There was a beat of silence between them, then Zorvut laughed aloud, the tension in his muscles all suddenly breaking at once as he leaned harder into Taegan affectionately.
“Yes,” he said, shaking his head incredulously. “Yes, but I’m almost twenty, and orcs are considered adults at fifteen. I promise I wasn’t a child bride.”
“Well, that only makes me feel a little better,” Taegan teased, chuckling. “I can’t believe I never asked you something so… basic before.”
“It never came up,” he replied with a shrug, then raised an eyebrow. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-six,” he answered with a grimace. “Though elves aren’t really considered full adults until twenty-five, so in a way you’ve been an adult longer than me. Still, though... Nineteen!”
They had dinner still in the effervescence of the successful day, their joy echoing back to the other and building upon itself. The inn had a nice bath, and they were each able to wash away the lingering grime of their journey before turning in for the night.
Zorvut fell asleep quickly, clearly crashing after having spent so much of the past few days in nervous anticipation. But Taegan laid awake beside him for the long time, watching the flicker of shadows in the candlelight against the wall.
Now that he was in the quiet of his own thoughts, his own worries slowly crept back in. What if the mandidchange his mind? Or worse, what if they had been followed after all? Would Tom chase them out at the first sign of trouble? And what if he could not really help Zorvut, no matter how hard he tried? The warlocks of the elf capital had tried to guide him but were unsuccessful—who could say this human had any better way of teaching him than they did? He had not shown them any magic while they were there, had offered no proof of what he was capable of doing.
But if nothing else, Zorvut had been able to meet his father. The satisfaction of that, alone, would make all of this worth the trip, he told himself. The thought echoed in his mind until he could finally drift off to sleep.
Chapter Six
Thoughhehadstruggledat first, Taegan slept soundly through the night and woke to the sound of Zorvut packing their things. The half orc was already dressed, some of the same nervous energy from the previous day still lingering on him as he folded up their washed clothes and sorted their packed belongings.
“Good morning,” he said briskly as he noticed Taegan stirring awake. “I went and spoke to Miss Jade about our horses. We can rent stalls in the stable for Ember and Graksh’t, since it didn’t seem like Tom had space for horses. I’ve already paid for the week for them.”
“A productive morning,” Taegan remarked with a yawn. “Was she surprised to hear we would be staying with Mr. Whitmore?”
Zorvut chuckled, though his gaze remained on the shirt he was folding. “Yes. I dare say it was one of the few times in her life a woman like that has been speechless. “
“It’s a shame I missed it,” he laughed. “I apologize if I’ve overslept. “
“Not at all. I woke early and couldn’t get back to sleep. I’m just glad I didn’t wake you. No rush.”
Taegan dressed and prepared for the day, and by the time he was ready to go down for breakfast, Zorvut had packed everything up and the room was bare once more. When they arrived down in the dining hall, the familiar figure of Miss Jade greeted them.
“You’ll have to tell me your secret, elf boy,” she said as she set down plates of food in front of them, what appeared to be steamed fish atop a bed of rice and a light vegetable broth. “How did you sweet talk old Tomlin into letting you stay with him?”
Taegan gave her his most honeyed smile, dripping with over-the-top, insufferable charisma. “Our benefactor is nothing if not persuasive, ma’am. Though Mr. Whitmore has extended his offer out of the kindness of his heart.”
“Psh!” she snorted at that. “Just as likely he owes you. I always figured, a man that well traveled in that lifestyle for so long... of course he’s got a past that would catch up to him eventually.”
Taegan narrowed his eyes as he maintained the same smug smile. It was astounding how close to the truth she was circling, yet how far from it her assumptions were. But perhaps that could play out in their favor; let her imagine whatever sordid business they had gotten Tomlin Whitmore involved in, and maybe that would be a deterrent to snooping any further.
“All men have a past, that’s certainly true,” he agreed in as conspiratorial a tone as he could manage. “And a man of that renown, well, that’s a safe assumption to make, Miss Jade.”
“But you’re not going to tell me why you’re here, are you?” she asked with an equally conspiratorial smirk. “Yet, at least.”
“Yet,” he agreed, hoping the mysterious air wouldn’t come back to bite him in the rear.
Once their meal was complete, they set out from the inn and strolled through the town square toward Tomlin’s home. It was a picturesque morning, perfectly temperate with a comfortable breeze, and only a few streaky clouds breaking up the deep cerulean of the midmorning sky. They walked a bit closer this time, though there was still a safe distance between them. He missed being able to walk hand-in-hand with his husband, but the safest option while they were here would still be for as few people as possible to know who they were. If they could limit that to just Tomlin Whitmore, Taegan knew he would sleep a little easier at night.
So they walked a polite distance apart, though he kept Zorvut’s nervous excitement cradled in his mind. It was not a long walk, so even at their leisurely pace, they were soon knocking on the white wooden door again with the yellow curtains fluttering out from the kitchen window.
“Welcome, welcome!” Tom exclaimed as he opened the front door with a flourish of his hand. A wide grin was plastered on his face; there was some clear showmanship in his sing-song voice and the sweeping bow he made as he stepped back, ushering them indoors. Taegan chuckled nervously, as did Zorvut.
“Thank you,” he said as they walked inside, and Tom closed the door behind them.
“This way,” the man said, squeezing ahead of them in the narrow walkway to an equally narrow set of stairs. “Watch your step. Especially you, Zorvut, sorry, I think it’s going to be a bit of a struggle up and down the stairs...”
“Not a problem,” Zorvut answered, though as Taegan glanced behind him he could see the half-orc following him slowly and cautiously with his head bowed low.
