The moonlight poured silver over the rooftop, but Alec saw only shadows. His boots crunched against scattered gravel as he searched for any trace of the intruder. Nothing no footprints, no loose shingles, not even the whisper of movement. The only evidence left behind was the dagger embedded in the doorframe below and the rolled-up message tied to its hilt.
Alec held the parchment in his gloved hand. The script was elegant, deliberate, taunting.
"I KNOW EVERYTHING , WE'RE WATCHING "
His jaw clenched. Whoever it was, they had known exactly where Damien would be. That meant only one thing someone close had leaked it. Someone inside the palace.
He descended quickly, fists tight with fury, and entered the prince's chambers again. Damien sat on the edge of the bed, shirt half-buttoned, his eyes darting toward the doorway the moment Alec entered. Relief flickered in his gaze, quickly replaced by concern.
"Alec ?"
"They're gone," Alec said shortly. "But they left a message."
He handed Damien the note. Damien read it slowly, then looked up. "They knew I was here. They were watching."
"They still are," Alec muttered. "Which is why you're not staying here. I'm taking you somewhere no one will find you."
Damien stood, shaking his head. "The council already suspects too much. If I vanish"
"I don't care about the council." Alec's voice was steel. "I care about you being alive."
Damien exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "Where would you even take me?"
"Somewhere even the king doesn't know exists."
For a moment, silence stood between them, thick with unsaid things. Damien's eyes lingered on Alec's face on the tightness in his jaw, the barely hidden rage behind his careful movements. The tenderness of last night felt far away now, like a dream slipping through daylight.
"Do you regret it?" Damien asked quietly.
Alec turned sharply. "What?"
"Last night. Us. You've barely looked at me since."
Alec's expression shifted just a flicker, but Damien saw it. The soldier's mask cracked.
He stepped forward slowly, reaching out until his hand cupped the back of Damien's neck. "I don't regret a second of it," Alec said, his voice low. "That night was mine. No one will take it from us."
Damien's breath hitched. Alec's fingers traced down from his neck, over his collarbone, stopping at the place where his robe had slipped open. Damien didn't move. He only stared into Alec's eyes ..eyes that burned with a mix of possession and fear.
The distance between them vanished.
Alec kissed him not with the reckless heat of the night before, but something slower, deeper. It was the kiss of someone trying to etch a memory into skin. Damien leaned into it, his hand gripping Alec's waist, desperate to hold on to something real amidst the chaos.
But Alec pulled away before it deepened further. "We have to go. Now."
Damien swallowed, nodding. "Right. Safehouse."
Alec turned, walking to the armoire to retrieve a hidden pack. Damien watched his back, unsure what stung more the danger outside… or the walls Alec was rebuilding inside.
"I think someone in the court knows," Damien said.
Alec glanced over his shoulder. "Why?"
"There's been… odd behavior. A few advisors whispering when I enter a room. One of my guards Merrik he's been too inquisitive lately. Asked where I was going tonight."
Alec froze. "Merrik?"
"You know him?"
"I trained him. And I also know he owes a debt to Lord Veltan."
Damien stiffened. "Veltan? The one who opposed my inheritance?"
Alec nodded grimly. "We keep this between us. No one not your guards, not your servants knows where we're going. Until we figure out who's watching… we trust no one."
Damien nodded, the weight of it all pressing into his chest. "And us?"
Alec paused. "What about us?"
"If no one knows… does this even exist outside these walls?"
Alec faced him fully now, stepping close. "It does. I feel it, Damien. I just have to keep you alive long enough to prove it." And with that, they slipped out through the hidden servant door, cloaked in silence, and vanished into the night.
The tunnel beneath the palace stables was damp, narrow, and lit only by the soft orange glow of Alec's torch. Moss coated the stone walls like old scars, and the air smelled of wet earth and dust. Damien followed closely behind, the sound of their boots echoing in the silence.
They reached a thick iron door at the end. Alec slid aside a loose brick, revealing a hidden lever. With a click and a heavy groan, the door creaked open.
Inside was a small, stone chamber plain, but not cold. A simple bed, a fireplace, and a wooden table. Everything was old but well-kept. Safe. Forgotten by time.
"This was my mentor's," Alec said, shutting the door behind them. "No one else knows it exists."
Damien stepped inside, turning slowly. "It feels… untouched."
"It is. I kept it that way for years."
Alec placed the torch into a bracket and lit the fireplace. Warmth spread slowly across the room, chasing away the underground chill.
Damien sat on the bed, exhaling deeply. "You always have secret places like this?"
"No. Just this one." Alec's voice softened. "And now it's yours too."
Silence fell again ..this time not from fear, but tension of another kind. The kind that hummed in the air when desire hadn't fully burned out, when bodies ached from restraint.
Alec turned, and their eyes met.
He crossed the room in two slow steps and stood before Damien. "We could've died last night," Alec said. "We might still."
Damien looked up at him. "Then let me feel something real. While we can."
Alec didn't need more than that.
He knelt, his hands gripping Damien's thighs, and leaned in. Their mouths met softly at first, but it deepened with urgency. Damien moaned against him, hands finding the edges of Alec's armor, tugging at buckles with clumsy need. Alec stripped it off one piece at a time, letting it fall to the stone floor with metallic thuds...When his chest was bare, Damien ran his fingers across Alec's skin, tracing old scars like sacred paths. Alec groaned softly, catching Damien's mouth again in a kiss that stole his breath.
Damien's robe slipped off his shoulders. Alec's lips trailed from his throat to his chest, slow and reverent. His mouth lingered over Damien's nipple, circling with his tongue, then gently sucking until Damien arched with a gasp..."More," Damien whispered, gripping his hair.
Alec obeyed.
He pushed Damien back onto the bed, covering him with his body. Their hips aligned. Damien whimpered when he felt Alec's arousal pressing hard against him through their clothes.
Alec moved deliberately slow thrusts of his hips, letting Damien feel the promise of what was coming. His hands roamed everywhere stroking Damien's sides, cupping his face, sliding between his thighs.
"I want to hear you," Alec murmured, voice husky against Damien's ear. "Every sound. Every breath."
Damien's lips parted with a shaky moan as Alec's hand slid beneath his waistband and found him warm, hard, aching.
Alec stroked him slowly, eyes locked with Damien's. "You're beautiful like this," he whispered.
Damien's back arched. His hand gripped Alec's shoulder as his breath grew ragged. "Please…"
Alec leaned down, kissing him again, swallowing his cries as he pumped him with steady, torturous rhythm. Then he slowed, pulling back just enough to strip the last of their clothes away.
When they were skin to skin, Alec paused hovering just above Damien, his breath fanning across Damien's lips.
"Say it again," he murmured.
"Make me feel something real," Damien said, trembling....And Alec did.
He entered him slowly inch by inch eyes never leaving Damien's face. Damien gasped, gripping Alec's arms, his brows knitting in a mix of pain and pleasure. Alec stilled, giving him time.
When Damien finally nodded, Alec began to move deep, slow thrusts that made Damien cry out. The rhythm built gradually, Alec's mouth tracing every inch of Damien's skin. Their bodies moved in perfect sync, every breath, every touch, every moan drawing them deeper into each other.
Damien wrapped his legs around Alec's waist, pulling him closer, deeper.
"I need you," he whispered, voice cracking. "Don't stop."
Alec kissed him again, thrusting harder now, the bed creaking beneath them. The room was filled with the sound of bodies, breath, and desperation.
And then just as they neared the edge, just as Damien cried out Alec's name, shuddering in release he froze.
Because there, sitting on the pillow beside them, was something that hadn't been there before.
Damien's royal ring.
His eyes widened in horror.
"I didn't take that off," he whispered.
Alec sat up immediately, scanning the room, heart thundering. "Damien… where was that?"
"It was on the bed."
They both stared at it...Chilling silence filled the room.
And then Damien whispered:.."They're not watching us. They're already here."