𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄// 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐨 𝐑𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐔

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟔// 𝐒𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞

Will found his husband in the midst of the crowd. He was arguing with Annabeth, the anger in his demeanor making Will anxious. The prince forced himself to take a step closer, another, until he was in hearing distance.

"Your blasted guards sent me on a wild goose chase! On my wedding day, of all times!"

"I will have them held accountable," Annabeth said, surprisingly calm in the face of Jalgan's anger. "Tell me who they were."

Jalgan rattled off a few names, then turned away. He spotted Will, his eyes lighting up. He rushed over and put an arm around him. "My dear, I haven't seen you in forever! Did those guards play a prank on you?"

"No." Will tried and failed to step away from Jalgan. "And you were only gone for twenty minutes."

Jalgan ignored him, and Will surveyed the room. The celebrations were dying down, some of the revelers stumbling about in a drunken stupor. The sober ones came up to the newlyweds, congratulating them. Will only acknowledged them with a nod; he had no time for pleasantries.

"The party is nearly over." Jalgan turned to Will and gave him a smile. "I think we should take our leave. What do you say?"

Fear rose up in him. They couldn't leave now; Nico needed more time. "I want to stay a little longer." Before Jalgan could respond, Will pulled him to the center of the room. "Dance with me."

There were only about a dozen couples dancing, but Will didn't care. He twirled Jalgan, his partner snapping back into his arms without missing a beat, their breaths mingling. The two men spun and waltzed, gliding effortlessly along.

Nico needed time, and Will was ready to distract Jalgan any way he could. He listened to the tolling of the church bells, and prayed to every god for Nico's safety.

☀️☀️☀️

"The General sent out three guards: Grace, Valdez, and di Angelo. Where are they now?" Jalgan asked his soldier, keeping his voice low. He glanced at Will; his spouse was on the other side of the room, talking to the King and Queen. Far out of earshot.

"In the underground tunnels. They found the rest of our comrades." The soldier tugged at her toga. "The Head Sorceress is doing some kind of spell, but for what I do not know."

Jalgan thought for several moments, before the beginnings of a plan surfaced in his mind. "Make sure our soldiers in the tunnels are ready to use their magic. We should use those guards' fears against them."

"And what of Blackstone?"

"Interfere if you can. But before you do...make a spell of your own." Anger rose up in Jalgan. "There are two people in my way before I can get the crown. We need to take them out. Amid all the chaos, now would be a good time."

He told her the name of the spell, and her eyes widened. "This spell--"

"Can only be broken by two people. Me and him. And I guarantee that he does not have the skill to do so."

"Very well, then. It will be done, Your Highness." The soldier saluted, then vanished into the shadows.

Jalgan Abaddon turned to watch Will, deep in thought. He knew that he shouldn't be surprised that the prince's comrades were trying to sabotage the wedding, but it still angered him.

He was going to put a stop to this. He had worked for years to get to this point, and he would be damned if it all came crashing down now.

After tonight, he would be heir to the Aureole throne. Soon, he would have the revenge that he had sought for his entire life. Everything was falling into place.

William smiled at the partygoers, but he was doing a poor job of hiding his fear; Jalgan could practically taste it. The thought gave him satisfaction, and he smiled.

Tonight, Will would submit to him. One way or another.

☀️☀️☀️

Nico had changed out of his insufferable toga into a flexible black suit and cloak, armed to the teeth. It brought back memories of his life as an assassin, but he shoved them to the back of his mind; now was not the time to dwell on them.

He rushed out of his room and down the hall, keeping to the shadows as drunken partygoers walked past him, their boisterous laughter making him flinch. He made his way to Healer's Tower.

Five of the Jalgan's soldiers had been spotted in the underground tunnels of the Tower. Jason and Leo were there now, no doubt waiting for him so they could attack. Five against three wasn't horrible odds, but Nico didn't want to take any chances. They had to be quick; Nico needed to get back in time to continue the plan.

Losing his patience, Nico shadow-traveled the rest of the way, materializing at the first tunnel. He picked up a lit torch and gave a four-note whistle--a signal to Jason and Leo that he was here.

No response. He frowned, repeating the whistle. Surely, they were close by. These tunnels were few, and they wouldn't have gone too far in. He shoved the thoughts aside and made his way deeper into the tunnels, hoping to find them.

The pathways were small; Nico had to stoop to not hit the ceiling, carefully holding his torch as he scanned the ground and walls for traps of any kind. The cramped space made his heart quicken, but he focused on his breathing, on putting one foot in front of the other.

At last, the space opened up into some kind of chamber, and the tightness of his chest eased. He stood to his full height and peered into the dark, whistling the four notes a third time. He took several steps into the chamber, his torch sputtering; he could barely see. Where were they?

What's going on? he thought, then tripped over something large. He hit the floor, barely managing to not burn himself on the torch. The thing he tripped over made a human sound of pain, and Nico's breath caught.

"Jason!" Nico scrambled to face him, holding his torch aloft. Grace was bleeding from a wound in his head, and he held one of his arms to his chest; it looked broken.

"Gods, what happened to you? Where's Leo?"

"Get..out." Jason coughed weakly, wheezing with every word. "They're...they're coming."

"I'm not leaving you here." Hanging the torch on the wall, Nico tried to pick Jason up. "We'll have to walk the tunnels in the dark, but the path back is straight--"

A rumbling, then a flash of light. When Nico's vision adjusted, he stared at the exit, but there was nothing there. "What the hell?" Leaping over Jason, he went to walk out--but an invisible force knocked him back. He fell down with a cry of shock, nearly landing on top of Jason.

A realization struck him, and his heart stopped. He jumped to his feet and pressed his hands to the exit. An invisible barrier greeted him, preventing him from taking a single step. It tingled under his touch.

Magic. The exit was sealed with magic.

No way out.

Nico's breath came quicker as panic crashed over him, threatening to overwhelm him. "No," he shouted, pressing harder against the barrier. "No, no, no!"

A trap. This entire thing had been a trap.

And they had walked right into it.