Chapter 34 #3
“We should clean up,” he offered, his voice coming out a rough rasp. Alwyn nodded quickly, an embarrassed warmth rising in his face again. He started to lift his hips, easing Krujha out of him. “Careful.”
“Oh,” Alwyn hissed as Krujha’s length finally slid free, only for a lewd stream of come to follow him, dripping out onto Krujha’s stomach. “S-Sorry—you came so much.”
Krujha let out a breathless laugh. Satisfied as he was, he was already yearning for more, missing the closeness of feeling Alwyn surrounding him.
His physical desire was fading, but that deep urge to consume and be consumed entirely had not lessened at all.
“You have no idea how much more I could give you, spitfire.”
***
Krujha collapsed into bed shortly after they had cleaned up, exhausted from the day’s events; but Alwyn hovered around the bed like a timid cat, seemingly unable to decide how to approach or where to settle.
Krujha watched him through one half-lidded eye, remaining motionless, until finally the elf slid into the bed beside him, covering himself with blankets. He lay rigidly on his back for a moment, then Krujha eased closer, resting one arm across Alwyn’s waist.
“Relax now,” he murmured, eyes heavy with sleep. “Just get comfortable.”
“I know how to sleep,” Alwyn whispered. He chuckled. After a moment, Alwyn turned onto his side so he could curl closer to him, nestling in.
Krujha fell into a deep sleep quickly and easily. He had never been one to struggle with sleeping; but ever since they left the rebel camp and Alwyn was recovering from his wounds, he’d slept easier than ever.
In the morning, he woke to find Alwyn was already awake, looking at him from where he lay in the bed. The sun filtering through the window lit his brown eyes to an amber glow. The elf’s expression remained decidedly neutral, but Krujha felt a wide, sleepy smile stretching across his own face.
“Good morning,” he murmured, pulling the elf closer to him.
“Good morning,” Alwyn replied softly, allowing Krujha to hold him tighter. His voice was muffled against his chest. “I didn’t sleep very well.”
“No?” Krujha said, yawning.
“Not like you, clearly,” Alwyn said, stifling a chuckle. He grinned even wider.
“We can stay in bed,” he offered. From the way Alwyn finally pushed against him, though, he figured that was not Alwyn’s intention.
“No, I...” he started, only to trail off. “I’m hungry. Let’s get breakfast.”
There was something on his mind, but it didn’t seem like a good time to prod him into sharing.
Besides, most conversations were better over a meal, anyway.
So they got up and dressed before heading down to have breakfast on the inn’s ground floor.
The elven food was bland to Krujha’s taste, but there was plenty of it: carafes of coffee, tea, and fruit juices; warm vegetable broth with thin slices of mushroom and leeks; rice porridge sweetened with honey and berries; roasted sweet potatoes glistening with butter; fresh rolls of bread and sweet pastries; and finally, a pan sizzling with cured meats doled out generously onto each waiting plate.
Krujha piled his own dish high with it all.
Alwyn had a lighter meal of just the broth, bread, and sweet potatoes, alongside a steaming cup of tea.
They sat across from each other in a quiet corner of the inn, eating in silence, Alwyn still looking pensive—like he was on the verge of speaking at each moment, so Krujha waited patiently until he decided to say what was on his mind.
“So...” the elf finally started, stirring his tea with a spoon aimlessly. “Had you given more thought to what you were going to do now?”
Krujha raised an eyebrow, surprised this was the topic Alwyn seemed to dwell on.
“Not really,” he said, shrugging. “Mostly, I want to stay with you.”
Color rose in the elf’s cheeks as he glanced away. “I suppose you did say that.”
“And I meant it.”
Alwyn was silent for a moment, his eyes darting around the room. When he spoke again, he ducked his head closer to the table and spoke in a softer voice.
“I... I think we need to leave the city.”
Krujha frowned. “Why?”
“I don’t think we’ll be safe here,” Alwyn replied. “I know the situation with Tessarion is handled, but... He’s not without friends. And whoever takes his place might still... not intend to allow a member of the Order to leave.”
“Even after everything the king did?” Krujha asked, and Alwyn grimaced.
“Well, that adds another layer to it,” he sighed.
“After all this, it’s not like I’m in trouble, but I don’t think I’m exactly free to do as I please, either.
Be that as it may... I meant it when I told Tessarion that I would leave the Order.
I don’t want to be part of it any longer.
But I don’t want to be here, in the capital, either.
I’m done with all this scheming and politics.
The war is over. The rebellion has ended. I just want to have some peace.”
Krujha considered this as he took a few more bites of his food.
It was hard to think that even after the king’s direct intervention, the matter might not yet be put to bed; but if Alwyn worried about some kind of revenge from those still loyal to Tessarion, he had to trust that the worry had some merit.
More than that, his concern was with the elf’s health, which still seemed so fragile.
“Are you sure you’ll be alright to travel so soon?
” Krujha asked. The memory of Alwyn’s grievous wounds were fresh in his mind; though he looked healed outwardly, aside from the places where his hair was still uneven from being singed off, it was hard to reconcile with how recently he’d been on the brink of death.
“The healer did an excellent job,” Alwyn replied dryly, looking down at his hands. “I’ll be fine.”
Krujha would have to trust his judgment. If he thought he was capable of traveling now, then they would go. He took a moment longer to consider, but already he could see the beginnings of a plan laid out in his mind, like a scroll rolling out before him.
“I can get us out of the city undetected,” he said. Alwyn blinked owlishly at him, eyes wide. “What? Is that so surprising to you?”
“How?” he asked, disbelief in his voice. Krujha laughed.
“Because I can get out of anywhere undetected, Alwyn,” he replied, shaking his head. “Even by elven standards, I’m far from a lumbering oaf. My skills will work anywhere you want to go.”
Color was rising in Alwyn’s face the longer he spoke. “I know—I wasn’t trying to say that—”
Krujha waved a dismissive hand. “It’s fine. It might be a little harder since this is a place I don’t know. But I’m sure I can do it. If you’re worried about being tailed by the Order, though, we should go sooner rather than later, while things are still in chaos with them.”
“I agree,” Alwyn said, nodding once.
“Let’s leave tonight,” Krujha said. “I’ll pay for another day at the inn, but we should leave before tomorrow.”
Alwyn frowned, but nodded again. “So soon.”
“So soon,” Krujha agreed, nodding. “You pack up all our things and wait. I’ll see to it we have everything we need, and I’ll figure out the way out of the city that’s least likely to be noticed.”
“Will you need help?” Alwyn asked.
“Nope,” Krujha replied, grinning widely at him. When the elf didn’t look convinced, he dropped a bit of the pretense and shot him a more sincere smile. “You’ve done so much, spitfire. Let me take care of this for you. Let me help.”
Despite his attempt at looking annoyed, a small, sweet smile twitched at the corners of Alwyn’s mouth. Krujha felt his heart flutter in response.
“Okay. I trust you,” Alwyn said softly.
There was one key difference between Drol Kuggradh and Castle Aefraya that Krujha found challenging: the city was laid out in a neat, orderly grid, instead of a mess of buildings and tents erected wherever there was room.
That meant there were far fewer hidden alleys or dark walkways to slip through.
Still, as Krujha walked the streets of Castle Aefraya, whistling cheerfully, his mental map of the capital city fell into place.
With any luck, they wouldn’t have an actual assassin following them—they would just have to evade the notice of anyone on the street who might remember seeing them.
They could make it on foot to the next village and buy a horse there—though a horse he could ride would be hard to find. They could at least find a mule to carry their things, or carry Alwyn if he got tired.
His mind was swirling with thoughts as he walked the perimeter of the city, hugging the walls and making note of every gate leading out.
He could see the route now: if they passed through the alleys created in the residential district, where several smaller houses were pushed up close against each other; then cut through the artisan district along the baker’s street, which backed into an abandoned walkway where food waste was disposed of; and hugged the wall until they could slip through the eastern gate, the least-guarded of them all, the chances of them being spotted past midnight seemed slim.
He made a second circle around the city nearer to the castle, this time keeping a closer eye out for anyone tailing him. It was possible they might still be followed, but he didn’t spot anyone as he walked.
Finally, he walked through the marketplace, replenishing their supplies in anticipation of the journey ahead. He wasn’t sure how long they would be on the road, or where they would go exactly, but he gathered rations for at least a week, along with a new tent and bedrolls for the winter weather.
When he arrived back in their room at the inn, it was nearly time for supper. Alwyn was waiting inside with all their belongings neatly packed, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“All set,” Krujha said with a wink when Alwyn stood to greet him, a questioning look on his face.