Chapter 1

 

Nine years later

 

Calluvian Society Gossip

 

Prince Seyn in the spotlight of intergalactic mass media…Again.

 

Daughters and sons of the Third Grand Clan have always been known for their exquisite beauty and charisma. Many of them caused wars that shaped world history. But few flirted with scandal as often as Prince Seyn does.

It is common knowledge that Prince Seyn of the Third Grand Clan is quite the social butterfly. The twenty-three-year-old prince attends countless balls and soirees, not only on Calluvia, but also on other worlds of the Union of Planets. Nowadays, no one is surprised by the growing number of foreign admirers Prince Seyn has, admirers who refuse to give up despite Prince Seyn being unavailable. The whole Union knows that Prince Seyn is betrothed; no one seems to care, least of all Prince Seyn. Although, to our knowledge, the prince has never done anything completely inappropriate, he certainly doesn’t discourage his admirers from wooing him.

However, it was Prince Seyn’s recent trip to Planet Rugora that raised our eyebrows. [For those unaware: Planet Rugora is infamous for its gambling facilities and pleasure houses.] The prince was spotted by the tabloids in the company of several high-ranking members of the court.

One wonders what our esteemed Lord Chancellor thinks about his bondmate’s escapades…

As a matter of fact, we have managed to get hold of Prince Ksar, but he didn’t appear very concerned. “He likes to see new places and meet new people,” he told us curtly, looking rather bored and distracted, no doubt in a hurry to return to the Council’s session.

But we wonder: is Prince Ksar as unbothered as he seemed? And if he is, one has to wonder about the implications…

There has never been a dissolution of a childhood bond—it is forbidden by law—but we imagine if it were possible, Prince Ksar and Prince Seyn would be the first in line for it.

We can’t think of a less suitable couple…

 

 

* * *

 

“I wish there really was a way to dissolve this stupid bond,” Seyn grumbled, closing the article and setting his interactive multi-device down. “Then I would be rid of that asshole.”

Prince Harht of the Second Grand Clan looked at his friend and suppressed a sigh. He loved Seyn like a brother, but Seyn could be so unreasonable when it came to Ksar. Seyn also tended to forget that Ksar was his brother and that Harht loved his big brother, no matter how standoffish Ksar could be. Harht was convinced that Ksar was a good person—deep down—but every time he tried to convince Seyn of that, Seyn just scoffed and told him that he was too kind and naive, and that Ksar didn’t deserve to be defended.

“You’re talking about my brother,” Harht reminded Seyn gently. 

Seyn grimaced. “Sometimes I genuinely forget. Really, it’s amazing that someone like you can be related to such a vile, arrogant ass.” Seyn gave him a rueful smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “But yes, I get it. I’m sorry for putting you into such an awkward position.”

Harht sighed. It always upset him when Seyn badmouthed Ksar, but it also upset him that Seyn was so miserable because of the bond to his brother.

“There’s no way to dissolve the bond,” Harht said patiently, trying to project fondness and understanding instead of exasperation. “I don’t understand why you can’t just accept it. The bond isn’t bad. I like my bond and my bondmate.”

Seyn scoffed. “Because your bondmate isn’t an asshole. I would have been fine with being bonded to someone like Leylen—okay, mostly fine.” Seyn heaved a sigh, sagging back against the couch and running his hand through his long, silver hair before starting to coil it into a complicated braid. The jerkiness of his fingers as he twisted the long strands betrayed his frustration.

“You really don’t understand, do you?” Seyn said after a while.

Harht shrugged. He honestly didn’t.

Seyn smiled faintly. “You’re just very sheltered. You’ve never been on other planets. You haven’t seen societies—much healthier societies—that don’t shackle their children to some stranger for life. People can actually choose who they want to be with on other planets, Harht! Can you imagine that?” Seyn straightened, his green eyes brightening. “Other races can actually fall in love. Hell, they can have sex with anyone they want! They don’t have to wait until they’re twenty-five and they’ll be finally allowed to fuck the person who’s been forced on them since childhood! Amazing, isn’t it?”

Harht gave a shrug, a little embarrassed by Seyn’s vulgar language, but used to it enough not to comment on it. “Personally, I’m completely fine with waiting until I’m twenty-five. It’s not like I want sex.”

“Precisely!” Seyn said. “This stupid bond messes with our biology, making us practically asexual until our marriage and even then we can’t want anyone but our bondmate! It takes away our agency.”

Rationally, Harht understood where Seyn was coming from; he did. He just…He didn’t feel particularly bothered. It was hard to miss or want something one never had. It surprised him that Seyn felt so passionately about it.

“I just hate this,” Seyn said, deflating, his pale lips turning down at the corners, and his eyes losing fire. Even his braid looked kind of crooked and sad.

“I’m sorry,” Harht said softly, projecting as much sympathy and comfort as he could. He wasn’t a very good empath—Seyn was much better at empathy—but he did his best.

“Me, too,” Seyn murmured.

The palace AI’s voice cut in. “Excuse me, Your Highness?”

“Yes?” Seyn said listlessly.

“His Royal Highness Crown Prince Ksar’ngh’chaali is here and wishes to see you.”

Seyn jumped to his feet so fast it almost made Harht dizzy. A flush appeared on Seyn’s cheekbones, his eyes glinting with almost feverish intensity. “What does he want? Never mind, I can guess. Let him in.”

After a few moments, Ksar strode into the room, looking as though he owned it. Harht had always been a little envious of that ability of his brother. 

“Have you gone completely stupid?” Ksar said, glaring at Seyn as he walked into his personal space. “Stupider than you already were?”

Seyn lifted his chin and held his ground, not looking intimidated at all. “What have I done now, Your Highness?” he said with such venom in his voice that Harht barely recognized it.

“Do you make it your life’s mission to make yourself—and me— the laughingstock of the entire Union?” Ksar bit off. “A pleasure planet? Really? What next? Are you going to get caught naked? You’re a fucking embarrassment.”

Harht gaped at his brother. He had honestly never heard Ksar swear—or lose his ironclad composure in such a spectacular manner, for that matter. Ksar wasn’t a hothead. He didn’t rage and he didn’t do yelling matches. When he was angry, he got dangerously quiet, not this.

This…Harht wasn’t sure what this was. 

To make matters worse, Seyn smirked right into Ksar’s face. “Sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of your ego. Go fuck yourself. I can do whatever I want. You don’t actually own me, you controlling piece of shit—”

Harht cleared his throat, deciding that he should interfere before things got ugly. Or rather, uglier. “Calm down, both of you.”

Ksar’s gaze snapped to him, a frown appearing on his face. It made Harht wonder if his brother had even noticed that he was in the room.

After what felt like a very long moment, Ksar stepped back from Seyn, his face devoid of any emotion. He was once again absolutely composed. It was almost like looking at a different person. This Ksar was far more familiar to Harht than the one who had looked like he was one moment away from inflicting violence on Seyn.

“What are you doing here?” Ksar said, in his normal voice that held very little inflection. “Shouldn’t you be with Sanyash?”

Harht averted his gaze guiltily. He really was supposed to be with their sister, and he had been, until she had caught him peeking into her memories through their familial bond. She had been so furious at him for violating her privacy that Harht had fled from the palace, hoping that she would calm down. Their mother, the Queen, wouldn’t be amused if she found out.

“What did you do, Harht?” Ksar said, fixing his gaze on him.

“Maybe you should stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong,” Seyn cut in.

Any other time, Harht would have rolled his eyes. Seyn just couldn’t live with being in the same room as Ksar and not picking a fight with him. Sometimes it seemed like he couldn’t live without fighting with Ksar about everything and nothing.

“Maybe you should try following your own advice,” Ksar said coldly, without even glancing at Seyn, and Harht sighed exasperatedly. Ksar knew perfectly well how much Seyn hated being ignored and Harht was pretty sure his brother did it on purpose. They both were absolutely incorrigible.

“Harht,” Ksar said, reminding him that he was still waiting for an explanation.

Harht hung his head. “Sanyash has been teasing me all afternoon that she had some exciting news, but she wouldn’t tell me anything. I was curious, and she was right there.” He shrugged, embarrassed by his impulsive decision to sneak a peek into her memories. The thing was, he hadn’t even thought that he would be successful. He was just a Class 1 telepath, his mind-reading abilities very weak against other telepaths. But his touch-telepathy was pretty strong, and coupled with the familial bond between him and Sanyash, he had been unexpectedly successful at catching a glimpse of her memories.

“I peeked into Sanyash’s memories and found out that she’s pregnant,” Harht said and immediately winced. Was he supposed to tell Ksar that?

“You peeked into her memories,” Ksar repeated flatly, ignoring the pregnancy news.

Harht squirmed under his heavy gaze.

“Last time I checked, that was a crime,” Ksar said. “Punishable by as much as ten years in prison—unless you access memories of your bondmate. Violation of privacy is no joke.”

“She’s his sister, not some stranger,” Seyn said.

“No one asked for your opinion,” Ksar said, without looking at Seyn. “We’re going home, Harht.” He turned on his heel and walked out of the room, clearly expecting Harht to follow him.

Of course Harht did. When Ksar gave an order, people did as they were told—unless they were Seyn.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine,” Seyn said, sending a wave of comfort and reassurance his way. “Do you want me to come with you?”

Harht shook his head. Having Seyn around was the last thing he needed. For some reason, he always brought out the worst in Ksar.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Harht said with a confidence he didn’t really feel.

It should be fine. Right?

He was a prince.

What could his parents do to him?