Page 21 of Forge the Blade

Sevastyan stopped breathing. He stared at Ellisandre’s face.

“The fact that you know you are wrong tells me all I need about how much of your soul has survived. That boy in there, that man who looked like his world had been reborn when you walked through the door yesterday, tells me everything I need to know about who you are, no matter what you’ve been through together.”

“He doesn’t know any better.”

“Except he does. When he called me, he was calling for Jun. He asked if Jun was safe. He remembers, Vast. Don’t dishonor that. He lives everything with you, remembering. The only one who doesn’t is you. You’re the only one who has only window shopped a world without skulking and daggers.”

Sevastyan twisted his hands together, until the tendons threatened to snap. “I forget there’s a world beyond this.”

Ellisandre sat back and took a gulp of coffee. “That’s obvious. I should have included clearing that up in my list of things I will do for you.”

Silence settled between them. It was gentler now. A gentleness Sevastyan knew he didn’t deserve and yet valued all the same.

“There are two of us who have claim to you now.”

Sevastyan dug his nails into the backs of his hands. “I’ve broken no oaths.”

“And I will bring about Armageddon on the Merchari, Sevastyan, whether or not I have your submission. It has never been a transaction, not between us. I want you, even if the sky went dark tomorrow. Even if you came with ten boys calling you master.”

Sevastyan played Ellisandre’s words over in his head.

“Even if I kept them?”

“I would think less of you if you did not.” Ellisandre met Sevastyan’s gaze. “It’s not either or, Vast. The world is a complex matrix. Linda Reevesworth is mine, though we share no romance and no bed. It makes me no less yours that I am also hers. And the fact that I share no bed with her makes her no less a person of significance. As I said, Vast, ten boys calling you master would not change that I still want you to kneel at my altar.”

“I want to kneel.”

“Then kneel.”

Sevastyan slid from the couch to his knees. He laid his head on Ellisandre’s thighs. Ellisandre’s fingers curled into his hair, gripping the strands. Tension trickled out of his shoulders. His eyes closed as the burn mounted. The more of his hair Ellisandre gathered in their fist, the quieter the world became.

Ellisandre

Ellisandre drank their coffee slowly as it grew cold, playing with Sevastyan’s hair. Their boy was asleep, head still in their lap. The tension that had flowed through them was softer. Still present but the center was understood. Their boy was still theirs. For the moment. Ellisandre cast glances at the bedroom door.

They lowered Sevastyan to the floor, cradling his head with pillows already on the carpet and covered him with a blanket from the couch. They took some of the drinks to the kitchen and rewarmed them, then walked silently to the bedroom. They cracked the door and paused, letting anyone inside sense the intrusion. There was no sound. Ellisandre let the door swing open and closed it behind them. No one was in the bed. They checked under the bed frame. Still no one. In the closet, nothing was apparent at first. Ellisandre lifted away the clothes.

Lisa sat with his back to the corner, head resting against the wall, eyes closed. Rei rested against his chest.

Ellisandre folded their legs down to the floor and sat. Both slaves opened their eyes. Rei started to rise but Lisa restrained him.

Ellisandre held out the reheated apple cider and hot chocolate. Lisa accepted the hot chocolate and let Rei up enough to take the apple cider.

“Vast is sleeping,” Ellisandre said. “How are you two holding up? Headaches?”

“The headaches are natural,” Lisa responded. “The meds help.”

Rei nodded, then put a hand to his head and stopped.

Ellisandre moved away from the closet by a half meter and put their back to the bed. With the clothes pushed to the side, they could still see in and make eye contact with both slaves. Ellisandre played with a belt buckle on their pants. Coming in here had been instinct. Now that they were here, next steps were uncertain.

“How long are we staying?” Lisa asked.

“Until you’ve at least partially recovered. Sevastyan and I will need time to set up a new apartment for you, something outside of Merchari resources. How long have you known Sevastyan?”

Lisa gazed at Ellisandre longer than was comfortable. They waited, giving him space. Not only were his thoughts likely slow from the head injury, but he felt more like a wild animal trying to find its way than a man. The way he cradled Rei against him sent all the signals of a mother bear ready to fight for its young. Not that Rei was younger than Lisa. It was hard to tell their ages. It could have been one way or the other.

“Three years,” Lisa said.