be easiest if the two of them were compatible. As much as the thought of someone else being the one who held him at night and kept by his side clawed at him and made Samson consider pulling off his own skin, it wasn’t as though someone were taking his place. It was better if Elias was happy, no matter where he found that happiness.

“Mm, you didn’t hear it from me, but I believe her heart is elsewhere. Some lady’s maid or something. If I am fortunate, I’ll only be on display at events and won’t need to worry about love.” Elias leaned back in his seat. The sunlight hit his skin delicately, dancing on top of it in soft, strange shapes as it passed through the leaves of the garden. “Where are you going when you leave here?” He opened one eye lazily.

“Asria.”

Elias nodded. “Good.” After a short pause, he said, “Thank you for dealing with this.”

Samson just shook his head. “There is no need for thanks. It is an honor to be of service.”