Page 15 of Tethered Thrones
Sun
“Get the hell up.”
I woke more sluggishly than usual after falling into a rare deep sleep.
We were back in one of the rooms, a grand one fit for a traveling noble with plush blankets and pillows, even though the patterns of the fabric were dated by years compared to what was fashionable in the new capital.
I untangled myself from my harem, dazed and confused. There was something so soothing about feeling their heat late into the night and into the wee hours of the morning. It made me feel safe and secure in my place in the world again after being cast adrift.
…But not when Hadi glared daggers at me from the doorway. I wondered if Kiar and I made our way back or if he’d found us overheated and covered in cum in the changeroom. Either way, I wanted to die on the spot.
Clem woke next, beaming at me with a mischievous grin, casting me a meaningful look before his eyes flicked to Kiar. I knew then Hadi had found us, and if I were smarter, I’d fall on my blade before I explained a damn thing to him.
As Hadi snapped orders at Clem to get me clean and ready to leave by bringing my clothes, I gazed down at Kiar’s flushed face. I was amazed alcohol had such a profound effect on him. He was sprawled over all of us as if his tail would never end, and it struck me that this might’ve been the first time I saw it completely uncoiled.
As my eyes trailed down the length of Kiar’s exposed body, Bracken clinging to his back, I wanted to feel the heat of another part again rather than be fucked to sleep.
Proud, arrogant Kiar allowingmeto enterhim?
Unspeakable until last night. And I liked it very much. Maybe, just maybe, he’d let me do it again if I took a jar of fermented fruit with us?—
“Ahem,” Hadi’s rough voice filled the air, clearing his throat.
I jumped and whipped around to face him like a child caught stealing cookies from a jar. Hadi had already seen me as a hypocrite, but it felt worse for him to witness me gawking at Kiar.
“Time to leave?” Bracken murmured, rubbing sleep from his eyes as Kiar rubbed pain from his throbbing temples, no doubt.
“Yes, let’s go,” I offered, never working up the courage to meet Hadi’s gaze again.
It didn’t takeus long to get ready and gather at the back of the springs, as I was still worried the innkeeper might somehow fly down the mountain fast enough to find us. Taking the back entrance was the best route.
As everyone gathered, I etched what I could remember of the military map of this area into the snow. We’d take the path alongthe mountain, not too high to freeze, but high enough to avoid foot soldiers patrolling for the most part. And then…
“And then…” I paused as my twig brushed against the human capitol of Kari and obliterated it.
“...Are you still torn, Sun, about committing treason? Be assured you can’t betray a traitor,” Hadi said, much too kindly, and I nodded sharply, keeping my eyes trained on the ground. But as his eyes bore a hole into my downturned head, everyone’s lower bodies shifting uncomfortably, I was forced to look up.
I smiled at him reassuringly, eyes slightly averted, “No, no. I am…” I swallowed hard, “I am afraid to do what must be done, but I am committed. He will die. It’s what comes after that frightens me more.”
There, I said it. To my surprise, everyone sagged with relief at the admission. Maybe I had been brave, not a coward, to admit we had no plan and absolutely no idea what to do if this crazy scheme of ours succeeded. Despite repeated attempts to promote me and drag me from the frontlines, I was a soldier, not even a general.
I could not even envision the day after tomorrow, let alone what would happen to this realm when the leader of the last quarter century lay butchered in the throne room.
“It’s not our fault or yours,” Clem whispered. “Humans and nocs should be able to get along, right? More bloodshed will be regrettable, pointless, in the face of the truth.”
He was right and wrong, and posed the question so innocently, I sighed. With the godstones in hand, I wished I could have all of Naran before me to proclaim the truth, to spark a just revolution with words only.
“Yes, but we will not change decades of hatred through a strongly worded sermon,” I said out loud, and Clem clicked and turned his head in a near-complete circle up at me. “To redeem this world, we must put our faith into action.”
Everyone grunted their approval and nodded, and we set out to do just that. As we moved to leave, the sun not at its zenith but not too late to be afraid, Kiar slithered beside me and fell into step.
My naga’s hand brushed against mine, and I smiled, elated honestly by his presence and the throbbing of his bite marks in my flesh. I was a man, one free with my body, and had been confessed to a fair number of times. But it felt unique to… to be allowed to do what I did. It felt like something more profound than a confession could ever contain.
“You will feel more confident whenever we do get to the battlefield,” Kiar said softly and slinked away, and I brought my fingers to my chin to stop myself from bringing them to my lips. Then I grimaced, understanding he meant slaughtering more nocs would show me at my best, and I didn’t even have a chance to react to that when a vile hiss filled the air.
I flinched, instinctively reaching for my dagger only to meet Hadi’s face towering over me. The others weren’t far from us, but far enough, they most likely didn’t notice the murderous look in his eyes.
Hadi was not pleased in the least. And I knew why, no matter how much I tried to deny it. I’d left a potential party with him, Bracken and Clem and run off to Kiar…