Chapter Eleven: Never Saying It The Easy Way

Jeremy did not return to the servants' wing immediately after leaving Elaine in the gardens. For some reason, his feet carried him aimlessly through the quieter corridors of Evercrest instead.

The castle had begun glowing with evening light. Golden sunset spilled through the tall arched windows, stretching across marble floors like liquid fire while servants hurried to prepare the palace for nightfall.

Normally, Jeremy loved this hour. The castle always felt softer at dusk. Less intimidating. Tonight, it only felt suffocating. Elaine's words refused to leave him alone.

He looks for you when you're not in the room.

Jeremy exhaled shakily as he ascended a narrow staircase leading towards the eastern halls. He should have felt relieved. Instead, guilt gnawed steadily at his chest. Because Elaine had not looked angry. That would've been easier. She had looked hurt. And in some way, that made everything between him and Kelvin feel far more treacherous than before.

Lost in thought, Jeremy nearly collided with someone turning the corner sharply. Strong hands caught his arms before he stumbled backward.

"Careful."

Jeremy looked up.

Prince Kelvin.

His breath caught.

The prince's hands still rested lightly against his arms, steadying him. Candlelight flickered across Kelvin's features, softening the sharp edges of his exhaustion. "You seem determined to injure yourself this week," he murmured.

Jeremy managed a weak laugh.

"You nearly fell off a cliff yesterday."

"Yes, but apparently now I'm walking into walls."

A faint smile touched Kelvin's mouth. Small. Tired. Yet undeniably real. Jeremy hated how easily that expression affected him.

The corridor around them remained empty and quiet, wrapped in the warm glow of approaching night. Somewhere in the distance, musicians practiced faintly for another noble gathering neither of them particularly wished to attend.

Kelvin's gaze drifted briefly towards Jeremy's shoulder. "Does it still hurt?"

"A little."

"You should be resting then."

"So should you."

That earned another quiet smile. But it faded quickly. Something unspoken settled between them again. Heavy now. No longer avoidable.

Jeremy became painfully aware of how close they stood. How dangerous even this felt. Especially after the hunt. Especially after the way Kelvin had looked at him yesterday.

Footsteps echoed faintly somewhere nearby, and both men pulled apart instinctively. Reality rushing back all at once.

Kelvin straightened slightly, princely composure slipping back over him like armour. "I should go."

Jeremy nodded too quickly. "Right."

For a moment, it seemed Kelvin wanted to say something else. Instead, he only held Jeremy's gaze for one lingering second longer before turning down the corridor towards the royal wing.

Jeremy watched him disappear into the fading light. The brief encounter unsettled him more than if Kelvin had kissed him outright.

*

Elsewhere within Evercrest Castle, Beatrice Holloway sat alone inside the records chamber surrounded by towering shelves and flickering candlelight. Dust drifted lazily through the warm air while stacks of ledgers covered nearly every available surface around her.

Something about the Crown Hunt continued bothering her. The details refused to settle correctly in her mind. Stable records from the previous week had been altered. Supply records. Horse preparations. None of it aligned the way it should have.

Beatrice adjusted her spectacles slightly before flipping through another worn ledger. Her candlelight flickered across faded ink and hastily rewritten entries.

Then she froze.

One servant name had been removed entirely. Not crossed out. Not transferred. Removed. As though someone wanted no trace left behind.

A chill crawled slowly along her spine. She reached for another ledger immediately, comparing dates and signatures carefully.

The same servant had been assigned to Kelvin's horse the morning of the hunt. And now every mention of him had vanished.

Beatrice's pulse quickened.

That alone would've been suspicious enough. But then she noticed something worse. Several payment records tied to House Ravaryn had also disappeared from the royal accounts during the same week. Not stolen randomly. Targeted. Deliberate.

Her stomach tightened uneasily.

This had never been an accident. Someone on the inside had helped orchestrate the attack.

The realization settled heavily over the silent chamber. And suddenly, the towering shelves no longer felt comforting. It felt unsafe. As though the castle itself were hiding secrets inside its walls.

A faint noise echoed somewhere beyond the chamber door.

Beatrice looked up sharply.

Silence followed.

Still, unease lingered stubbornly under her skin. Carefully, she gathered the ledgers together before extinguishing one of the candles nearby.

*

Rain arrived sometime after midnight. Soft at first. Then steady enough for droplets to shimmer against the palace windows like falling silver beneath the moonlight.

Queen Vivienne stood beside the enormous fireplace within her private chambers while Elaine sat nearby with untouched tea resting between elegant hands. Neither woman had spoken much since dinner.

The queen finally broke the silence. "The court is talking."

Elaine lowered her gaze slightly. "Courts always talk."

"Not like this."

The fire crackled softly between them.

Vivienne studied the younger woman carefully. Elaine had practically grown up inside Evercrest Castle. The queen knew her too well to miss the sadness lingering behind her composure tonight.

"You know him better than anyone," Vivienne said quietly.

Elaine's fingers tightened faintly around the porcelain cup. That hesitation alone answered more than words could have.

The queen noticed immediately. A flicker of concern crossed her face. "Elaine."

The younger woman looked up slowly. For one brief moment, heartbreak appeared openly within her expression before years of noble discipline buried it again.

Vivienne exhaled carefully. "He is under extraordinary pressure."

Elaine nodded once. "I know."

"I understand his burdens. This is the consequence of bearing royal responsibility. But right now, the kingdom is alarmed."

Outside, rain continued whispering softly against the windows.

The queen's voice lowered further. "Kelvin has always carried too much alone."

"Yes," Elaine whispered.

Something painful moved behind her eyes. And perhaps this time, Queen Vivienne began realizing there were burdens her son had never truly shared with anyone at all.

*

Much later, when most of Evercrest had fallen asleep, Jeremy found himself unable to rest. Rain drifted through the night air as he stepped quietly onto the eastern balcony overlooking the darkened kingdom below.

The storm had driven most people indoors, which made the silence feel strangely intimate.

Jeremy rested both hands against the cold stone railing and closed his eyes briefly. Everything felt different now. The accident. Elaine. The whispers spreading through the castle. And Kelvin.

Especially Kelvin.

The sound of footsteps behind him sent tension immediately through his chest.

Slowly, he turned.

Kelvin stood near the balcony entrance, moonlight and rain-shadow softening the sharpness of his features. A moment of silence passed between them. Then the prince stepped closer. "I've been looking for you."

Jeremy's pulse betrayed him instantly. "You shouldn't say things like that."

Kelvin almost smiled. "But it's true."

Jeremy looked away first.

Rain whispered softly around them while distant thunder rolled somewhere beyond the mountains. People were noticing too much already. Every glance between them suddenly felt laced with danger.

"I meant what I said earlier," Jeremy murmured quietly.

Kelvin stilled.

He swallowed once before continuing. "About why I did it."

The prince watched him carefully now. The tension felt unbearable. "Jeremy—"

"If it had been anyone else, maybe I would've hesitated." His voice softened painfully. "But it was you."

Silence followed. Not empty silence. The kind filled with truths neither of them knew how to survive yet.

Kelvin moved closer. Close enough now that Jeremy could see exhaustion haunting his eyes. And something else too.

Fear.

Not fear of scandal. Not fear of the kingdom. Fear of losing him.

"You scared me," Kelvin admitted quietly.

There was no easier way to say it. Meanwhile, the honesty in his voice nearly shattered what little restraint Jeremy still possessed.

Rainwater glimmered faintly along the prince's dark hair as thunder murmured again across distant skies.

Jeremy looked at him then. Really looked at him. Not the future king. Not the prince of Aragon. Just Kelvin. And suddenly, the distance between them felt impossibly fragile.

Kelvin's hand lifted slightly. Almost reaching for him.

Then stopped.

Because they both understood what would happen if he did not.

The kingdom below them remained sleeping and unaware while rain silvered the palace stone around them. Yet, standing there under the storm-dark sky, both of them finally understood the terrifying truth neither could escape anymore.

Something between them had changed. This was no longer friendship. And it had not been for quite some time.