“Understood. We shall abide by your wishes so long as they are reasonable,” Prince Everand agreed with a regal nod of his head.
Mr. Ringleader rolled his eyes and stomped away. “Get them in the carriage.”
Guards hustled them to a waiting carriage—Hugo a little more roughly than Everand—and stuffed them inside. Heavy curtains covered the windows, leaving the interior of the carriage pitch black. The air was stuffy and warm. Hugo sat on the bench beside Everand, their legs rubbing together.
The carriage rocked under the weight of Mr. Ringleader as he climbed in after them and dropped onto the opposite bench. The door shut, and the head of the guard knocked on the ceiling, ordering the driver to get them moving.
“Hugo? Are you all right? They didn’t hurt you?” Everand whispered.
“I’m fine. You?”
“I’m well. But I am sorry about all this. Why did you demand to come with me? You could have remained at the palace. My parents would have protected you.”
Mr. Ringleader snorted in the darkness but said nothing. Hugo understood his derision. The king and queen had been struggling to protect themselves, though it was likely the palace guards would have broken into the ballroom within the next minute or two, thoroughly outnumbering the Wulian soldiers. Hugo wouldn’t have captured the notice of the Wulian men until Everand had called him his fiancé.
“I had no choice. You get into so much trouble when I’m not with you. You need me to save you,” Hugo teased, knowing full well that it was the other way around. Sure, he might have saved the prince from a racing carriage, but it had been Everand’s fastthinking that had saved them from the Wulian scouts in the woods.
“Mmm, yes, that is quite true,” Everand agreed with a hint of amusement in his tone. He bumped his knee into Hugo’s and continued in a more serious tone. “But no more silly heroics. I don’t want you to come to any harm.”
Hugo didn’t reply. He wasn’t making any promises he couldn’t keep. His primary focus was protecting Everand and getting him home.
“How did they get us out of the palace and to Wulia so quickly?” Hugo inquired. It seemed safer to change the subject.
“Remember the bellpull in the changing room and the servant appearing?” Everand leaned on him, resting his cheek on Hugo’s shoulder. The urge to hold the prince was overwhelming, but he couldn’t with his arms tied behind his back. The best comfort he could offer was resting his cheek on Everand’s head.
“It’s the same kind of magic,” the prince continued. “We have protections against people magicking into the castle, but I’m guessing they acquired some fraudulent invitations and walked into the ball as guests.”
“I would have expected that type of magic to be rare. It’s surprising King Victor’s army has so many with that gift. There were at least a dozen soldiers in that room.”
“It is rare, and there were nearlytwodozen soldiers,” Mr. Ringleader snapped. “But only three of us possess that type of magic. The rest of my men laid down their arms after we left and surrendered to the king. When it comes to the care of my men, I hope King Hubert recalls we hurt no one during our little invasion.”
“Didn’t hurt anyone, but youkidnapped the crown prince!” Hugo shouted. His outrage bubbled over until he could no longer hold his tongue. He wanted to continue to rage at thesoldier across from him, but Everand pressed a kiss to his shoulder.
“Shhh, it’s okay, my treasure,” Everand coaxed. “I’m okay. No one was hurt. That’s all that matters. I’ll talk to King Victor and get this sorted out.”
Hugo grunted. While no one was hurt, he still didn’t care for the idea of Everand being kidnapped and taken across the kingdom to Wulia, where they would have to face a clearly mad king.
“Sergeant…?” Everand started.
“CaptainRyze,” the soldier filled in, his voice low and gruff. There was a noise from the other side of the carriage, as if he were sitting up on the bench seat.
“Captain Ryze, my father will not harm your soldiers so long as I’m not harmed. They’ll be questioned and thrown into the dungeon, where they will wait for my freedom to be arranged with King Victor.”
Captain Ryze made a noise of agreement and fell silent.
The carriage creaked and rocked as they traveled away from the camp, heading closer to Onisa, the royal capital of Wulia. Hugo had never thought he’d see Onisa in his lifetime. Branem and Wulia had been at each other’s throats for as long as he could remember. He wasn’t sure of the reason. There had been some border disputes. Trade disagreements. His mother seemed to think it all went back to some scandal between the two families, but even she refused to talk about what little she knew.
For years, Onisa and Wulia had been off-limits to all but the bravest of merchants and accomplished diplomats. What trade was done between the two kingdoms was handled in border towns and then shipped to the rest of the country. Despite all the danger they were in, Hugo had to admit that he was excited to glimpse the forbidden city.
“Hugo?” Everand whispered.
“Hm?”
“That thing you said in the ballroom. About filling him with glass. Can…can you really do that?”
Hugo bit the inside of his cheek until he could no longer hold in the bubble of laughter. He glanced over at Captain Ryze, who had become still. The man’s breathing had slowed and evened out in the past few minutes. He might have drifted off to sleep.
“I have no idea,” Hugo admitted, matching the prince’s volume. “I’ve never even thought of doing such a thing to another person, but I was willing to try if it meant protecting you. Do you think less of me now?”
