Archive of Our Own ^beta

It was the smile, Nikandros would later realize. The reluctant lift of lip corners, the way wrinkles subtly deepened around squinting, sparkling eyes. The silent amusement that no one seemed to acknowledge, which made Nik feel like he was seeing something private, something he shouldn’t be seeing.

“This isn’t a laughing matter,” snapped Laurent, making Nikandros jump. It was unlike him to doze off during meetings, but it seemed he wasn’t the only one. In his own defense, Veretian lords were extremely boring - it took them over quarter to say what any Akielon would say in one concise sentence.

“The assassination attempt was swift, calculated, and left little room for mistake. This isn’t something you should be laughing about, Damen.”

Nik felt his temper rise at the condescending tone, but - yet again – he got distracted by Jord’s amusement. Apparently, Laurent’s Captain of Guard was finding Laurent’s harsh words funny. This time Nikandros felt like kicking him in the shin, though.

“But you must admit, he looked rather ridiculous, when you threw him over your shoulder.”

“That is not the point. The point is that he’s escaped the prison and is either biding his time or scuttling back to whoever is behind this operation. And before you start laughing again, need I remind you that you were his primal target?”

Damen shrugged and reached for his teacup, trying to ignore the gasps around the room that Laurent’s words had caused. So far, the few people gathered knew only about the attempt to kill both of the kings, but the small detail that the killer was trying his best to get to Damen, while fully ignoring Laurent, was one that only four people knew – the kings in question, Jord and Nik. Although, Nikandros was pretty sure even they wouldn’t be privy to the information if not for the fact that both their quarters were close to the kings’, and they both heard the sounds of fight, when Laurent engaged the assassin in hand-to-hand combat.

Granted, Damen could take care of the man himself, but he was drunk out of his mind and, if he were honest, Nikandros was as well. In fact, the moment that the assassin was close to sinking the poison-covered dagger into the king’s neck, Nik was just finishing pleasuring the third woman for the night and when he started kissing the fourth on her neck, she told him there was something going on in the king’s chambers.

That had happened weeks ago, but only now did Laurent deem it proper to bring it up on a court meeting. The dark circles under his eyes betrayed that which Nik had already suspected – the Veretian king had no idea who stood behind it, but he wanted them gone nonetheless.

“That is rather sad, Your Majesty,” started one of Vere’s nobles. “Surely, there is something to be said about the state of our countries during this period of adjustment. If you would look at how our crops…”

“This is not about the crops!” interrupted Nik, feeling that if he was going to hear another long story that had nothing to do with the matter he would explode. “This is about someone wanting my king dead.”

The Veretian side of the table fell into silence, while Akielons started shouting in outrage.

It was a mess.

“That went well.”

Laurent smiled at Damen, and Nik suspected that if he wasn’t present, the blond would high-five the smugly smiling Akielon. Seeing as he was there, Laurent only kissed his husband on the cheek, and Nik rolled his eyes in response. The stinging news about the fact that Damen was sleeping with Laurent grew old somewhere around their marriage taking place, but there was a lot to be said about the ways in which Laurent liked to annoy Nik.

“What do you mean ‘that went well’? All they did was shout and accuse one another.”

“Careful, Nikandros, or you might say something reasonable.”

“Alright, you two, stop it.” Damen laughed and stood up, stretching his back and grunting while doing so. Unlike Nik, he had had to look graceful during those three hours, and they both knew that look was difficult to achieve when sitting on narrow Veretian stools.

“If Laurent says it went well, then I trust him. I couldn’t read a damn thing out of this mess, but I did see someone trying to eavesdrop.”

“I told one of the guards to watch over us from a distance,” said Jord as he finished his wine. “I’ll go and ask if he saw someone.”

After he left, the atmosphere became strangely strained. Damen sighed.

“You should talk with him, Laurent.”

“There is nothing to discuss.”

“It’s going to be a year in a couple of days.”

“I did what I had to do and honestly, what do you expect me to do?” Laurent scoffed, and Nikandros was surprised to see pain in Laurent’s eyes. Either Damen had had an improving effect on the Veretian king or Nik was around the serpentine man for so long that he now knew how to read him.

“It was a merited order. I shouldn’t even have given him as much of an explanation as I did back then.” Then he glared at Nik. “Get out.”

“I’m sorry, Exalted, but my King was the one who requested my presence. I can’t leave until he allows it.”

Snorting, Damen waved his hand in the air.

“It’s alright. Please make sure our horses are properly taken care of, Nik. I need to discuss something private with Laurent, and he appears embarrassed you might see his human side.”

They grinned at each other and Nik left, probably leaving his friend to face verbal flaying on his own.

Once outside the tent, he looked around, just to make sure no one was going to jump him. Not that anyone would be that stupid - being killed in front of the kings’ tent would be a suicide attempt. Then again, the previous assassin hadn’t seemed concerned about his life, so better be safe than sorry.

What he saw, however, was a Veretian soldier trying his best to smother Jord with kisses in the shadows between the two tents. The soldier was young, dark-haired, and it seemed that his attention was appreciated, as the older man was definitely reciprocating. Given that this was a war camp on the border, where tension was ample and women were scarce, it was hardly a secret that Jord preferred to take men to bed.

Now that Nik was thinking about it, Jord seemed to have sex a lot these days. His own soldiers were commenting on how easy it was to sleep with Laurent’s right-hand man - all you were supposed to do was go to him, try to say a few words in either language, and make your intent known. Acceptance - as the rumour had it - was not a problem. Unless you were a noble, then it was a big no-no, as some of Akielons liked to point out in frustration.

Nikandros thought that the man liked having the higher status in the relationship - all Veretians liked to dominate over other people, so why should Jord be any different?

Well, Jord’s lust was not a problem, but the man was clearly incompetent.

“That’s an interesting way of gathering information,” he drawled, coming close to the kissing pair.

The soldier gasped and immediately took a few steps back, the light from the tents making his reddening cheeks rather obvious. Nik might consider it cute, even on a Veretian youngling.

“Kyros.” The soldier recognized the person standing in front of him, and greeted him in a rather poor Akielon.

Even a year after the union, nobody could say with certainty that the relationship between Akielos and Vere had improved a whole lot.

“There must be something for you to do,” Nikandros said calmly, then - forgetting about the soldier - turned to Jord and opened his mouth, just to shut it again.

Being Damen’s most trusted underling often meant working shoulder to shoulder with Jord, and Nik had formed his own opinions about the man. Jord rarely seemed to smile; he was serious and composed. Nikandros never saw him relax, getting the impression that Jord could draw his sword in a matter of seconds if the need arose. What Nik liked about him, however, was that Jord was a professional - efficient at what he did. And the way Jord looked at Laurent reminded Nik of the way he himself looked at Damen. You could say they had no trouble working through hundreds of issues between their soldiers. Their opinions matched, even if they were far from companions, much less friends. They would meet during work hours to discuss the issue at hand in the smoothest manner given their limited knowledge of the other’s language, and would go their own way once it was all over.

But lately, Nikandros was becoming a little lost around Jord. It was small things, like the smile. It wasn’t the first time he noticed it, but each and every rare appearance of it felt good and beautiful. Other times, it was the eyes - the way Jord crooked his head and squinted his eyes, trying to comprehend something. When he did, and he opened his eyes in an understanding, they were a captivating clear shade of blue. A few days ago, it had been the arms. Nik noticed the movement and flexing of the muscles underneath the bruised and scarred skin.

While Nikandros wouldn’t label himself heterosexual, the men he slept with were feminine - gentle, pretty and eager to please. But right now - when he was looking at a heavy-lidded, aroused Jord, his chest moving harshly after the interrupted foreplay, thin lips glistening with saliva - he couldn’t think of anything more alluring. Nik felt his body react, his senses straining to reach out and touch. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around Jord and kiss him senseless, to see how Jord would react to his touch, how long it would take to provoke that small smile, and if Jord would scream with pleasure underneath Nik.

Fortunately, Jord tensed and snapped at Nik rudely.

“What the hell did you do that for?”

And just like that, Nik’s brain kicked back in again, and he sneered down at the older man.

“You were supposed to obtain information, not sleep around. You can do that after you finish your job.”

“I had asked this boy to guard the tent from a distance. And that was what he wanted in exchange, so you may have just ruined my chances to learn exactly what happened.”

Jord appeared to be mad, but it was too late, as Nikandros himself was seeing red.

“Are you whoring yourself for your king? Those are your soldiers, they should be glad to report to you. Or maybe the foreplay is something that you enjoy?” Nik accused, angrily pointing his finger at Jord.

Jord looked like he wanted to argue, but decided against it. His sigh put a damper on Nikandros’ anger, and now the kyros felt tired all of a sudden. Emotions had been running high among everyone in the last few months and he couldn’t wait until everything settled again, so that he could relax.

“It shows how little you know about our army, kyros. Now, if you excuse me, I’ll go and find Mynose, if he still wants to talk with me, after your little show.”

Nik felt excitement course through him - his heart hammering inside his chest, pulse racing and cheeks prickling with heat - when he halted Jord by the waist, feeling the firmness and heat of the decidedly masculine body under his palm. His voice trembled with adrenaline when he said:

“If you ever need someone for pleasure, don’t sell yourself short. Come to me. I would gladly assist you.”

It was over a week before Jord decided to talk to him.

The first few days after their confrontation, Nikandros had been so high on excitement that he hardly knew what to do with himself. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this way. Maybe sometime around his sexual initiation, but after that? He wasn’t sure. The downside of being a kyros - or a kyros’ son - was that a number of people wanted to sleep with him. Sex became dull, uninteresting, and while the pleasure was there, Nik sometimes needed at least a few people in one night to actually feel sated. It bothered him for some time already, and while he knew the spark he felt now every time his gaze fell on Jord will diminish, right now it presented a wonderful feeling.

In the same time, it was sheer torture. Every night he would spot someone coming in or out of Jord’s tent - looking either eager or sated. Each and every time there was a tumult of feelings inside Nikandros. Anger, because Jord apparently didn’t take his offer seriously. Jealousy, when he imagined what went on inside the tent. And anxious fear that the shock in Jord’s eyes when he proposed the idea to him was somehow mixed with disgust, so he had made a fool out of himself and had no way of seeing that aroused look or shy smile for himself. Which, quite honestly, made him a bigger sap and idiot than Damen on his worst days.

That’s why - at the end of the week, when the tension was running even higher as Jord’s eyes and ears couldn’t seem to catch the spy - Nik was close to punching himself in the face because of his sheer stupidity. It was one thing to make fun of Damen mooning over Laurent, another to do the same over another Veretian.

“You’re incredibly tense, Nik."

The meeting had ended some time ago, but Nikandros wasn’t keen on going back to his empty tent. It was easier to forget the need that suddenly overwhelmed him while being with his friend.

"It’s the assassin, Damen. It makes no sense that no one has seen anything, and no one knows where or even if they’re going to try again.” He pinched the area around his eyes and sighed. Yes, Jord was part of his tension, but the threat to his king and friend was causing him more frustration. He wasn’t that pathetic. “We’re all losing our minds around here."

"Well, I’m not exactly concerned. If they couldn’t get me when I was out of it in my own bed, how are they going to get me here?"

"Famous last words?” Laurent walked in rubbing his hands, his face blank. “Pass the wine, it’s cold."

"Well, it gets chilly around here at night.” Damen lifted his arm and - after a second of hesitation, with a glance towards Nik - Laurent sighed and relaxed into the embrace.

“Wow, you are really cold. What were you doing? Taking a dip in the lake?"

"I wish. I had a long, exhausting talk with Jord, just like you asked."

Nik’s ears all but twitched, but he tried his best not to appear too eager to hear anything. After all, Laurent was much more proficient at reading people than Nikandros, and was more inclined to make fun of them too. In public. Using many cutting words. "I think… no, I’m sure he hasn’t forgiven me.”

“Does that mean he’s a potential threat?"

Lust or not, if Jord was the assassin - or worked with them - Nik was going to be the first one to execute him.

Laurent snorted. Sometimes Nikandros couldn’t believe that Laurent lowered his guard around him now. Damen stated it was the trust he had in his best friend that made Laurent open up to Nik too. Nik’s own opinion was that it was just a show, until the snake had something on him.

Well, he wasn’t going to give it to him.

"No, he’s probably the least suspicious person around here. I would suspect myself sooner. Which I do not, just to make it clear,” he sneered, seeing Nik’s eyes narrow. “I have no desire to see Damen dead. He’s much more useful to me alive."

"And I love you too.” Damen grinned and started playing with Laurent’s hair. “Well, you knew it wouldn’t be easy to get over it."

"Impossible was the word I used, if I remember correctly. And I don’t wish for anything else. I honestly don’t care and am not sure why you do. No, wait. I do know, although I wish I didn’t. You Akielons and your emotional ways."

Yeah, right. That was a bull, if Nikandros ever saw one.

"Whatever you say, lover. What counts is that you tried."

Nik rolled his eyes and decided that was his cue to leave. He was interested in whatever the ever loyal Jord had against Laurent, but he supposed it didn’t concern him in any way.

On the way to his tent he was greeted by many people, some of them shooting him inviting looks he - just few weeks ago - would have been happy to accept. But right now, all he felt was… tired, again. He couldn’t recall a time he had ever felt this way before.

No, he had never felt this way, he realized when he spotted Jord leaning on the tree right beside Nik’s tent.

"Jord."

"Kyros."

They looked at each other and Nikandros realized that older man looked nervous. Tense around the edges. There were anger, sadness and something else mixed together in his expression - a bad combination, if he ever saw one. Being the leader of the soldiers made a man sensitive to human emotions, as missing one or two could end in potential disaster.

His heart squeezed painfully when Jord swallowed and appeared torn about something. Nik found himself wanting to help him in any way possible. That’s why, without any preamble, he unsheathed his sword and swung it towards Jord.

"Want to spar? I feel like I’m getting rusty by sitting on my arse all day and listening to those who love their own voices."

And there it was - the small, shy smile that made everything brighter and better. In that moment, Nikandros felt so charmed, he forgot about his own insecurities.

"I accept. But I think we should go a little further from the camp or this will turn into…” He bit his lip and frowned, clearly mad at himself for losing a word.

Considering Jord wasn’t fluent in Akielon from the start, his current vocabulary was impressive as it was.

“Scandal?” Nik snorted. “Not likely. People around have other things to worry about. But we can take a walk to warm up our muscles."

Talking about muscles, Nik couldn’t help but notice that Jord had an impressive build. He was short, but stocky and sturdy. The thick shirt wasn’t hiding the way his arms flexed when he reached for his own sword, and Nik found himself salivating just thinking about undressing the man, touching his skin and tasting it with his tongue. Then his gaze slipped down and he had to look away fast, because not only Jord had shot him unamused stare, but also his chiton wasn’t created to hide compromising evidence of arousal.

"I never heard your story."

"Hm?” Jord finally stopped glaring and started walking toward the forest. With his every step, Nikandros’ heart sped up, excitement making him giddy. He could feel the pulse beating in his throat and swallowed, before trying once again.

“You know where I come from, my whole story. It’s a public knowledge. I know nothing about you."

There was a silence. Then: "I’m just a soldier."

"That I can see. But what house do you come from? I’m familiar with most of them."

Jord wasn’t wearing any house colors that he could see. All he had on were Laurent’s colors, as if he had pledged himself to the king. That had actually bugged Nikandros for some time, although it was absolutely irrelevant in their line of work.

"What I mean, kyros, is that I’m no one. I’m just a peasant."

If Nik thought Jord had been tense before, he would have to change his opinion about what that looked like. Suddenly, Jord resembled a stone statue stomping stiffly ahead.

"That’s an impressive leap you took. Being the King’s Captain of Guard is something to be proud of. I know I am."

"It’s an honour to be Prince… King’s Laurent guard."

Nikandros noticed the slip. Was Jord still seeing just a boy in his king?

"Well, you probably deserved it. You can’t say you’re a nobody. That would reflect bad on all of us."

"Here should be good!” snapped Jord and immediately turned on Nik, sword in his hand.

Nik grinned and easily side-stepped the blow. He often saw Jord train with other people, but only had had the pleasure of sparring with him only once before, and that was a long time ago.

“Care to make a bet?” he grunted out, when their swords clashed and tried to overpower each other.

Man, that was making his heart pump with eagerness, he thought amid the excitement.

Nikandros was taller than Jord, but Jord had some serious muscle power to back him up.

“I don’t fight for money,” muttered Jord, just as his sword won the power play, and Nik had to jump back to avoid having his shoulder cut.

Without waiting, Nik then rushed forward and swung heavily on Jord’s weaker side. He supposed there was some old wound that made twisting harder, and he could see his sword grazing the man’s back before Jord hit his sword so hard, Nik felt it in his teeth.

He wanted those hands touching him. He wanted to see this strength turned into passion.

“If I win I’m going to kiss you. How about that?” he grinned, getting low and trying to get a dirty hit on Jord’s knee.

“Sure.” Jord lifted up his foot and actually tried to kick Nik’s hand. If Nikandros was even a second too late, Jord would have seriously harmed his wrist. “What if I win?"

"I leave you in peace."

Jord snorted and they sparred on, without mercy.

After having his thigh grazed Nik realized they should’ve taken wooden swords to avoid serious injuries. But there was nothing more beautiful than the sound of clashing metal.

They danced around each other, taking steps back, then forward, trying to push the other into the dirt.

After some time they both were panting and suffering multiple cuts - some of them still bleeding. Nikandros’ chest was heaving, his heart hammering but there was a lasting grin on his face. This was bliss.

Damen usually beat him after a few minutes, and that was no fun. But fighting with someone on the same level was different. There was a thrill in knowing that this could go on and on and on.

Jord charged at him all of a sudden, and Nik’s trembling hands prepared to take another hard slam. He wasn’t disappointed. Their swords screeched when their bodies pressed closer - face to face, arm to arm. They breathed in each other’s faces and Nik had to fight with the urge to kiss the man - just to see if that would shake him.

"What if I don’t want you to leave me in peace?” grunted Jord, his arms pressing weight into the sword.

The question made Nik smile wider.

“Well, in that case, I guess you’ll have to let me win."

"Not likely,” he harrumphed, and - fighting absolutely dirty - stomped on Nik’s foot.

Being caught unawares, the sword flew out of Nik’s hands, and he stumbled, almost losing balance. For a second it seemed that Jord’s sword would fall into him, but then the soldier twisted to the side and fell down, hissing in pain as he hit the ground, next to Nikandros’ leg.

Jord snickered and let himself relax on the ground.

“That would be me winning."

Nik looked down on him - sweaty, dirty and absolutely content with life. He could get used to seeing that look on Jord.

"Yeah, let me congratulate you."

Without another word, Nikandros kneeled down over Jord, his shaking arms barely keeping him up to avoid falling on top of the man. The hard, warm body underneath him felt so good, though.

"I think the rules said something else” Jord whispered, but didn’t try to move from underneath Nik.

“The rules didn’t say anything about congratulating the winner."

The whispers seemed loud in the quietude surrounding them. Then, all there seemed to be were their sharp intakes of breath, the thumping hearts and soft sounds of moving fabric.

"You smell good.” Jord’s hand touched Nik’s side. The action made Nikandros tremble with excitement.

Nik sighed when strong fingers stroked his ribs, quick to touch skin further down, and when they found knots to sash he was sure his heart wouldn’t last through it.

“I need to kiss you” he whispered, his lips already grazing Jord’s. Only then Nik realized how thin were Jord’s lips… but the warmth was real.

Jord didn’t say anything. He raised his head and let their lips meet. Nik groaned and deepened the kiss. Jord met him kiss by kiss, stroke by stroke. Their hunger and fire seemed to be the same once they were kissing. When their tongues met, it was Jord’s turn to groan. The sound made Nik’s head spin. He wanted to hear more of it.

“Do it again,” he murmured and slid his hand under Jord’s messy hair, to support his neck. Then he kissed him as hard as he could. Tongue dipping into Jord’s mouth, lips sliding over each other… When Jord groaned again, Nik moaned in return, sliding his hips over Jord’s. He was painfully aroused and couldn’t wait even a second longer.

So when Jord’s hand finally undid the knots to his sash, he sighed with content and let the man undress him.

When Nik had been a boy, he used to spend a lot of time around older soldiers, trying to pick up their attitude. He couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t want to become a fighter, so those soldiers were his role models, which didn’t make his father happy. Nik had nothing but respect for those strong men.

“You see, she wasn’t what I was expecting.” The men were often scolded by their kyros because of Nikandros, so they only discussed safe topics around him, even though he knew that the most interesting things were being said when he wasn’t around to hear them. Being resourceful, he found ways to spy and eavesdrop on them, learning a lot about life in the process.

One of the most important conversation he overheard happened when Nik was fifteen years old.And was one that he remembered as one of the most important.

“I was hitting her up for, what, a year already?"

"Nah, less. She’s not that hard to get."

"Whatever. So, when I finally fucked her, it was good, y'know? But nothing special. Not what I expected. And then we met for some time and it lost its glow. This fucks me up."

"Like my pops said, when you chase them, they’re out of your mind the moment you stick it in."

For a teenager, that was an outstanding thing to hear, but later Nik found out that, at least for him, it was almost like a rule of life. There were women - and men - that he had been crazy about for some time, but nothing lasted past the first night. He had no interest in resuming seeing them or forming relationships.

That is why Nik was anticipating moving on quickly after he finally slept with Jord on the ground in the middle of the forest. It hadn’t stopped there, though, as he took the soldier back to his tent for a second round. When he woke up to Jord’s relaxed, sleeping face, however, Nik suddenly realized that he hadn’t had enough of the man. Not nearly enough. There was a thrill in having sex with Laurent’s right-hand man, of course. But that feeling passed and left Nik with some incomprehensible want.

But then Jord twisted, groaned and opened his eyes groggily. Nikandros shouldn’t feel his heart skip a beat when those eyes settled on him.

"No reason to look so spooked, kyros. I’m going in a second."

Before he could think the better of it, Nik moved closer and kissed Jord, his hand immediately reaching for man’s waist under the covers. Nikandros shivered when he found a thick scar in a place he kissed thoroughly just few hours ago.

However, Jord pushed him away gently and stood up to get dressed without a single word. Jord gazed at Nik after he picked up his sword.

"Thank you for last night, kyros. I’ll see you at the meeting."

That was it - just like every other night for Jord. He would have sex, then say his goodbye. Why did that make Nik feel like crying, though?

“You propose what?"

Laurent’s jaw locked when Nikandros growled at him.

"Shout louder, kyros, no one heard you in the rear line of the tents."

"I’ll shout even louder if people realise you’re going to kill my king!"

Damen huffed and ruffled his hair.

"We talked about this, Nik. Laurent doesn’t want to kill me, that’s the only way to make sure we can snatch the culprit."

"This is a piss-poor plan” he fumed and drank some more wine, trying to calm down. For some reason he was in a bad mood today. “Anyone who learns of the opportunity can strike, not just the people we are after."

"Do you realize no one would follow us unless they planned it?” Laurent appeared bored. “If we leave accompanied by a small company, only people who keep a close eye on us will follow. And they won’t strike head-on."

"Or so you say."

"Don’t talk this way to my king, kyros."

That was the first time Jord spoke up and that annoyed Nik even more. He tried to talk with the man in the last few days and all he received in return were grunts and I-need-to-go’s.

"Tell your king he’s insane! This puts Damen in too much danger!"

"Oh, for fuck’s sake, shut the fuck up!” snapped Laurent, and this time it sounded like an order, so Nikandros forced himself to calm down. “We can either spend the next few years in fear or deal with it in one go, because these people are getting desperate."

"What makes you think so?"

He tried to sound reasonable, but it was hard. Laurent could be such a pain in the ass.

"I don’t have to explain it to you, if you can’t use your brain. Now go and make yourself useful. Begin the preparations without causing suspicion. If you can, that is,” Laurent sneered, and Nik had to leave or he would have hit his best friend’s husband right into his smarmy face.

Jord followed him outside and Nik had the urge to kick him as well. He should have been the one to look like a kicked puppy.

“What? Now you have suddenly stopped avoiding me?” he snarled over his shoulder.

“I never was in the first place. I was acting my usual."

Nik tsk'ed and turned around. He had a slight hope Jord would be caught in surprise and crash into him, but, of course, the man halted without a trouble a few steps from Nik.

"We can’t go on like this, Jord. We need to cooperate."

"What makes you think we don’t? We never exchanged many words before, kyros. I don’t see why we should start."

Nik’s heart squeezed painfully when Jord called him kyros. He was putting distance between them. But Nik could be just as stubborn, if not more.

"Why don’t we go to my tent? To oversee preparations."

He could hear the way his voice rasped, throat tightened with emotions and excitement, annoyance notwithstanding. And he could see how it affected Jord, who looked away and cleared his throat before speaking up.

"I don’t sleep with the same person twice. And I don’t sleep with nobles."

"Is that some kind of power play? I can’t get rid of my title, but I can pretend, if that works for you."

Jord huffed and stepped closer to Nik, making his pulse pick up its pace.

"That is the problem with you, high-borns. You’re used to getting everything your way, with no regard about the others."

Jord’s anger surprised Nik. He looked around and saw several people looking at them with anticipation. Soon someone would see Veretian Captain of Guard threatening a kyros of Akielos, and it might end up ugly.

These thoughts caused Nik to leash his own anger as tight, as possible. But Jord didn’t see any of that. His blue eyes were fixed on Nik’s much darker ones and he seemed to be set on telling his ass off.

"Everyone is a toy for you, to use as long as it’s convenient and then you get rid of them, like you don’t care. Like it didn’t matter you felt something. Like your feelings, your loyalty, your trust, your everything was something to be used and dropped. I’m done being a toy, kyros. I set my own rules and I don’t need any noble thinking he’s giving me something by getting off from his high horse to get along with a peasant. Keep your pity and amusement to yourself."

He stomped off radiating so much anger, that soldiers were fleeing away from him.

The moment Nikandros realized he wanted to run after him to comfort, to kiss the pain away, he knew Jord meant huge troubles.

"I feel like I’m five again,” muttered Damen, hiding behind a bush, dressed in a heavy cloak.

“I’m pretty sure when we were five it was easier to be invisible,” whispered back Nik.

"No shit,“ huffed Laurent, wrapped in dark clothes, face smudged with mud, so it wouldn’t shine in the moonlight. It was quite entertaining to see him this way.

"We used to go into the soldier’s quarters all the time.” Damen smiled tightly, so his teeth wouldn’t flash.

“Kastor always said we were stupid and that there was nothing interesting there, but those guys were impressive. Remember Brahus?"

Nik had to stop himself from laughing.

"Sure, I do. He always had one or two girls in his room. That’s how we first learned what sex looked like. He was a total stud."

"That he was. I remember you telling him you would marry him when you’ll be older."

"Shit, I forgot about that!” This time he had to hide his grin in cloak, because it was too much. “Think he remembers that?"

"Even if he does, I’m sure his wife may have something to say about it."

"Oh, I wouldn’t mind a threesome…"

"You two are so juvenile,” Laurent complained quietly. “It’s like I’m on a trip with two teenagers."

Nik shot the man a glare. Now that they were incognito, he felt like he could be a little more honest about his feelings.

"The only juvenile thing is this plan. If anyone ambushed us right now, both Akielos and Vere would be without their leaders. They would kill all of us and bring down both countries in one go."

"Yes. That’s the best part” Laurent said gleefully.

“Suicidal?"

Before Laurent could flay him verbally, they heard sound of hooves hitting the ground nearby. There were more than two horses present. All three men tensed and reached for their swords, ready to start a bloodshed, if necessary. But then the moonlight illuminated Jord’s face, and they all relaxed.

"Your Highnesses, kyros. The horses."

He jumped down and Nik couldn’t stop himself from admiring the confident movements - Jord never flaunted, he kept his moves to the minimum, but they exuded skill and confidence. When he took the reigns from Jord’s, their fingers brushed, causing their eyes to meet.

"Jord…” he whispered, but the man was already moving to mount his own horse. It felt like a punch to stomach.

“I’m pretty sure no one saw us, Your Majesty,” he said in hushed voice to Laurent, then moved towards Damen. The tone reminded Nik of their time together, and the way Jord was telling him how good it felt.

But then he shook his head and tried to focus on the task at hand.

“Are you positive someone will follow?” he muttered to Laurent, getting as close to his horse as possible.

For once, Laurent looked at him with uncertainty.

“We will end up looking foolish if we hid this trip so efficently, that literally no one saw us leaving. This should work without a fault. It needs to.” Then, making sure Damen didn’t hear him, he growled. “I want them dead. All of them. I’ll execute them personally. Are we clear on that?"

The place Laurent selected for a stop made Nik sigh with relief. It was a wide and open clearing where if someone tried to kill them, they would see them from a mile away. And there seemed to be no one following them, which further helped Nik relax. He believed in Laurent’s mind, but at the same time, he was way too scared for Damen. He couldn’t - wouldn’t - go through losing his best friend and king again.

"So, while we’re here, I would like to propose a toast! With the best wine in whole Akielos!” Damen’s voice was loud, but none one of them cared. They intended to be seen. And if not… well, then it didn’t matter. “It’s almost a year since our victory!"

"You mean the day you were stabbed to death? Or when I was almost stabbed? Because I’m not sure,” drawled Laurent, but took the tea - that was posing as a wine - and passed it to Jord.

“Does it matter? We’re here. I have you and my country is thriving. And I’m nowhere close to being dead or enslaved again! This calls for celebration!"

"I would say you’re in danger of being dead."

They were lounging beside the fire, gazing at the stars and passing the tea among them. It was a pleasant, warm night, and Nik’s hand moved towards Jord’s, who refused the invitation.

After some time, when almost empty wineskin got back to him, Nikandros got up and shook his head.

"Alright, that’s it for me. I’ll take the watch tonight."

"Let Jord accompany you,” said Laurent, drinking the last of tea. Nik smirked - Laurent might have a lot of bad things to say about Akielons, but chugged their wine like water. There weren’t many who wouldn’t know that. Then again, the wine was extraordinary, he knew it himself. “He’s getting grumpy again."

"Not without a reason!” snapped Jord and all eyebrows raised at his tone. Now that was something new. The man sighed tiredly and rubbed his face. “I apologize. That was out of line."

They sat quiet for some time. Nik was staring at nothing and he felt so… light. And relaxed.

Then came Laurent’s heated response.

"I already apologized more times than I should have, considering you pledged your loyalty to me and said to do whatever I saw fit with you. Move on with your life, Jord. Is is not easy, being used in any way, but you must realize that there were no real feelings behind it all. Stop acting like a mourning widow."

"It was real for me."

Nik saw Laurent’s fingers twitch nervously - unusual for him.

"I never meant to hurt you. How the fuck should I have known you would take this seriously?"

"You could have at least spared me the cruel tirade when I begged for his life on knees!” ground out Jord. “I mourned Aimeric because I did care for him a great deal, but what bothers me most is that I thought at least you would see me as something more than just a common soldier! I was loyal to you and never asked for anything in return!"

"I promoted you!”

"And I never asked for that! I love you, Your Majesty, and I would gladly die for you, for your happiness. That has never changed, I have always been loyal to you. If you had told me what was happening, I would have protected myself!“

Nik’s eyes were getting larger and larger. He looked at Damen, but the man was swaying - unusual for him, as he seemed to be truly drunk. But with tea? That was as unusual as Laurent and Jord getting into shouting match involving emotions.

Come to think of it, it was definitely unusual for Nik to feel so… out of touch.

"The tea…” he whispered, but didn’t have the strength to shout over the two Veretians screaming their heads off at each other in their funny language.

“If I told you that, you would have tried to and reason with Aimeric! And that would have got you killed!"

"Because making me fall for him helped a lot otherwise?! And letting me beg for his life? I humiliated myself in front of you, and you hurt me even more!"

"Guys, the tea…"

"I spared his life! It wasn’t my fault he was a fucking coward!"

"But it doesn’t change anything! Can’t you see that?!” Jord had tears in his eyes and Nik forgot about the poisoned tea, because Jord looked so beautiful despite the sadness. Then he found a finger pointed at him. “When this idiot hits me up and wants to spend time with me all I can think that it’s part of one of your schemes again! Why would I fall for someone to end up hurt again?!"

"What? Nikandros? Oh, for fucks sake, Jord, give me more credit than that! I would pick someone easier to manipulate! Who you take me for?"

Nik should have felt insulted, he knew that much.That’s why he didn’t feel bad about kicking Laurent in the shin, even though his vision was becoming blurred.

"What?!"

"The tea has been poisoned,” he slurred before passing out.

The last thing he saw before losing consciousness were shadows coming closer to the fire, and a hand reaching out for Damen.

Everything hurt and the pounding in the head made Nik vomit before he even opened his eyes. He threw up so hard he felt close to passing out afterwards. Instead, he forced himself to open his eyes and groaned with the effort it took.

“I want to die…” he groaned. Did he drink too much again?

Someone moaned next to him and Nik froze. Shit, who had he taken to bed drunk? He hoped it wasn’t anyone looking to commit. He hated watching them cry. He only saw one person he would like to commit to, even with the crying.

Suddenly everything came back to him in a rush. Crying Jord. Shouting. The tea. Damen.

“Holy fuck, Damen!” he gasped and forced himself to sit up, which ended with him vomiting again.

He was in a cellar. The light came filtered by bars and the person groaning beside him was Jord. Nik started shaking him.

“Wake up, Jord. Wake up, now!” he hissed.

“What…” the man responded, mixing up Akielon and Veretian language, confusing Nik further.

“Jord, I need you to focus.” Blue eyes squinted at him and for a second he wondered about how much Jord had drunk compared to Nik, who barely sipped the tea. “We were drugged. Someone took Damen."

"My prince?"

Jord was still confused, but more and more clarity appeared in his eyes as he began panicking.

"As well. I need you to wake up now.”

While Jord was vomiting, slapping himself and doing some strange squats - and falling few times - Nik looked around. There was one door which looked solid. The cellar was full of junk, and as far as he saw there was no way of coming out.

“Move, kyros,” hissed Jord and shoved him away, while rummaging through all the shit that was on the floor.

“What are you looking for?"

Jord just grunted and after some digging, he stood up with rusted breach and immediately moved to the window bars.

"What are you doing? Those are out of steel, you won’t… oh."

Jord grunted and started hitting spoiling between bricks. The thing fell easily on the ground.

"It looks exactly like the cellar in my old home.” he grunted, sweat falling from his forehead. “I can tell this is a very old house and was built with the cheapest materials possible. When I was a kid…” He grunted and first brick fell off. “I got heavy beating from my father for destroying half of the house by playing like that. It would be easier with help, Nik."

Either the usage of his name or just simple suggestion of moving made Nikandros snap from his trance, but he jumped to look for something similar to use.

They worked in silence, focusing all of their strength on task at hand. Sun was at its highest when they were finally able to crawl out of the cellar, to the outside. They didn’t have time to enjoy small breeze. Immediately sticking as close to the sandy walls as possible, Nik and Jord exchanged worried looks.

"Now what?” whispered Jord, looking around. He was clearly still sick. Vomiting almost five times didn’t help him.

The house they were in was not too big. Nikandros knew the territory quite well, but he had never been here before. Just how far had the culprits taken them? No matter which side he looked at, there was nothing except for bushes, sand and scarce trees.

They crouched on the ground, and crawled slowly towards the corner of the building. Nik’s heart was rushing with fear. If anyone walked around that corner right now, they would be killed in a matter of seconds.

However, soon he realized why no one appeared. There was only one man in front of main door - vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t pinpoint where he had seen him. He looked young, and played with his knife, clearly uninterested in whatever he was supposed to be doing.

Jord nudged his calf, and Nik showed him to just climb onto him, so both of them would be able to see. There was no hesitation, and soon Nik was being pressed on the ground by a heavy body. Quite tense as well, especially when Jord saw the guard.

“He’s one of my eyes and ears.” he whispered straight into Nik’s ear.

“Only three horses that I don’t recognize,” he whispered back. “Does that mean there are only three of them?"

"Maybe others will come soon. Are they still alive?"

"Must be. They wouldn’t keep us alive otherwise,” he muttered. “Damen and Laurent had more tea than us and we just woke up."

Jord slowly crawled down.

They set out to explore the house. There were no open windows, no voices inside the house. The heat become unbearable and Nik realized in a hour or so very dehydrated Jord might faint. He looked unwell and even if he tried his best to stay awake there were moments when he just… stopped. Crawling wasn’t easy either.

Good thing they were both soldiers hardened by numerous battles. They could withstand such circumstances and not panic.

Soon, when they circled the house, Jord voiced out the only plan Nik himself came up with, but both were unsure whether it would work in their favor.

"Can you kill Mynose without making too much noise? I’m not fit enough at this moment."

Nikandros shook his head.

"He sits where anyone from inside can have eyes on him. It would be easier if…"

He looked at Jord and his heart squeezed painfully. But Damen was so much more important.

He didn’t have to voice the plan out.

"On it.” whispered Jord, slowly trying to crawl back, but suddenly he took Nikandros’ hand and kissed his knuckles. Nik knew that if he would let himself feel anything now, it would be all over. He had to keep being strong. So he only nodded and moved to crouch.

With every passing second, Nikandros’ heart was slowing down. He was forcing himself to keep cool. The heat was slowly getting the better of him, so Nik forced himself to concentrate on the guard - Mynose. The traitor was visibly getting as tired of the heat as Nik was. Veretian clothes weren’t cut for this kind of temperature.

Boredom and heat weren’t good companions for keeping guard up.

The moment Jord made his move, Nikandros was fully prepared to do his own part.

At first, Mynose hardly realized what he saw. He blinked lazily, thinking that his eyes were deceiving him. Because, why would there be a person lying in the bushes, on the way to the house that was built in the middle of nowhere?

Nik was waiting for the moment curiosity would get the better of the boy. Mynose finally moved, his stance wary, but he was so focused on what he was seeing, that he didn’t even notice Nik as he approached.

One step. Another step. Then Jord - lying in the middle of the road, stark naked, so the boy wouldn’t recognize his clothing at first glance - looked up, straight into Nikandros’ eyes. Mynose didn’t have the time to look behind when his neck was snapped without mercy and - fortunately - without a sound.

The weight of dead body almost caused Nikandros to topple over, but he managed to hide traitor’s body by placing it as close to the wall as possible. Then, he waited for Jord to come back.

They communicated by signals only. Jord watched the windows, while Nik moved towards entrance. He grimaced when door creaked under the pressure, but no one guarded them inside. Then Nik held watched and Jord moved.

When they entered the house, Jord’s eyes fell on Nik’s thigh, and his mouth tightened.

“You’re leaving blood trail,” he whispered. “When did this happen? This looks bad."

"While crawling, there were some nasty rocks. Nothing we can do about this now.” he whispered back and clasped Jord’s arm once. Just to feel him there.

The house inside was a maze - there seemed to be too many corridors for the two of them to explore on their own. They looked at each other, and picked different corridors.

Nik’s heart skipped a beat every time he thought about Damen. About his smile, stupid jokes, and embarrassing love confessions for Laurent. Shit, he even felt faint every time he imagined Laurent being gone - both what it would mean for Damen, and what it would mean for him. He liked the pest in his own way.

There was so much at stake he couldn’t fuck up.

He had to come back three times to the main door and get another corridor, before - when he returned the fourth time - he saw Jord waiting for him with a bloody dagger in his hand.

“Found them, and killed another guard.” he whispered and lead Nik slowly towards one of northern corridors. He saw the dead guard as they passed one of the corridors.

“It’s Kasen, one of ours!” he said in shocked voice. Jord’s finger feel onto his mouth, and he had to bite back the bile that was rising in his throat.

Just how many traitors were there?

Jord moved closer to the door at the end of north wing, and opened them delicately - slightly, just so they could hear what was happening inside, and see part of the room.

Laurent was lying bound on the ground, unconscious - or dead, but Nik wasn’t going to focus on that part. What interested him the most was Damen, who looked sick. His friend was sitting on a chair, bound by rope and looking pale beyond measure.

“I want you to sign that.” said a levelled voice.

“Why?” Damen’s voice was so faint Nikandros’ felt panic rising inside of him.

The voice was saying something else, but then a movement from Laurent caught Nik’s attention. The King was alive, but he didn’t look good - on the contrary, he looked bad.

“I don’t know what they poisoned us with,” Jord’s voice broke on the whisper, right into Nik’s ear. He was leaning on him pretty heavily. “Prince is highly sensitive to certain type of drugs. We need to get to him fast."

He nodded and tried to get better look of the room, fully ignoring Jord almost fainting at his side. Nik propped him on the wall, and moved to the side. He tried to see if there were any weapons that could be used to kill Damen. There was nothing sharp that he could see, but it wouldn’t take much…

Then, when talking man moved towards the window, Damen suddenly glanced at Laurent, and then at the door, where he saw Nik. And grinned.

Turns out, Akielos king wasn’t feeling that bad, after all.

Before the man turned again, Nikandros knew what to do. Trying to find the right moment, Nik gripped the dagger he took from Jord and waited.

The voice kept talking at length. Something about people starving, unhappy because of the new tax. About Damen being a curse for both Akielos and Vere.

Then he started moving towards the window again. Nik tensed, Damen flexed his muscles, and set his feet apart as much as he could.

Without wasting another second, Nikandros burst into the room. The man turned around, and drew his sword. Nik dropped on his knees beside Damen, and started cutting the rope. Damen growled something, when man rushed towards them.

Once the rope loosened, the room was the sight of carnage. All of the fury, pain, and hate in Damen slammed into the man, knocking him down to the ground. The sword flew to other side of the room and while the man tried to reach for it, he had no choice in the matter. Damen’s fist connected with his face in a powerful punch. Then again, and again. Blood splattered on the wall but Damen wasn’t stopping.

"Enough!” said Nik, trying to keep his friend from killing the only person who could tell them something. “Enough, Damen!"

But the king didn’t listen to him. Nik jumped at him, trying to keep his arm, but was knocked to the ground. Right after that, fist almost knocked him unconscious. He kicked into Damen’s arm as hard as he could, and rolled away more by instinct, than by conscious thought. There were black spots dancing in his line of vision.

Then he heard a voice calling his name.

"Shit, shit, Nik! Are you okay? Sorry, didn’t want to do that!"

"Sure, sure,” he slurred out, and felt pain blossom in his cheek. “Fuck, Damen, you throw some nasty punches."

Damen laughed and helped Nik sit up. Then run over to Laurent.

"Babe, are you okay? Hey, talk to me…” Damen cooed quietly and sighed with relief when Laurent replied, saying something too quiet for Nik to hear. “I think he got it really hard. No idea what he got us to drink, but it was nasty as fuck. Where is Jord?"

"Outside the door. I think he fainted.” Nik replied.

“That will teach them not to drink too much, even if it’s a fake wine,” Damen chuckled and then looked at the man he had beaten. “Can you tie him up?"

"With pleasure. And… it’s good to see you, Damen.” he said, while looking for some un-cut rope.

“Same to you. Were you in some other room?"

"Cellar, actually. Rooms are reserved for kings,” he laughed and then wobbled with pain. “Shit, Damen."

"I know, I’m sorry. I know you all feel tired. There should be water nearby, I’ll look for it. But first…"

Damen made Laurent lie on his side and - without hesitation - shoved finger deep into his husband’s throat. Soon Laurent was vomiting so much it was a miracle there was no blood.

Their way back was a miserable sight. Laurent kept fainting in between Damen’s arms, as they had tied the man behind the plot to Lauren’ts horse. Laurent woke up hours ago but still looked so sick Damen was almost just as green with worry.

"He’s not good with drugs,” said Jord, barely keeping himself straight on his own horse. “Just give it time.”

"Don’t be such a worrywart,“ muttered Laurent, and snuggled deeper into Damen’s arms. "Besides, it’s nice… Just wake me up before anyone sees us.”

Nikandros was so tired he had no idea when he dozed off. Years of being in army made him able to sleep without falling off the horse, but when he finally woke up and saw Jord holding reins of the horse, he smiled.

“Thank you."

"No problem."

"Are we nearing the camp?” he asked, once again closing eyes.

“Sleep, I’ll wake you up before we get there."

"Love you…” he mumbled out, falling asleep right away.

Night had fallen by the time he woke up again, and they were getting closer to the camp. Jord’s arm was on his own, and he was helping him stay on the horse.

“It’s time to wake up. My king wants us to look our best when we come back to our people."

Nik, still little sleepy, looked at Laurent. The king of Vere was off his horse, already moving around, even if a little unsteady on his feet.

"There is a pond this way,” he was telling Damen. “The other day I left clean clothes on the tree nearby, just in case."

"You climbed the tree?"

"Of course, how else would the clothing end up there?"

Nikandros felt relief at hearing the old snarky tone back in Laurent’s voice.

"We’ll keep guard here. Will you stay with me, Nik?"

Damen’s question caught him by surprise.

"Sure. Go on."

When Jord and Laurent disappeared between trees - both armed up to teeth - Nik looked at his friend with raised brow. Damen shrugged.

"I figured they would need to talk about the drugged shouting match sometime."

“Were you actually pretending you’re drugged?"

“I did.”

"Then why didn’t you react when we were ambushed? You are skilled enough to kill three people at once."

Damen looked around nervously.

"At first I thought Laurent and Jord just used it as an excuse to blow off the tension, so I played along. Before I realized something is off, I saw shadows closing on to us. There were too many of them. Too many to fight and protect all of you at the same time. I recognized some of them, but not others. Laurent already has a plan to capture all of them, down to the very last one."

"Because his plans work out so perfectly.” Nikandros snorted.

“To be honest, Nik, Laurent didn’t think about the drugs as a danger, when he decided we should drink tea instead of real wine.” Then he laughed. “Although I absolutely should, right? Considering the way I got into this mess in the first place."

When Laurent and Jord came back, the tension between them seemed to have abated somewhat. Whatever happened as they were getting dressed near the pond made Laurent smile gently at his most loyal soldier, who - in turn - for the first time in a year, looked at peace.

It was a sight for sore eyes.

Nik felt so much better when he finally washed all of the blood, vomit and grime off of his body.

Fortunately his leg wound didn’t seem to be infected.

"I had to stink like mule’s shit!” he growled and Damen snickered.

“Worse, believe me."

"Why, thank you."

They joked all the way back to horses, relaxed despite the threat still in the air. When Damen brought out the bag with food he had taken from the kidnappers, Nik wondered whether his stomach would stand it at all. But the hunger got better of him. They ate so much, all of them started feeling sleepy.

"This is no good.” snapped Laurent, and stood up. “We need to go, right now."

They didn’t bother cleaning up. Their kidnapper finally decided to make some noise, so Damen and Laurent took him aside to question. Then they beat the man a bit more, but Nik wasn’t bothered by that.

Jord stood by him, looking at his beloved ruler and Nikandros couldn’t help but snigger.

"What’s so funny?” drawled older man.

Hell, the more Nik looked at him, the more he felt in love. He wasn’t afraid of that word anymore.

Somewhere between being punched by his king and waking up to realize they all lived through, he came to peace with whatever trouble Jord meant for him.

“When we were younger, we played a silly game of “What if” with a couple of girls. We were supposed to say stupid things we would like in our lives. Most of them were, of course, about marrying and having numerous dark-haired kids.” Jord snorted, making Nik smile even wider. “I just remembered Damen saying he would like to meet someone who would like him for who he is, and who would replace him in doing all those things he wouldn’t like to do."

And wasn’t that Laurent to the boot? Damen looked a bit green now that Laurent was expressing himself rather creatively with the dagger. Luckily they had put a gag in man’s mouth.

"What did you say?"

"Hm?"

Jord looked at him with his customary serious expression.

"What did you say? About the thing you wanted."

He laughed so loudly, Laurent shot him an annoyed look.

"At the ripe age of nine, I was all about muscles, fighting, and reading stories about heroes. My biggest dream was to find a wife who would stand shoulder to shoulder, and fight alongside me.” Nikandros took Jord’s hand and kissed his knuckles the way Jord had done to him before. “And I think I have found the right person, though not a wife."

Jord was quiet, but his ear and neck were red.

"I’m a lowborn.” he finally said.

“Bullshit, you’re the Captain of the King’s Guard. Many nobles’ can’t even dream of being close to that."

"I can’t speak your language very well."

"Good thing I speak Veretian fluently."

"Or so you think,” said the man and then… there it was. The smile. Slight movement of lips, corners lifting up.

Nik felt like melting. Finally, he had made Jord smile. Made the man smile at him.

“Any other issues?” he asked softly, keeping Jord’s hand close to his lips.

Jord blushed some more and looked straight into his eyes.

“I’m not an easy person to be with."

"Well, as long as you’re not like him.” he nodded towards Laurent and hissed, as Jord kicked him.

“I won’t let you insult my King. But aside from that, I’m not as difficult as I seem to be. Don’t be disappointed when you realize I’m just a person. I can be clingy. I can be soft."

Jord seemed unsure in what he was saying - like he was saying it for the very first time. Like, this time, he wanted everything to be clear from start. And Nik wanted to kneel in front of him, to kiss and hug him. Make Jord believe just how honest he was.

"I’m prepared” he said instead. There would come a time for grand gestures of affection, but right now they had to focus on something else.

“Good."

"Oh, and one more thing,” he said after a second, and Jord seemed to tense. Nik sent him the biggest shit-eating grin he could muster. “I’m definitely not being manipulated by Laurent, but I’m glad to know you’re falling for me nonetheless."

The camp fell silent when they returned.

Nikandros wondered if that was because people didn’t expect them to be back, or because they looked - despite being clean - like shit. Laurent was pale as a ghost, Damen’s arms had burns from the rope, Nik’s face was half-blue, and Jord had sunburn along with tons of small cuts all over him.

Laurent scratched at his morning stubble, and Nik had to keep himself from pointing out he looked ridiculous with it. But then both kings jumped off their horses and moved to their tent.

"We are meeting immediately!” Nik announced loudly,1 looking into the eyes of everyone around him. “Everyone gather round. This is an important matter!"

He had no idea what was going on, but felt hopeful. They had abandoned the corpse of the man in the woods, for animals to feed upon the remains. When Nik asked his rulers who was responsible for the assassination attempt both Laurent and Damen just shook their heads and mounted their horses without a word.

At times like these, Nik didn’t see the man who annoyed him and his best friend - instead, he saw two powerful men, two Kings, and it made him proud and emotional to think of it.

The meeting began with tense atmosphere, but Laurent cut through it with his voice as he spoke.

"Yesterday we left for a small tour of our lands, but we were drugged and kidnapped.” Some of the nobles present tensed up, other started shouting, but Laurent silenced them with a cold look. “We were rescued, and our captors are right now in the custody of a… friend.” He seemed unsure about that word. Nik didn’t know where this was going, but Laurent’s talent for theatrics was amazing. He tried to keep a stony face. “I would like your cooperation in overseeing the interrogations. Please be prepared to leave in three days."

Damen walked out in the same time as everyone started leaving the tent; when he returned, he was accompanied by Lord Jushin, the Veretian man who wouldn’t quit talking about the crops.

"So, how did it feel to try and kill us?” Laurent asked pleasantly. If you judged by his tone, you would think they were enjoying tea and biscuits instead of talking about treason.

The man paled and tried to look offended, but he reeked of fear.

“I… Your Majesty, I don’t know what you are talking about! I would never…!"

"Don’t lie to us. Your henchman told us everything.” He reached for a bag nearby and extracted an ear from it to show the traitor. Damen became green again, but Laurent seemed to have the time of his life. “I’m certain you recognize this earring. After all, based on what your sweet friend told us when he could still hear us, the earring was a gift from you. It must be so hard to lose someone you love. I wonder what that feels like…"

Jushin, at this point, was shaking and couldn’t tear his gaze away from the ear.

"No… He… I mean… Your Majesty…"

Damen sighed.

"He’s alive, Jushin. What Laurent meant is that he suffered, but we’re not monsters. He’s in the custody of a friend. What we want from you is a list of all your fellow traitors."

"What’s in it for me?” he whispered, shaking and still staring at the torn flesh.

Laurent smiled gently.

“You get to live, that’s one. You’ll be able to stay in one cell with your beloved. And… I think we’ll rethink our crop policy.” The man jerked in surprise. “Because the whole thing was about that, wasn’t it? People are rebelling because of the new tax. Do you know why we had to press on with this?"

"Because orphans need help,” he hissed out, getting a grip on himself. “You two are so focused on each other that you hardly notice anything around you. People in both countries will starve because you’re playing heroes for some no-names."

"Those no-names are the children of people who were pawns in the war. Many of these children will be sold or dead before they turn fifteen.” The coldness in Laurent’s voice made Nik flinch. He had heard some things about Laurent’s past, about the horrors he had lived through, but it had been enough to get the whole picture. No wonder the King wanted to keep children under his watch safe. “No one would actually starve. Would any of you look at the charts that were provided by our mathematicians, you would know that by now. But even if the numbers didn’t add up, it wouldn’t change the fact that you tried to kill both me and my husband. "

"Just him,” said Jushin quietly. “You were different before you met him. Better."

"Write down the names, and you can see Alis once again."

Shaking, Jushin took the proffered quill and started scribbling, tears falling from his eyes. It was pathetic.

Damen took the list as soon as the man had finished writing on it, then nodded as he slowly read the names.

"They are all here - everybody I saw. We can be sure at least half of these names are correct."

"Good.” Laurent grinned, and Jushin sucked in air. “You see, you’re wrong in thinking that meeting Damen changed me. I’m still the same. He just brings out the best in me. But when you try to take him away from me, you bring out the worst. This?” He threw the ear down on the table and smiled at Jushin. “Your lover is dead. We cut him to ribbons, before slitting his throat. But you’ll love the best news,” he continued, not reacting to the weeping. “He gave over your name, right before we cut out his tongue. Yours was the only name he gave us. Now think about it, while you rot in a dungeon for… another week, I suppose. After that we’ll gather all of you traitors and execute you.” Laurent let that sink in, before he leaned in, and whispered in cold voice to trembling man. “Do you like that, Jushin? Do you like the old me making a comeback?"

They had spent some time drawing straws and deciding who would knock out the traitors turned assassins. Damen had won this round, so he was content to connect his fist to Jushin’s head.

Nikandros felt like he was floating on the soft mattress.. He sighed in contentment and felt himself melting into it, when he heard a cough outside his tent.

"Can I come in?” Jord’s voice was uncertain, which made Nik grin.

“Of course. But excuse me,” he added when there was rush of air that told him the man was already inside. “If I don’t move. I’m so tired I could sleep for a week."

"Understandable.”

He glanced to the side and his grin fell when he noticed how uncomfortable Jord seemed inside his quarters.

“Make yourself at home, Jord. You can come here whenever you like and stay for as long as you desire."

Then, he closed his eyes, to let the man know it was alright to relax around him.

Jord undressed, hardly making any noise, but when he finally leaned in under the covers, he sprawled himself all over Nikandros’ side. They both sighed in contentment at the touch.

"I don’t know if I’m going to be able to wake up soon,” grumbled a deep voice, making Nik shiver pleasantly.

“No one is forcing you. We have the whole day off and I already asked a few of my most trusted men to watch the tent, just in case someone is feeling vengeful."

"I have my sword nearby."

"Me too. Good to know we’re on the same page."

Jord huffed and gently kissed Nik’s neck. Then his lips moved to an arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps in the wake of his kisses. Nikandros moaned, feeling his pulse quicken when a strong hand stroked his side, and there was an unmistakable arousal pressing into his thigh.

He twisted with some effort, and looked into bright blue eyes clouded with desire.

"You still smell good, Nik,” Jord whispered, lowering his face to touch noses.

Nikandros lifted his hand, feeling every muscle groan in protest at the movement, and stroked Jord’s nape. He didn’t need to use any force to make Jord move to close the inches between their lips. Their kiss was slow, lips moving lazily over one another, mouths opening lovingly to let tongues entwine.

When Nik closed his eyes to savour Jord’s weight, smell and taste, he realized he was absolutely content with life. Finally he had his place.

And he knew - somewhere deep inside him, he knew that Jord felt the same.