Elias stayed pressed against the floor long after the King and Zayne had left the Council Chamber.
His heart hammered against his ribs.
Neutralized.
Moved.
Black Cells.
The words spun in his mind. But he couldn't pounder on that now. He had to move. And fast.
The Efficiency Sweep— as it was called, meant guards would be counting heads in the dormitories within the hour. Every Mid-Winter, the King assesses the students to ensure no one is "wasting" royal resources.
But this is the first time he's doing it with both his sons around.
Elias crawled back toward the maintenance ladder, his movements slow and deliberate.
As he reached the hallway, he saw the flicker of mag-lights at the far end. The King's guards.
'No no.'
Elias ducked into a narrow space between a pillar and a wall. But this pillar wasn't like the one from before. It could only hide him for now. If the guards should get any closer they'll definitely see him.
There was no way back through the Transition Hall. And if he climbed up the ladder again he'll be seen.
He looked at the thick, ornamental ivy growing along the interior stonework.
He placed his hand on the vines.
Usually, he encouraged growth, but now he did the opposite. He pushed his magic into the plant, commanding it to thicken, to darken, to pull away from the light. The ivy shivered and spread, creating a dense, unnatural shadow that swallowed him whole just as the guards marched past.
He didn't breathe until the rhythmic thud of their boots faded.
He was learning—the Thornbloom gift wasn't just for flowers. It was for survival.
Elias finally got to his dorm room and shut the door behind him sliding the bolt into place.
He sat on the edge of his bed. He couldn't stop thinking about the thing about the Crown's Reserve he had heard.
His parents hadn't just died.
They had been used.
But how? Was his blood a battery for the King? Was that why they were neutralized—because the King wanted a monopoly on stabilization?
And then there was Cassian.
The King had allowed the Gilded Ivy to take root. He was killing his own son to keep him controllable. None of it made sense.
Elias felt a surge of anger. He had spent his life trying to be hidden for the sake of the only family he had left, but the royals had already decided how his life would go?
He looked at the signet ring Cassian had given him that he had kept hidden all this while.
He realized then that he couldn't tell Cassian the truth yet.
If the Prince knew his father was the source of his slow death, he might snap—and a snapped Prince is a dead Prince.
A thought came unbidden, into his head.
He needed to find a way to place Cassian you on that throne at all cost.
What the king is doing is just wrong.
He didn't know what gave him the idea that he could go against a King but he had to try. Maybe not at all directly but he'll need a way to bring Cassian to his side fully. A way to make Cassian never doubt him.
A faint, rhythmic tapping on his window made him jump.
He was on the second floor. There were no balconies here.
Elias crept to the window. Standing on a narrow stone ledge outside was a man. His face looked somewhat familiar.
The man looked grim, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, his cloak blending into the obsidian walls of the building.
Elias cracked the window. "What are you doing? The sweep—"
"The Prince has moved the session," Xavier whispered, his breath a white mist in the cold air.
"Zayne has eyes on the greenhouses. Follow me. Do not make a sound."
'Oh right.. he's the guard that's always around the prince.'
'Is he working for Zayne too? Could this be a trap?' He thought quickly.
But then again Zayne wouldn't use a window to get him right?
Xavier didn't lead him down. He led him up, across the rooftops.
The climb was almost impossible for a normal person. But neither of them were normal.
They navigated the steep obsidian tiles of the academy's roof, staying in the blind spots of the revolving mage-lights from the school's watch tower. Xavier moved with the grace of a cat, while Elias struggled to keep his grip on the frost-slicked stone while using the vines for balance.
They entered the Royal Wing through a decorative rose window near the top of the tower.
Xavier led him down a carpeted hallway.
They reached a door guarded by two stone gargoyles that had moving eyes. fr
Xavier pushed the door open and stepped aside.
Elias entered.
The room he'd stepped into was big. Even bigger than his own back at his own mansion. A large king sized bed was at the middle of the room draped in black curtains that wasn't see through. That was the only black thing in the room. The bed sheets itself was white and so was everything else. A white fluffy rug sat in front of the fire place, a white couch was at the side- it also looked fluffy.
The entire room was white a fluffy.
'Is this Cassian's private chambers?'
The Prince was standing by the fireplace, his back to the door. He had stripped off his uniform coat, wearing only a thin white shirt that was soaked with sweat.
"Xavier, leave us," Cassian commanded without turning.
The guard bowed and slipped away and closed the door behind him.
After he'd left Cassian walked straight to his bed and sat on the floor, all princely—ness, vanishing.
Elias stayed by the door, his throat dry.
"You're late." Cassian whispered. His eyes were closed, his head lolling against the dark wood of the bedframe.
'There wasn't exactly a meeting place for us was there?'
Elias didn't waste time with dialogue. He crossed the room and dropped to his knees in front of the prince. The air around Cassian was cold but the skin of the prince's arm was burning hot.
He grabbed Cassian's wrist, and the connection hit hard.
"Ugh." Elias groaned, his head snapping back as the Ivy's hunger surged into him.
Tonight, the plant wasn't just hungry. It was starving. It tried to claw its way up Elias's arm, seeking the cool, stable reservoir of his bloodline.
"Hold... hold on." Elias panted. He shifted his weight, moving closer until his knees were tucked against Cassian's thighs.
He placed his other hand directly over Cassian's heart.
The Prince's eyes flew open. They were a vivid red, the pupils blown wide. He let out a choked sound—half-gasp, half-sob—as Elias began to try soothing the angry plant with his magic.
It was a slow process. Elias had to visualize every thorn, every root, and gently coax them to recede. He didn't use force; he used the neutrality of his nature to convince the Ivy that there was nothing to fight and nothing to eat.
"Elias." Cassian rasped. His hand came up, clutching Elias's shirt so hard the fabric of his uniform began to tear.
"Don't talk." Elias said. "Just breathe. With me."
They sat there for what felt like hours. It wasn't a sight to behold. Two boys on a rug in a room. One almost straddling the other while both of them looked breathless and red.
Slowly, the gold on Cassian's skin began to fade. The glow over Cassian's heart also dimmed until it was just a faint, dormant glimmer. The Prince's breathing leveled out, his body sagging against Elias.
The intimacy of the position finally hit Elias.
He was practically in the Prince's lap, his hand still pressed against the bare skin of Cassian's chest. He could feel the steady, thumping rhythm of the Prince's heart beneath his palm. Their faces were barely inches apart, breath mingling.
'Don't blush don't blush don't...' The idea he had earlier came back with full force into his mind.
He should have pulled away. But he didn't and he knew that decision would matter later.
Cassian leaned his forehead against Elias's temple. His skin was finally cooling.
"I… I overheard the King today." Elias whispered. He wasn't going to say the part about the poison—not yet—but he needed Cassian to know the danger. "He wants to move me. To the Black Cells."
Cassian's hand, still on Elias's shoulder, tightened. "He will have to kill me first."
The statement wasn't romantic. Neither was it a confession of love. But the way he said said with finality made Elias's heart skip a beat.
"He's your father, your highness." Elias said, pulling back just enough to look at him. "Why does he look at you like you're… broken?"
Silence.
Elias realized maybe he had crossed the line.
"I'm sorry, your—"
Cassian's expression shifted, the mask returning, but it was cracked. "Because in his eyes, that's all I am. A tool that didn't stay sharp."
He reached out, his thumb grazing Elias's cheek, moving a stray lock of his hair.
"You should go." Cassian said, removing his hands from Elias's face.
"Before the morning sweep begins. If they find you here..."
"I know." Elias said.
He stood up, his legs feeling like jelly. He didn't look back as Xavier led him back to the door.
He couldn't.
He was afraid if he looked back, he would see the tool again instead of the Prince, and he wouldn't be able to leave him alone in the dark.
As he climbed back across the rooftops, he solidified the idea that had been forming in his mind. He'd get Cassian to his side completely and put him in the throne to avenge his parents unfair death while still using Cassian to protect himself, no matter the cost.
But he would need Mina's help for this one.