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Sebian shrugged and looked at Asker. “The war has been going on for over a decade. The way I see it, it’ll still be raging on just fine tomorrow, not giving two shits about what you scheme tonight. Might as well enjoy a clear night like this while we can. Live a little.”
“Live a little,” Asker echoed quietly into his beard, staring at Sebian for another moment before he did the unthinkable; he nodded and turned away. “I will take my leave and see to the preparations outside.”
Malyr placed a kiss to my forehead. “What would you like us to do to entertain you, hmm?” His lips trailed kisses down along the side of my face, only for his tongue to lap at my jawline. “Would you like us to… go to the spring together?”
I all but melted into his embrace, loving those gentle touches he now generously offered between the rougher ones when he fucked me. “I already bathed there today.”
“And yesterday. And the day before that. Sweetheart, I’m starting to think you’re actually a duck in disguise.” Sebian pressed himself against me from behind, running a finger down along my braid until it tugged and tingled my scalp so nicely. “I have a better idea. Let’s walk through Valtaris. Shadows, coronation, politics… we’ve been so damn busy this entire time, I haven’t had a single chance to enjoy this place.”
I gleamed back at him, pure excitement radiating through my core. “Yes!”
“It is settled then,” Malyr said, intertwining his fingers with mine before he guided me out the room.
Sebian followed beside me, wearing nothing more but brown breeches and a white shirt, the climate in Valtaris gentle enough where not much more was needed. With the two men framing me, we strode out of the throne room, our footsteps resonating in unison against the stone as we crossed the great hall.
Malyr pushed open one of the heavy double iron doors that lead out of the Winged Keep, its creak the only remnant of the city’s long dormancy. Fresh night air greeted us, tinged with the scent of ale and hearty meats, the plateau sprawling out before us transformed into a hive of bustling workers.
They draped cloth of… maybe purple, along the rafters of stores that flanked the stairs down into the city. Others arranged large wooden structures down by the landing that looked much like a frame of ladders.
Malyr pointed at it. “They’ll allow as many ravens as possible to roost there and watch the coronation ceremony. Something similar was done during my father’s ascension.”
I strode between them along the Tarred Road, marveling at the many candles now dotted windows here and there, offering the warm glow of a home to whichever Ravens had returned. “Are you nervous?”
He wrinkled his nose and looked up at the plumes that weaved through the city, no longer consisting of shadows, but smoke from chimneys. “Being the spare, I didn’t receive nearly as much instruction on governance as Harlen.”
“I think you will rule well.” I knew he tried, assigning new advisors on the daily and listening to their guidance every night before he joined Sebian and me, exhausted yet still attentive to me.
“We,” he corrected. “Whatever I may lack in kindness, you bring in spades.”
“And I’m pretty sure Malyr will manage just fine to corrupt your sweet heart every now and then, if needed,” Sebian added, then jutted his chin toward a dark alley where I wouldn’t want to be found alone at night. “There’s fun to be found at the end of this one, I’m certain.”
I grinned at him, my heart brimming with affection. “Are your senses telling you?”
“No,” he said with a grin. “My years of experience in staggering from one tavern into the next is.”
With a laugh and a sense of bliss energizing the air between us, we veered off the Tarred Road, trusting Sebian’s uncanny instincts to guide us toward fun. And how spectacularly it opened up before me right around the next corner…
The very air shifted, suddenly alive with the intoxicating blend of laughter, song, and the smoky aroma of a fire that roared at the center of a lively square framed by rustic buildings. People danced around it, young and old, their faces flushed. Many held cups of wine, the evidence of their revelry visible in the occasional red spills staining their cotton kirtles and trousers.
My eyes widened, taking in the spectacle before me—unrestrained joy I had always craved but never thought I’d find. “What are they celebrating?”
Malyr chuckled. “You, little dove.”
“Come here, sweetheart!” Sebian grabbed my arm and pulled me against him, one arm slinging around the small of my back, the other taking my hand. “Dance with me.”
“But—”
Sebian pulled me into the chaotic tangle of limbs, our bodies instantly lost amidst the wild swirl of people. The lutes and drums seemed to thrum from every direction, a discordant melody that defied any sense of rhythm or structure.
“This makes no sense,” I said as I stumbled over my own feet, finding no pattern in this frantic dance around the fire. “I don’t know this dance.”
“Neither do I.” Sebian simply grinned and dragged me along, his grip firm but his demeanor completely carefree.
A laugh bubbled out of me—only for me to trip again, nearly tumbling into a couple who sidestepped us with giggles. The more I stumbled, the less it seemed to matter, each misstep nothing but a bump in the rhythm of joy. And then… I simply gave in.
And in this carefreeness, my movements melded with Sebian’s like two creeks intertwining. Each curve, each swirl, each burst of laughter sent us forward with more fervor. The lutes and drums, the flames and faces, all faded into a warm, radiant blur as we picked up speed, dancing—
No, rushing around the fire.
