Zorvut did not join them for dinner, and when King Ruven asked about it, Taegan stammered out something about him not feeling well and staying behind. The king seemed to sense his uncertainty, and did not press him on the matter.
After the meal, he still could not focus on the book he had been trying to read, so he drew a bath to try and relax a bit before bed. Much to his chagrin, he heard the door opening as Zorvut returned to their room while he was still in the bath. When he padded back into the bedroom in only his nightclothes, he found that the orc had stripped a blanket off the bed and laid down on the floor, the way he had their first night together.
“Zorvut,” Taegan said softly—the sight of his husband on the floor hurt him in a way he had not expected. “Why don’t you come to bed?”
But Zorvut’s eyes remained firmly shut—he was certain Zorvut was still awake—and he did not respond.
“Please?” he asked, but when he was again met with silence, he sighed and blew out the candles on his side of the room. After what felt like an hour, he heard Zorvut shift and sit up, and the candlelight on that side flickered out as well.
Closing off his end of the bond was a mistake, and it took a conscious effort the next morning to let Zorvut back in—or, at least, he hoped it was successful, but the orc was distant and avoidant, already gone by the time Taegan woke in the morning. He did not join him for lunch, and could not be found in the usual places they spent their afternoons. When he asked Aerik if he had seen him, the attendant advised him that Zorvut had asked him to saddle his horse first thing in the morning, so he expected he might still be riding if he had not returned.
“His horse?” Taegan asked sharply, suddenly worried. “Did he take anything with him?”
“No, my prince, only a bow and quiver. I thought perhaps he was getting in some early morning target practice. Is there cause for concern?” Aerik replied, though his face was as carefully neutral as ever.
“No, no,” Taegan muttered, waving his hand dismissively. “You’re right. He wanted to spend the day practicing. I… I forgot he had mentioned it.”
The lie seemed painfully obvious, but Aerik only nodded in agreement. “Of course.”
When he was alone in his study, he sat down on the floor and closed his eyes, focusing on the point in the back of his head where Zorvut was connected to him.I’m sorry, he thought, and let the phrase repeat in his head, trying to think it at the bond, trying to push all his emotions at it, wondering if anything was going through at all.I’m sorry. I’m sorry.After a moment, the familiar sense oflateranswered him, and he sighed in relief—it meant that at the very least, Zorvut was safe, and near enough to sense him.
But he was still gone when Taegan met his father in the dining hall for dinner again.
“Still unwell?” Ruven asked as Taegan sat down next to him.
“Yes,” Taegan replied with a sigh. He hesitated, then turned to look at his father and continued in a hushed tone. “Could we speak after dinner, in private?”
“Of course,” the king said, raising an eyebrow. “You do not need to ask, my son.”
He had little appetite and mostly pushed his food around his plate until dinner was over and his father stood, taking a goblet of wine with him, and he followed the king up the spiral staircase to his private study.
“Something is bothering you,” Ruven remarked as Taegan closed the door behind him.
“Is it that obvious?” he answered with a groan, sitting down at his father’s desk. Ruven stood, taking a sip of his wine, watching him silently from the other side. “I... Well, I wanted to ask for your advice, I suppose.”
“Tell me,” the king prompted. Taegan was silent, considering his words for a long moment.
“You know I want this to work,” he finally said. “Zorvut and I. For the sake of all of us, for you, I want this marriage to work. Things were going better for a little while, but... I don’t know. We’ve been—I’ve been struggling to connect with him, emotionally.”
He paused, but Ruven remained silent, waiting for him to finish. “I don’t know how. I feel like I never know the right thing to say to him, and the things I do say, he doesn’t react the way I would expect him to. And him, I know there are times he tries to do or say things,kindthings, to me, but...” He trailed off, unable to find the words, and instead looked helplessly to his father.
“But?” Ruven repeated.
“But... I don’t know. I don’t react the way I think he wants me to react, either,” he stammered. “I don’t understand him. Sometimes I don’t understand why I feel the way I do, either.” At that, Ruven chuckled.
“I think part of you has always been that way,” he said wryly, then sighed. “But relationships can be difficult, more so when you’re as... different as you and Zorvut are from each other. To be frank, Taegan, it may always be a struggle. I don’t know if relating to an orc will ever come easily to us, at least not in this lifetime. We have considered ourselves enemies for generations, and loath as I am to admit it, one peace treaty isn’t going to change that overnight.”
“Perhaps,” Taegan sighed, looking away. He had not expected so hopeless of a response.
“But,” Ruven added quickly, sensing his discouragement. “That is not to say you shouldn’t try. Haven’t you always been one to talk out your feelings, like this?” He gestured between them, and Taegan managed a slight smile, nodding in agreement. “That is what works best for you. But what works best for him? If there is a different avenue that might be more relatable to Zorvut, perhaps that would be a better option for you to try. Other races do not experience the mental bond we do. What might be intuitive for you to use to express yourself is likely completely alien to him. You need to find what is intuitive for him.”
“Right,” Taegan agreed, his brow furrowed in thought. It seemed obvious now that the king spoke it aloud, but he supposed he had never quite considered it that way. “I’ll think on it.”
His father came around the desk and patted his shoulder gently. “I can see this is important to you. I have every confidence you can find a solution, and I hope Zorvut is receptive to you. Honestly, I am impressed at how easily he has adapted, so hopefully he wants things to go well between the two of you, too.” He paused, then squeezed Taegan’s shoulder. “And if nothing else, I am always here for you. We are in an unprecedented situation, and we may just have to make do with what we get.”
“Of course,” Taegan murmured in agreement, and he stood. “I appreciate your advice, Father.”
He took his leave and went for a walk around the grounds, hoping to spot Zorvut. He and Graksh’t would be hard to miss, he was sure, but he had no such luck. It was a pleasantly warm spring day, though, and the fresh air helped clear his head.
