The Viceroy Hesitating

“How could we miss all this?” Ambassador Nakamura is astonished when she passes through the gate and enters the Divementis mental cloaking field. A new world unfolds in front of her—quite literally.

The buildings might not be that different from contemporary human architecture, but there are floating devices to be seen and alien holographic inscriptions everywhere. And then there are the Divementis, of course. Tall, lean, black-eyed… and so unnerving.

“His Majesty’s mana emanation is so strong up close,” her daughter Daelyn shivers with excitement and looks like someone having a religious moment. “He really is our embodiment of magic.”

“Follow us, please, let’s accommodate you first,” Soren gestures for them to follow.

Surprisingly, the ambassador didn’t bring many people—just her daughter, a young man who’s probably her attaché, and four bodyguards. The Japanese Prime Minister either trusts the Divementis or Aefener’s father limited the number of people that might come. Liana bets it’s the second case. With more Draconians coming very soon, the Divementis can’t afford to waste precious space.

“The Divementis Emperor promised that we will be accommodated in the same building as His Celestial Majesty,” Ambassador Nakamura remarks, indirectly asking for confirmation.

“Yes, the Prime Minister insisted,” Liana nods and it’s evident that the Japanese delegation is relieved to hear it. Liana wonders. Is it because Celestials have already proved that they mean no harm to humans or because of His Majesty in particular?

They show the ambassador her new living quarters, which are just below the Celestial floors, and because it will take her some time to settle, Liana returns to the office. She decides to drown herself in work so that she doesn’t have to think about her alleged date with Soren. It’s a strategy that always works for her—if only Soren hasn’t been so damn close all the time!

Like right now when he accidentally brushes her with his wings when turning around to reach out for a pile of files. Liana tries to play ignorant, but the truth is that she gets goosebumps. Whether she likes to admit it or not, she’s starting to notice how attractive Soren’s wings are and that his face isn’t hard on the eyes either.

Now, more than ever, Liana can’t help wondering what it’s like to be an empathic telepath like their Emperor. How much does Aefener know about the people around him? Did he know about Soren’s feelings towards her from the beginning? Did he decide to push them together because he couldn’t keep passively watching it anymore? Her train of thought is interrupted by a ringing phone.

“Yes?” Soren takes an incoming call. The person on the other side says something quickly and Soren’s expression drastically changes. Instantly, Liana knows that something is wrong.

“What is it?” she fears the worst.

“Vermiel called just now,” Soren informs everyone in the office with a trembling voice. “His Majesty collapsed with a nosebleed during his training.”

****

“The deal was our Emperor won’t be harmed in any way!” Liana rages on the way to the labs. She certainly isn’t dressed for flying, but she doesn’t care. Holding the layers of fabric with telekinesis, she’s flying as fast as she can. Soren and the others follow.

“I told you that we should have never entrusted His Majesty’s wellbeing to the Divementis,” Luviael tries to prove her point.

“Not helping, Luviael,” Soren shuts her up, but her anger is understandable. They are all angry with the Divementis and worried sick about their embodiment of magic.

They land in front of the labs and if the door wasn’t automatic, they would burst it open with telekinesis just to save time. In the entrance hall, they find numerous Divementis who are also panicking.

“I bet they feel directly that something is wrong with their Prince,” Soren comments and catches one of the nearby scientists. “Take us to the labs, we can’t use your telepathic elevators.”

“O-of course,” the Divementis agrees quite sheepishly. They can probably read Soren’s thoughts and know that if they don’t comply, Soren will just drag them.

Divementis elevators are super-fast, but it still feels like an eternity to ride down. They run through the corridors to the meditation room where their Emperor is supposed to be training with his father, but they find it empty. Fortunately, one of the guards tells them that His Majesty was brought to the infirmary. They relax a bit only when they hear His Majesty’s voice.

“I told you I’m fine, geez,” their embodiment of magic is protesting while getting treatment. “I just overdid it a little.”

“You’re not fine, love, you fainted,” Gotrid insists and doesn’t let his husband jump off the hospital bed.

“Your Majesty!” Luviael runs to him with tears in her eyes, pushing people in the way rudely aside. For once, Liana forgets about keeping appearances and follows her example.

“I’m fine, really,” His Majesty keeps protesting, but Noage has his rooty tentacles already stuck into Aefener’s forearm and is doing his job.

Liana can’t help noticing how thin His Majesty’s arms are. Did he lose weight again? Multi-layered Celestial robes can be deceiving, especially rich royal attires their embodiment of magic wears.

“You didn’t have to come, Li, it was just a minor accident during training,” Aefener tries to act as if nothing happened, but he’s pale and his wings are trembling.

“It was my fault, I should have stopped him,” the Divementis Emperor surprises them by taking the blame. And he surprises them for the second time when he gently caresses His Majesty’s left wing and Aefener lets him.

“I know my current limit now, so I’ll be much more careful,” Aefener promises to his husband who doesn’t look convinced at all. “Let’s continue, it was just a minor blunder.”

“Love, your robe is stained and your head is throbbing,” Gotrid rolls his eyes. “You’re going straight to bed.”

“Shouldn’t I be training for non-standard situations?” His Majesty points out. “The Enemy won’t care that I have a migraine. I need to learn how to protect myself no matter what.”

Liana wants to intervene, but in the end, she doesn’t have to. The Divementis Emperor steps in.

“That might be true, but this is just your third day of training,” he states the obvious, but sometimes their embodiment of magic conveniently forgets the obvious. “There’s no need to overexert yourself and risk burnout later on. Training with a migraine is forbidden and that applies to the Royal Bloodline as well.”

Aefener sighs, but he knows that he’s been beaten. He can’t go against Celestials, the Divementis and his father combined. Liana shakes her head in disbelief. Aefener would overwork himself to the point of collapse if it was for the benefit of Draconians. Just when did he turn even more workaholic than her?

“His Majesty is going to be okay, he just needs to rest,” Noage calms everyone down after a thorough examination. “That being said, the telepathic training is a huge strain on his brain. I implore the Divementis Emperor to go easier on him.”

“I will,” Aefener’s father nods, and somehow, Liana believes him. It’s difficult to read him, but it seems he genuinely cares about his son.

“Let’s go, hon, no more training today,” Gotrid lifts his husband and takes him into his arms.

“I can walk just fine,” His Majesty protests and hastily folds his wings.

“I don’t think so, your head is spinning,” Gotrid just knows—no doubt a perk of their telepathic bond. He wraps his Imperial husband into his wings to hide him from the commotion.

They escort the Emperor back to their accommodation on a levitation platform and there’s unfortunately no way how to do it discreetly. The telepathic Divementis are fast at spreading rumours, so they have quite an audience. What’s worse, the ambassador noticed that the Divementis are in disarray and she’s waiting for them in the lobby.

“We heard from Vermiel,” the maids are waiting for them as well and flock to their sovereign. “Is His Majesty okay?”

“He fell asleep during the transport,” Gotrid finally unfolds his wings and reveals Aefener’s sleeping face. He looks peaceful now, but he’s still pale.

“We will take care of His Majesty now,” Ayala says and points towards the ambassador and her daughter. “Your Excellency, could you attend to our Japanese guests? Especially that new girl with magpie wings. Please, make it clear to her that she can’t stalk His Majesty.”

“Stalk?” Liana is confused. Daelyn is standing on her toes, trying to get a better view of the Emperor and looking mesmerised.

“We caught her standing in front of His Majesty’s apartment,” Ayala tells on her, impatiently pushing the elevator button several times. “I know that she’s part of the delegation and, ultimately, one of us, but she can’t do that.”

Liana raises her eyebrows and gives Daelyn a scornful stare. The girl looks guiltily sideways. The elevator arrives and Gotrid, the guards and the maids get in, allowing no one else. Not even Luviael who certainly tries to squeeze inside.

“He needs as little direct telepathic stimuli as possible,” Gotrid frowns at her. The elevator door closes and they are gone.

“Just a minor accident during training, Nakamura-san, our Emperor overdid it,” Liana explains, using Aefener’s words on purpose to make light of it. “He just needs to rest.”

“Daelyn, a word if you please,” Soren takes the ambassador’s daughter aside to explain what’s unacceptable behaviour towards their Emperor.

“I’m sorry, Your Excellency, my daughter can be overzealous,” Nakamura apologises on her behalf. “I tried to stop her, but she used spells on our bodyguards and got away.”

“It’s normal behaviour for ordinary Celestials who haven’t seen His Majesty in person yet and then got a taste of his imminent mana emanation,” Liana waves her hand. “I know that you can’t feel it, but the presence of our embodiment of magic can be… well, intoxicating.”

“Nakamura-san, I hope you find the accommodation to your liking,” Nyx shows up out of the blue, startling both Liana and the ambassador.

While Nakamura-san has seen many Divementis on her way here, she hasn’t directly spoken to any of them yet. As for Liana, it still makes her uneasy to deal with them without Aefener being present as well.

“My name is Erevan Thalion Kaelen Nyx Draven, but feel free to call me Nyx,” she introduces herself to the ambassador. “If you’re wondering, I’m female. I’m the Divementis Emperor’s sister which makes me the Celestial Emperor’s aunt, so I hope you won’t mind me acting on my brother’s behalf.”

“Not at all,” Nakamura smiles diplomatically and if she’s disappointed, she doesn’t let it show. Professional to the core.

“We’ve prepared you an office close to the Celestial headquarters and there’s a meeting room we will be using frequently from now on to coordinate our forces,” Nyx says. “With both Majesties busy training, I’m afraid the logistics of the upcoming war falls on us.”

Liana studies Nyx’s resolute expression and Nakamura’s slightly uncertain but no less determined look. A Japanese ambassador, a Divementis Royal family representative and a Celestial Viceroy. They couldn’t be more different, but they have to make it work.

*****

“You’re doing the same thing as our Emperor,” Soren observes and gently pokes her between her eyebrows, catching her deep in thought.

“Hey!” Liana clicks her tongue irritably and wants to slap his hand, but he evades her. Fortunately, it’s only her, Gavreel and two guards still in the conference room.

Is this guy for real? The last time she checked, which was during the meeting with Nakamura and Nyx that ended just thirty minutes ago, she was still the Viceroy. Not only does Soren dare to invite her on a date, but now he even tries to act all familiar towards her.

“Your Excellency, you don’t have to put all the responsibility on your shoulders,” he continues, not giving her a chance to come up with something snarky in retaliation. “You have me and the whole Celestial government standing behind you. You’re not alone in this.”

“I know, but thanks for reminding me,” she stands up and stretches her wings to the sides as much as the room allows. They flew when they went to fetch their embodiment of magic, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

“We could go for a flight,” Soren suggests. “Unless you’re super tired, it’s still early to go to sleep anyway and we already had dinner with the ambassador.”

“Too late, it’s after dark,” Liana shakes her head.

“We won’t leave the Nebula premises which are well-lit,” he tries to persuade her. “Come on, Viceroy, you shouldn’t skip regular exercise.”

“Well, I’m certainly up to it,” Gavreel moans, shaking his stiff wings. “His Majesty would be angry with us if he discovered that we didn’t train our wings during his absence.”

“Okay, okay,” Liana sighs and takes off her embroidered over-robe because it would take too much time to return to their apartments and change into sporty robes.

They fly up from the office balcony without any preparation whatsoever and just two guards. Flying after dark and with minimum security would never be allowed back in Prague, but since they won’t leave the Divementis shield anyway, it should be safe enough. Celestials don’t have good night vision, so they generally avoid flying after dark, but Nebula is indeed well-lit.

Liana allows herself to give in to the moment and relax after a challenging day. She flies up and down, changes speed and even performs acrobatics. She gets lost in the experience and when she comes back to her senses, she realises that Gavreel and the guards have disappeared. There’s only Soren keeping up with her.

“Where’s everyone?” she looks around, confused.

“Gavreel wanted to inspect facilities at the west side and I dismissed the guards because we don’t need them,” he explains nonchalantly.

Liana panics a little when she realises that once again it’s just the two of them. Is Soren doing it on purpose? Did he make secret arrangements with Gavreel in advance?

“Don’t be so stiff, Viceroy,” Soren starts to playfully fly around her. “Here, I even brought a ball and enchanted it with a light spell so that we can see it in the dark.”

“We’re not high enough for a fetch game,” Liana frowns. When did he become so good at enchanting? Liana certainly didn’t have any time to study crafting and Soren has been by her side almost all the time.

“I’ve enchanted it with a levitation spell as well,” Soren assures her and throws the ball in her direction. It passes her by mere centimetres and makes her feathers stand up. It’s difficult for a Celestial to ignore a flying object, but she does exactly that.

“Don’t be a spoilsport, Viceroy,” Soren rolls his eyes. “It’s part of your well-being, come on. Good exercise!”

Liana sighs. Is he going to bring it up every time she doesn’t want to do something he demands? She turns around reluctantly and stares into the darkness. For several moments, she can’t see a damn thing, but then she notices something tiny glittering in the distance.

Not wanting the ball to fall onto someone’s head when it runs out of mana, she chases after it. Whether she wants to or not, a surge of adrenaline kicks in, and when she finally catches up to the ball and grabs it, she feels incredible. She immediately throws the ball in the opposite direction and now Soren chases after it.

They play fetch until they completely exhaust themselves. Liana tries not to let anything show on her face in front of Soren, but she hasn’t felt this relaxed since the Great Evolution. She’s been always either busy working or worrying about their embodiment of magic. When was the last time she had genuine fun?

“Welcome back, Your Excellency, Sir,” the guards are waiting for them at Liana’s balcony. “I hope you won’t report to His Majesty that we went against the protocol.”

“Not a chance,” Soren winks at his conspirators. Seeing how exhausted Liana is, he doesn’t prolong his stay and wishes her good night.

Liana is almost sorry to see him leave, but she’s indeed dead tired after the whole day. She takes a quick shower and collapses onto her bed. When she’s this worn out, she usually falls asleep immediately, but this time sleep isn’t coming. Her head is full of Soren and their strange date. Or is it dates in plural now counting their private flying session?

They’ve known each other only for a few months and they’ve had a strictly professional relationship until now. As a liaison officer and her bodyguard, Soren has been by her side almost nonstop, but they’ve never had a chance to talk about things outside of work. Does she actually know Soren at all?

Maybe she should consider the old saying that actions speak louder than words. After all, Soren shielded her against the Emperor’s wrath at the very beginning when they were still technically enemies. He also gave her emotional support when she was at her lowest—when it looked like His Majesty might replace her and she had no one to turn to.

Soren. Why is it that every time she thinks about him, her chest gets so weirdly tight? Is this an early sign of love? But Liana has never been in love before, so she has no way of knowing. The problem is that love doesn’t come easy to her. If growing up in a toxic environment of the extremely rich class taught her anything, it’s that being constantly on guard and not letting anyone get too close is the best defence.

In that sense, Soren is an invader who seems set on crushing her meticulously built walls. Should she… let him? Is a relationship even something she wants right now? She finally falls asleep when she attunes herself to the comforting mana emanation of their embodiment of magic, but it’s the kind of sleep that doesn’t bring the intended rest.