“Sedative,” Silver took pity on him when he saw his expression. “Just a sedative. You’ll survive.”
Nuri’s final thought before the world went dark was how the Emperor promised survival.
But little else.
* * *
“It’s an impressive record,” Imperial Sij Rein, the Emperor of Ignite, praised in an even tone as he flipped through the digital file on his tablet. “I see you’ve even skipped a grade. And you have siblings.”
“Yes, majesty.” Nuri kept his hands folded in front of himself, head bowed slightly. At fifteen years old—almost sixteen—a meeting with the Emperor was practically unheard of. One of his mother’s old connections, a friend of the family he’d never met before, had been able to get him this opportunity, and Nuri was determined not to blow it.
They were meeting at the palace, in the Emperor’s personal office. Aside from the guards outside, the two of them were alone in the large room, but that did nothing to quellNuri’s nerves. Too much was riding on this, both his future, and the future of his loved ones.
“You understand why you’re here, don’t you?” Sij set the tablet down and steepled his fingers on the desk. His gaze was intense, as though he could see through Nuri and hear his thoughts. “I’m not seeking out a babysitter, I’m looking for a companion. My son is nothing like your brother or sister. He won’t be as easy to sway, and he certainly won’t stand for being manipulated. He’ll know why I’ve really sent you immediately. Are you sure you can handle this?”
It’d already been explained to Nuri before he’d gotten to this stage of the interviewing process. He also didn’t live under a rock. He’d read the news articles about the Imperial Heir, a high schooler in the same grade as Nuri, who was constantly causing trouble of the highly illegal variety.
“Since I’m the one ordering you there, and you are under my employ, he won’t kill you. Probably. But there are no guarantees where he is concerned. In the unlikely events that something does happen to you, your family will be fairly compensated.”
“I understand, majesty.” Truthfully, Nuri understood it all. Including the fact that, while it might appear that way on the outside, he didn’t really have a choice in this matter.
No one in their right mind would even dream of rejecting the Emperor. This wasn’t a request, it was a command, and since the Narek family would directly benefit if Nuri did a good job following Sij’s orders, he’d opted to focus on that part instead of dwelling over how he was basically trapped in a shitty situation.
“Your report says you keep to yourself,” Sij continued. “That’s good. Silver is plenty charismatic on his own, when he wants to be. This isn’t about getting him more popularity, it’s about controlling his temper and teaching him someresponsibility along the way. It’s a long shot to assume using you as a role model will work, but I’m at the end of my rope.”
As the Emperor’s only heir, his other options for dealing with Silver weren’t ideal. He could ship him off world, or send him to a strict training facility, but neither of those things would help Silver regain the trust of the people.
The monarchy wouldn’t fall due to Silver’s actions, but history had shown that ruling while the majority was in opposition of the crown was difficult at best, and near impossible at worst.
“That boy is my legacy,” Sij sighed distastefully, “whether I like it or not. But…I can’t escape without accepting some of the blame. I wasn’t there for him after his mother passed. Too busy ruling the kingdom and avoiding home. You’re too young to know what I’m talking about, but when you’re older and you find the right person, you will. I allowed myself to be haunted by the memories of my lost mate to the point I neglected our child.”
Nuri didn’t say anything to that, merely held the Emperor’s steady gaze with an unwavering one of his own. Pain wasn’t exclusive to any one class. The things he’d suffered, others could have as well, and vice versa. Maybe Sij was right in his assumptions that Nuri couldn’t currently relate to his problem, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t one day.
He would never scoff or cower from someone else’s misfortune. It was another reason he’d been selected for this role.
Sij needed someone he could instruct Silver to mirror. Nuri was being offered up specifically to teach the Imperial Heir how a normal person operated in a modern society. If all went well, Silver would learn to mimic his emotional responses and expressions, the same way he’d learned how to fake beingcharming and interested in others to get what he wanted from his father.
They knew he was capable to don that mask all the time, he simply lacked the motivation to do so. Sij was taking a risk and trying to appeal to Silver’s possessive nature. If his father showed an interest in another boy, one his age, he may be annoyed enough to play along with their plan.
No one thought they could fool him. Silver would know what this was really about. But that was also half the point. The Imperial Heir needed to agree on his own. Needed to believe he was making this choice himself.
It was convoluted and a bit ridiculous in Nuri’s mind, but who was he to disagree with the Imperial family? He also couldn’t argue the fact that he would make for the perfect companion to the unruly prince.
Yes, Nuri was quiet and didn’t have many real friends, but he was well liked by both classmates and teachers, and had never caused any sort of trouble or broken any rules. He carried top grades in the country, and was in perfect health. He’d already helped raise two kids, his brother and sister, and knew how to share and compromise. Really, the only strike against him was his poor background, and that bothered others more than it did him.
He was young, but he’d already learned to cherish and fight for the things that mattered most to him. And nothing was more important than Nate and Neve. Than ensuring they were protected and given the same types of opportunities as the rest of their peers, despite the all but empty Narek bank account.
“My son is lonely,” Sij stated, “and if I’m not mistaken, so are you, Nuri.”
“Majesty?” His brow furrowed before he could help it, but he was quick to smooth it out.
“You don’t need to be friends,” he said, “but the aim here is for you to become someone Silver can rely on. Someone he can trust to always have his best interests in mind. You’ll attend classes together, study together, and live together for the foreseeable future. He’s been made aware of your arrival.”
Nuri knew better than to expect a warm welcome. Unlike him, Silver had grown up as an only child and wasn’t used to sharing his space with anyone.
“During the nights of a full moon, it’s wise for you to find other accommodations,” Sij told him. “While what it truly means to be a Swift is kept secret from the general public, I’m sure enough has leaked that you understand what I’m getting at.”
Rumor was that Swifts were actually wilder when in their second form, that the kiss of moonlight stirred the wild energy that lived within them, making their moods turbulent. But they were also extremely protective of themselves during these times, prone to seclusion, and with Silver’s status, viewing him in his Swift form without permission could even be seen as treason.
