“Of course,” he replied after a beat of silence. “I think that would be an excellent idea.” One of the barons shifted uncomfortably, but none said anything, and King Ruven seemed not to notice—if he did, he did not acknowledge it.
“Thank you,” Taegan replied, bowing his head and hoping the smugness he felt was not apparent on his face. “I will let him know, and we will see you at dinner. If I may take my leave?”
“Go on, then,” the king replied with a lazy wave of his hand, and his attention returned to the nobles he had been speaking with.
Taegan left the room quietly to make his way back to their quarters. This time when he opened the door, Zorvut was inside, and he could hear the telltale splash of the bath being drawn.
“I thought we could both use a bath,” Zorvut said as Taegan entered, smiling.
“An excellent plan,” Taegan agreed. “I have some news. We’re both to be present in some meetings and talks with the local council of landowners tomorrow morning. Dry conversation, but good to know.”
“Both of us?” Zorvut repeated, surprised. Taegan nodded, stifling a chuckle.
“Trying to get out of it already?” he asked. “Yes, both of us. I thought it would be proper for you to be included. I already know a lot of the boring stuff, but if we’re both to rule someday, you should learn, too.”
“True,” Zorvut replied, but furrowed his nose begrudgingly. “I will join, then.”
“Good,” Taegan said, and stepped closer to him, leaning into his chest. “And is your leg alright?”
“Should be fine as long as I keep it clean,” he said—when they were this close, his voice sounded like a distant rumble of thunder in his chest. One of his arms raised to hold Taegan more tightly against him. “Forgive me if I was too bold earlier.”
“There is nothing to forgive,” Taegan said quickly, looking up at him with a smirk. “In fact, as your princely duty, I expect you to kiss my hand every time we must part.”
“Is that so? And what about for me?”
“You get the pleasure of kissing my hand, of course,” he teased.
“And if I want to kiss you here?” His thumb brushed over Taegan’s lips, sending a shiver down his spine. “Or here?” It trailed down his neck and traced his collarbone.
“Well,” Taegan replied slowly, suddenly feeling very distracted. “Youaremy prince, so you could kiss wherever you want. I won’t protest.”
Zorvut opened his mouth to reply, but was abruptly interrupted. “Forgive the intrusion, my prince,” Aerik’s voice came from the bathroom, making Taegan’s heart leap up into his throat. “But the bath is ready for you now. I’ll leave you to it.” He could hear the stone door of the servant exit swing open and shut, then Taegan let out a laugh of embarrassment.
“Gods, I forgot he was here,” he said, covering his face and stepping away from Zorvut, who released him with a chuckle. “Come along, then. I don’t want to smell like a horse for a moment longer.”
Chapter Ten
Overthecourseofthe next several days, Taegan made it a point to be more openly affectionate with his husband. If any of the elves in the castle were still secretly uncomfortable with Zorvut’s presence, he figured, he wouldmakethem get used to him. He held Zorvut’s hand nearly everywhere that they went together, kissed him when they parted, embraced him when they rejoined. They often sat together in the library reading, rather than taking books back to his study to read in private—though he did enjoy reading aloud to Zorvut when they were indeed alone.
At first, he felt more self-conscious than he could ever remember feeling in his life, and he could feel a similar discomfort through the bond from Zorvut. Forcing himself to reveal the softer, kinder feelings he had toward Zorvut was a struggle after trying to hide them for so long. But it was important, he explained over breakfast the next morning, because the more often they presented themselves as a unified front to the world, the more naturally it would come to them over time.
Their bond was something he made a point of learning more about, as well. He read the elven history of the marriage bond to Zorvut, remarking with a tinge of bitterness that he had never really explained the way elven bonds of marriage worked.
“The strength of the bond can vary, although the reasons behind it are not fully understood,” Taegan said as he leaned forward over the book he was reading. “I wasn’t sure at first, but I think we seem to have an unusually strong bond, especially for a bond between races. Even my father mentioned the bond between him and my Papa was not very strong at first.”
“Is it just compatibility?” Zorvut asked. He was lounging in one of the large, comfy chairs in the study while Taegan sat at his desk.
“No,” Taegan said, shaking his head. “Well, I don’t think so. I would suspect it has something to do with the latent magical ability of one or both, but I don’t have much affinity for magic. Do you?”
“Orcs typically don’t have magic either,” Zorvut answered with a laugh. “I’ve never tried, but I doubt I could do anything at all. What can you do? I’ve never seen you use magic, now that you mention it.”
“I can’t do much,” he admitted, glancing away. Though he had been reassured over and over again that magical ability was innate and there was no shame in his meager ability, a lingering embarrassment still squeezed at his chest whenever he spoke of it. “When I was a child, I had always hoped I could become a powerful warlock one day, but it just isn’t in my blood. My father, the king, is a decent mage, but his skill is rather average. Papa couldn’t do much magic either, and I turned out more like him. Most elves can do at least a bit of simple magic, though. Let me try...”
He turned his focus to a candle on the opposite end of his desk, holding a hand toward it. Unblinking, he watched the flickering of the flame, trying to grasp at the glimmer ofsomethingin his chest that he always felt when trying to use whatever small spark of magic he had. It was a hard feeling to describe—like walking in a dream behind someone he could not see yet somehow still knew was there. He focused on the unnameable feeling, tilted his hand to the right to make the flame lean in the same direction, then he clenched his fist with a flourish, and the candle snuffed out.
“Impressive,” Zorvut said, giving a nod of approval.
“It’s very little by elven standards,” Taegan laughed, shaking his head.
