5. Ameriden
Ameriden
“Every time I think people can’t put a price on magic, they surprise me,” Seira huffed. “A hundred gold for a teleportation spell?”
“And worth every gold piece,” Ameriden replied as he adjusted Dumpling’s traveling case on his hip.
Honestly, Ameriden would have paid a thousand gold and precious gems to get Casi out of the Chroma Coast as quickly as possible.
After the incident with an overzealous maid, Ameriden had sent a message to Seira and insisted they needed to leave immediately.
Seira had responded with confusion, but once Ameriden made his reasoning clear, she had promised to find someone with the ability to teleport denizens to other continents.
It took several hours and double the normal price of a spell, but seeing Casi’s face once they landed outside the city of Eshorion was worth it.
Plus, they had arrived months early which meant more time for them to socialize with the locals.
While it was never required, Cashmere Fantasy was known for adapting local stories into their music.
They always performed at least one song involving a hero from the area and given that they had never been to Eshorion before, it felt like the right move.
“I’m just glad we landed near the city,” Seira sighed. “With the way that arcanist was going on, I was worried we would end up in the Searing Wastelands.”
Ameriden and Casimine had never been to Vyrthsalis before, but Seira had. Apparently she had some relatives on the east side of the continent, but she hadn’t seen them in a few decades.
“Distant cousins, but I visit when I can,” she had said when the topic of touring the continent came up over lunch. “Besides, half of ‘em work in the mines and the other half are mercenaries. I prefer to work with people and parchment.”
“You okay, Casi?” Ameriden asked, placing his free hand onto his shoulder.
Casimine’s glamour made him appear human—tan, with dark hair and even darker eyes, but his features were obviously him.
Or maybe Ameriden had just become accustomed to seeing Casimine’s face in the faces of strangers.
Either way, Ameriden did his best not to fall apart like their fans when Casimine smiled up at him.
“I was just wondering what time it was,” Casimine said as he glanced up at the early morning sky. It had been midday when they had finally left the Chroma Coast. “I’m fine, Amer. You worry too much.”
I don’t worry enough, Ameriden thought.
“How much longer do you two have for that spell before it fizzles?” Seira asked as she dusted off her pants.
“Depending on how quickly we can get through the gate, we should have another hour or so,” Casimine replied. “We’ll have to figure out where to stay since we’re so early.”
“You boys leave that up to me,” Seira said. “Let’s hit the road.”
Together, they walked the dirt path toward the city.
Vyrthsalis was known for being an isolated continent for hundreds of years and nothing was more evident of that fact than the way the city before them was designed.
A spiraling white tower at the highest point—most likely King Oryin’vel’s castle—with several more ivory buildings following suit.
Ameriden couldn’t say how populated Eshorion was, but the massive walls that surrounded the base of the city were telling.
Either the king has lived long enough to see the continent fall to ruin, or he’s preparing for it.
Ameriden shook his head. It wasn’t good to think like that, but old habits were hard to shake.
As the group approached the gates, they quickly fell into a long line of denizens.
Some with wagons or on horseback, but others on foot.
Merchants, travelers, and even farmers arriving for daily business.
Ameriden wanted nothing more than to use Dumpling’s enclosure to sit, but he doubted the glass would be able to handle his weight.
The boredom was starting to take its toll on his attention when he felt Casimine’s fingers brush his.
The movement was subtle, careful, as Casimine tended to be when he touched Ameriden in public. Yet, the intentions were clear. He didn’t need magic to know what Casimine was asking.
Are you all right?
Ameriden let his eyes flicker to his surroundings, and once he was assured no one was paying them any attention, he locked their fingers together. Pleased to feel Casimine’s smooth skin, Ameriden squeezed his hand.
I’m fine.
Truthfully, Ameriden was more concerned with Casimine.
When they had been but humble bards at college, Casimine had been fearless.
He had held the stage with perfect poise, his voice clear and strong.
His partner had always had a presence that was more than just physical—the kind of charisma that made it impossible for people to not fall in love with him…
Casimine was still uneasy and it frustrated Ameriden to no end. He wanted to tuck the man’s shorter frame under his large arm and pull him close. Hold onto Casimine and assure him that no one would be allowed near him as long as Ameriden was at his side.
But that was a lie.
The minute their glamours faded—even on a continent that they had never been to—there was always someone who would recognize them. A couple of attractive blue boys were hard to ignore.
“State your business,” an elf man in armor said.
Unlike the silver or gold Ameriden had seen in the past, the city of Eshorion decorated their armored guards in some kind of ivory metal.
The bard wasn’t familiar with blacksmithing and his interests in metal only ran as far as what would look best on stage.
Ameriden and Casimine both had ear jewelry—Casimine more than Ameriden, but that was simply because Ameriden couldn’t stop buying him jewelry.
“We’re here upon request of the King’s Court,” Seira said, presenting a small scroll.
The guard took it, scanned the contents, and appeared to find them satisfactory. Ameriden supposed it helped that the King’s court seal and signature were on the bottom. Some cities were a lot more strict about entry—especially if they had no record of business in the city.
The guard handed the scroll back to Seira and gestured for them to move along.
Ameriden figured the guy either didn’t know who they were—not too surprising, given they had never performed in Eshorion before—or maybe he just didn’t care.
The latter was more likely, but Ameriden didn’t question it as he followed Seira onto the cobble stone, past the gate, and into the city proper.
An open square with a stone statue in the center, bearing the effigy of a goddess Ameriden could have mistaken for the Fire Matron.
“I believe that’s the Sun Bringer,” Casimine said. “She’s the goddess of sun and fire for some cultures.”
The Sun Bringer had long fiery hair, massive wings, and talons for feet.
She was impressive—or at least the artist who had designed her was—but Ameriden did not feel inspired the same way he did when beholding the Fire Matron.
She was brutal, molten lava and destruction—the complete opposite of Water Mother in every way, but that’s what made water and fire hanfen so important to the other.
They were balance, the same way air and earth were.
“Okay, boys, it’s been a while since I’ve been to Eshorion but I’m pretty sure I still know how to get to the Golden Manor,” Seira hefted her pack higher on her back.
“It’s a couple of feet above. We’ll have to move through the common areas, but once we reach the upper level we won’t have to worry about getting pick pocketed. ”
“Stay close,” Ameriden whispered.
“Always,” Casimine replied.
Fuck.
It had been too long—way too long by the way his body had reacted to that singular word.
The thing they never talked about at college was why most bards never banded together.
Ego was usually the biggest reason. You had to be a little full of yourself to be a bard—words his own teacher had said on the first day of class.
Big egos also meant jealousy—whether it was intentional or not, there was always someone bigger and better.
That made it really difficult for bards to work together long term.
But Ameriden suffered from the other reason.
Between the stress and the intense emotions that came with performing and creativity, there was always a chance of bards becoming romantically involved. Ameriden had crossed that line with Casimine three years ago, though if he were honest with himself, it was probably sooner.
The first time it had happened, they had brushed it off.
There had been a lot of women and a lot of drugs—he couldn’t even remember what they had been celebrating.
Some after show party at a tavern—it was still blurry.
All Ameriden could remember was coming to with a woman at his back and Casimine pressed to his front.
The realization that he could feel Casi’s dick had sent blood to his face until his skin turned purple.
Awkwardness of the moment aside, Casimine had been polite about it when he opened his eyes and saw Ameriden’s panicked expression.
Polyamory wasn’t off the table—at least, culturally speaking. While it didn’t come as naturally to some of the other denizens of Ordia, it was more than common in all hanfen societies. Especially where royalty was concerned.
But then it kept happening.
No matter who they lay with, they would always ended up waking up in each other’s arms. At some point, Casimine had just accepted it, so Ameriden went along with it. They didn’t have a name for whatever it was between them, only that it existed and neither of them wanted it to stop completely.
Ameriden eyed Seira as she navigated a few feet ahead of them. The woman was dodging the Eshorion denizens left and right, making it easier for Ameriden to slow his pace.
“Something wrong?” Casimine slowed as well, matching his pace.
“I was just thinking.”
“About?”
Ameriden bit his lip, before his tongue came out to sooth it. Casimine’s eyes were subtle, but he could see the way they followed the movement.
“It’s been… a while.”
Casimine raised a brow.
Ameriden rolled his eyes in return, “Don’t make me say it.”
“What if I want you to say it?”
Want you.
Now was not the time to get aroused, but gods fucking damn it, Casimine made it impossible sometimes.
“It’s been a while since we’ve… collaborated.” Ameriden whispered.
Seira had gained some distance, but they would be able to catch up in no time. At least, that’s what Ameriden told himself, but his brain was a bit preoccupied with the soft smile that was curling at the corners of Casimine’s mouth.
“It has been a while,” Casimine replied. “Do you miss it?”
I miss you. I miss you and I’ll take you anyway you’ll let me, Casi, just tell me what you want and it’s all yours—
“We did get here early. We have a few months before the first performance for the king so…” Ameriden nudged his boot against his. “Figure it couldn’t hurt. Slip away for a few hours?”
Casimine laughed, that soft and gentle thing that could easily make any fan fall to their knees. Ameriden was no exception, but he tightened the muscles in his calves to try and keep from stumbling.
“That sounds like it could be fun,” Casimine replied with a twinkle in his eye. “Though, let’s give it a few days, if that’s all right? I’d like to get a bit more familiar with the city before we wreck havoc.”
“Awesome!” Ameriden grinned, pumping a fist in his excitement.
“I’ll even let you pick the place,” Casimine said.
It was hard to keep the excitement at bay, but the promise of being with Casi—even with the aid of another—brought an extra skip to Ameriden’s steps.