Reckless Hearts | Sebryan

Chapter XVIII

"I'm sorry, a what?" Sebastian asks, his voice confused, his eyebrows furrowing as he stares at Hayden.

Hayden scoffs, the sound sharp and full of disdain. "A dance duel. Have you never heard of it?" he asks mockingly, raising an eyebrow as he crosses his arms over his chest.

Sebastian stuttered over his words, struggling to come up with a response. But before he could say anything, Hayden scoffed again, this time with a humorless laugh.

"Oh my— you seriously don't know?" Hayden asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he tilted his head back slightly.

Sebastian sheepishly shook his head, feeling embarrassed as his face heated up. Hayden rolled his eyes dramatically and groaned.

Hayden sighed, his gaze locking onto Sebastian with intense seriousness. "A dance duel is when a challenger, me, challenges another, you, to a dance match. The person who gets the vote of the people, which we all know will be me, wins and gains the power to punish the losing opponent. And after I win, not only will I kick you out of this ball," Hayden lifted his hand, and with a quick motion, opened his palm. Suddenly, a flame ignited in the center, flickering dangerously. "I will also burn you to a crisp." he finished, his smirk widening with satisfaction.

Sebastian's eyes widened in fear, his heart pounding in his chest at the sight of the fire. But before he could react, Justin stepped in swiftly, grabbing Hayden's hand and forcing the flame to extinguish. "Hayden, enough. He's apologized. You don't have to challenge him just because you have a huge ego."

Hayden scrunched his eyebrows in irritation, yanking his hand away from Justin's grip. "One, do not ever touch me," he spat, his voice full of venom. "And two, I've already challenged him. He has to do it."

Ryan, standing nearby, crossed his arms and gave Hayden a hard look. "He doesn't have to just because you 'challenged' him," Ryan said.

"Oh yes he does," Hayden replied with a malicious smile, his eyes glinting as he turned away.

Sebastian leaned over to Justin and Ryan, keeping his voice low, "So, what's the deal with him?"

Ryan rolled his eyes dramatically and waved his hand as if to brush off the whole situation. "Hayden is a spoiled, egotistical brat who always has to be above everyone else just because he's the prince of Emberforge," he explained.

"Yeah, and the weirdest thing," Justin chimed in, leaning in slightly. "His twin sister is a SAINT compared to him. I don't even believe they're related." He shook his head in disbelief.

Just then without warning, Hayden's voice rang out across the room. "Attention, kings, queens, princes, and princesses," he announced, spreading his arms wide, and commanding the attention of everyone in the room. Then, with a wicked grin, he pointed straight at Sebastian. "I have challenged this peasant to a dance duel," he declared loudly.

The crowd gasped in unison, their eyes following Hayden's finger to land on Sebastian, who suddenly felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. His eyes widened in shock, his body tensing up as anxiety and fear flooded through him.

Ryan glanced back and forth between Sebastian and the crowd, his eyes wide with concern. Meanwhile, Justin forced a smile, but it was clearly out of nervousness, his lips twitching slightly as he tried to keep it together.

Oliver pushed his way through the crowd. His face tightened when he saw Hayden pointing at his brother. "Damn it..." he muttered under his breath.

𓆩♡𓆪˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

The two boys stood in the middle of the room, a distance between them. King Fredrick stepped between them.

"Prince Hayden has challenged this young man," the king announced, motioning with his arm toward Sebastian.