“I want to talk about Elkat,” Finnvid said. “I want them to have a chance.”
“A chance? To do what?”
“To survive, I suppose. I know they made a mistake. A horrible, bloody mistake. But . . .” He frowned, clearly trying to use the exact right words. “The soldiers were just following orders. The archers—they didn’t know what was going on. And other soldiers helped us. Gunnald risked a lot for your escape. And the men in the pass, they turned away when they could have turned us in. Right?”
“So you think we have no quarrel with the soldiers of Elkat.”
“That’s right.”
“So whodowe have a quarrel with?” Theos knew the answer he’d give to the question, but he wanted to see how Finnvid would handle it.
And judging by Finnvid’s expression, he had the same answer Theos did. “My family,” he said slowly. “My brother. My mother. They thought they were doing the right thing. The smart thing, to protect their people. But . . . they gave the orders. I know.”
“It won’t be my decision,” Theos said. “For something like this? We’ll have to talk to the Sacrati, and let them decide how much they can forgive.”
Finnvid nodded. “And in general? I mean, if you’re planning to attack Elkat anyway, this doesn’t really matter. Right? My family will be—” He breathed in through his nose and exhaled through his mouth, clearly trying to calm himself. “They’ll be killed or sold into slavery anyway. Right? That’s what Torians do to the leaders of the valleys they conquer.”
“I talked to the reeve about it,” Theos admitted. Probably he should have brought Finnvid along for that conversation, but he hadn’t really known how it was going to go, not before he’d started. “She says she and the other reeves—the other ones that border Elkat—they’re looking for something different. She thinks we could do well to set up a new kind of relationship with them. More trade, less conquering.”
“Really?” Finnvid looked optimistic, and Theos wanted to protect that fragile emotion if he could.
But he didn’t want to lie. “That’s what the reeves want. The soldiers will want something different. And everyone back in the central valleys? Whoknowswhat they’ll want? It’s all way over my head, Finnvid. I’m not good at this business.”
“You’re good at being honest and brave,” Finnvid said staunchly. “That’s the most important thing for now.”
Theos shrugged. He hoped Finnvid was right. “We can talk to the Sacrati about your family. Apologies don’t mean much, so they’ll have to find a way to really show their regret. If they can do that? And if the reeves decide to use their power? Maybe we can do something different. Maybe we can make it work.”
“We could trade cultures as well as goods,” Finnvid said excitedly. “I know at least one woman in Elkat who’d probably be very excited about the chance to come here and see how things are done, and maybe some of your people—maybe some ofyoursons, the ones you said might not want to be soldiers—maybe they could visit Elkat, and find ways to be useful there.”
“Don’t make too many plans.” Theos shook his head. “It’s all just ideas, right now. There’s a lot of work to be done, and arguments to be made. This won’t be easy.”
“But you’re on my side? You’ll speak in favor of—not forgiveness, maybe, but some sort of understanding? You’ll help me?”
“I’m on your side,” Theos said. “And the Sacrati side. I’ll try to find a way for them to be thesameside.” He reached over and found Finnvid’s hands. “Andyou’llhelpme, as I try to do that?”
“I will,” Finnvid promised. “We’ll do it together.”
“I was hoping there might be something else we could do together, as well,” Theos said. He’d already taken his tunic off, after all.
Finnvid waggled his eyebrows, then slid down the bed so he was lying on his back. He ran his hand down over the bare skin of his torso and dipped it inside the front of his trousers. “I have no idea what you mean.”
Theos grinned and tugged at the drawstring of his own trousers. “I’d be happy to show you.”
Finnvid didn’t answer with words, but he wriggled out of his already loosened pants, kicking them to the foot of the bed and lying back in his lean, pale splendour. They’d switched roles for sex the night after the warlord’s arrest, and Theos had taken his time, just like he’d wanted to, and made Finnvid squirm and beg andneedTheos inside him. There’d been no going back after that. Finnvid liked to be massaged and coaxed and persuaded, and Theos was happy to play the role of seducer, even if he was tempting the same partner night after night.
He stood quickly, dropped the rest of his clothes with practiced efficiency, and fell to his knees by the side of the bed, leaning to kiss Finnvid on his lips, and then all over. He had his mouth wrapped around Finnvid’s hard cock when he heard, “I saw you talking to Aikater today after training.”
That didn’t seem at all relevant to their current pursuits, but Theos freed his mouth long enough to say, “Ayekater, notEekater. You’re saying his name wrong.”
Finnvid tightened his fingers in Theos’s hair and pulled his head farther away. “Is that what you think I wanted to hear?” He sounded . . . not quite angry. But not happy, either.
Theos thought about it. If Finnvid was genuinely sad, Theos would move the world to make things better. But he was pretty sure Finnvid was just being sulky. “I know how important proper pronunciation is to you,” Theos said, and tried to lower his head back where it belonged.
Finnvid didn’t release his grip. “He wanted you to fuck him,” he growled.
Theos sighed and stopped trying to reach Finnvid’s cock. “Aye. He did.”
“Did you?” And there it was, the hint of vulnerability that could break Theos’s heart.
