Yuri’s parents looked at one another, then his father spoke. “Not for much longer. The proceedings to dissolve your betrothal have already begun. King Aryan is poised to make Prince Angelo his heir. I believe they are already looking for a bride for him.”
“No.” Yuri’s stomach plummeted. “No. It’s not possible.”
“I’m afraid it is. The Tanzhiris have been looking to get out of the betrothal since you were born, Yuri, only they’ve never had the legal grounds to do so. They’re now trying to use Prince Angelo’s attack as grounds that the betrothal should be dissolved. Our lawyers are going back and forth, but things will likely go Tanzhir’s way in this.”
“But… but Angelo… he can’t.” Yuri’s voice stiffened. “He won’t. I’ll see to it. He’s my betrothed and I’m not giving him up.”
King Claudius and Queen Eleanor stared at their son. The queen’s embroidery slipped to the floor where one of the palace cats came and sniffed it. Deciding it wasn’t food, the cat hopped up onto Alex’s lap where he petted it absently.
“This isn’t a love match,” the queen eventually said. “It’s never been a love match. This is your opportunity, Yuri, to find a man you can fall in love with. It’s really the only silver lining in this situation.”
Yuri crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve already found a man to love. It was a lot of effort and took years. I’m not going through that again. Angelo is mine and I’m not giving him up now. I have to go back to England. I need to be with the man I love.” He stared back defiantly at the king and queen.
The queen picked her embroidery hoop off the floor. “In that case, England is the last place you should go.”
“But—”
“What your mother is trying to say,” King Claudius explained, “is that Angelo is no longer in England. King Aryan has had Angelo transported to Tanzhir. I’d imagine going to England is the last thing you’d want to do, under the circumstances.”
Yuri had wanted to leave for Tanzhir that very instant, but his family persuaded him against it.
“You need sleep,” his mother insisted, going over to her son and enveloping him in her arms. “And something to eat.”
“I think you should consider your actions before starting another international incident,” his father said. He patted his son awkwardly on the back, then was drawn into the hug by the queen. “Or getting hurt,” he added.
“That, and you need a solid plan,” Alex said, “and you’re dead on your feet. You couldn’t save a kitten in your current condition.” He added himself to the family hug pile. The dislodged cat twined around their ankles.
Thus Yuri allowed himself to be fed and put to bed. It seemed so strange for Philippe to not be there for him. He needed to check his messages and see if Philippe or Jacki had tried to contact him, but before he could make himself get out of bed to find his mobile, he’d fallen deeply asleep.
Yuri woke to find he’d slept away the rest of the day and had continued on through until halfway through the next day. Yawning hugely, he got his mobile and turned it on. There were several messages, but none from Angelo. That made his heart sink. But Angelo was injured and sick and had just been dragged from one country to another. It made sense that he hadn’t called or messaged Yuri, but still it made his stomach hurt. What if Angelo went along with what his father was planning? What if he’d rather be king than a mere prince? What if Angelo had never loved Yuri and only tolerated him because he was trying to make the best of a bad situation? Worry swept away his appetite.
The first notification he’d received was from Jacki. Over several texts, and then voicemail, she gave a blow by blow of Angelo’s abduction by his father’s Royal Guard. She concluded by telling him that she’d travel to Mirea as soon as she could.
Yuri: holy hell. I need to talk to you. Message or call when you get here.
Jacki: if you want to see me, sleepyhead, get your arse out of bed and come down to see me. I’m in the breakfast room.
Throwing on the first clothes that he found, Yuri hurried out of his room and through the castle. He arrived at the breakfast room out of breath. There sat Jacki with a pot of tea and a plate covered in assorted tarts. In a second, Yuri was seated beside her. Feeling ravenous, he crammed a random tart into his mouth—lemon, as it turned out—and poured himself a cup of tea. He tried to ask Jacki what she knew about Angelo, but it came out as garbled nonsense, thanks to the tart.
“For a prince,” Jacki said, “you’re pretty disgusting. Good thing I like you. Drink your tea. I can pretty much guess your first question, and that’s all about Angelo. As far as I know, he’s all right. A bunch of Tanzhir guards came to take him, by his father’s orders, to Tanzhir. We saw them trying to wheel him out on one of those rolling hospital bed thingies. Roger stopped them and they agreed to take him and Philippe back to Tanzhir with them.”
By that point, Yuri had drunk enough tea to wash down his tart. “Philippe’s not here with you?” He tried not to feel disappointed, but he did anyway.
“He’s going to speak with the queen. Angelo’s mom.”
“I want to talk with Angelo. I need to.”
Jacki looked sad. “They’ve taken his phone. Roger’s too. But I was able to speak with him over his sister’s phone. He doesn’t know what Philippe is up to, but Roger is doing his best to guard the prince in the meantime. Even when he sleeps, it's on a sofa in Angelo’s room. Nadia says he guards
