The Lost Prince and The Demon King [BL]

Chapter 21: No one is immune to abandonment issues



Perry's heart hammered in his chest as he scrambled to figure out where he was and what was happening around him. His mind spun as he coughed and tried to focus his attention on something, anything, solid. 

A stone wall. A straw pallet. Symbols drawn on the ground. The man who looked exactly like him standing at the door to his cell. 

"You-You… fucking bastard," Perry croaked out between coughs. He stumbled to his knees, holding on to the wall behind him for dear life. "You… what did you do? What did you do?!"

The prince stared at him impassively, whatever semblance of friendliness that had been there before was now gone. Perry mentally kicked himself. 

"I do not expect you to understand my actions," the prince said, his voice low and almost gentle. 

Perry spat in his direction and wiped his mouth with the back of one hand. "Bastard."

The prince lifted his chin, but an emotion that looked a lot like regret flitted through his eyes. "You have no reason to trust me, especially not now, but believe me when I say I have no ill will toward you. I truly do wish to understand our connection." The prince inhaled deeply and straightened his already impeccable posture. "But my kingdom hangs in the balance of your true identity. And I will not exchange my people's safety for yours."

Perry didn't know how to answer, so he just glared at the prince. He should have never gone to work that morning. Actually, he should have quit his good-for-nothing job a long time ago. 

There were a lot of things Perry should have done, all of which would not have led him to that situation: chained to a wall, helpless, and trying not to let his despair take hold of him. 

"You will not be bothered here, I will see to that," the prince said, but Perry ignored him. Perry sighed heavily and let the wall behind him support all of his weight. "You will be safe in here until I have determined the truth of your identity. The summoning did not work. You do not seem to have any inherent magic."

Perry chuckled hoarsely. He wanted to tell the prince 'I told you so', but he couldn't muster up the strength to speak. 

The bastard probably wouldn't listen to him anyway. 

The prince cleared his throat softly and shuffled one foot to the side. "Since your food seems to have gone cold, I will have a warm meal brought to you." He paused as if he expected Perry to say something, but he stayed silent. "I bid you a good evening."

Before he could tell the prince just where he could shove his good evening, the prince left, the sound of his prison cell slamming shut making Perry grit his teeth. 

Anger simmered in his stomach without anywhere to go. He was angry at the prince, sure, but he was angrier at himself. 

A lifetime of learning how to rely only on himself and all it took was for someone to dangle the possibility of a family in front of him and he'd caved. 

"Stupid head, thinking stupid thoughts." Apparently, Perry wasn't as immune from childhood abandonment issues as he'd thought. 

***

The First Prince Cassian walked through the halls of the Palace, his thoughts tumbling around in his head with each step.

No matter where or how far he walked and how hard he let his thoughts simmer in the back of his head, he kept coming back to one inevitable conclusion: his mother had lied. 

The 'summoning' had not been an actual summoning. Reckless as he may be, he would never risk opening such a doorway inside the palace. It had been a test in two parts.

The first was to test Perry's magical affinities by essentially opening him up and flooding him with magic. And, as proficient as the prince was in the magical arts, Perry himself did not seem to possess any magical affinities as far as he could tell. Though, he had to admit he was no master. He would have to do some research and consult with Master Yannik since he was far more experienced in these subjects than the prince was. 

The second part was to test their blood connection. And the results of that test had also been more than clear: the man he had left locked up in the dungeon, as impossible as it would seem, shared the same blood as the prince. 

Perry was his brother. Perry was his twin. His twin.

His mother had lied. 

The only thing the prince could not understand was why. Why had she lied? Why had she hidden him away for so long? And who had helped her? The Queen was a proficient magic wielder, but she was nowhere talented enough to keep an entire royal heir hidden for twenty years without a single person finding out. 

The prince sighed and allowed his shoulder to slump. Twenty summers and he'd barely enjoyed his celebration. He had not even had the mind to flirt with the adorable envoy from one of the northern realms. What a disappointing day. 

He let his thoughts shift back to the possible identity of who had helped his mother when his senses prickled with the awareness that he was being followed. He did not even have to look to recognize the flavor of the magic floating in the air. 

Without pausing, he straightened his posture and lifted his chin a bit. "Have we failed to entertain you such that you have resorted to roaming the halls in search of amusement, Clan Leader?"

A dry, raspy chuckle followed his question. "Sharp as always, Your Highness. And I should be the one asking you that."

The prince paused in his aimless wandering and turned to face Clan Leader Venaric. The older man smiled politely at him, both hands clasped in front of his body and resting against his stomach. 

"I assure you I have had more than my fair share of entertainment this day." The prince returned the Clan Leader's polite smile with a much more genuine-looking one. 

"Then I assume it is reaching your specific age that is making you wander morosely through these empty halls while your doting subjects eagerly await you outside."

The prince shook his head lightly. "You exaggerate, Clan Leader. I am neither morose nor awaited by doting subjects. But I will admit you are half-correct." The prince took a step toward the other man. The Clan Leader's face filled in a gap in his thoughts. He took another step. And then another. "Twenty summers is indeed a long time."

The Clan Leader's smile widened, crinkling the corner of his eyes. "I hope you celebrate many more summers and live to be as old as I am, Your Highness. Then you will have some understanding of the true meaning of the passing of time. Twenty summers, you will realize, is but a blink away."

The prince inclined his head to the side, a disturbing picture forming in his mind as puzzle pieces slowly fell into place. "I will take your word for it, Clan Leader. Especially since, through all these summers, you have strived to accomplish so much for yourself and those under your banner."

"It is my duty, as Clan Leader, to provide for those under my banner. As is your, as First Prince, to satisfy… your subjects."

The jab at his sexual adventures was nothing new, nothing he had never heard repeated countless times. It also did not bother him. 

Before he could think of an appropriate response, hurried footsteps reached them. 

"Your Highness, Clan Leader." The messenger, a slightly out-of-breath girl wearing an apprentice's uniform and who looked no older than fifteen, bowed respectively first to the prince, then to the Clan Leader. "Forgive my intrusion, but the King and Queen summon you to the Council Chamber."

"I will go at once," the prince informed the messenger. "Please let them know."

The messenger bowed again and retreated a safe distance away before turning her back and hurrying down the hall. 

"I fear I must leave you to find better entertainment, Clan Leader," the prince said. 

"How could I possibly do that while you still reside in the Palace, Your Highness?" The Clan Leader bowed and backed away, freeing the hall for the prince to pass. 

The prince was not sure if the Clan Leader had just called him a jester or a joke. Either way, he could think about it later. 

First, he needed to go and see his mother who had lied to him, and leave behind the Clan Leader who had helped her keep his twin brother hidden from him all this time. 


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