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The others talked in low voices as they waited, although for what, Aurelius didn’t know. He hung his head to let his hair fall forward while he observed the room. The two that had lured himwere just as rough as the other four. After their travels, it didn’t look like they’d been given time to clean up. Aurelius didn’t feel as filthy as before. They must have splashed soapy water on him as a hasty bath, and that’s what he’d felt.
Afterward, they’d dressed him in the clothes he’d worn under his armor: black trousers and a plain, black shirt that buttoned. They must have washed the clothes too because he’d sweated a lot that day with all of the activity and the heat of the day. He had his boots back. Imagining their hands all over him while they dressed him like a doll made his stomach clench.
A couple leaned against the wall. Two started talking, and Aurelius caught something about someone getting married.
“No way he got married.”
“To a human too.”
“Bullshit.”
“No, really. He was on Earth and traveling around. He found some human guy and took him back with a rifter. You can’t be gay on Earth. I think it's banned.”
“How can you ban being gay? That’s like banning water.”
“Humans got all kinds of dumb rules. What do you expect from a bunch of idiots who are afraid of magic?”
Aurelius wasn’t so muddled anymore, and he glanced at the door. It’d be like being dropped into a maze even if he got by the men talking about stupid crap. He’d never find his way out before they caught him. The balcony seemed too high. He could only see blue sky beyond the railing, and he couldn’t fly. Someone knocked on the door, and he barely kept from flinching. Whoever it was didn’t come in. All six men came for him, and he instinctively pressed himself against the back of the chair.
“Time for dinner. Be polite to the King.”
They weren’t going to do anything. Yet. Aurelius managed to keep himself under control as they took his arms and hauled himthrough the hall outside. The first door on the right led to a long antechamber with hooks on the walls, presumably for cloaks. Beyond it lay a dining room with white, lacy curtains covering the windows. An elaborate Norian crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, and the long table had been set for only two.
King David sat at the head. Grey threaded his auburn hair that was thinning on top. He was said to have been quite handsome in his youth, but age had left its mark. Red veins marked his nose, and his cheeks sagged. He must not have used the shaving lather that eradicated hair for up to five years since he had grey stubble.
The men forced Aurelius around the table and into a chair they pulled out. After shoving him into it, one dragged a chain and a lock from his pocket.
“There’s no need to be so rough with him,” said David.
A laugh threatened to burst out. No need to be rough with him? Now? Had Aurelius been broken enough before? The man attached the chain to his collar and reached under the table. Aurelius couldn’t see, but a ring was surely under there. King David had things set up before so his new guest could be kept in place like a dog on a leash. The lock clicked.
The shackles were removed, and once his hands were free, all six men backed away like Aurelius was made of fire.
“You can go,” said David. “If he gets out of control, I’ll call you back in. But I think you’ll behave as a guest should at dinner. Right, Aurelius?”
Aurelius glanced at him. His chair had been set just far enough away so he wouldn’t be able to lunge and turn the King into what he most desired.
The men filed out, leaving him with the man who had once loved his Father and later allowed his son to be tortured for two years.
“I’ve decided we’ll speak as men, and this is better than the Hall. I think we can get along.” David reached for a pitcher filled with sapphire liquid.
Was Aurelius going insane or high on some other drug? David thought they could sit and speak as if nothing had ever happened?
“Oh, now we can get along?” hissed Aurelius. “Your special friend didn’t do the job, so now we can speak like equals?”
“Why not? Perhaps a gentler approach is needed, so we’ll speak like men. You were quite stubborn before. It’s amazing how you held out.”
Rage boiled up in Aurelius as he propped his elbow on the arm of his chair and lifted his middle finger. “Fuck you. You don’t see me as a man. I’m a tool.”
The table was set with fine silverware, and a flower arrangement held white and silver roses made from silk. Little diamonds had been pasted on the petals, and they gleamed in the light of the chandelier above. The rich, dark wood of the walls made the space feel warmer, and it matched the wood of the chairs. Truly, the room made a pleasant space for small parties with good friends.
What a farce. Aurelius snatched one of the white roses and let the urge have its way as he focused. It was too easy. The white vanished as the gild grew over it, and the silk rose turned rigid.
“This is what you want, isn’t it?” Aurelius threw it at David, who batted it before it hit his face. The gold rose tinked on his plate, and he frowned. “I’ll turn the whole fucking arrangement gold, and you can spend hours scraping the gild from each petal, you selfish fuck.”
David set the rose aside like it was a minor inconvenience and pushed over the wine. “Maybe if you have some of that, you’ll feel better.”
Aurelius poured some wine into his glass and didn’t care when some of the blue liquid spilled on the pristine tablecloth. The rage needed an outlet or a way to be shoved down. He was supposed to have dinner like this man hadn’t allowed him to be abused for two straight years? And then what?
