Problem was, with every day that passed, he grew closer to Gerard. And he found himself wanting to reveal more and more of himself. He wanted Gerard to know him. The real him. Not some illusion he’d spent years crafting.
Of course, he’d already revealed so much of himself to Gerard. Much more than he had with anyone, except for a couple of lightning archmages. But those had not been close relationships.
Elias no longer hid his intelligence from Gerard. He didn’t pretend to be a fool or like he didn’t know basic facts about history or war or politics. He didn’t go on and onabout his appearance or frivolous topics at the expense of everything else.
Elias stared down at the open book in his lap. He thumbed the pages.
Part of Elias had expected Gerard to fail him. To let him down in some way. He kept waiting for Gerard to be just like Elias’s father in that regard. He wasn’t sure how he thought Gerard would let him down exactly. Maybe by disregarding Elias. Maybe by being dismissive or mean when Elias revealed something of himself.
But Gerard hadn’t. Not once had he failed Elias.
Not yet, at least.
Elias swallowed. It was true they’d only been married for such a short period of time. Just a week. But still, he wanted to trust Gerard. He wanted to open up. He wanted to be closer to him in a way he’d not felt before.
Still, a voice in his head knew how foolish he was being. He really hadn’t known Gerard that long. In fact, he’d known Gerard only a little longer than Colette had known Lord Wolf. And if Colette told Elias she just felt she could trust the young dragon lord, Elias would have harsh words for him. He’d also think her naive.
So just because Elias felt like he could trust Gerard didn’t mean he could. He was just getting caught up in his feelings.
And there was no point thinking like this! He wasn’t allowed to tell Gerard that he was an archmage. That would go against his vow!
Yet Elias chewed on the inside of his cheek. The problem was, he knew how the scars impacted Gerard. It ate at Elias. He felt like a complete arsehole for not confessing that he’d been the one to cause them. It feltwrong, like a betrayal, to comfort Gerard about them whilst not telling him that Elias was the one who’d inflicted them.
Still, there was no other way. He could not break his vow and betray Voltaria.
But there was more he was keeping from Gerard. Things about his past. Of his childhood. He could share those …
Yet the idea of sharing that scared him. He’d never talked about any of that with anyone. How did one even start?
The door opened. Gerard’s face broke into a smile at the mere sight of Elias. “Good evening.”
“Good evening.” The tension in Elias’s chest unwound. “I have a surprise for you.” He stood up and put down his book. He walked to the bed and picked up the wrapped object.
“What is it?” Gerard asked as he closed the door and entered his room.
“It’s a gift.” Elias held it out.
“For me?” His brows raised.
Elias walked towards him. “I know I normally just present you with my naked body and an invitation to do what you will with me when you get home. But I thought I’d mix it up a little.”
Gerard stared at the long object. He reached, almost tentatively, and took it. He rubbed the black linen between his fingers.
“Well? Aren’t you going to open it?”
Gerard tugged at the fabric straps tied around the linen. He pulled the fabric away. “It’s a sword.” He gripped the ornate hilt and tilted it from side to side.
“It is. It belonged to Prince Giles Rosewood of Botanial, a non-nature mage. One of the few known cases of aRosewood without any magical ability. But despite that, he was well loved and led the Botanial armies into many battles. The sword was forged in dragonfire.”
Elias had spent the last little while searching for a weapon that could be added to Gerard’s hoard. The search had been made more difficult, since he was on an island where peace was upheld above all else and Elias could not easily leave said island to search for weapons.
If he could have told Gerard about his search, it would have made his task easier, since Gerard could fly around and take him places. But Elias wanted it to be a surprise. “I hope it’s special enough to be added to your hoard.”
“Right.” Gerard cleared his throat. “My hoard.” He said the words slowly. He pressed his lips together into a flat line.
Elias frowned. “Is it not suitable? Do the weapons have to have special qualities or?—”
Gerard gave a brisk shake of his head. “That’s not it. It’s just …” He exhaled heavily. “I lied.”
