Zayne didn't stay.
A prince's time in the city was a mixture of scheduled appointments, and even he couldn't ignore the Royal Guard who had brought news, who had been standing there forever. He had marked Elias with his silver and made his point to Cassian.
For now, that was enough.
"I have business to attend to." Zayne said, running his fingers through his hair as he stood by the carriage. "Enjoy the rest of the market, Elias. Buy something that reminds you of today. I'll leave my personal guard here for your protection."
Elias bowed, the brooch still heavy on his chest. "Thank you, Your Highness."
Zayne's gaze lingered on the pin one last time before he signaled the driver. The carriage rattled away, leaving a cloud of red dust behind it.
Mina let out a breath she'd been holding for an hour. "Protection my foot. But finally though. I felt like I was being watched by a hawk."
"I need to stop at one more stall." Elias said eyeing the guard who was already trailing after them.
"What? Haven't you had enough for one day?"
"Come on," he said. "Before you start pacing."
She snorted but followed.
Without Zayne, the market felt louder. More real. Less curated.
They wandered through fabric stalls and spice vendors, past glass-blown charms and booksellers who pretended not to notice the silver pinned to Elias's tunic. People looked. They always did. But now the looks felt curious rather than predatory.
Mina paused at a ribbon stall. Elias waited.
It was there—half-hidden among utilitarian wares—there he saw it.
A silver hairpin.
Simple. Unadorned. A narrow stem etched with faint leafwork so subtle it vanished unless the light caught it just right. No gemstones. No insignia.
It was almost plain.
He picked it up before he could overthink it.
The vendor, an elderly lady, glanced up. "That one doesn't sell much."
"Why?"
"Too plain," she said. "Nowadays people want things that announce themselves."
Elias turned it between his fingers.
"I'll take it."
Mina raised an eyebrow. "You don't wear your hair up."
"No," he said. "But someone else does."
He paid for it with the last of his own coin, ignoring Mina's questioning look.
"For your sister?" she teased, though her voice was wary.
"Something like that," Elias murmured, tucking the pin deep into his pocket, separate from Zayne's brooch.
She didn't push. She rarely did when she sensed something was deliberate.
They spent the next few hours in a haze of normal activity. They bought dried herbs for Mina and heavy wool socks for the winter.
Bread. Sweets. A small vial of salve Mina insisted on buying "just in case."
For a moment, it felt like they were just two students in the city.
By the time the sun dipped, the crowds were already thinning.
They were laughing quietly when the carriage rolled up beside them.
Royal.
Both of them stopped.
"You've got to be kidding me," Mina muttered.
A guard stepped down. Not Zayne's.
Xavier.
"This transport is for Thornbloom and companion." he said.
"Wait, both of us?" Mina asked, stepping forward.
"The carriage is for both," Xavier nodded, though his eyes stayed on Elias.
Elias blinked. "We didn't request—"
"It was ordered."
Of course it was.
The ride back was silent.
Mina sat huddled in the corner, her eyes wide as she looked at the velvet seats. Elias stared out the window, his hand gripping the silver pin in his pocket.
When they reached the Academy and had come down from the carriage, Mina grabbed Elias's sleeve.
"Be careful," she said. Not joking this time.
"I always am."
She studied him for a moment longer, then she turned around and walked away.
✯¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ✿•*`¨*`•.¸✯
Elias didn't remember falling asleep.
He had barely made it back to his room before the exhaustion finally won.
He dreamed of hands. Of cold air. Of silver catching firelight.
Something shifted.
He felt a presence.
Elias woke instantly.
The room was still dim with the curtains drawn.
A shadow stood at the foot of his bed.
Elias sat up slowly, his heart jumping into his throat. "C- Cassian?"
The figure moved.
Cassian stepped into the moonlight.
He was in a thin white shirt, the gold veins in his neck glowing with a faint, angry pulse.
The air between them instantly felt charged.
Elias sat up slowly. "You're not supposed to be here."
"You wore it all day." Cassian said. His voice was cold and thick with jealousy he wasn't even trying to hide.
Elias looked down. The silver brooch was still pinned to his chest. In the moonlight, the blue stones looking like drops of ink.
"I didn't have a choice." Elias said, his voice husky with sleep.
Cassian crossed the distance between them in a single, blurred movement. He leaned over the bed, his hands pinning the mattress on either side of Elias's hips.
Cassian's face was inches from his.
The Prince's red eyes were dark, almost black, searching Elias's face for a betrayal.
"He thinks he can buy you." Cassian whispered. He reached out, his fingers grazing the silver vine. With a sharp jerk, he unpinned it.
The metal tore a small hole in Elias's tunic but Cassian didn't care. He tossed the brooch across the room. It hit the floor with a dull thud.
Elias panted, the air between them growing hot despite the cold of the magic. "It's just a pin."
"It's his mark." Cassian's gaze dropped to Elias's lips for a moment, then back to his eyes.
"I don't want his mark on you."
Cassian reached into the folds of a dark bundle he had placed on the chair. He pulled out a package.
Then another.
Then a third.
"Put them on." Cassian commanded.
"Cassian, I—"
"Put it on, Elias. Or I'll put it on you myself."
Elias stood up, his legs feeling like jelly. He pulled the first green tunic over his head, standing bare-chested in the moonlight.
Cassian's gaze roamed over his skin, tracing his ribs, the pale curve of his shoulders. He swallowed very lightly. Enough to have been missed.
But Elias noticed.
He pulled the silk tunic on. Slowly.
It felt like a second skin—cool, light, and incredibly strong.
The shirt was first. Soft. White. Cut perfectly to his frame.
The trousers followed. Dark. Clean lines.
Last—gloves.
Silver-threaded at the wrist.
Cassian watched him like a starving man.
He stepped forward, his hands steady as he straightened the collar. He stayed close, his breath mingling with Elias's.
"This is mine." Cassian whispered, his thumb grazing Elias's collarbone mistakenly or not. "You will wear this for the Gala."
Elias looked up at him. This was the intimacy Mina had talked about. The shared weakness.
"I have something for you too." Elias said.
He reached into the pocket of his discarded tunic and pulled out the silver hairpin.
He held it out in his palm. The silver thorn like hairpin caught the moonlight.
Cassian stared at it. His hand rose, his fingers brushing against Elias's palm as he took the pin.
The Ivy Cassian seemed to settle then, the golden glow dimming for the first time that night. As if Elias's presence alone was enough to soothe it. Or the hair pin.
"You bought this?" Cassian asked.
Cassian stared.
"Yes."
Silence fell again.
Cassian took it slowly. Reverently.
"You chose silver."
"Well.. I figured you wouldn't like gold."
Cassian's breath shuddered.
He stepped closer.
Not touching.
Almost.
"This changes nothing," Cassian said.
"I know."
"But you gave it to me anyway."
"Yes."
Cassian closed his fingers around the pin.
"Yes."
"Go back to sleep," Cassian whispered, though he didn't move. "The Gala is in two days.
"And you're definitely going to need your strength."