Bonus Chapter #3
“We shall of course have our scholars independently verify the Grand Magus’s results,” Haldric said soothingly to Duke Westley.
Though the glance he leveled at Benjin was chastising, Benjin heard the barely concealed laughter in his tone.
“Still, this is a promising sign. Perhaps we’ll be able to resolve this matter largely on our own, after all.
” He bowed his head to Benjin, who blushed furiously.
“The kingdom owes you a debt, Grand Magus.”
“It was, um, nothing, Your Majesty,” Benjin stammered, his earlier composure cracking. Maybe some day he’d learn to take a compliment, but it hadn’t happened yet.
If there was one downside to Benjin’s dramatic arrival at the Summit, it was that it all but obligated him to attend the rest in person. He shifted the enchanted mirror aside to take his seat at King Haldric’s left.
As Haldric led the remainder of the meeting, his fingers sought out Benjin’s under the table. Benjin took them gladly, cherishing the gesture. Haldric might be the king of Ilthabard, but he was also Benjin’s partner. And he took both duties with all the seriousness he could muster.
Now that the imminent crisis had been resolved, the rest of the meeting went fairly benignly. There was the usual bickering over annual taxes and troops, the petty politicking for which province received more of their private goals at the cost of bettering the kingdom.
Yet there were some signs to be hopeful. The reconstruction initiative Haldric had secured last year was proceeding apace. They’d already strengthened the main road that ran from west to east through the capital and had begun restoring regular guard patrols throughout the land.
And as much as they grumbled over each and every topic, the governors at least heard out the issues Duchess Janelle raised on behalf of the Lowborn Council. A couple were even met with begrudging concessions or approval.
Progress was slow, especially compared to what Dexil had envisioned with his glorious revolution. But Benjin needed only to venture into the lower city of Revesole outside the keep to see that things were improving. That’s all anyone could do, really—aim to make things better.
After the Summit concluded, he followed Haldric back to their shared rooms. Benjin had felt like such an impostor when he’d first taken up residence in the royal chambers, but Haldric had insisted he belonged there. Benjin was even starting to almost believe him.
As soon as the door to their chamber shut, Haldric was on him, no concern for his luxurious robes as he frantically kissed Benjin.
Heat scoured Benjin’s skin as he gave himself over to Haldric’s touch, his own hands groping beneath the layered silks and furs for the familiar sculpted planes of Haldric’s muscled chest.
“You were brilliant in there,” Haldric murmured between kisses.
He let out a low groan as Benjin tweaked his nipple.
A pleasurable shiver raced down Benjin’s back when Haldric dragged his teeth along the sensitive skin at his throat.
“I’ll cherish the image of Westley falling on his backside for the rest of my life. ”
Benjin snorted a laugh. “So will I. All those late nights of research were worth it for that alone.”
He let Haldric guide him to a plush chair in their sitting room. The two of them collapsed in it together, their robes pooling around them like blankets.
Benjin looped his hands behind Haldric’s neck and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. “Your sister would be proud of the legacy you’re building. You’ve accomplished so much in just four years. Think of what you can do in forty…ancestors willing.”
Haldric sighed, his expression softening.
“Thank you, truly. But it never feels like enough. My father did his best, and yet the end of his reign still left Ilthabard on the verge of ruin. Good intentions don’t equate to success.
Dealing with the governors always feels like wrangling so many blink monkeys. ”
He bowed his forehead, burrowing it into Benjin’s shoulder. His voice came out muffled. “They barely respect my authority. Sometimes I wonder if Aunt Janelle was right. Perhaps it will take a civil war to build something better from the ashes.”
“Nonsense!” Benjin swatted his back lightly before tracing his fingers down Haldric’s spine.
“If Dexil taught us anything, it’s that that kind of thinking leads only to death.
The kingdom would never survive a civil war.
You made the right choice, no matter how impossibly frustrating the governors can be. ”
A sudden thought occurred to him, and he bit his lip.
“I’m sorry if my display today undermined your authority at all.
I didn’t mean to contradict you in front of the governors, or turn everything into a spectacle.
Perhaps I should have waited to present my findings until I could speak to you first so we could decide on the best path forward. ”
Haldric blinked, then shook his head, tugging Benjin flush against him.
“Hush! Never apologize for telling me that I’m wrong.
” He smirked. “Especially when it’s to inform me of the miraculous solution to my problem that you’ve somehow conjured out of thin air.
” He kissed Benjin, long and firm. “You were brilliant in there, love. I knew that you’d make an excellent Grand Magus. ”
Benjin flushed at that. Searching for a change of subject, he said, “I still wish we could do something about Duke Westley. It galls me that he gets to keep his position even after everything he did to your sister and tried to do to you.” He raised a brow.
“My previous offer still stands. As you saw today, setting things on fire is kind of my specialty. Just say the word, and I have a few spells in mind for good ol’ Westley… ”
Haldric chuckled, stroking Benjin’s hair. “I appreciate the offer, love. But even if we didn’t get caught—”
“I wouldn’t get caught,” Benjin muttered.
“—Even then,” Haldric said more loudly, “it would be too destabilizing. We’re still recovering from Dexil’s rebellion, and while Katalin’s alliance with Khordan has helped secure our borders and given us time to restore our nation, there’s still too much work to be done.”
Benjin sighed. “Perhaps one day.”
Haldric grinned. “Perhaps one day,” he agreed. “Now, how about you put that brilliant mind of yours toward something other than assassination?”
Smirking coyly, Benjin sprawled back against the arm of the chair. “What did you have in mind, Your Majesty?”
Haldric’s emerald eyes darkened. “Allow me to demonstrate, Grand Magus,” he said, seizing Benjin’s lips with his own.
It didn’t take long for the two of them to lose themselves entirely in one another. And as they shed their royal robes and came together with nothing but skin and sweat between them, Benjin relished the knowledge that it was his ministrations that left the king’s soft curses filling the room.