Chương 75: Chapter 74 Edited

Cale Aiden Vanta offered me a smile that settled crookedly across his mouth, part apology and part private amusement. It was the sort of expression that usually preceded structural damage. I let the silence stretch and studied him, fighting the sudden inclination to kick him out. He sat back in his chair, hands folded in his lap like he was attending afternoon tea, which, now that I noticed it, he absolutely was. Afternoon light caught the silver threads in his cuffs. He looked composed. Patient.

Dangerously patient. The kind of patient that told me something was coming.

"Aiden," I said at last, my voice slow and even, "why are you actually here? You could have sent a message if this was about politics. Or the Priest. Or whatever quiet catastrophe is brewing this week. You don't cross half the city to stand in my grandmother's sitting room unless there's a reason." He inclined his head, conceding the point.

"Because I need to ask you for a favor," he said.

"It will not be a small one." I straightened in my chair. At least we were getting to it.

"Why do I have the distinct feeling," I asked, narrowing my eyes at him, "that I'm about to regret hearing this?" His shoulders rose in a mild shrug.

"That's what happens when you become a living legend at eighteen. You accumulate experience faster than most men twice your age." He was buttering me up.

"What are you on about, Captain Vanta?" Aiden drew in a breath, pausing just long enough to exchange a look with Marina. That look told me she already knew.

"The Royal family, they..." He corrected himself smoothly.

"I need you to accompany Princess Talena to the Five Seat Martial Tournament Grand Gala." For a heartbeat, the words hovered between us without meaning. Then they hit like a siege spell.

"You want me to escort Princess Talena to the Ascendant Ball," I said, my voice settling into something carefully blank, "the same princess who authorized a bounty for my capture?"

"More of a retrieval incentive," he said lightly.

"Terminology matters."

"Does it."

"Marginally." I leaned back in my chair and studied him the way I would study a fault line in a cliff face, quiet, calculating how much pressure it could bear before everything split apart.

"Aiden, the Princess literally sent her Shadow Corps after me," I continued.

"I had to disable two units before I got clear. That court mage of hers tried to brand my Aura signature and attach it to a love spell just to see if she could. And there is still, if I remember correctly, a standing notice describing me as extremely dangerous, potentially volatile, and absolutely needing to be brought back to her." He tilted his head.

"Accurate, in fairness. You are extremely dangerous."

"And you would like me," I said, ignoring his last comment, "to walk into the Ascendant Ball beside the Princess of the Dominion of Vera, in a hall where most of the most powerful next-generation heirs of the Upper Planes are going to be watching."

"Correct."

"Absolutely not. There is no scenario in which I voluntarily take the princess anywhere. Aiden, she tried to seal me in a dungeon." Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Aiden rolled his eyes with the long-suffering air of a man who had repeated the same clarification too many times.

"She wanted to paint you."

"She requisitioned a holding cell."

"She was trying to make you comfortable."

"There were chains."

"They were metaphorical."

"Me having to escape was not."

"She wasn't trying to actually capture you." I stared at him.

"You have a partially reconstructed dungeon wing in Caelum Virex that suggests otherwise."

"She is seventeen," he said dryly.

"She has expressed regret. Repeatedly. She assures me there will be no attempted confinement."

"That inspires tremendous confidence."

"Cale," he said, a faint edge entering his tone, "I would not be here if this were optional. We both know there are only a few organizations in any of the Planes that would have an actual chance of confining you." I leaned back and folded my arms.

"I already have one unstable woman I am attempting to avoid. That one knows what I look like."

"The Royal family remains concerned about the kidnapping attempt," he said, ignoring that entirely.

"Since that night, the princess has refused to attend any high-profile function. She will continue to refuse unless you are present." I let out a quiet breath.

"Then perhaps she should have reconsidered imprisoning the man she now insists on dragging to social events."

"She wanted to make you her consort," Aiden corrected smoothly.

"That is a markedly different intention." I blinked at him and sighed. Three months ago, masked and operating under Aiden's command, I had intervened when a group of planar traffickers attempted to take the Royal Princess off-plane. Caelum Virex was the winter pleasure palace in the icy reaches of the northern Dominion of Vera. Whoever had planned the attempt had abundant resources, excellent intelligence, and access to very talented mercenaries. My response had been thorough. Possibly excessive.

They had injured several children from the estate staff, and I had reacted accordingly. Stone had folded inward. Wards had shattered like thin glass. Fire had rewritten the geometry of a courtyard. I had destroyed a significant portion of the Royal family's winter palace. It had been effective. It had also been unforgettable. Since then, Princess Talena had developed a troubling certainty that I was either her destined guardian or her future husband. I found both interpretations exhausting.

"She does not actually know what I look like," I said carefully.

"That is the only reason this has not escalated further." Aiden regarded me over steepled fingers.

"She has theories. With the surveillance infrastructure at the Palace at Prime, it is only a matter of time."

"This is insane."

"It's important, Cale. And we're trying to keep a low profile. We will simply have you appear in your black persona." I frowned.

"We both know I don't have any credentials in that form." He gave me a thin look.

"Use one of your secondary names. We both know you have them. Choose one that is less famous." I said nothing.

"I reviewed the footage from that night," he went on calmly.

"You layered your Aura differently. Your fighting style shifted. Your gait shortened. Even your cadence changed. You were not wearing the Ghost's mask, and you were not moving like Cale Arcanus. You constructed the Black Mask persona for a reason. Use it. No one else will connect it." A faint heat crept up the back of my neck.

"Remember," Aiden said softly, "you cannot fool me." I leaned back and studied the ceiling.

"This is a terrible idea."

"It is a managed idea," he replied.

"The Gala is already volatile. The Five Seat Tournament draws every major faction among Vera's rivals, allies, and enemies. If the princess fails to attend, that signals instability. If she attends without visible reinforcement, that invites speculation and further attempts on her safety. We still do not know why the attempt at Caelum Virex was made, Cale. If she attends with you, even in your black persona, the situation stabilizes."

"You think just having me there will keep them from trying."

"You are a stabilizing variable." I rubbed a hand over my face.

"This feels remarkably like blackmail."

"It is diplomacy."

"It feels like coercion."

"It is a request."

"It is a profoundly inconvenient request." Aiden folded his arms, mirroring my posture with irritating composure.

"She trusts you." I closed my eyes for a moment. That complicated everything. Trust in the Upper Planes was rarely offered without cost. It bound tighter than oaths and cut cleaner than blades. When I opened my eyes, he was still watching me.

"You understand," I said slowly, "that if something goes wrong, I will not be adhering to ballroom etiquette."

"I would be deeply concerned if you did," Aiden replied without hesitation.

"Just avoid your usual combat combinations. Everyone on the planet is analyzing the footage from the Preserve." I studied him. The amusement had left his expression. What remained was focus.

"You are not asking me to charm her," I said.

"No."

"You are not asking me to entertain her."

"No."

"You are asking me to keep her alive."

"Yes." The word settled between us with weight. I exhaled.

"This will be a disaster."

"Likely," Aiden agreed.

"It will be contained." I narrowed my eyes.

"Define contained." His mouth curved into that half-grimace, half-smile.

"As much as we can manage." The Upper Planes were fracturing around tournament politics and R optics, and I was negotiating Gala attendance within earshot of dish soap. I sighed.

"If she attempts to confine me in any structure," I said evenly, "I will remove the door. And possibly the building." Aiden inclined his head.

"That seems reasonable." I pointed at him.

"This is entirely your fault."

"Without question," he said, and this time he did not bother hiding his satisfaction.