Chapter 76

FELIX

A few days before the actual wedding, foreign dignitaries from all over the world started to arrive. Some were staying at the castle, others were in the various five-star hotels scattered through the city of Fresia. While Mila shopped for her wedding dress, I was placed in charge of greeting some of our more noble guests alongside my parents.

I was waiting in the grand entrance hall, shaking hands with a prime minister, when a familiar voice echoed against the castle walls.

“Felix! My man! Good to see you!”

I turned and smiled to see my old friend, Crown Prince Albert of the South Smyth Islands, striding into the entrance hall like it was his own castle. And in some ways, it was.

As the prince of Fresonia’s western neighbor and the only other nearby royal who was my age, Albert and I had been raised going to the same boarding schools and elite universities. Although I suspected many thought we would become rivals, I had always been delighted to call Albert one of my closest friends.

Most importantly, Albert was also raised in the Dragon Knight tradition, and Ignatius had always loved getting to play with his dragon, Hercules. The two of us had bonded early on over the unique pressures of being both a future King and a future leader of the Dragon Knights line.

Albert was going to be one of my groomsmen, actually, now that Charles was… no longer with us.

I greeted my old friend with a hug. “Great to see you, Albert. Thanks for being here.”

The prince had a thousand-watt smile and toned muscles from swimming, characteristic of the South Smyth Islanders. I knew he was set to take over his own throne in the next few years, as his father was unfortunately in a rapid health decline.

“Happy to be here,” Albert replied. “It’s been a while since I was in Fresonia.”

“We’re glad to have you back. A lot’s changed,” I said, trying to keep tension out of my voice. It had been a stressful afternoon of dodging questions about the missing Charles.

Albert raised an eyebrow at me. “Right. I noticed that we’re down a prince.”

I sighed. And there it was–the elephant in the room. “Charles is just throwing one of his temper tantrums. You know how he can get. He’ll cool off eventually and then pout for a few days about missing the wedding.”

It was the official party line, for now. We were trying to keep word of Charles’ treason from spreading before we found him.

Albert leaned in close to my ear. “I know that’s not the truth, Felix. In fact, I have some information that I thought you’d like to know.”

Fear stabbed at my heart. What could Albert possibly know?

“We can retreat to my study,” I said, leading him from the entrance hall. “We can talk a bit more freely there.”

Once in my study, Albert’s cool demeanor dropped. He started pacing the floor anxiously, running his hands through his hair.

“Listen, Felix, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but things have gotten bad out there,” he said.

I stared at him. “Albert, what are you talking about?”

“Look, I don’t know what happened between you and Charles, but he’s raising an army.” Albert’s eyes darted back and forth in a slight panic.

“An army?” What the hell was Charles thinking?

Albert nodded. “What exactly happened?”

I hesitated. I knew I could trust Albert, but truthfully, I had not let myself fully process the depth of Charles’ betrayal. “He kidnapped Mila and held her hostage in an attempt to kill me and take the throne. We both made it out of there alive, but… barely. It was an ambush.”

Albert’s eyes widened. “My god, Felix. That’s terrible.”

“What do you know about this army?” I asked, desperate for any sort of information.

Albert swallowed. “He’s going around to the second sons of noble families and recruiting them to his cause. He wants to overturn the status quo.”

My stomach churned. “By doing what, exactly?”

Albert looked at me in a way that suggested I should already know. “They want to overthrow their older brothers and seize their respective thrones for themselves.”

I shook my head in disgust. “And men are actually agreeing to this?”

Albert hung his head. There was an intense sadness in his voice. “I only know about this because they recruited Anton.”

My heart ached for him. Charles and I had never been close, but Albert and Anton were the best of friends. The two of them were practically inseparable, thanks to only being two years apart. I’d spent quite a bit of time with Anton as a result, and I admired the kid. He was kind and funny, the life of every party.

And he was now plotting to kill his older brother just for a shot at power.

“Did Anton tell you about this?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Albert nodded. “He spoke to me before he left. It was… a tense conversation. I’d never seen him like that, all angry and wound up. Apparently Charles has had great success with his recruitment. There are many young men who have felt overlooked for quite some time.”

I clapped my hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry about Anton. He’s always been a good man. I’m sure there is a path to redemption.”

Albert looked down at the ground. “If he doesn’t kill me first.”

Unfortunately, it was no exaggeration. If this was what the army was planning, things were even more serious than I thought.

“Do you know who else is involved in this army?” I asked him. “Perhaps we can create some sort of war council.”

Albert exhaled heavily. “I know for certain that he has Prince Rico of Sagrada and Prince Orlando of Prazole. I can only assume he’s made it to Wisteria and the Whitelands as well.”

I nodded, slowly thinking over this information. “Well, Lukas and Nicholas are coming to the wedding. Maybe we can talk to them in the next few days.”

Lukas and Nicholas were the Crown Princes of Wisteria and the Whitelands, respectively, and also dear friends of ours. They both had several younger brothers, and I felt a stab of fear at the thought of how many of those young men had been recruited into Charles’s scheme.

“I think a war council would be a good idea,” Albert offered. “We can get to work once you’re back from the honeymoon.”

Right. The honeymoon. The wedding.

“We’ve doubled down on security after the incident,” I said. “I can only assume you’ve brought your own guard as well?”

Albert nodded. “Some in uniform, some plain clothes. I did not want to run any risk while I was traveling.”

“Well, let’s get through the bachelor party and see what we can do after the wedding,” I said grimly. “Unfortunately, Mila would understand if the honeymoon needed to be postponed.”

“I hope it does not come to that, brother,” Albert said.

My voice was grave. “If I’ve learned anything over the last few weeks, Albert, it is to never underestimate my brother.”