Taste of ecstasy

Chapter 41

The hour was late.

The moon hung high above Alicante, ghost-pale and watchful, casting soft light across the palace's ancient ramparts. Somewhere far below, the city of Idris slept in peace, its silver towers hushed, its people unaware that its king walked the battlements not in triumph but in dread.

Alexander Gideon Lightwood's boots moved soundlessly across the worn stone of the highest terrace. His black cloak trailed behind him, the hem embroidered with Idrisian runes in silver thread. The stars above flickered like scattered blessings, but his eyes were dark and faraway.

He had called for no guards tonight. Only one man joined him.

Commander Raphael Santiago, clad in plain tunic and trousers, his usual polished armour replaced by a dark vest and his ever-present sword slung across his back. His sharp eyes softened when he saw Alec's figure pacing by the wall.

"You sent for me," Raphael said, quietly. "And you are pacing. Never a good sign." Alec turned, shadows carved deep into the lines of his face. "Thank you for coming," he murmured. Raphael walked forward and leaned his forearms on the stone railing, eyes following the flicker of torches far below. "Does Magnus know you're up here?"

"No." Alec paused. "He's resting. After... today."

Raphael studied him, then turned fully toward his king. "What happened, your majesty?" Alec was silent for a long moment.

Then "Magnus is with child." The wind halted for a heartbeat. Even the torches below seemed to still. Raphael did not blink. His expression didn't shift not quite but something in his stance changed. A faint tightening in his shoulders. A ripple of understanding, deep and silent.

"Yours...of course it must be yours how foolish of me?" Raphael asked.

Alec gave him a flat look. "Yes. He's carrying the heir to Idris." A slow exhale. "And you've kept this secret." Raphael raised his brows  "Because he is still hunted." Alec's voice broke faintly there.

Raphael said nothing. He let Alec keep going.

"You know Killian the dark kingdom of Calmaria. The man who tried to force Magnus into marriage as a child."

"He's searching Rapha he is stirring to the surface now, Still believes Magnus is the only fertile male fairy alive." Alec turned his head, jaw taut. "He doesn't know Magnus is carrying a human child. My child. But he's been stirring again. The Silent Brothers believe he's trying to steal the Mortal Cup."

Raphael's brow furrowed. "If he gets the Cup....." "He could turn beasts into soldiers. Into fanatics. War would be inevitable." Raphael folded his arms. His voice, though calm, carried iron. "So we are not just protecting Magnus anymore. We are protecting Idris."

Alec looked at him then, eyes raw. "I am telling you because I trust no one else with this." Raphael bowed his head in a slow, solemn nod. "You have my sword. And my silence." "I don't need your silence," Alec said. "I need your presence. Your watch. I need eyes on every shadow within these walls. I need you to protect him if I fall like you did all those years in Alicante."

"You won't fall." Raphael, ever the soldier, a friend and his most trusting military grade. Alec sighed and picked his nose bridge "You don't know that."

Raphael's voice dropped. "I know that I won't let you." They stood in silence for a long moment, the air between them full of old loyalty and unspoken oaths. Then Raphael asked gently, "Does Magnus know how afraid you are?"

"No." Alec's voice was a whisper. "And I will break before I let him see it."

A long pause. Then Raphael said, "You don't have to be unbreakable, Alec. Not to me." Alec closed his eyes briefly, the weight of a hundred fears pressing against his spine "I know."