ask-thediangeloâ:
âI doubt I will.â The words came easily in his mind. Far easier than freeing the thought to his lips. But it was likely for the best that they remained thoughts. They had just met after all. (And did that not already shake him - how drawn he found himself to be; to a complete stranger!)
Keep it slow. They had to. After all, if things fell apart and they had rushed deep into this - whatever this was - it wouldnât be something that can just easily be swept under a rug. He was a king. And Will was a prince.
Nico smiled; head unconsciously leaning in to the warmth sourced from Willâs hand against his cheek. âWorried about my health already? My younger sister will adore you,â he said; a laugh ghosting his words - half joke and half truth.
With care, he held the hand Will rested against his cheek. âNo need to walk. I can just shadow travel us back. The best option, in my opinionâ - he inclined his head to Will; eyed winking in the moonlight with mischief - âunless you truly want to go down three flights of stairs?â
A tiny smirk pulled at the corner of Willâs lips. âGlad Princess Hazel would approve. Iâll have to meet her sometime while Iâm here.â Of course heâd read up on both of them whatever he could before he came here, at least what was reliable public knowledge.
ââŠHow much does that shadow travel take out of you?â he wondered quietly. âI donât mind going down a few stairs if you donâtâŠBetter walking down than up them.â Besides that, if he was going to stay here he kind of needed to get the layout of the castle so he could find his way around.
"It takes away nothing." A lie.
Shadow travel drains the user of much - usually at great risk to their health if one wasn't careful. His father had certainly shared plenty cautionary tales of the ill-fated shadow-touched of their line who overextended their power and faded away into the darkness before he passed. Hellbent on instilling respect and a good amount of fear into his spare heir when Nico's magic revealed themselves sooner than Bianca's had. (Ironic now, considering his father fell ill due to the very same magic that he warned Nico to sparingly use.)
Nico certainly was not one of the careful sort. (And some days, he can see the cost show in him. The gradual eerie palor of his skin, the pitch black that would occasionally peak in his veins - the shadows inching their way to claiming him. Like they did his father...) Shadow travel to him was like breathing. It was easy to slip in and out of the darkness. (Some days it was easier to maneuver through the void than it was to maneuver through life without Father, and Mother, and Bianca.) It was something that he could control. The only thing he could control. (And it was addicting. To hide, to disappear, to fall into the dark and run.)
"But... if you are certain you don't mind the descent, well" - he holds his arm out for Will to take, as if he were escorting him through a garden stroll (or to a ball as his partner) rather than a long descent back to the palace suites - "who am I to deny you?" he chuckled.
"Though if you do get tired, do tell me. I can carry you the rest of the way down," he says with a teasing twinkle in his eyes.

















