Page 11 of Badmouths & Bards

But that was a lie.

The minute their glamours faded—even on a continent that they had never been to—there was always someone who would recognize them. A couple of attractive blue boys were hard to ignore.

“State your business,” an elf man in armor said.

Unlike the silver or gold Ameriden had seen in the past, the city of Eshorion decorated their armored guards in some kind of ivory metal. The bard wasn’t familiar with blacksmithing and his interests in metal only ran as far as what would look best on stage. Ameriden and Casimine both had ear jewelry—Casimine more than Ameriden, but that was simply because Ameriden couldn’t stop buying him jewelry.

“We’re here upon request of the King’s Court,” Seira said, presenting a small scroll.

The guard took it, scanned the contents, and appeared to find them satisfactory. Ameriden supposed it helped that the King’s court seal and signature were on the bottom. Some cities were a lot more strict about entry—especially if they had no record of business in the city.

The guard handed the scroll back to Seira and gestured for them to move along. Ameriden figured the guy either didn’t know who they were—not too surprising, given they had never performed in Eshorion before—or maybe he just didn’t care. The latter was more likely, but Ameriden didn’t question it as he followed Seira onto the cobble stone, past the gate, and into the city proper.

An open square with a stone statue in the center, bearing the effigy of a goddess Ameriden could have mistaken for the Fire Matron.

“I believe that’s the Sun Bringer,” Casimine said. “She’s the goddess of sun and fire for some cultures.”

The Sun Bringer had long fiery hair, massive wings, and talons for feet. She was impressive—or at least the artist who had designed her was—but Ameriden did not feel inspired the same way he did when beholding the Fire Matron. She was brutal, molten lava and destruction—the complete opposite of Water Mother in every way, but that’s what made water and fire hanfen so important to the other. They were balance, the same way air and earth were.

“Okay, boys, it’s been a while since I’ve been to Eshorion but I’m pretty sure I still know how to get to the Golden Manor,” Seira hefted her pack higher on her back. “It’s a couple of feet above. We’ll have to move through the common areas, but once we reach the upper level we won’t have to worry about getting pick pocketed.”

“Stay close,” Ameriden whispered.

“Always,” Casimine replied.

Fuck.

It had been too long—way too long by the way his body had reacted to that singular word.

The thing they never talked about at college was why most bards never banded together. Ego was usually the biggest reason. You had to be a little full of yourself to be a bard—words his own teacher had said on the first day of class. Big egos also meant jealousy—whether it was intentional or not, there was always someone bigger and better. That made it really difficult for bards to work together long term.

But Ameriden suffered from the other reason.

Between the stress and the intense emotions that came with performing and creativity, there was always a chance of bards becoming romantically involved. Ameriden had crossed that line with Casimine three years ago, though if he were honest with himself, it was probably sooner.

The first time it had happened, they had brushed it off. There had been a lot of women and a lot of drugs—he couldn’t even remember what they had been celebrating. Some after show party at a tavern—it was still blurry. All Ameriden could remember was coming to with a woman at his back and Casimine pressed to his front. The realization that he could feel Casi’s dick had sent blood to his face until his skin turned purple. Awkwardness of the moment aside, Casimine had been polite about it when he opened his eyes and saw Ameriden’s panicked expression.

Polyamory wasn’t off the table—at least, culturally speaking. While it didn’t come as naturally to some of the other denizens of Ordia, it was more than common in all hanfen societies. Especially where royalty was concerned.

But then it kept happening.

No matter who they lay with, they would always ended up waking up in each other’s arms. At some point, Casimine had just accepted it, so Ameriden went along with it. They didn’t have a name for whatever it was between them, only that it existed and neither of them wanted it to stop completely.

Ameriden eyed Seira as she navigated a few feet ahead of them. The woman was dodging the Eshorion denizens left and right, making it easier for Ameriden to slow his pace.

“Something wrong?” Casimine slowed as well, matching his pace.

“I was just thinking.”

“About?”

Ameriden bit his lip, before his tongue came out to sooth it. Casimine’s eyes were subtle, but he could see the way they followed the movement.

“It’s been… a while.”

Casimine raised a brow.

Ameriden rolled his eyes in return, “Don’t make me say it.”