Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
N ow that they had crossed the border into Eamore, tensions had mounted. More of Jarryn’s soldiers were awake and on guard through the night and those who were not on duty were struggling to sleep regardless.
Leander was no exception to this general sense of unease.
He tossed and turned on his bedroll, alternating between pulling the blanket over himself and throwing it aside.
Despite the day they had had, and his earlier claim that he was too tired to stay awake for the hunters to return with tonight’s kill, sleep was not easy to fall into, and any rest he got was fitful at best.
Now past the border, all he wanted was for Jarryn to scorch himself the same way he had marked Leander, thereby freeing him from their bond. He didn’t know what would be next—he wouldn’t be able to return to Vyrica, but what of Jarryn’s own safety?
He almost wished that the prince would ignore his earlier claim of tiredness and join him, once again, but Jarryn was far too honourable for that.
Thoughts moved at speed through his mind, such that he could not quite latch onto them.
He was frustrated, agitated even. He could not help but replay his earlier conversations with Jarryn, thinking up things he should have said instead.
Everything he had ever said to the prince, now in his mind on repeat.
And then there was the question Jarryn had asked him again the other day. What Leander had responded with was the gods honest truth. He couldn’t regret it, because he would never regret this chance, this opportunity, to get to know Jarryn.
Did he regret utterly and irreversibly fucking up the crown prince’s life, though? Without a shadow of a doubt.
Thinking of giving up on this pointless effort to try to sleep, Leander rolled over.
He could, for once, be the one to seek his unexpected lover’s company, rather than Jarryn always coming to him.
Maybe Jarryn would like his proactivity.
Maybe they could share a night much the same as the one they had shared a few days ago.
Leander’s lips curled up into a smile at the memory of their time together.
Call him greedy but he wanted more.
Leander rolled onto his side and pushed himself up to sit. From there he made to crawl out of his tent.
The night had previously been silvery, bathed in moonlight from a cloudless sky. Now, there was an orange glow, and it wasn’t caused by the early light of morning.
Fire. Leander scrambled to stand up, and only then did he register the shouts of the soldiers as they screamed, “ Fire! ” to wake up the rest of the camp. He must have been so caught up in his daydreaming about Jarryn that he had not paid attention to the chaos around him.
An arrow flew, alight with flames and whistling as it drew near to its target. Leander’s tent. The demigod jumped back, a sharp exclamation of shock escaping his lips as he watched his tent catch and within seconds it was ablaze.
“Leander!”
Turning, Leander tore his gaze away from his tent to see Jarryn running towards him.
“What’s happening?” Leander called as he closed the distance to meet the other man.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. What’s going on?”
“What the fuck do you think is going on? They’ve found us!”
All around them, soldiers continued shouting. They were camped next to a river so half were dragging water pails to try to put out the fires blazing around them while the other half were saving the horses and weapons, apparently gearing up for a fight.
“Leo!”
Leander, slightly dazed at the chaos, turned back to look at Jarryn.
“Who did you tell of our plan to leave?”
“No one! When could I even tell someone? Since leaving the king’s custody and becoming your responsibility, I haven’t seen a soul.”
Jarryn’s eyes narrowed and Leander refused to even blink, as if any movement would suggest dishonesty .
“Okay. Yes. Sorry.”
Leander nodded, accepting the apology.
“I need you to leave,” Jarryn pointed over to the copse of trees. “Hide. They’re here for me but the Nine only know what they will do if they find you among my possessions.”
“My Prince!” Leander’s response was halted by the Captain of Jarryn’s guard rushing over. “We must fight or flee. We don’t know how many there are but from the arrows I’m guessing more than our number.”
“We fight, Captain.”
The man nodded, saluted and left, shouting orders to his men as he did so.
“Leo.” Once again, he had been easily distracted by the bright flames and loud noises. He was quickly becoming overstimulated. Leander turned back to look at Jarryn. “Did you not hear me? Hide!”
“What about you? You’re coming with me, right?”
“No. My place is here, with the men who will die to defend me.”
Leander shook his head. “And my place is with you!”
“You have no experience in combat, Leander. Have you ever even swung a sword?”
Leander’s silence was answer enough.
“Go, please.”
“No!”
“I don’t want to pull rank on you, slave , but I will,” Jarryn hissed.
“Is that a threat?”
“Is that a challenge?”
Leander stuck out his chin defiantly. “Try it, Master.” The backs of his legs were more than a little warm from his burning tent. “You won’t win.”
Jarryn sucked in a stream of air through his teeth. “Damn it, Leo!”
“Try it,” he repeated.
They stared at each other for longer than was entirely necessary, not when the world around them was burning and a battle was imminent. But they were both far too stubborn in their desperate desire to keep the other safe and alive.
“Fine!” Jarryn broke first. “But if you die, so help me, I will fight Serai with my bare hands for the right to bring you back, just so I can kill you myself!”
Leander couldn’t help but smile. He had always had a bad relationship with the Goddess of Death. She’d probably grant Jarryn’s request if he asked her nicely. Serai would undoubtedly relish the opportunity to see Leander die twice.
“Stay near me, Leander. Do not leave my side or my sight. Do you understand me?”
Leander nodded his understanding and agreement. “I had no other intentions. I won’t let them take you.”
Jarryn laughed and stalked off. True to his word, Leander hastened to keep up. “My men will not let them take me, my little lion. You will be little more than a hindrance. A distraction. A weakness.”
The pair reached a section of soldiers who were preparing weapons. Ordinarily they would pause and stand at attention out of respect when Jarryn approached. Tonight, they had other priorities, ones that were far more important than social presuppositions that were expected in peacetime.
“My sword,” Jarryn requested, and a longsword was immediately handed over. The prince unsheathed it halfway and examined it before returning it to its scabbard and securing the scabbard to his belt.
Jarryn raised a hand and started pushing around the remaining blades, apparently in search of something. Eventually he stepped away from the back of the wagon and turned to Leander. “Take this.”
Leander looked down as he took the small weapon from Jarryn. Like the prince had done moments before, he unsheathed the dagger and turned it over in his hand.
“You have no training and anything bigger might do more harm than good. This dagger might be enough. Anyone gets close enough, you are to stab them.”
Leander blanched and shook his head, stepping back and trying to return the dagger. “I can’t do that.”
“You can and you will, Leander,” Jarryn’s voice was gravelly, harsh, and brooked no argument. “You wanted to stay with me and I will do all I can to protect you. But if I can’t, you will defend yourself. Now go to that forest right now and hide.” He’d changed his mind, Leander’s stomach dropped.
Leander didn’t even hesitate this time. His hands tightened around the dagger. “I want to stay with you.”
Jarryn was having none of it, and be spoke with no more authority than usual, but when he ordered Leander away, there was no choice left in him to disobey.
“Take him and go,” Jarryn ordered.
Though he didn’t process the words, Leander realised what Jarryn’s command meant when, once again, someone grabbed his arm and dragged him backwards.
“No!” He pulled himself free and got a hold of Jarryn’s shirt. “I’m not leaving you!”
Jarryn, halfway through barking orders to his captain, turned back to his slave.
“It’s okay, Leo, I’m going to be right behind you.
” Jarryn took Leander’s face in his hands and leaned in for a quick but fierce kiss.
Breaking it, he stared into Leander’s eyes.
“But I need you to leave. Now. Go. Hide .”
When his arm was tugged again, Leander didn’t resist. He released his hold on Jarryn and went seemingly willingly with a soldier whose name he didn’t know.
The battle was raging around them now. Jarryn’s personal guard were the elite: loyal to the end and highly trained. They might have been few in numbers, but they made up for it in sheer skill and devotion.
“Faster, Leander!”
And his legs did more with reckless speed away from the battle. Boots pounded the earth beside him as Cade, he finally remembered the name, followed, there—Leo assumed—to protect him. They reached the dense forest, and Leander’s legs finally stopped moving.
Leander still gripped his dagger tightly and within moments, he was hidden by bushes and trees. The pair didn’t stop there, as Cade kept pushing him further in, stumbling in the dark, night blind after so long surrounded by bright flames.
Finally happy with their position, Cade grabbed him and pulled him low amongst the bushes, keeping him quiet and still .
From their vantage point, at a slight height, they could see the skirmish, and Leander’s agitation rose within him. He should be with Jarryn, but now he was here, his body would not obey him. He had lost the ability to even call out to his lover, begging him join him.
The mercenaries they were fighting were nothing more than paid swords. Though also skilled, they were fighting for money, not because they truly believed in their cause.
In many ways, it made them weaker, less skilled, purely due to their motivations.
For every one of Jarryn’s men who fell, three of theirs would be killed. It was good odds, but there were more of the mercenaries. Significantly more. And the fire was spreading, unchecked, uncontrolled.
Jarryn’s soldiers carried the brunt of the skirmish, most positioned some ten or twenty feet in front of Jarryn. A few of the mercenaries managed to break the line and went straight for Jarryn. Most were hindered again, but one or two reached the prince.
From the ground, Leander watched through the underbrush.
The clearing echoed with the clash of steel as the fighters on both sides engaged in a chaotic dance of strikes and parries.
Sparks flew with each collision, and the fires engulfing the tents raged on, creating a dazzling display of light against the darkness.
The fighters manoeuvred through the clearing around bushes, each seeking the advantage against their opponents.
The strikes rang out like thunderclaps, and Leander gasped as Jarryn lunged forward with a powerful thrust. In tandem, the captain of his guard gracefully sidestepped, countering with a swift spin of his blade that forced his opponent to parry in haste.
Meanwhile, Jarryn moved like shadows, closing in on his (now multiple) opponents.
They moved with a mesmerising synchronicity.
Jarryn danced between his opponents, his blade a blur as he seamlessly switched between offence and defence.
A mercenary jumped into the fray, now three against one.
Undeterred, Jarryn demonstrated his incredible skills, blocking and riposting with precise movements.
The captain moved in, having defeated his own quarry and now the pair of them moved in harmony, their blades keeping their adversaries on the defensive.
“We need to move, Jarryn,” the prince’s captain spoke more calmly than Leander thought possible in such a situation, even if his words were a little breathless.
The battle had caused them to move closer to the cluster of trees, away from the flames engulfing their camp.
But Leander still had to strain to hear their voices.
“No. We fight.”
As the skirmish raged on, fatigue began to set in. Soldiers were dropping like flies, which was concerning, as Jarryn hadn’t started out with all that many to begin with.
Leander finally pushed himself up from the ground, dagger hilt still in hand, ready—if not entirely willing—to use the weapon. He wanted to be with Jarryn, that was all that mattered.
But, try as he might, he could not shrug off the obligation to submit to Jarryn’s arcanely imbued order.
With a sudden burst of energy, Jarryn and his captain executed a breathtaking combination of martial manoeuvres, disarming their opponents in a seamless motion of clashing steel .
But there were more to come. Jarryn’s force lay scattered, either dead or incapacitated on the ground. With heavy breaths, Jarryn glanced around, a shadow of sadness and despair passing over his face as he took in the scene of carnage before him.
“We will lose if we continue, my prince.”
Leander barely caught the conversation between the other two men over the shouts and grunts of fighters on both sides.
Leander found himself, in one moment, on the ground. Cade had pushed him out of the way of a wayward arrow. His back had hit the ground first, such was the force with which he was shoved out of the way of harm. Winded, he struggled to gasp in shaky breaths.
In those five seconds, he had lost sight of his lover.
“Jarryn!” Leander called out and he suddenly stopped moving. The fog had lifted from his mind.
He had been compelled.
The compulsion had worn off.
His head hurt. But Jarryn could be... if the compulsion had worn off, was he injured? Was he dead?
“We need to go back!”
He started to move, pushing the branch out of the way.
“Wait, what?” the soldier grabbed him again. “Stop. Be quiet or they will hear us.”
Though clearly younger, the soldier was significantly stronger than Leander. It wasn’t hard for him to halt the demigod’s efforts.
“We need to go back,” he repeated, borderline hysterical now out of fear for Jarryn. “Let me go, he could be hurt, we have to go help him. ”
He didn’t stop in his efforts to leave the woods, he kept pulling, kept shouting. He needed to get back and this imbecilic soldier seemed immune to, even uncaring about, the very serious probability that something had happened to the prince he had sworn to protect.
“My job is to keep you safe. The prince commanded it. Stop!”
There was a sharp thud to the back of his head, and even Leander’s desperation to return to Jarryn’s side was not enough to protect him from the darkness that quickly overwhelmed him.