Eric was glad Archie was here to cut through the cryptic nonsense of Lymond, but it was unsettling to see. It almost seemed a reflection of him and Ix, the way he stepped in to steer the conversation or clarify for Ix when needed. He didn’t mind doing so – in fact, he often took pride in being the only one able to decipher Ix – but the bond between Archie and Lymond seemed so obvious as an outside observer. Did people see him and Ix in the same way?
“Still. Even this much was useful,” said Eric. “Ix doesn’t have a lot of people he can discuss real demon magic with. He mightnot have said it out loud, but he was looking forward to doing more of that with you. Please do attend the next party if you’re so inclined. You too, Archie, if you need someone to share the burden of your, uh, otherrealm secrets.”
“Thank you.” Archie laughed softly. He placed a hand on Lymond’s; the two of them had some silent conversation that Eric couldn’t decipher and after a moment he felt awkward watching the two of them stare at each other.
“Right. Thank you for your help. I’ll take my leave,” said Eric, hastily making towards the door and leaving his tea undrunk.
CHAPTER TEN
“DON’T YOU DAREpull your jabs.” Ix was in a state of high dudgeon, stripped down to just his undershirt, the sweat making the fabric cling to his shoulders. The duel was his idea, a friendly bout between friends and a way to test his current physical ability.
Privately, Eric thought he wasn’t well enough for such physical exertion yet, but he’d thought they’d been on their way to the courtyard for a gentle turn about the inner gardens when Ix had ducked into his salle instead. It was a long room that spanned the length of his wing in the New Palace. One side opened into the gardens; the other boasted full-height mirrors that ran the length of the room so anyone training would be able to see their form more clearly, an outrageous extravagance that meant King Ruben could never be accused of favoring his human son more than the others.
By the time Eric tried to persuade him to come out, Ix had already started going for his sword and dagger and it was difficult to say no to him when his method of persuasion was to stab at Eric with his rapier until Eric bothered to defend himself.
“Of course not,” Eric said, deflecting Ix’s attack and half-heartedly jabbing.
“Liar,” grumbled Ixthan, stabbing forward with his off-hand dagger. He over-extended it, his stance turning unstable. Eric shuffled back out of the way, and they both pretended it hadn’t happened.
“I went to see Lymond,” said Eric, in what he hoped was a casual tone. It didn’t work, from the way Ix’s eyes immediately narrowed.
“Why.”
“I wanted to see if I could spot the difference now that I know he’s a demon.” Eric lunged forward, smacking the flat of his blade against Ix’s hip. Point. Not one he would have scored if he hadn’t just distracted Ix.
Eric had dueled Ix more times than he could count over the years and could count his number of legitimate wins on one hand. They’d never known how much of it was because of his demon powers but perhaps they were to find that out now.
Amongst their friends, a couple of them could be convinced into a couple of bouts against Ixthan before gracefully retiring, knowing they didn’t stand a chance. Eric alone carried on being Ix’s steadfast dueling partner. Somehow, the knowledge that he wouldn’t win was what drove him to get better at it, a masochistic streak that he’d always thought was pride and that Ix had – well, Ix had clearly seen something else in it.
That, and it meant he had an excuse to watch the way Ix moved, the way his thighs flexed with a lunge, the extension of his wrist to show the line of his forearm, the sweat gather at his brow.
“And?” Ix demanded.
“Not at all. He looks human to me. Even knowing about his magic I could feel myself being persuaded that I truly had known him for three years. Are you sure he is safe?”
“Safe?” Ixthan almost looked offended as he rucked up the bottom of his undershirt to mop his brow, revealing the scrunch of muscles underneath. Disgusting, Eric didn’t want to see that at all. “He’s a demon, of course he’s not safe.”
“You know what I mean. What if he decides to try and convince everyone that he’s the real king or something outlandish?”
“He has the power, but he’s…” Ix paused, dropping the hem of his shirt to think. A shame. “The demon realms force demons to be ambitious, because there is no room not to be. The only way to exist is by being powerful enough to be a deterrent or making an alliance with another and pledging your magic to them in exchange for protection.”
“Like any military force,” Eric pointed out.
“But unlike human kings squabbling for bits of land, demons will simply devour each other,” Ix said wryly. And then snorted: “Besides, Lymond would never bother to convince humans that he is the king because then he would have to deal with bureaucracy.”
“Well, I gave him the truth about you. He said he’d at least think about it. It sounds like his deal with Jasper is purely transactional, he’s not reporting every little thing he knows back to him.”
“Weren’t you busy?” sneered Ix as he regrouped for a second bout.
Eric flicked his rapier up into a guard position. “That’s what I wanted to say. It sounds like you’re becoming fast familiar with him. Like you’d like to be friends, don’t you think?”
“Jealous?” Ix knocked his blade down and locked it against Eric’s rapier hard enough that it jarred his wrist.
“Not unless you’re also fucking him.” Eric could feel his heart pounding against his chest, nothing to do with their fencing. He wasn’t sure they were at the stage of talking about this aloud likethis yet. He glanced out of the window nervously. These gardens were reserved for royal family members only so there was no risk of anyone seeing Ix without his demonic features but it would have been just his luck if Jasper had walked past to hear him talking so openly. Eric cleared his throat hastily. “Anyway, he made an interesting observation. His magic wasn’t working on me, which means that your spelled necklace is still working. Which means that your magic exists, somewhere, even if it’s not inside you.”
Knowing Ix’s fighting style so well was to Eric’s detriment now. Ix went for a disarm, a clever little move that usually hooked Eric’s rapier out of his hand, and Eric reacted to the speed he knew Ix normally had. Their hilts clashed; Ix’s sword arm stuck for a heartbeat.
“Oh, godsdamnit!” Eric pulled back immediately as his dagger sliced across Ix’s forearm. He dropped both his weapons and surged forward to see and nearly impaled himself on Ix’s still outstretched sword.
