She sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead. “It’s not good. We got word from one of our contacts in Gennemont late last night that Aqila Hill and Vizemont have fully ceded to Gennemont’s governance. They’re announcing that they’re merging into a single nation sometime in the next few days. They’re calling themselves the Federation of Autreth... which doesn’t bode well for city-states like ours.”
Adrissu sighed heavily, considering the implications before speaking.
“No, that does not bode well,” he finally answered quietly. In light of Gennemont’s aggressive expansion only a few years ago, he was sure that whatever they gained through this deal would only satiate them temporarily. And with a title like theFederation of Autreth, it was only a matter of time before other places in Autreth would be expected to be assimilated into the Federation that claimed its name. “Have you heard anything regarding them mounting an army? Mercenaries that have been hired, or...?”
“Not yet,” Maya sighed, leaning back in her chair. “Not yet, so we’ll have time to keep an eye on things and mount our own forces, if it comes down to it.”
“You said Ruan already knows?” Adrissu asked, looking down at his clasped hands.
“Yes. He was with me, the instructors, and some others last night, when our runner came with the news,” she said. “Ruan is already at about the highest level anyone can get in the guild without taking on a teaching position himself, so no point in trying to keep anything from him. He would have heard from Ederick if not me, I’m sure. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you already.”
“I see,” he sighed. For a long moment, both were silent, tension palpable between them. “Well... I suppose we should start reallocating some funds, then, if we’re anticipating any kind of skirmish coming to us.”
“Yes,” she agreed, sighing again and rubbing her temples. “Let’s put together a proposal to have ready when we have our council meeting tomorrow.”
When Adrissu returned to Saltspire Tower that evening, Ruan was waiting for him, lounging in one of the plush chairs with a glass of wine in one hand—Vesper curled around his arm, and her head resting in his other hand. She too had continued to grow in their time together; she was noticeably longer than she had been when Ruan first met her, and a little rounder as well.
From the nervous tension in the air and the half-empty bottle on the table—evidence that this was not Ruan’s first glass of wine—he was sure that Ruan had planned to break the news to him now.
“Welcome home, love,” the human called, turning to look at him in the doorway. His smile seemed forced.
“Ruan,” he said, voice low and soft. He stepped closer to Ruan and could feel him shift, sensing what would come next. “I was with Maya Graylight today. She said you’d heard the news about... Gennemont.”
Ruan’s shoulders sagged, and he sighed, taking another drink from his glass of wine. “Yes. I... I was going to tell you about it now, actually, but I guess she beat me to it.”
They were both silent, Adrissu’s hand clenching at the top of Ruan’s chair. After a moment, Ruan added abruptly, “It doesn’t mean anything yet, of course, but I know Maya expects the worst.”
“I think it’s a fair assumption,” Adrissu sighed, feeling the wood starting to give beneath the pressure of his fingers. He pulled away before it would break. “The cycle of war always starts up again eventually.”
“It isn’t war,” Ruan snapped. The edge in his voice, though, betrayed his lack of conviction. “Not yet, at least, it’s not war.”
“It’s only a matter of time,” Adrissu replied. “You know Maya. We’re already preparing for the worst, even if it’s far off.”
“How much of an army could they even put together? Aqila Hill and Vizemont are both smaller than Polimnos,” Ruan said quickly, shaking his head. “She—she worries too much. And even if they do start attacking, Polimnos will hardly be their first target. Hell, Vlissingstadt has triple our population and an actual port. If there’s anything in the east they’d want, it’d be Vlissingstadt.”
“Ruan,” Adrissu said firmly. His voice was soft, but it was enough to pull Ruan from whatever spiral he had started down, and the human fell silent. “You’re correct that nothing is going to change immediately. But if their previous actions have indicated anything, it’s only a matter of time before Polimnos will at least have to make a show of strength to keep the brunt of their forces away from our borders. You know that’s what it will come down to.”
Ruan kept his gaze down on Vesper, who was glancing curiously between the two of them. “I know,” he finally said, barely above a whisper.
It was not the time of year that he would typically bring up the soul-binding again, but Adrissu could not stop the words, bubbling up out of the fear that had been simmering in his gut since his conversation with Maya. “Ruan, please, just consider the ritual—it would ensure that if anythingwereto happen—”
With a growl, Ruan threw his wine to the ground. The shattering of glass caused Adrissu to stop short.
“I knew you would say that,” Ruan snarled, pressing his now-free hand to his forehead. “Gods, Adrissu, how many times do I have to tell you no? Do you ever think of anything else? Stop fucking asking me!”
Adrissu remained silent, a strange mix of anger and despair stabbing at his ribs. He wanted to snap that ofcoursehe did not think of anything else, how could he possibly think of anything else? He wanted to tie the human down andforcehim to submit to the ritual—but he kept his mouth closed and clamped down on the draconic, almost feral part of him that wanted to claim and take with no regard for anything else.
But the tension seemed to pass through Ruan as quickly as it came. He sighed, shoulders sagging, as he dragged his hand down his face and moved to stand.
“Sorry,” he said hoarsely, still not looking at Adrissu. “I didn’t... Sorry. I’ll clean this up.”
“No need,” Adrissu replied. His voice was cool in stark contrast to his inner turmoil, so much so that it took him by surprise. Mechanically he lifted a hand, and with a swish of his wrist, the shattered glass and spilled puddle of wine were both magicked off the stone floor and into the trash chute on the wall. Ruan groaned as he sat back down.
“I don’t mean to yell,” he muttered, shaking his head. “I guess this is just... stressful to think about. I’m really sorry.”
“You are forgiven,” Adrissu replied, reaching down to touch Ruan’s shoulder. The human leaned into the contact and tilted his head, so his bearded cheek was pressed against the back of Adrissu’s hand. “There is nothing you could do that I could not forgive.”
Ruan laughed once at that, shaking his head. “I don’t know about that.” But before Adrissu could answer, he added quickly, “This is all a problem for another day. I don’t want to think about it any more. Come to bed with me?”
