Page 21 of Celestial Bodies

Julen never felt lonelier than in a room filled with nobility. The masks of politeness barely hid the calculating minds of a court filled with scurrying rats, each eager to gnaw the leg off anyone who stood between them and power. It made him sick.

He needed to get some fresh air. The balcony overlooked the castle grounds, where the children of the nobility—most of whom were classmates from the academy—milled about with glasses of intoxins. He yearned to navigate these functions as effortlessly as they did. They flirted and laughed as they strode in and out of the labyrinth of evergreens.

Julen, as usual, watched from afar. Always an outsider looking in.

He longed for Souzie, but his father forbade it. Julen mused about how she’d behave at this ridiculous party. He couldn’t begin to imagine how she’d eviscerate Glacia’s mother (with words, not knives). What a joy it would be to watch that woman crumble under Souzie’s wit.

He leaned over the balcony, the cool stone pressing against his arms, then turned to look inside.

Julen’s father sat on his throne with a sour expression. He hadn’t spoken to Julen since the pendulum.

That damned showcase.Marriage hadn’t even been a conversation until Lupan warned his parents how poorly he was doing at training.

Julen wanted to stop it. He wanted to tell his father and mother that he refused to go through with this wedding, but fear held him captive.

If he had just been capable of succeeding at the showcase, then he would have been a step closer to freedom. He’d join the military, begrudgingly, but it was better than being under the constant glare of his father.

He could even build a life after serving for some time—a life he could tolerate. There were always rumors of an unmarried duke or duchess with aclose friend, but they usually had the means to live an independent life and a level of power or political sway that made it ill-advised to fall out of their good graces. Perhaps Julen could have been like them?

Power was necessary if you were different in Lapistra. Julen had seen what happened to homosexuals without that level of control. It usually ended with a sentenceto Vinculux.

Julen shuddered at the thought of the prison. The rumors of torture and forced labor haunted him.Souzie’s poor father…

Julen shook the thought from his mind. He had to think about something else. Something like…Dacias.

No! Nothing could ever happen between them.

Still, he wondered if Dacias was in Cupidor right now. The radiant glow of the setting sun intensified his silent musings about the Blue-Eyed Hunk.He’s like the sun—warm and beautiful.

Julen’s body flushed at the memory of those luscious lips blowing away his messy hair in the bookshop. Those blue eyes shimmering. His muscular thighs straddling the chair—

“Where is she?”

His mother’s voice snapped him back to reality. “What?”

“Glacia. Where is she?” his mother asked.

The smell of intoxin on her breath permeated Julen’s nose. His mother was already drunk. And angry. A disastrous combination. He scanned the room, but there was no sign of her. “I have no idea. I haven’t seen her since she arrived.”

Queen Lauta whispered through clenched teeth. “What do you mean you have no idea? You are her betrothed. This is your engagement party. You two should be side by side as people congratulate you.”

“I’m sorry. She left my side right after she arrived.”

“Well, find her.Now.”

She turned away quickly, snagging another drink from a tray.Damnit. Could this get any worse?

Julen didn’t even know where to start.I’m not her keeper!

His cheeks burned, and, with clenched fists, he left the balcony and marched out of the throne room. He bounded down the stairs and lumbered to the maze entrance, where his peers mingled.

The last thing he wanted to do was speak to any of these assholes. Most of them had made his time at the academy a living nightmare. He took several deep breaths as he approached a larger group gathering at the maze’s start.

“Hello. Thank you all for attending our engagement party. May I ask if any of you have seen Glacia? She is wanted inside.” Julen commended himself for controlling the tremble in his voice.

One of the men raised a brow and sneered. “Interesting that you need to ask us at all. I would think she’d be by your side,Prince.” Julen knew he was being goaded, but he didn’t want to start fights with bullies.

He plastered the fakest smile onto his face. “She has many friends she must attend to. The obligations at a function like this are plentiful. Perhaps she spoke with one of you recently. If so, I would be eternally grateful if you informed me of where.”

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