His voice broke at that, and for the first time a burst of grief escaped the bond, instantly bringing tears to Taegan’s eyes as well. “You have so many years ahead of you, Taegan. I don’t want to be the cause of your wasted potential. If things get bad, please, please just go. I want you to live, to go home, so you can regroup and find another way to end the war. My place is here, and if I die, I die. But you… You can still do so much more. You can go on to be happy and become king and have lots of—lots of little princes and princesses running around.”
Taegan was shaking his head rapidly without even realizing it. “My place is here, too, with you,” he protested, his voice suddenly hoarse.
“I need you to promise me,” Zorvut insisted, squeezing his hands. His grip trembled, but his gaze was unwavering. “I beg of you. Please, please just promise me, if it seems hopeless, you’ll protect yourself first and go home to Aefraya.”
He wanted to protest, to scream, to insist that he could not possibly go on without Zorvut. The thought of running away and leaving Zorvut to die made him sick to even consider, but the flood of despair and fear coming from the bond was more than he could withstand, drowning out every word before he could even formulate a sentence. Zorvut had kept a tight hold of his emotions since Taegan had first arrived, but the strength of his conviction proved too much to hold back now.
“I promise,” Taegan whispered, looking down at where his hands were clasping Zorvut’s, gripping him tightly to keep them from trembling, though the effort was in vain. He did not want to, but he could not bring himself to say anything else. “I promise.”
The words hung heavy between them for a long moment, silence settling over them until finally Zorvut released Taegan’s hands to wipe his own eyes, glancing away.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice gravelly with emotion. “I… That means a lot to me, Taegan. I don’t want things to turn out that way, but if they do, knowing you’ll be okay will be a small comfort.”
He did not know what to say. It was understandable, but the thought of fleeing while Zorvut stayed to die was of no comfort to him at all. His feelings must have been clear through the bond as Zorvut reached out to softly touch his arm once again.
“I know it’s a lot to ask,” he said. “I know. But this shouldn’t be your hill to die on.”
“But it should be yours?” Taegan asked, unable to bite back the words. “Zorvut, half of these people would have marched on Aefraya without a second thought. They were happy to take up arms again when Hrul called off the treaty. It’s not your hill to die on, either!”
“It is,” Zorvut insisted, his brows furrowing. “It is, Taegan. It became my place the moment I killed Hrul and became the warlord.”
He bit his lip, looking away. How could he argue with that?
“You’re too noble for your own good,” he spat, and Zorvut laughed weakly, shaking his head.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly, and Taegan leaned against him again. Despite his tumultuous emotions there was still comfort in his embrace. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t come to that. And I know you will too.”
* * *
The next day showed no sign of an invading army, but in the afternoon Gorza came to them again with more news. One of their scouts had spotted Zesh and his group late the night before and rode through the night to return with the news.
“The good news is that the scout thinks Zesh has fifty or fewer warriors with him, which is manageable even if they’re all on horseback,” she said, Zorvut looking pensively down at his hands clasped tightly together on the table in front of him as he listened. “The bad news is that he will definitely be here tomorrow. We should make whatever preparations we can now to be ready.”
The rest of the day had been a whirlwind of making sure every capable warrior that remained in Drol Kuggradh was briefed and prepared for battle. Luckily for Taegan, with as many elves as there were still in the city, he was outfitted with decent armor and weapons without too much issue. It was not his own personal bow, but it was serviceable.
Sleep was a struggle that night. For all the worry Taegan tried to push from his mind, every time he started to feel a little more calm and a little less anxious, he would only feel Zorvut’s worry more acutely. It was like a cold, aching muscle in the back of his head that he couldn’t unclench, and when he looked back over at Zorvut in bed next to him he could see the half-orc’s eyes open and staring up at the ceiling.
After a long while of fruitlessly trying to sleep, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, and Zorvut’s eyes flicked over to look at him.
“I can’t sleep,” he said softly, and without waiting for a response, he swung his leg over Zorvut’s waist and straddled him, pushing his hands under his shirt.
“Taegan,” Zorvut said softly, brows furrowed, barely discernible in the darkness.
“If this is our last night together,” Taegan said, rocking his hips slowly. “Then I want to spend it making love to my husband.”
For a moment Zorvut did not respond, and in the silence Taegan felt suddenly doubtful. He nearly moved to get off of Zorvut when finally the familiar echo of arousal came through the bond, and Zorvut propped himself up on his elbows to look more closely at him.
“Okay,” he said quietly, nodding, and Taegan stifled a self-satisfied grin. He could feel Zorvut becoming hard underneath him, and he pulled away just enough to pull down his underwear as Zorvut pulled off his shirt.
He made a soft, startled noise as Zorvut’s rough hands pushed under his own shirt, yanking it off in one swift movement—but it quickly became a moan as the half-orc ran his hands down the length of his torso, brushing over his nipples and feeling along each divot between his abs.
“Come here,” Zorvut said, his voice gravelly, and he pulled Taegan down so he was laying with their chests pressed together, skin-to-skin along the length of their torsos. Taegan pressed his face into Zorvut’s shoulder, and for a moment the only sound was the soft slide of Zorvut’s hands idly running up and down his back and his fingers running through his hair. Despite how eagerly hard his cock was, he was loath to be the first to break away from the intimate moment, so he closed his eyes and let himself revel in the soft pleasure of Zorvut’s fingers on his skin.
“I love you,” he breathed, and peppered soft kisses along Zorvut’s neck and collarbones. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” Zorvut murmured, his voice a deep rumble in Taegan’s ear pressed against his chest.
The desire resounding through the bond was too much for Taegan to hold back anymore, so he pushed himself back up to straddle Zorvut, letting out a soft moan at the hard head of his cock that pressed against him as he settled his weight onto Zorvut’s hips. When he looked down at Zorvut’s face, the half-orc’s eyes were trained on his cock, watching hungrily as they moved against each other.
