“Dead serious.In another life, I’d have loved to learn acrobatics.It’s probably the cat in me, but I’ve always loved watching them flipping and flying on the hoops in the air.It seems like such a fun and stress-free life.What about you, Your Majesty?What would you have done if you weren’t royal?”
Zane blinked.“I guess I never really thought about it.There really was no other option for me since I don’t have any siblings.But I’d probably be a librarian.Or a teacher.”
“You’d be a fantastic teacher,” Talon said, smiling warmly at him.Zane’s heart rate doubled.
Iyana yawned widely and announced she’d be going to bed.The others appeared exhausted, but Zane actually felt awake and alert.He volunteered for first watch.As everyone else bedded down, Zane leaned back against a tree and settled in for several hours of silence.He’d honestly never minded being on watch, as it meant he could be alone with his thoughts.It was exhausting being a prince and having Uther for a father, so he had always made it a point to revel in the quiet moments.Taking a turn on watch also helped endear him to his soldiers, which was a feat since he mostly acted like an asshole around them.His father had always had theseexpectationsfor Zane, and he had a role to play.
Zane realized for the first time that he no longer had to act a part.His father was gone, he was emperor, and he could do as he pleased.With all the commotion of everything else, he’d never had time to dwell on what it actually meant now that his father had died.An immense weight lifted from his shoulders, and Zane felt as if he could properly breathe for the first time in almost two decades.
A couple hours into his watch, Zane was readying to wake Emmeric for his turn when Talon sat up in his bedroll with a gasp.He turned to Zane, his eyes wide and wild, then stood and bolted into the trees.Panic ripped through Zane as he stood to follow Talon, running to keep up.
He stumbled into a clearing, and Talon was nowhere to be seen.Zane scoured the ground for prints, eventually following them to the base of a large tree.Talon was sitting in a pile of snow with his knees drawn up to his chest and his head bowed.
“Talon?”Zane asked carefully, not wanting to scare him away.“Are you okay?”
Tal shook his head without looking up.His shoulders were shaking with silent sobs.Zane’s heart broke.It had really appeared like he had been improving.He’d been able to laugh and smile more often, and that had seemed real.But this man in front of him was still broken, searching for his missing pieces scattered around him.
Zane sat down in the snowdrift next to Talon, suddenly unsure of what Tal needed or wanted.He desperately wanted to put his arm around him and haul him close but didn’t know if that was something Tal would want.
On the way to Nyr, he had asked Zane to stop treating him as if he was fragile.So he grabbed Talon’s face gently and picked it up out of his lap.Zane stared into blue eyes lined with tears that shone in the moonlight.He took a deep breath and placed his brow on Talon’s.
“Talon, my soul, what happened?”
“Just a nightmare,” was Tal’s whispered response.
Zane pushed Talon’s beautiful red hair off his shoulders.“What do you need from me?”
“You, Zane.I only need you.”
Talon pulled Zane closer, and then he was kissing him.Zane fisted his hair to keep him in place, because,gods, this kiss was everything he remembered it to be.He hadn’t realized how much he had missed Talon, even though they were always together, until this moment.They took their time, getting lost in each other, until eventually the kiss ebbed, and they broke apart.Zane’s chest was heaving and his heart felt full.
“I miss you, Zane.”Talon murmured the words against his lips.
“I know.I know, Tal.I’m so sorry.You were dealing with so much, I didn’t want to pile more shit on top of it, let alone ask about our basically non-existent relationship and—”
“Non-existent?Zane, Iloveyou.Are…are we not together?”
Talon’s question threw him off.They had never had a conversation about actually being together.They had professed their love, sure, but there hadn’t been time to figure out the logistics of their relationship.He honestly hadn’t thought Talon would want to worry about any sort of relationship after what he had gone through.
“Do you want to be?”Zane asked hesitantly.
“Of course I do, you idiot.”Talon chuckled.“Did you not just hear me say I love you?”
Then Zane was kissing him again, conveying all of his relief and joy.Talon clung to him and moaned into Zane’s mouth.He had to break free before he tore off all of Talon’s clothes right there in the snow.All things considered, this was not the right time or place.
“I love you too, Talon.”
Chapter 24
Emmeric
IfanyonehadtoldEmmeric a year before that he would be prowling outside of Athusia with the current emperor, trying to sneak backintohis home city, he would have laughed in their face.
But that’s exactly what he was doing—hiding in the trees and doing reconnaissance with Zane.
There were stars everywhere.No matter which portion of the city they scoped out, the stars had some sort of presence.Over the past day, they’d learned that the stars seemed to be mostly nocturnal and didn’t frequent the outer ring as much.
The city was in shambles.The outer ring—a place of noise and activity—was strangely quiet.Multiple houses had been reduced to rubble, and nobody wandered in the streets.The middle ring hadn’t fared much better.There was a stronger presence of stars there and more intact houses, but humans were still scarce.Any humans they did happen to see were always accompanied by a star.They were dressed in rags, the clothing hanging off of their thin frames, and their eyes were haunted.Emmeric was appalled at how quickly the stars had been able to so thoroughly break an entire city.
