Liam wanted to leave before he became the target of the ministers or noble families.
He made it at most ten feet before someone stopped him.
"My lord."
Liam closed his eyes for half a second.
Of course.
The Golden Court had barely begun dispersing after the oath, but the strict ceremonial formation had already dissolved into clusters of officials, old families, and provincial representatives who clearly considered the conclusion of a historic sovereign oath an excellent opportunity for networking.
Usually, Liam could tolerate that.
He had survived Wrohan’s court, industrial committees, government hearings, and investors who somehow believed technical meetings required three hours of unnecessary conversation before anyone discussed the machine they were actually buying.
This was different.
Today, hundreds of people had watched the Nurian Core recognize his bond with Arik.
And Liam currently had something foreign sealed inside that bond.
He turned.
An older man in dark ceremonial robes bowed respectfully. Two others stood behind him, both wearing insignia Liam did not recognize.
"Minister?"
"Minister Avedan, Internal Development."
Right.
Liam had seen the name somewhere.
Probably on one of the administrative documents Cassian had placed in front of Arik and Arik had subsequently attempted to place in front of Liam.
Liam smiled politely. "Minister Avedan."
"I wished to welcome you formally."
"That is very kind."
Liam stepped sideways.
The minister moved with him.
"Nuria has waited a very long time for the return of the sovereign line."
Liam’s smile remained in place.
"Yes."
"And naturally, His Highness’s mate will have considerable influence over the future of the imperial household."
Liam could practically hear the trap closing.
Under normal circumstances, he might have enjoyed making the man work considerably harder for whatever question he actually wanted answered.
Today his skin crawled.
The foreign ether had remained silent during the oath, compressed beneath the arcanists’ containment formations, but Liam had not forgotten it simply because he could no longer feel it clearly.
Especially after what they had discovered that morning.
Felix had already reached too far into something that belonged only to Liam and Arik.
He did not want strangers reaching for it too.
"The imperial household does not currently require my influence," Liam replied.
Avedan smiled diplomatically. "Of course. The formal consort ceremony has not yet taken place."
Liam’s shoulders tightened.
The mark at Liam’s neck warmed, and somewhere beneath the layers of containment, he imagined Lily.
He knew it was probably imagination, but it still bothered him.
"I believe His Highness has already made it clear that ceremonial matters will be decided privately."
Avedan finally noticed something in his expression.
Unfortunately, someone else had already approached from Liam’s left.
A woman wearing the insignia of one of Nuria’s older houses bowed. "My lord, forgive the interruption. Lady Soreya Tal."
Liam resisted the urge to look toward the nearest exit.
"Lady Tal."
"My family administered the eastern agricultural districts before the Gate closed. I merely wished to offer our congratulations. Seeing the Core acknowledge the bond was extraordinary."
That was harmless enough.
"Thank you."
"And reassuring."
Liam became suspicious again.
She continued before he could escape.
"There had naturally been uncertainty concerning whether His Highness’s bond formed outside Nuria would be recognized under the old sovereign laws."
Liam stared at her.
Apparently, everyone in Nuria had collectively agreed to discuss his relationship immediately after the oath.
Fantastic. Arik, save me for goodness sake.
"The Core appeared fairly decisive."
Lady Tal smiled. "Indeed."
Another official joined them.
Then another.
Liam realized his mistake.
Stopping had created a gathering point.
He could now see people altering their paths toward him with the unmistakable determination of politicians who had identified an unoccupied member of the imperial family.
Except Liam was not technically a member of the imperial family yet.
That distinction suddenly mattered enormously.
Later, he would not care.
Once Arik was emperor, once Liam’s own position was settled, and once Felix’s contamination had been removed and nobody could question whether his thoughts belonged entirely to himself, they could call him consort, imperial mate, lord of something unnecessarily elaborate, or whatever title Nurian tradition eventually produced.
He would stand beside Arik and deal with every minister in the empire if necessary.
But not now.
Not while something inside his body had tried to make decisions for him.
Someone mentioned the consort ceremony again.
Liam stopped listening.
He felt exposed.
The Court was enormous, yet suddenly there were too many eyes, too many people aware of the bond that had pulsed visibly through the Core only minutes earlier.
His fingers tightened around his sleeve.
Then someone stepped into the group beside him.
Rubis.
He did not touch Liam or interrupt rudely. He simply appeared at Liam’s shoulder with the impeccable calm of a man who had spent seventy-two years learning how to remove important people from conversations without creating diplomatic incidents.
"My apologies," Rubis said. "Lord Liam is expected elsewhere."
Minister Avedan glanced at him. "Surely only for a moment—"
"No."
Liam looked at Rubis.
Rubis did not appear remotely apologetic.
Lady Tal wisely stepped back.
The others were slower.
One younger nobleman offered Liam another formal bow. "Perhaps later, then. I had hoped to discuss the historical status of the sovereign’s mate. There are several precedents concerning succession that—"
"No," Liam said.
The word came out sharper than intended.
Silence spread through the small group.
Liam exhaled.
He was suddenly tired.
"I apologize," he said, more evenly. "Today is His Highness’s oath. Anything concerning my future position will be addressed when there is actually a position to address."
That was diplomatic enough.
Rubis immediately took advantage of the opening and guided Liam away.
They made it nearly twenty feet before Liam muttered, "I could have escaped by myself."
"You made ten feet."
"I was ambushed."
"You stopped when addressed."
"That is considered polite."
Rubis glanced at him. "An unfortunate weakness."
Liam laughed.
Then he noticed Arik watching from across the Court.
Cassian stood beside him, along with three council members who were clearly discussing something important. Arik was answering them, but his attention had fixed entirely on Liam.
The bond carried the question before Arik needed to ask it.
Liam answered with a small shake of his head.
Arik’s expression did not soften.
A moment later, Liam felt his pheromones through the bond, subtle at this distance but unmistakable.
Liam breathed more easily.
"He is about to abandon the council," Rubis observed.
"No, he isn’t."
Across the chamber, Arik said something to Cassian.
Cassian looked toward Liam.
Then closed his eyes briefly.
Liam sighed.
"He is."