Regulus sighed as he pushed back the hood of his cloak and glared at his brother. “I assume you know why we’re here, Varrick.”

The older man shrugged and smiled at him. “I don’t. Even I’m not that smart, Prince Regulus.” He bit back his laughter when he saw the frustrated look on Regulus and his guards’ faces.

“P-Prince Regulus?” the innkeeper spluttered. He quickly bowed and kept his head lowered. “F-Forgive me, Your Highness! I did not recognize you when you entered, and I’m afraid we have no big rooms suitable for you.”

“That is fine, good sir. Any room you have available will be more than suitable for me,” Regulus assured him and watched the man hurry away to where the rooms were. He looked at his brother. “You knew we were following you.”

Varrick shrugged as he took a sip of his drink. “Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t.”

Regulus huffed and glared at him. “Brother, please. Lenus must be found before everyone knows of his existence. Should other royal families find out about him, they’ll send their people to hunt him down. And only the Incarnates know what they’ll do to him.”

“His chances are better out here than with your family, Prince Regulus,” Varrick snapped back. “And why are you even out of the castle? Your peons can’t be trusted with such a simple task?”

One of the guards, a fair-skinned human woman with shoulder-length light brown hair and blue eyes, glared at him. “How dare you, bastard!”

The prince held his hand out to silence her. “Val-”

“Varrick.”

“Varrick,” Regulus said correctly. “I’m searching for Lenus myself because I’m hoping I can convince him to return without force. He seems like he’s a reasonable young man. If one of Father’s men finds him first, I fear he might get hurt.”

Varrick snickered at that. “You should be more worried about your father’s men trying to force him to do anything. Len is not the weak man you and your family think he is.”

The other guard, a tan-skinned Liokin man with long dark blonde hair and gold eyes, growled at him and stepped forward to get right in Varrick’s face. “Stop wasting Prince Regulus’ time and tell us where Prince Lenus is.”

The black-haired man arched an eyebrow at him as he took another sip. He raised his free hand to the guard’s face and tapped his forehead with his index finger. “Bad kitty.”

Regulus and his female guard stepped back when a puff of smoke covered the male guard. When it cleared, a small kitten sat in the middle of the guard’s fallen clothes. The prince looked at his half-brother in shock. “What did you do to him, Varrick?”

“Don’t worry, he’ll go back to his normal form in a few hours. He should count himself lucky. Had it been my mother, she would’ve made it permanent. Fortunately for him, I’m not that powerful yet,” Varrick replied coolly. “At least I made him into a cute little kitty. Mother would’ve turned him into a frog and stomped on him since she hates frogs.” He finished the rest of his drink and put the tankard on the counter.

The prince looked at him pleadingly. “Varrick, we really need to find Lenus and bring him back. Royal families from all around the continent are going to be here in a few weeks. If Lenus isn’t back before then, our family will be ruined.”

Varrick rolled his eyes and leaned back against the counter. “And you’re a fool if you think I’m going to hand over Len to you and your family.”

“Lenus will be safe, brother!” Regulus insisted. “Why do you assume that he won’t be? I understand that this must be scary for him since he wasn’t raised in royalty, but he must put that fear aside now. Father has accepted him back into the family and needs him to do his duties. Had Helia not let herself be sullied-”

“Len shouldn’t be the one to pay for your family’s mistakes,” Varrick cut him off and stood up. “I don’t blame Princess Helia for what happened. She was in love and planned on marrying the nobleman. Your father is the one who turned this into a bigger issue than necessary.”

“She was promised to the prince of Soltierra!” Regulus argued. “Had she not shared her bed with the nobleman, Helia would’ve been wedded to the prince, and Luxivita would have a powerful ally on its side. The most we can do now is pray that a king will take Lenus on as their ward. Negotiations for Aelius to marry the princess of Granrift will be taking place when the royal families visit, and I’ll be choosing which princess I wish to court.”

Varrick looked at the prince before looking at the female guard, noting that she was looking straight ahead with an unblinking stare. He sat back down and sighed. “I see. So, what I’m hearing is that both Len and Prince Aelius have no choice in the matter. Aelius will be married off to a princess he didn’t choose, and Len is being forced to be a ward. Or at least that’s what the king is telling you.”

Regulus and the female guard looked confused by that and looked at each other before looking back at him. “What do you mean?” asked Regulus.

The black-haired man rolled his eyes and chuckled. “You don't really think the visiting kings want Len as their ward, did you? If you do, then you’re more stupid than I thought.”

“Lenus will be sent to be a ward so he can learn the ways of royal life and marry the princess of that kingdom. There’s no deception in this,” Regulus explained.

Varrick looked at the female guard and narrowed his eyes when he saw the look on her face. She knows the truth. He looked at the prince. “Well, if no one will tell you the truth about it…”

The female guard glared at him. “Don’t listen to him, Your High-” She gasped when her eyes were suddenly covered by something. Her body became heavy, and she couldn't move her arms.

“Sleep,” Varrick commanded. He moved his hand from her eyes and let her fall to the ground next to the kitten. He knelt in front of it and pressed his finger against its head. “You too.” The kitten fell asleep, and he walked back to his chair.

The prince checked on them, feeling relieved that they were still breathing. He glared up at his half-brother. “Why did you do that, Valerius!?”

Varrick glared back at him over his shoulder. The walls of the inn rattled. The flames in the fireplace got bigger for a few seconds before returning to normal. “My name is Varrick, Prince Regulus. If you call me that wretched name again, I’ll cut your tongue off.” He sat back down in his chair. “I put your guards to sleep so they don’t interrupt.”

Regulus calmed himself as he stood up and looked at him. “What is it you need to tell me?”

“Your father is not sending Len to be a ward. That’s what he’s saying to cover up that he’s selling Len to the highest bidding king to be their secret paramour,” revealed Varrick. “Since no single kings or princes want to marry Helia, your father is selling my brother in hopes of pleasing them and their...secret desires.”

Regulus balked at that. “What do you mean? No king or prince would take a young man as their secret lover! That would taint their honor and-”

“Is that so?” Varrick laughed humorlessly and shook his head. “You believe all kings and princes have honor? That’s adorable.”

“Of course! What king or prince would cheat on their beloved wife?” questioned Regulus.

The ebony-haired man arched an eyebrow and looked at him in amusement. “Oh my, who would do such a thing and sire a bastard? Pray tell who you think this paragon of virtue is? Could it be…your father?”

Regulus’ cheeks heated up when he remembered Varrick’s status. He’d grown up knowing Varrick was his half-brother. Their father often threatened that he would make him his heir whenever he or Aelius displeased him. Some days, he couldn’t help but envy him and Lenus for their ordinary lives. But now wasn’t the time to think about that. “Not our father, but surely other kings and princes are more virtuous. And to have such…queer desires. Having a male lover would cause a bigger scandal than them having a mistress!”

“You really should get out of the castle more,” said Varrick. “Many of the kings and princes you know have secret lovers. Male, female, and everyone in between. But yes, your father is selling Len to the highest bidder. Ask your guards when you wake up. They know about it.”

“What do you mean when I wake up?” asked Regulus. His breath hitched when Varrick was suddenly standing in front of him. He tried to step back, but didn’t when he remembered his guards’ unconscious bodies were close to him. A hand covered his eyes, and he realized what was about to happen. “Var-”

“Sleep,” Varrick softly commanded. He caught the prince before he fell and moved him to one of the nearby chairs. The innkeeper and his wife walked in and looked at him in shock. “If you don’t mind, please put these people in the room I rented.”

The wife nodded and looked unsure. “B-But what happens when they wake up?”

Varrick picked up the large coin purses from the prince and his guards. He smiled as he handed them to the wife. “Consider it payment for dragging them to the room and for one favor.”

“What's the favor?” the innkeeper asked suspiciously.

“Tell them I’m heading southwest,” Varrick replied.

The innkeeper looked at his wife, who nodded to him. He nodded back to Varrick. “We’ll tell them that,” the innkeeper promised. “But they'll know we have this gold.”

Varrick smiled as he pulled the hood of his cloak up. “Hide it somewhere and tell them I took it when they wake up. The prince and his family have plenty of gold. They need to give some of it to the people of this fine province. I shall take my leave now.” He walked to the door and looked back at them. “Forgive me if this sounds strange, but was there an object with magical powers here recently?”

“Yes, we hired a priestess from the chapel of Memoria to find out the cause of the lights and noises from the nearby ruin a few days ago,” the wife confirmed. “She and her adopted sister found some weird-looking orb. Said they were going back to Ebonwood so the head priest could look at it.”

“I see…,” Varrick mused and nodded to them. “Thank you.” He walked out of the inn and sighed to himself as he looked up at the night sky.  Now that he knew Regulus was searching for Len by following him, he and his mother had to come up with a plan to get him out. His left arm twitched, and he looked at it, feeling a movement under his skin. “Come out, Mr. Sugar Cloud.”

The twitching turned into a slight stretching pain from the skin expanding. It disappeared after a few seconds, and a small black cat slipped out of the sleeve of his cloak and meowed at him. Its bright, glowing blue eyes looked up at him in curiosity.

Varrick leaned down to pet him. “Mr. Sugar Cloud, I need you to send a message to Len for me.” He pulled out a tiny piece of paper and put it inside the charm on his cat’s collar. “Make sure you get this to him, okay? And come back soon. I'll miss having you as my tattoo.”

The cat meowed at him again before walking off. Varrick watched his cat take a few steps before disappearing into thin air. He looked up at the sky again before walking away to his next destination.