“I’ll help you clearly find her again.” As he spoke, his lips tickled Kael’s stomach. Kael sighs. “We should really shower and get going.”
“You’re right.” Aiden holds onto Kael a little while longer before pulling away. Kael swings his legs over the edge of the bed. Aiden looks at Kael’s back, admiring the blades of his shoulders and the dip that led to his buttocks. “Why the sudden interest in finding out about Skye’s past?” Aiden asks. “It was never sudden, ever since my memories returned I always wondered how a fire could start in this castle of all places.”
“A kitchen fire.” Aiden says. “You’d think, but something told me otherwise, call it a sixth sense.” He stands up, still naked and looks around for his boxers. Aiden’s elbows sink into the mattress, as he lay on his stomach, with his chin in his hands admiring the view. “Do you suspect your father too?” Aiden asks, his eyes following the trail of sweat running down Kael’s hips. “Maybe a little…”
“He’s your father.” Aiden bites his bottom lip, taking in a quiet breath as he watched the way Kael’s spine curved in when he stretched. “So? I’m starting to see him differently…like some stranger.”
“A stranger?” Kael nods, shoving a hand through his damp bangs. Aiden’s gaze latches onto the red hickey he had placed on the back of Kael’s thigh. “Yeah…he’s changed.”
“Do you think it has something to do with Skye?” Aiden asks and then swallows, his gaze moving from Kael’s thighs up to the curve of his butt. “I’m starting to believe so.”
“Mmm,”
“But it makes me wonder…” Kael murmurs; Aiden’s gaze lingers on Kael’s behind and his brown eyes flicker. “Wonder what?” He asks in a gruff voice. “Just…things…”
“Mmmhmm.” Realizing that he had gotten a little excited while watching Kael, he quickly sits up and stumbles off the bed. “Something wrong?” Kael asks, glancing back at him. Aiden smiles sheepishly. “I’ll just take care of myself in the shower.” He mumbles and Kael laughs, his shoulders bobbing. “Be quick, I need to hurry and get downstairs.”
“No problem, your majesty!” he calls and Kael laughs again.
….and Broken Souls
The echo of the bullet sounds like glass is shattering right beside his ear, but the pain is worse. He can feel it in his leg, in his heart, everywhere. “It hurts.” He huffs, his grip on the Queen loosening. Kai stares as Francis falls, his hand holding the gun was shaking wildly. I had no choice, is what he tells himself. It was my job. He drops the gun as though it’s caught on fire and he dashes over to his crumpled friend, there was blood oozing from his hip or maybe it was his thigh—Kai couldn’t tell. “F—Francis!” Francis looks to him, his eyes were glistening with tears. “You shot me.” He says in disbelief. “You fucking shot me.” His tone had changed, he sounded hurt and shocked…betrayed. “I didn’t think…so you were working for him the entire time?”
“Francis, it’s not like that.”
“Kai, you—“ but he begins coughing, speckles of blood sputtering from his trembling lips. The hand holding the knife had gone limp and he could no longer feel his legs. “Francis. Look at me.” At the sound of his name being called he begins to laugh and laugh and laugh. “Revenge is a bitch.” He hacks some more, his lips twisted in a crooked grin. Kai rips off his tie and tugs at Francis’s pants until they rip, his eyes widen. There was a hole left where the bullet had traveled, it was lodged somewhere in Francis’s leg. Kai begins to think about the worst case scenario, his heart racing. “You should…” Francis meets Kais terrified gaze. “Call the police.” He finishes before blacking out, his head crashing against Kais shoulder.
A few days ago…
Gene holds the punching bag as Kai delivers a heavy blow to the lower half. “Again. Try doing it higher.” Gene commands, adjusting the bag slightly. Kai nods, rolling his neck and pouncing back and forth, back and forth until he lands an uppercut and a left kick to the bag. “Good, that’s better.” Gene comments and Kai beams, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He raises a hand to signal for a break before turning his back to Gene and reaching over to pick up his water bottle. It was almost empty. “Have you told that friend of yours about your identity?”
“Francis?” Gene nods, walking around the punching bag and towards Kai. “Even if I wanted to tell him, I couldn’t.”
“That’s true.” Kai flashes a sympathetic smile. Gene watches as he swallows down his water, his dark eyes bearing into Kai’s very existence. “Are you two dating?” Kai nearly chokes on his water, he coughs, wiping his mouth and hacking out. “Could you tell?” Gene nods. “You’re glowing.”
“Oh shit, don’t tell me that.” Kai replies with a playfully bashful smile and Gene chuckles to himself. “How long?”
“Mm, a few weeks maybe, but we’ve been friends for a while.”
“Aaah,” Kai smiles to himself. “If I didn’t think he’d kill me for it,” he looks towards Gene and their eyes meet. “I’d tell him I love him.” Gene saw every bit of raw emotion in Kai’s glittering eyes, he saw just how much he cared for Francis and he admired him for that even if somewhere in his hearts of hearts, he had liked Kai too. “You should tell him.” Kai laughs at that. “And risk a beating?” he shakes his head. “No thanks, I’ll tell him sooner or later…” He tosses Gene a wink, his plump lips thinning into a smile. Gene watches his back and opens his mouth to say something but stops. “Well, good luck.” Kai tosses him a wave over his shoulder before walking out of the room and down the hall. He had thought about it a couple of times; to tell him he loved him, but there was something stopping him. He thought that it was the secrets between them, the unknown little fact about Kai’s other identity. But they could overcome it…he was sure they could. “Something on your mind?” Micah’s deep voice seeps into his mind and Kai looks up startled. “Oh, ah, Micah.” He bows and Micah reaches out to place a hand to his shoulder. “What’s on your mind?”
“Nothing,” Kai beams, “Just twenty-year old love.” Micah’s eyes widen and a brief flicker of shyness crosses his serious features. It catches Kai off guard and a smirk quirks his lips. “Oooh,” he coos. “Is there someone you like, Micah?” His hand on Kai’s shoulder slides away and he crosses his arms over his chest. “So there is?” Kai’s right eyebrow shoots up with curiosity, Micah clears his throat. “Who? Who? Who’s the lucky gir—“
“Good afternoon,” A warm and mellow voice says from behind Micah, Kai quickly bows realizing whom it was. “Janus.”
“Hello, Kai how’s everything with Francis? He doesn’t know yet does he?”
“Of course not.” Kai replies quickly, Janus smiles. “Good.” His pristine teeth peep from behind his pink lips and he approaches Micah from behind placing a hand to his waist. “The assumption that the person Micah is seeing is a girl, is quite superficial, even for you, Kai.”
“Ah, wait…excuse me?” He looks between the two and then it all clicks. “You…two?” He points to the both of them. “Yes,” Janus places his other hand to Micah’s shoulder. “We’re still figuring out this dating thing,” Janus chuckles lightly. “It’s been a while since I’ve actually been attracted to someone so strongly.” Micah rolls his eyes. “Why not just say you really like me?” he turns to look at Janus who was grinning. “Is that what you want to hear?” Micah breaks out of Janus’s grip and storms down the hall. Janus laughs loudly, his brown eyes twinkling brightly—Kai wondered how long it had been since he’s seen such a look of genuine affection in Janus’s eyes. “When did this happen?” Kai asks and Janus’s warm eyes settle on him. “It’s been happening.”
“Since the beginning?” Janus waves his hand from side to side. “Somewhat.” He brushes past Kai, dismissing their conversation with a genteel smile. He turns to watch Janus go and notices the slight hop in his step. With a crooked smile he turns on his heel and goes back to where he had come, that same happy hop he saw in Janus was now in his step.
Love can do that to a person.
Aiden was walking beside Kael as they paused outside the campus. It was early afternoon, classes would still be going on and Kael just wanted to get a glimpse of the place. “It feels like I haven’t been here in years….” He murmurs thoughtfully, Aiden nods, turning to look at Kael. “How have your classes been?” Kael asks him still facing the building, Aiden shrugs. “It’s been hell, but you probably don’t want to hear that.” Kael rolls his eyes. “What’s beating you up?”
“Math,” he mumbles and Kael breaks out into a smile. “I can always help you.”
“But you’re so busy.” Kael rolls his eyes, taking Aiden’s hand in his. “Do you really want me to say it?” Aiden nods fluttering his eyes. “Yes.” Kael groans and then leans towards Aiden and says softly. “I’m never too busy for you.” His breath fans against Aiden’s ear and he mentally squeals, his toes curling inside his leather shoes. “You know I love you.” He murmurs and Kael says. “And you know you’re annoyingly cliché.”
“This,” he gestures between them. “Wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for a few clichés.”
“Really? Has our relationship really been based off of clichés?” Aiden pauses to think about it and then he shakes his head slowly. “Not…quite.”
“It started because of our connection with Skye.”
“Fate some would say…” Aiden replies listlessly and Kael nods. They stand silently, looking up at the looming campus. It suddenly seemed like a giant shadow, slowly leaning towards them and taking them in its embrace. “I read some articles,” Kael begins. “You did?” Aiden unconsciously grips Kael’s hand tighter. “Yes.”
“What did you find out?”
“Some of what you already told me—her being pregnant, how many weeks she was, about her age and the fire.”
“Aah,” they turn away from the campus beginning their descent down the narrow sidewalk. “What else?” Kael takes in a deep breath. “I read an interview that your parents did for the papers.” Aiden’s eyes widen slightly. “An interview?”
“Mmhm, it was a short one.” Their strides match—step by step—in synch and their hands begin to swing back and forth between them and Aiden finally says, “Tell me.” Kael’s gaze slides over to look at him and his eyes linger on Aiden’s side profile before starting, “I asked around at the library…”
“Do you have anything about the fire from a few years ago?” Kael asks the young librarian, her round eyes staring at him curiously. “Can you be a bit more specific?”
“The one concerning the King and Queen.” The woman’s eyes light up and she taps her temple exclaiming. “Ah! That one!”
“Yes,” He was dressed from head to toe in casual clothes—ripped jeans, a navy blue hoodie and dark shades covered his eyes. He could barely see his way around but that was better than getting caught. “Follow me.” Kael bows following after her and glancing over his shoulder and of course there was one of his shadows, lurking in the dark and watching over him. “Here we are.” They stop in front of a short row of books. “When it happened it was crazy, magazine articles were being printed left and right, I’m sure you’ll be able to find an interview or two.” She says, smiling her librarian smile. Kael smiles back. “Thank you.” He bows and she’s on her way. He glances over his shoulder watching as she goes before slipping off his shades and burying his nose in one of the magazines.
“You actually went there?” Aiden asks, shocked. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”
“I just thought—I mean you have a library at the castle.”
“But of course there’s nothing about Skye in any of those books.”
“…right.”
He flips the pages quickly, his heart racing as images and words flashed before his eyes. YOUNG WOMAN KILLED IN FIRE. There was a picture of smoke rising from the east side of the castle. HISTORIAN WAS MURDERED? CONSPIRACY THEORY AT THE CASTLE? SLEEPING WITH ROYALTY. Kael kept flipping and flipping, nearly tearing the pages in the process. WHO WAS HER LOVER? THE KIM FAMILY SPEAKS UP AFTER THE DEATH OF THEIR DAUGHTER. Kael stops, his fingers trembling as they trace over the title. “Kim family…death of their daughter…” he echoes before reading the brief introduction: The parents of Skye Kim were kind enough to join us for a short interview in the midst of grieving the loss of their daughter who died in a fire at the Royal Castle.
Interviewer: Thank you for joining us
Mrs. Kim: Not a problem at all *she smiles*
Interviewer: Could you tell us if there was any way of knowing who Skye was seeing before she…passed?
Mrs. Kim: She was always open about her affairs…
Interviewer: Then did you know who she was seeing?
*Mrs. Kim’s husband grips her hand*
Mr. Kim: We rather not talk about these things, we just want the world to know that our Skye was a—
Mrs. Kim: She told me…it was for Aiden…
Interviewer: Excuse me, what was?
Mrs. Kim: She was always taking after her younger brother…
Mr. Kim: Honey, that’s enough
Mrs. Kim: She even—for him—she—she…
*Mrs. Kim starts crying*
Kael stares down at the pages, tears filling his eyes and he buries his face in the magazine, his tears spilling onto the glossy pages.
Aiden was gripping Kael’s hand tightly, sweat was beginning to cling to their skin. “I don’t want it to be, Aiden.”
“I know,”
“I don’t want to think about it anymore.” Kael’s voice was shaking. “I can’t…I can’t…”
“I know…” Aiden turns, placing a hand to Kael’s back and pushing him into a hug. “I know, Kael, ssh, I know.” Kael had started to cry—a quiet sob that was muffled by Aiden’s shirt and Aiden was soon crying along with him. The truth was becoming too hard to deny. It was right there in front of their faces drifting up from the smoke of the past.
~*~
Francis stares at the kitchen knife, his black eyes flicking up and down the sharp blade. Would it be hard to stab a person? Is it sort of like back-stabbing? He thought, but the pun wasn’t the least bit humoring at the moment. He thought about the way they back of the knife would press against the Queen’s neck and of the terror and shock on her face. That same shock Jenna felt when Aiden had ended things between them. But it was more than that—a revenge the Queen, King and Kael should have expected since they had technically stolen his brother from him. Janus was always away, slaving for those royal assholes that didn’t give a damn about his personal life. “You aren’t crazy…” he murmurs, but the string was slowly beginning to thin—stretched and stretched until it would snap. A bright day with a cool breeze and the clinking of ice in tea glasses out in the back garden and then the cloth would be pulled and it would all go tumbling down. The glasses would shatter and shards would fly into the air, guests would shriek and the wind would pick up, whipping past bodies and flapping curtains.
Hell was approaching.
Francis walks over to the knife and grips it in his hand. “Maybe,” he tilts it from side to side. “You are just a little crazy.” He laughs to himself, but then he stops short, his hands trembling. “No…” Kai’s goofy grin flashed in his mind and then he saw Jenna. “You can’t…” He saw Janus scolding him and heard their laughter. He slams the knife down onto the counter and stumbles back. “I—I…” he buries his face in his hands. “What do I do?” his voice was high and uneven and he was glad Jenna and Janus were both out. “What do I…why would I…get it together…why the hell…”
A psychological break-down is a slowly approaching bridge, one that is seen from a distance and eventually it has to be reached and then crossed. Francis spotted such a bridge when he lost his parents, but he took his time approaching it, skipping here and there and playing with rocks along the way. He never crossed that bridge and somewhere—subconsciously—he had promised himself he would never cross it. But there that bridge was, closer than ever and waiting for him, just him as th
ough he were special.
His gaze staggers towards the knife and he takes it in his hand again, sweat was glistening on his chest and neck. “For Jenna…” he pants and he laughs, his lips trembling and his shoulders shaking, but that laugher slowly became a broken sob.
The bridge was being crossed and Francis was slowly walking it towards the end.
A day before the shot…
The Queen was staring across the dining table at her husband who was chewing his lunch as though it would poison him and maybe it would. Kael looks between his parents and rolls his eyes. “Did you two argue over the carpet again?” he says with a snarky grin and his mother looks to him with a gaze that could kill. “Right now isn’t the time, Kael.” Kael lifts his wine glass, tilting it back and chugging the bitter wine. They had forgotten his birthday.
It was yesterday and he spent it with Aiden, they worked on the greenhouse, pulling up the weeds and planting seeds that would sprout come summer time. It was beginning to look like something and they both hoped that the end outcome would please Skye.
“Is something the matter dear?” The King asks, dabbing his lips and smiling at his wife. “I found a pair of lingerie stuffed between the undergarments in your bedroom dresser.” She snaps and Kael begins to excuse himself from the table. “Ah, so you were snooping again.”
“Hey! This—“ she jumps up from her seat and thrusts from her robe a satin pink pair of panties. Kael eyes them and then he shrinks into himself. It was as though this entire situation was to clarify the thoughts he already had towards his father and his relations with Skye. “I know what you do when I’m away.”
“It’s nothing like what you have in mind.”
“Don’t be smart with me Vincent!” Kael begins to turn on his heel and takes a single step forward. “I love you, dear, I would never—I’m a King…” Kael takes another step forward bringing his hands up to his ears to cover them. “I have a reputation to uphold, we do as a family, isn’t that right, Kael?” he presses his hands harder against his ears. Don’t bring me into this. “Leave our son out of this!” His mother yells and Kael takes two steps forward. “I only want what’s best—“
Butterfly Prince Page 36
