Chapter Thirty-Two #4
“But he does need a job,” Andros said with a smug smile.
“And it’s too late to make much of a soldier out of him.
He’d likely be a good advisor, though, of the sort that might be needed by the man leading the Sacrati and regular army.
Seems like he could really make a place for himself with that, if only there was a leader elected who would give him a chance . . .”
“You could do it,” Theos said hopefully.
“No, I couldn’t. Nobody cares about me. I didn’t yell insults at the warlord and fight off his thugs.”
“I don’t think I yelled insults.”
“You said his word was worthless,” a Torian regular contributed. “That’s insulting.”
“Well, I didn’t yell it.”
“I heard you, and I was at the back of the crowd.”
Xeno snorted. “That’s funny. I didn’t think anyone was at the back of the crowd that day. The stories I’ve heard, everyone was so close to the front they got sprayed with blood and could see exactly what the warlord looked like the second before he turned to run.”
“And everyone was the first onto the stage too,” Andros said with a grin. “Amazing how it happened.”
“It was a group effort,” Theos said.
“See?” Andros nodded in satisfaction. “Look at you, being diplomatic. You’re ready for this. Absolutely.”
“I’ll think about it,” Theos said, pushing away from the table.
Andros grinned at him. “You mean you’ll ask Finnvid what to do. And I’ve already talked to him, and he thinks it’s an excellent idea. So . . . congratulations, Theos! I’ll see you at the temple first thing tomorrow morning to second your declaration. Don’t be late.”
“Sometimes I question why it was so important to get you out of the prison,” Theos said. “My life would be easier with you locked up.”
“It’s not about being easy,” Andros replied.
Theos left without answering, and headed out of the building and across the yard, then inside his barracks and up the stairs.
He supposed Andros was right. Sometimes he needed to do things that weren’t easy.
But sometimes? He smiled as he opened the door to his small room and saw Finnvid lying shirtless on his stomach on the bed, reading one of the books he’d borrowed from the library in the city.
Sometimes, the easy thing was the only thing to do.
“Shove over,” Theos ordered, pulling his own tunic over his head and dropping it on the floor.
“Make me,” Finnvid retorted.
“Do you really think I can’t?”
“You can.” Finnvid rolled over and sat up. “But I want to talk to you. If you lie down, we won’t talk.”
“We might talk a little.”
“I want to talk about something other than fucking.”
“Oh.” Theos sighed and thought about pulling his tunic back on. But that felt like an admission of defeat, so he just sank onto the end of the bed and said, “What do you want to talk about?”
“You’re going to be interim leader, right? You’re going to do that?”
“Andros wants me to. Some others. Maybe I’ll run.”
“If you declare your candidacy, you’ll be elected. I’ve been talking to people, and I don’t think anyone else will even run if you declare.”
It would have been easier if he’d been able to believe there was still an element of uncertainty to it all, a chance for fate to step in and find someone better for the job.
But Finnvid was good at uncovering information; he probably wasn’t wrong about this.
“So, maybe I’ll do it. Is that all you wanted to talk about? ”
“I want to talk about Elkat,” Finnvid said. “I want them to have a chance.”
“A chance? To do what?”
“To survive, I suppose. I know they made a mistake. A horrible, bloody mistake. But . . .” He frowned, clearly trying to use the exact right words.
“The soldiers were just following orders. The archers—they didn’t know what was going on.
And other soldiers helped us. Gunnald risked a lot for your escape.
And the men in the pass, they turned away when they could have turned us in. Right?”
“So you think we have no quarrel with the soldiers of Elkat.”
“That’s right.”
“So who do we have a quarrel with?” Theos knew the answer he’d give to the question, but he wanted to see how Finnvid would handle it.
And judging by Finnvid’s expression, he had the same answer Theos did. “My family,” he said slowly. “My brother. My mother. They thought they were doing the right thing. The smart thing, to protect their people. But . . . they gave the orders. I know.”
“It won’t be my decision,” Theos said. “For something like this? We’ll have to talk to the Sacrati, and let them decide how much they can forgive.”
Finnvid nodded. “And in general? I mean, if you’re planning to attack Elkat anyway, this doesn’t really matter.
Right? My family will be—” He breathed in through his nose and exhaled through his mouth, clearly trying to calm himself.
“They’ll be killed or sold into slavery anyway.
Right? That’s what Torians do to the leaders of the valleys they conquer. ”
“I talked to the reeve about it,” Theos admitted.
Probably he should have brought Finnvid along for that conversation, but he hadn’t really known how it was going to go, not before he’d started.
“She says she and the other reeves—the other ones that border Elkat—they’re looking for something different.
She thinks we could do well to set up a new kind of relationship with them. More trade, less conquering.”
“Really?” Finnvid looked optimistic, and Theos wanted to protect that fragile emotion if he could.
But he didn’t want to lie. “That’s what the reeves want. The soldiers will want something different. And everyone back in the central valleys? Who knows what they’ll want? It’s all way over my head, Finnvid. I’m not good at this business.”
“You’re good at being honest and brave,” Finnvid said staunchly. “That’s the most important thing for now.”
Theos shrugged. He hoped Finnvid was right.
“We can talk to the Sacrati about your family. Apologies don’t mean much, so they’ll have to find a way to really show their regret.
If they can do that? And if the reeves decide to use their power?
Maybe we can do something different. Maybe we can make it work. ”
“We could trade cultures as well as goods,” Finnvid said excitedly.
“I know at least one woman in Elkat who’d probably be very excited about the chance to come here and see how things are done, and maybe some of your people—maybe some of your sons, the ones you said might not want to be soldiers—maybe they could visit Elkat, and find ways to be useful there. ”
“Don’t make too many plans.” Theos shook his head. “It’s all just ideas, right now. There’s a lot of work to be done, and arguments to be made. This won’t be easy.”
“But you’re on my side? You’ll speak in favor of—not forgiveness, maybe, but some sort of understanding? You’ll help me?”
“I’m on your side,” Theos said. “And the Sacrati side. I’ll try to find a way for them to be the same side.” He reached over and found Finnvid’s hands. “And you’ll help me, as I try to do that?”
“I will,” Finnvid promised. “We’ll do it together.”
“I was hoping there might be something else we could do together, as well,” Theos said. He’d already taken his tunic off, after all.
Finnvid waggled his eyebrows, then slid down the bed so he was lying on his back. He ran his hand down over the bare skin of his torso and dipped it inside the front of his trousers. “I have no idea what you mean.”
Theos grinned and tugged at the drawstring of his own trousers. “I’d be happy to show you.”
Finnvid didn’t answer with words, but he wriggled out of his already loosened pants, kicking them to the foot of the bed and lying back in his lean, pale splendour.
They’d switched roles for sex the night after the warlord’s arrest, and Theos had taken his time, just like he’d wanted to, and made Finnvid squirm and beg and need Theos inside him.
There’d been no going back after that. Finnvid liked to be massaged and coaxed and persuaded, and Theos was happy to play the role of seducer, even if he was tempting the same partner night after night.
He stood quickly, dropped the rest of his clothes with practiced efficiency, and fell to his knees by the side of the bed, leaning to kiss Finnvid on his lips, and then all over. He had his mouth wrapped around Finnvid’s hard cock when he heard, “I saw you talking to Aikater today after training.”
That didn’t seem at all relevant to their current pursuits, but Theos freed his mouth long enough to say, “Ayekater, not Eekater. You’re saying his name wrong.”
Finnvid tightened his fingers in Theos’s hair and pulled his head farther away. “Is that what you think I wanted to hear?” He sounded . . . not quite angry. But not happy, either.
Theos thought about it. If Finnvid was genuinely sad, Theos would move the world to make things better. But he was pretty sure Finnvid was just being sulky. “I know how important proper pronunciation is to you,” Theos said, and tried to lower his head back where it belonged.
Finnvid didn’t release his grip. “He wanted you to fuck him,” he growled.
Theos sighed and stopped trying to reach Finnvid’s cock. “Aye. He did.”
“Did you?” And there it was, the hint of vulnerability that could break Theos’s heart.
But he tried to resist the impulse to make apologies and promises. What would the future be like if Finnvid could manipulate Theos so easily? So he said, “No,” but then he added, “not this time.”
“You have before?” Finnvid asked. The vulnerability was gone, replaced by something almost ferocious.
“Many times. Once, when we were cadets, we spent a festival night together. Two women from the city, and both of us. It was—”
Finnvid tightened his grip on Theos’s hair. “Is that what you think I wanted to hear?”
“If I was in your position, the only thing I’d want to hear would be slurping and maybe a little moaning. So I don’t feel like I can really guess what you want.”