Jules paced his room, his anxiety rising.
What if he tried to contact the Kadarian government? If the Xeus was a Kadarian, if he was someone important enough to warrant NDA-tech, it was likely that the Kadarian government would help him. Except Pelugia-Kadar relations were strained again. There was no way anyone at the Opal House would be willing to listen to some kid from another country. Jules was unlikely to get past a low-level secretary. It just didn’t seem realistic. Not to mention Jules didn’t want his family mired in a scandal. Liam would absolutely hate him if he ruined his upcoming debut in society. Well, strictly speaking, it was their debut, but Jules wasn’t the one who was going to get all the suitors. Liam had been dreaming about his social season for ages—it had been postponed twice already because of their grandmother’s and mother’s deaths. His debut was important to him. Jules might mock his brother’s vanity, but he still loved him. He couldn’t ruin Liam’s dreams.
So what could he do?
He could help the Xeus escape. In other words, his plan hadn’t changed.
He still needed to find the key to those manacles.
***
He got lucky two days later.
His uncle had left the estate on some business. At least that was what he said. After everything he’d overheard, Jules was skeptical of anything his uncle said, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. With his uncle gone, he could search his rooms and office without fear of being caught. He only hoped his uncle didn’t take the key with him.
His luck lasted. Jules found the keys in his uncle’s bedroom. At least he hoped one of those keys was the right one: some of them definitely looked like the type that would unlock the electronic lock on the manacles. Smiling in relief, Jules put the keys into his pocket and all but ran to Liam’s room. “I need your help!”
Liam looked up from his book and rolled his eyes. “I’m not flirting with the guards again.”
Jules plopped down next to him on the bed. “Pretty please, brother mine?”
Snorting, Liam returned his gaze to his book. “No.”
“Come on, Li!” Jules moved closer. “What are you reading? I didn’t know you read.”
He earned an elbow to his side for his teasing.
Was Liam blushing?
“Are you blushing? What is this book?” Jules grabbed the book and looked at the cover before Liam could stop him. He laughed when he saw the title. “The Peerage of the Pelugian High Society?”
“Shut up,” Liam said defensively. “You should read it, too! All proper young omegas do.”
“It’s boring,” Jules said, scrunching up his nose. “Why would I read it?”
“To make a good match,” Liam said, as if Jules was the stupid one. His pretty golden-brown eyes fixed on Jules with something like bewilderment. “Don’t you want to marry well?”
Jules chuckled. “Marry well? What does it even mean? If you mean marrying into a title, it’s very unlikely. High-ranking alphas marry beneath their station only if the omega is a beauty. So… it isn’t relevant to me.”
Liam frowned. “I wish you wouldn’t talk about yourself like that. You’re very pretty.”
Feeling a rush of affection, Jules raked a hand through Liam’s hair. “You’re biased,” he said with a small laugh. “I’m nothing special. I’m not ugly or anything, but I look like a somewhat nice-looking beta, not an omega. There’s nothing remarkable about me. Highborn alphas don’t look at omegas like me.”
Liam was still frowning. “You could marry a viscount.”
Jules chuckled again.
“You could!” Liam said stubbornly. “There are thirty-six unmarried alpha viscounts—”
“Your knowledge kind of terrifies me,” Jules said, with a crooked smile. “Leave it, Li. I’m not making a great society match—I don’t want to, anyway. We all know you’re the one who will be doing that. Who do you want to marry?”
Liam blushed a little. “I didn’t choose anyone. That would be highly improper to choose an alpha before meeting them. And it would be very conceited of me to—”
“Oh, come on,” Jules said. “I don’t believe you. I’m sure you have narrowed down the candidates to two or three.”
“Fine. But don’t tell anyone.”
“My lips are sealed,” Jules promised, suppressing a laugh and putting on his most serious face.
“There’s the Earl of Sherbrooke,” Liam said thoughtfully. “He would be a fantastic catch for any omega: rich, relatively young, and handsome. There’s the Marchioness of Ferhum—she’s one of the most beautiful alphas out there for sure—”
“I thought you preferred a male alpha,” Jules said, yawning. All this talk about prospective suitors bored him.
Liam shrugged. “I do, but you have to keep your options open. A knot is a knot, isn’t it?”
“Liam!” Jules said, choking on his laughter.
Liam grinned. “Come on! As if you’ve never thought about it! There are obviously differences between male and female alphas, but both have their own perks.”