She's the Prince

Chapter 41

Sebastian's Doubt

The golden glow of dusk filtered through the trees as Arès blinked awake, his eyes narrowing when he realized he was lying in Sebastian's lap. He sat up quickly, catching Sebastian by surprise as their foreheads collided.

"Ow!" Sebastian winced, rubbing his forehead.

"You're unreasonably stubborn," Arès muttered, equally nursing his bruised forehead.

A small frown appeared as he glanced around, noting Callan was still deep in conversation with some soldiers nearby. Turning back to Sebastian, he raised an eyebrow. "Mind telling me why I was in your lap? It seemed like we were a couple in the park."

Sebastian blinked, a bit taken aback. "Couple? Park?"

"Just answer the question. Why was I in your lap?" Arès asked impatience in his voice.

"Callan was busy, so I offered my lap," Sebastian replied with a hint of mischief. "Didn't you enjoy the four hours of sleep on my thigh?"

Arès scoffed, pushing himself away. But as he did, Sebastian felt an odd flicker in his chest, a strange sensation of loss. What's wrong with him? he wondered, his gaze following Arès as he walked over to Callan.

***

Arès joined Callan by a large, weathered map spread out on the ground. Its texture was thick and aged, rougher than the maps he'd seen in Aria.

"Is this the map of the entire celestial world?" Arès asked, brushing his fingers along the parchment.

Callan nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. "I devised a strategy—something I think could work."

"Alright, spit it out," Arès said, his attention on the map. But when he glanced up, he saw Callan's raised eyebrow.

"Spit it out?" Callan echoed, chuckling.

Arès hesitated, realizing the slang might have thrown them off. "It just means... tell me what you're planning."

"O-oh, right," Callan nodded, looking slightly amused.

Meanwhile, a few feet away, Sebastian jotted down the unusual phrases Arès used, whispering, "Date, park, spit it out." A bemused smile crept onto his face as he glanced back at Arès.

***

As the evening deepened, the aroma of roasting meat filled the campsite. Arès approached, holding a couple of skewers from the deer roasting over the flames. While giving them to Sebastian and Callan, he smiled slyly.

"Here, before the greedy soldiers finish it off," he teased.

They each took a skewer, and as Arès took a bite, Sebastian couldn't help but watch him, his gaze lingering. Callan nudged him, muttering with a smirk, "It's not exactly polite to stare at someone while they eat."

Sebastian looked away, embarrassed. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Arès chuckled, catching Sebastian's discomfort. "Let him enjoy watching me," he said lightly, his tone laced with humor.

Sebastian turned his focus back to his meal, though an unspoken tension hung in the air between them.

***

Later that night, Arès stirred awake, drawn by the cold touch of moonlight and the shadows it cast over the forest. Across the river, a faint glow caught his attention—the fiery mane of a flame lion prowling the tree line, its eyes glinting in the dark.

"Think it's waiting for you?" Sebastian asked quietly, stepping up beside him, his arms crossed.

Arès glanced at him. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Could say the same to you," Sebastian replied, his gaze shifting to Callan, who slept soundly a few steps away. "He's out like a baby."

Arès laughed and shook his head. However, he turned to find Sebastian watching the blazing lion intently. Sebastian watched him closely the whole time; he had seen this trait many times before. He looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you just like staring, or are you plotting something?" Arès teased, flashing a smirk.

"Doubt me?" Sebastian countered, his tone steady. "I did save you, after all."

Arès smiled somewhat, but Sebastian perceived still a faint undertone of uncertainty.

Arès raised his hand, a small flame igniting in his palm. He flicked it towards the flame lion, sending it in a graceful arc across the river. The fire burst, illuminating the lion's figure in the darkness before fading away.

Sebastian gasped. "Are you insane? What are you doing?"

"What's the problem?" Arès shot back, his voice brimming with energy. "Afraid?"

"Leave the creature alone. It's not bothering us from that distance," Sebastian cautioned.

The flame lion hesitated before slowly retreating into the forest, its fiery glow dimming. Arès shrugged, unconcerned. "It'll be back," he said, almost as a challenge.

"What?" Sebastian frowned, taken aback by Arès's confidence.

Arès's gaze never wavered from the forest, eyes gleaming with anticipation. Sebastian turned his head to see the lion's tail flickering just before it vanished into the darkness.

"Are you seriously toying with a millennial beast?" he asked incredulously.

Arès grinned, eyes glinting. "Why don't you join us?"

Watching as it flared over the trees like fireworks, he sent another blast of flame into the night. Sebastian's face changed from appreciation to doubt as he saw the show.

"Who are you?" he asked, the words escaping him unguarded.

Arès turned to him, pride evident in his stance. "I am Arès, one of the twelve princes of the Zodiac."

Sebastian's gaze narrowed. "You're not the Ares I've heard of."

Arès paused, taken aback. "What are you implying?"

Sebastian looked away briefly before meeting Arès's gaze once more. "Rumor has it, the Prince of Zodiac City is... different from what I see here. What happened to you after escaping Algos?"

Arès's eyes darkened, and a trace of vulnerability flashed across his face. "Algos's magic is... complicated. He left his mark on me," he admitted.

Sebastian's expression softened, his voice lowering. "Whatever it is, you're still you, right?"

Arès managed a faint smile, the tension between them ebbing away, though an unspoken question remained.