“My Lord,” Lanaut whispered from the cracked door.
“Solna,” he whispered back in amused admonishment. They were in her house. It was proper to address him by name here. He would hear his title more than he cared to once he reached Tanchar. It was nice not to hear it here.
“Solna,” she corrected, exasperation easily noticed though he couldn’t see her. “The morning meal is ready. Come eat.”
It was absolutely not a request, he knew that. The last three days had taught him more about how to run a tight household than running a kingdom ever could. “Yes, Lanaut.”
He rolled Vius onto his back and slipped out of the small bed. It was the only way to sleep in comfort. And he loved the way that Vius felt sprawled warm on top of him, though his husband was still unconscious. Vius hadn’t woken since they came to Lanaut’s home three days ago. Keeping Vius as close as possible was the only way Solna had to not feel as though he was losing the elf to what the forest had done to him.
Sancha, the healer in Brandris, lacked a great deal of the skill needed to pull a mage out of an enchanted illness. The closest one who could was in a town to the south called Ladas. Four days’ ride, but it was better than nothing. That healer was already in route to them.
Solna ambled his way to Lanaut’s tidy kitchen, her four children hard at work with their breakfast of oat cakes and boiled eggs and juice. He gave a sketchy bow to the children, Jule grinning back, and accepted a plate of the same from his hostess.
The children chattered bright amongst each other as they ate, mostly about the chores they had that day or their friends around Brandris. Same as the last two mornings he had spent here. Solna had cornered Lanaut about the missing father the day before. Come to find out, he was a soldier that had never made it home about four years previous, but never confirmed dead. She was sure he was dead. Solna promised her to find out as soon as he was in Tanchar, where Osaire’s military records were most likely stored.
Jule was the only child to have any clear memory of their father, but his nonchalance about the subject didn’t faze Solna. He knew it hid Jule’s pain.
Suddenly, there was commotion at the front of the house, an awful racket right before a heavy fist hit the door. Lanaut sighed and set down the kettle of water she had just filled from a basin of fresh water. Solna was out of his seat before she had taken three steps.
“I will answer it, Lanaut.” While he was under her roof, the least he could do was protect her family. Rarely did anything good ever come from that kind of noise. It almost sounded like an armed host had shown up to the door. Lanaut waved him along and when back to her kitchen.
He missed his broadsword, lost along with his horse and guards, but maybe his imposing size would be enough to chase whoever it was away without any trouble.
Quietly, he grasped the door handle and gave a mighty pull. The heavy door swung open so fast that Ilul was caught with his fist in midair, ready to pound on the wood again. The general’s wild eyes darted up and down Solna’s body.
“Where is my King?” Ilul growled.
Solna straightened up to his full, towering height and growled back. “Watch what you insinuate, Ilul.”
A blur ducked around Ilul to stand between them. Ida.
“Shut it, louse.” Ida turned and pushed Ilul back until he stood at the front of Solna’s guards, numbers less than it should be. She turned back to face him. “Sire,” she bowed deeply.
Ida looked bad. A rash of deep cuts marred her face along her temple and down to her jaw. Her bare arms were worse, more scabs than skin and Solna was pretty positive that was a stab wound high on her right bicep, going clear through to the underside. Her leather armor carried new scars all over. “You made it,” he breathed in relief.
“For a reasonable definition of made it, yes.” She looked behind him as someone moved toward his back. He shot a glance over his shoulder to see Lanaut’s shocked stare directed at his guards on her porch. Ida didn’t seem impressed when he focused back on her. “Where is King Tylele, Sire?”
Lanaut’s frown was nearly audible. “King Tylele is not here. Only Archmage Vius.”
“They are one and the same,” Solna corrected. She gasped. “It’s not a matter we need to discuss now, it is?”
Ida grinned at whatever face Lanaut wore, then Lanaut started grumbling about royalty in her house as her voice faded away behind him. She waited until, Solna assumed, Lanaut was out of sight. “So, where is the King?”
“In a back room, sick and asleep.” Solna chewed on his lip, struggling to put to words what happened. “Alahanai is more dangerous for him than he told me. He’s fallen into some sort of coma and the healer here in Brandris can do nothing for him. The head healer in Ladas was called to come, but he will not be here for another day.”
A low whistle escaped her. “How did you get out of the camp? Once we had dealt with those brigands, we found your tent destroyed and you both missing.”
Solna smiled and clapped her on a shoulder. “Vius subdued a vile creature with magic and we went out the back, into the forest.” A shiver came over him as he remembered what happened after. “Someone followed us and Vius used his magic again to hide us, but the power in Alahanai sickened him badly. I got us out three days ago. Lanaut has allowed us to stay here since.”
“Well, you live. That’s enough for me.” Ida shrugged. “Our tale is not as exciting. I gathered everyone that survived and all the supplies that weren’t destroyed. We spent a day trying to locate you before we assumed you would keep moving out of the forest. And here we be.”
Solna nodded in the direction of the others, a hint that she took. He followed her to his guards. They murmured greetings and bowed deep, all footsore and scuffed as Ida was. Except Ilul. The elf simply turned his back to Solna. He let Ilul’s slight go for now. This was not the place for reprimand.
“My heart is gladdened to see you all in relatively one piece,” Solna started. “I will ask the lady of the house where you can set up camp. Take your ease for now.”
A great collective cheer of relief went up from the guards. One by one, they dropped their packs to the ground with little fanfare and collapsed next to them. Solna chuckled.
One of the men came close instead, concern written all over his young face. “What of King Tylele? Did he make it?”
“Yes,” Solna replied. “He is very ill though.” He thought about it for a minute. “Please spread it around to the rest of your unit. Having you all ask me that question could get tiring too quickly.”
The guard nodded. “Of course, Sire. I’m pleased to do so.”
Solna sent him off with a glance.
Lanaut was his next stop, but he needn’t have worried. She sternly informed that he was daft to even ask if his guards could find a place to camp on her farm. Of course they could. Ida would love Lanaut’s no-nonsense demeanor.
That taken care of, Solna went back to Vius. Tomorrow. That’s how long he had to wait until Vius was with him again. Too long. He went about the rest of the day with impatience dogging his every step and slept fitfully under Vius’ slight weight.
Morning dawned too slowly. The children’s chatter at the table was still bright, but Solna was wound too tight with anticipation to pay proper attention. Every bit of noise that floated in from outside had him halfway to the door before he recognized it for animals or his guards going about their day of rest and repair and recuperation. It was a maddening wait.
Ida finally turned up just after the noon meal. An old, graying elf trailed in her wake. “I found your healer.”
“Sancha sent for me,” he added, as if Solna didn’t know it. “An Archmage ill from Alahanai?”
Finally! “Yes,” Solna gave a curt wave to follow him.
As soon as the old elf saw Vius laid out on the bed, he shooed them back out into the hall with little more than a flap of his gnarled hand.
“Well, that was rude.” Ida leaned against the wall and scowled at the now closed door.
“I don’t care. So long as he fixes Vius.”
* * * *
Hours passed without any word at all. Solna sat in the hallway the whole time, refused food and company and distraction, though he did submit to Lanaut’s demand that he keep hydrated, if he was so bent on moping in her house. He cracked a smile when she said it.
Night had long since fell when the healer reappeared. “He asks for you,” was all the old elf said to Solna before he was gone.
Solna didn’t have to be told twice. He bolted off the floor like it was on fire and stumbled into their temporary room, everything in him twisted anxiously. Vius’ beautiful brown eyes met him and a slow smile spread across Vius’ sharp face. Two steps and Solna dropped onto the edge of the bed, lightheaded.
For a moment, Solna just soaked in the sight of his husband awake, smiling in a tiny curl of lips, eyes bright once more. Then, he gathered Vius up in his arms. Vius returned the embrace, arms weak but there around his waist. Solna sniffed and blinked back the burn in his eyes.
“I guess you missed me?” Vius teased in a harsh voice. Even dry and disused, it was the sweetest sound Solna had ever heard.
“You were almost lost to me.” Solna tightened his arms around Vius until his husband squeaked and he buried his face in Vius’ collar.
“Of course not,” Vius whispered. “I had just about found my way back when Finar called me.”
It eased his heart to know that Vius hadn’t been on the verge of dying, despite what it seemed like. Still, the whole mess, now that it was no longer, shook Solna down to his boots. “Please, can you avoid such a harrowing incident in the future? My heart can’t take it.”
Vius urged him back, enough to meet his eyes. Solna took the opportunity to look his fill at his husband’s tired face. Eventually, Vius cracked another smile. “I can try.”
Solna blew out a breath he hadn’t realized he held and nodded. “I will accept that.”
“Good,” Vius whispered back, then cupped Solna’s cheeks in his small hands and drew him in. Solna fell into Vius’ kiss like they did this one act all their lives. A sweet press of lips, just sharing themselves. Reconnecting, like a pause between one moment and the next.
Suddenly, Vius gave a teasing flick of his tongue against Solna’s lips and grinned as he broke away. “Sorry.”
Solna laughed. Sorry his ass, but he didn’t push for more than Vius’ impish action. He still seemed far too tired and worn. But it was the sign he had waited for since their consummation.
He planted one last kiss, a ghost of one, on Vius’ lush mouth. “Imp.”
“Elf,” came his retort. Vius sobered quickly. “Finar informed me that I won’t be fit to travel for another two days.”
“I’m not surprised. You have been comatose for days now.”
“And after all that rest, I am fit to travel,” Vius argued in a subdued croak. “We should be home.”
“Two days is no great loss. And Lanaut,” Solna rushed to clarify when he met his husband’s blank stare. “The lady of this house understands that you must recover before you can travel and has very graciously offered her home to us until you are ready.”
“And if I’m ready now?” But even as he said it, Vius’ eyes were glossing over with exhaustion.
“You are not. Don’t fight me on this, husband.” He helped Vius lay back down and gently brushed his black hair away from his eyes. “Sleep, my husband,” he crooned.
Vius purred quietly at the attention. Solna kept petting him until Vius had fallen into a true sleep.