Chapter 22: The Night of the Ball. Pt. 2

“Brother, I was simply having a rare conversation with Ezra,” Kaelis said, a proud smile plastered across his face.

’It was hardly a conversation,’ Ezra thought, but he smiled up at Helios anyway.

“Your Highness, done dancing already?” Ezra asked. His gaze shifted past Helios instinctively. “Where’s… Princess Alyce?”

Alyce was usually glued to Helios’s side. Her absence was noticeable.

“She went to mingle with some noble ladies,” Helios replied easily. “She’s been trying to ease herself into our kingdom’s high society, little by little.”

“Taking initiative,” Kaelis said, lifting his glass. “She really is remarkable. How are you so fortunate to have found such a fiancée?”

Helios laughed softly. “Perhaps you should try actually getting to know the women you frolic with.”

Kaelis placed a hand over his chest, feigning offense. “Frolic? I do no such thing, brother.”

Helios raised an eyebrow. “I’m fairly certain I’ve seen half the women in this ballroom inside your compound.”

“I’m popular.”

“Uh-huh.” Helios chuckled, then turned back to Ezra. He seemed to notice Ezra’s silence almost immediately. “You’re quiet. This party is in your honor. You should be mingling.”

“Hey, he was mingling with me,” Kaelis said, crossing his arms.

Helios shot him a look.

Ezra resisted the urge to do the same.

“In my honor is a bit much,” Ezra said carefully. “It’s for your efforts. And the Sunward Sentinels.”

“Which you lead,” Helios replied, smiling warmly. “You’re the captain.” He stepped closer and gestured toward the crowd. “Come. Let me introduce you to a few people.”

Ezra wanted to say no.

He had already endured more than enough polite smiles and empty conversations for one night. But Helios looked genuinely happy.

Proud even.

And Ezra had always been weak to that.

He took a slow breath. “Alright, Your High—”

He stopped.

His heart lurched violently in his chest, a sudden, sharp thud that stole his breath. Ezra sucked in air and instinctively clutched at his chest, eyes widening.

’What… was that?’ he thought. ’Fuck–’

Then it happened again.

Stronger this time.

’Have I been drugged?’ Ezra thought hazily. ’My body feels… strange.’

It wasn’t just the sudden warmth pooling beneath his skin, or the way his limbs felt heavier than they should.

It was the fact that both princes were still looking at him.

Watching him.

And Helios, perceptive as ever, noticed immediately.

“Ezra?” Helios asked quietly, his smile fading just a fraction. “You went quiet all of a sudden. Are you alright?”

Ezra blinked.

The words reached him, but they didn’t register right away. It was like his mind lagged behind his body, everything moving a beat too slow.

The music, the voices, the lights. All of it felt distant.

It took him a full minute.

One painfully long minute.

“I’m fine, Your Highness,” he finally said.

The tone came out flat, almost mechanical. Not on purpose. His throat felt dry, tight, like he hadn’t had a sip of water in days. Each word scraped on the way out.

“Just… thinking.”

He swallowed, but it didn’t help.

’Why does it feel like I haven’t drank anything in hours?’ he thought. ’No. Days.’

Kaelis scoffed beside him. “It’s quite common for your captain to go silent out of nowhere, brother. That’s just how he is.”

Something snapped.

It was sudden.

And very unexpected.

“Only with you!”

The words left Ezra’s mouth before his brain could catch up.

Silence slammed down around them.

The music didn’t stop, but it felt like it had. Conversations blurred into a distant hum.

Helios stared at him, genuinely stunned.

Kaelis’s brows shot up, surprise flickering across his face before he could mask it with amusement.

Ezra froze.

’…Did I really just say that?’

Heat rushed up his neck and into his face, but it wasn’t just embarrassment. It was deeper. Heavier.

A warmth that bloomed in his chest and curled low in his stomach, unfamiliar and terrifying all at once.

“I—” Ezra sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m sorry.”

His heart was pounding now, loud enough that he could hear it in his ears.

“That was uncalled for,” he added quickly. “Forgive me, Your Highness.”

Helios didn’t laugh.

Didn’t brush it off.

That alone made Ezra’s chest tighten.

Helios’s expression shifted, the easy warmth replaced by concern. Real concern. He stepped closer, his voice lower, firmer.

“Ezra,” Helios said. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Ezra opened his mouth to answer.

Then closed it again.

The ballroom felt warmer. No, not just warmer. Stifling. The air pressed against his skin, his uniform suddenly too tight, too thick.

Helios’s gaze sharpened. “Do not lie to me,” he said quietly. “You seem… off.”

Ezra swallowed hard.

He had to force what little saliva he had left to coat his throat, because—

…why was it suddenly so warm?

The ballroom had been chilly earlier. He remembered that clearly. Marble floors. Cool air that crept into your boots and lingered against your skin.

Now it felt like the walls were closing in.

His uniform clung to him uncomfortably, fabric sticking where it shouldn’t.

A thin sheen of sweat gathered at his temples, sliding slowly despite the fact that nothing around him had changed.

’I’m just tired,’ he told himself, clinging to the thought. ’That’s all. I’ve been drinking. Maybe I had too much.’

The explanation felt flimsy even as he thought it, especially as it didn’t answer WHY he felt parched.

Dizziness crept in next, subtle at first.

The room tilted just slightly, enough to make him shift his weight. His heart began to pound, each beat loud and insistent, like it was trying to force its way out of his chest.

’I should excuse myself,’ he thought hazily. ’I need to—’

“Ezra, you’re not answering.”

Helios’s voice cut through the haze, firmer now. More commanding.

Ezra flinched.

Kaelis tilted his head, eyes narrowing as he studied him. “You look pale,” he said slowly. “And flushed. Which is… impressive.”

Ezra barely registered the words.

But Helios’s presence, his voice, the way his attention sharpened on him—

It made something inside Ezra spark.

Tingle.

The warmth surged again, crawling beneath his skin, pooling low and heavy in his body. It felt terrifyingly familiar.

A sensation he had only ever felt once.

His breath caught.

’No,’ he thought quickly, panic flaring. ’It can’t be that.’

It shouldn’t be possible.

He straightened abruptly, the movement sending a sharp wave of dizziness through him. He swayed, just barely catching himself before anyone could notice.

“I’m not feeling well,” Ezra said, forcing the words out evenly. “I think I need some air.”

Helios stepped forward immediately. “Ezra, wait. Let me—”

“No,” Ezra said too quickly.

He winced inwardly and softened his tone at once. “Your Highness, please. The guests are here for you. Princess Alyce might come looking for you.”

His fingers curled tightly into his palm, nails biting into skin, grounding himself.

“Please,” he added quietly. “Continue mingling. Both of you. I’ll be fine. I just need to step out for a moment.”

’I need to leave,’

he thought urgently. ’Now.’

Before Helios could respond, Ezra turned and walked away.

Not running.

But close.

His steps were quick and uneven, breath coming shallow as he pushed through the crowd. His eyes stayed fixed ahead, refusing to look back, refusing to see if Helios was following.

The heat inside him only intensified, spreading with terrifying certainty, settling deep in his core.

Fear wrapped tight around his chest.

’Please,’ he begged silently. ’Please don’t be what I think it is.’

But as he reached the ballroom doors, the warmth surged again.

’I need to find a footman,’ Ezra thought frantically. ’I need to get home. I can’t… breathe. It’s too hot. My—’

He didn’t see where he was going.

The impact came suddenly.

Ezra collided with someone hard enough that they both went down, the breath knocked clean out of him as he hit the floor.

A sharp, broken sound slipped from his throat.

A whimper.

Ezra froze.

He never whimpered.

The realization alone was horrifying.

Then came the second wave.

As he landed awkwardly, pain flaring through his side, his body betrayed him in a way he hadn’t felt in years. A warmth he recognized too well, too intimately, spreading where it absolutely shouldn’t.

His breath hitched.

His mind went blank.

’No. No, no—’ his thoughts spiraled wildly. ’Why now? Why does it feel like this?’

Panic crashed over him harder than the fall itself.

’I can’t be in heat,’ he thought desperately. ’That’s not possible. It hasn’t happened since the first time. It can’t happen now.’

His heart was pounding so violently it made his vision blur.

’This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening.’

Pain, humiliation, fear. None of it mattered as much as the realization clawing its way through his denial.

Then a voice spoke above him.

“Oh, Captain Ezra… my deepest apologies for bumping into you. Are you alright?”

Ezra’s blood ran cold.

Slowly, dread tightening his chest, he looked up.

Black hair.

Golden eyes.

Aurien.

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