"You leave at dawn?" Adrian said as Cedric bandaged his wound with the last of the cloth strips from their spare tunics. The former had soaked it in a solution of his own making, which cooled Cedric's still-flaring cut to a bearable degree.

Cedric nodded. "Most nobles have already rowed back to Crystallinus in those white boats."

"Then tonight is our last? Truly, this time?"

A swell of tender affection warmed Cedric's heart. He stood and offered a hand. "Come."

Adrian took it and rose to his feet. "What do you have in mind?"

"You and me, alone in the wilderness. Like old times."

They walked out from the encampments until they were certain that no one would see them. The late morning sun blazed overhead in the cloudless sky, pleasant rather than blistering. Birds twittered their bright little melodies, and the air was fresh and cool, laced with the scent of pine. It was a perfect day, as most were in the Summerlands.

Cedric closed his eyes, drew on the black diamond, and unfurled a pair of graceful, shadow-woven wings.

*

Adrian had completely forgotten his hatred of flying, and was only reminded of this distressing fact when they were already well into the air. This time, he refused to look down at all, and focused solely on Cedric.

His wings looked different in the daylight: translucent rather than opaque, their feathered edges soft and perpetually dispersing into the air like smoke. Cedric flew with easy assurance, at a high enough altitude to appear as a large bird to any potential passerby below. No unnatural tail or bestial form to ignite panic and speculation across the region this time around.

They landed in a small grove, where the crisp bubbling of a nearby brook joined the soothing chorus of breeze-ruffled leaves. Their trees cast dappled shadows over the grass.

"I would have asked your preference," Cedric said as his wings dissolved away. "But you were too busy burrowing into my neck."

"This is perfect," Adrian said. He spread his arms and filled his lungs with the exquisite air of their little sanctuary.

"We can't stay long," Cedric said. "I've got to be back at dawn for--"

Adrian grabbed his face and kissed him, cutting off those irritating words most effectively. They remained like this for several long moments, drinking each other in as even the idyllic grove around them faded to insignificance.

Adrian finally broke away to catch his breath. "If I hear another word about your world-saving nonsense, I'll drown myself in that brook."

Cedric's mouth quirked. His lips were flushed and a little swollen. "I wouldn't call it nonsense--"

"I've been patient for days. Watching you entangle yourself in another bloody mess, behaving myself so you wouldn't be distracted…"

"I didn't know you were holding back so much."

"Because you’re an oblivious dolt."

Cedric's eyes were soft beneath their icy false hue. Adrian greatly anticipated the day when he'd no longer need to conceal their lovely true color.

Adrian reached for the laces of Cedric's tunic and began to undo them.

Cedric stopped his hands, gentle but firm. "What are you doing?"

A flush infused Adrian's cheeks, deflating that initial exhilarating impulse. "I… don't know. I wanted to see you. Properly."

Cedric seemed surprisingly averse to the idea. "Don't pretend you suddenly know what modesty is," Adrian said, perplexed.

"It's not that…" he chewed his lower lip. "Just… don't blow a gasket."

Adrian's confusion was quickly addressed when Cedric lifted his tunic over his head and a stark patchwork of vivid bruises revealed themselves across his torso.

"Eris' blood!" Adrian swore, his hands hovering helplessly over the wounds he could not treat. "Why didn't you say something? I could've made--"

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"You've done plenty." Cedric glanced pointedly at the bandage around his thigh. "I can't rely on you in the tournament. Might as well get used to that."

Adrian clenched his fists. "You hopeless mule…"

"Weren't you the one demanding no mention of 'world-saving nonsense'?" Cedric stepped closer and cupped Adrian's cheek. "I'm fine. A little sore, that's all."

He reluctantly accepted the reassurance, and they resumed from where they'd left off. He kept clear of the numerous bruises, but even as he grasped Cedric's unwounded side to pull him closer, the latter flinched and recoiled with a gasp.

"I'm sorry," Adrian said hurriedly. "I thought I was careful--"

"You were." Cedric shook his head, eyes squeezed shut as if he were battling a nightmare. He hugged himself and shrank in. "It's not you."

"Oh." Adrian had completely forgotten…

Cedric's eyes opened. "I'm all right." He nodded rapidly, more to convince himself than Adrian. His fingernails dug hard into his skin, threatening to draw blood again.

"Look, we don't have to--"

"I want to." Cedric made a concerted effort to unclench his fingers and to drop his arms to his sides. Adrian watched him steadily, hesitant to even approach.

But what of the alternative? "Here, why don't you take the lead?" He spread his arms in invitation. "I won't move or touch you."

Cedric's answering nod was shy, but also keen.

Adrian obligingly raised his arms when Cedric lifted his tunic away as he'd done his own. Unlike him, Adrian had grown noticeably thinner from their extensive travels and limited supplies--he'd once joked that Cedric could subsist on sunlight alone--though Cedric didn't comment on it. Gentle, inquisitive fingers roamed the planes of Adrian's bare torso, and he closed his eyes to better savor them.

Cedric cradled the back of Adrian's neck, drawing him in. Then, his mouth unexpectedly pressed against the sensitive point just behind his ear. Adrian's eyes snapped open as he wrestled every instinct to pull him closer, to demand more. Lest his hands betray him, he clenched them at his sides.

"You're shaking," Cedric murmured into his skin, working his way down to the collarbone. He smelled of spring water and musky pine. "Is this all right?"

Adrian felt lightheaded and feverish, as well as fiercely attuned to every movement, every heartbeat, every breath exchanged between them. "I need… to sit," he muttered, and plopped down onto the mercifully solid ground. Cedric joined him, baffled.

"We should be taking our time," Adrian said after collecting his scattered thoughts. He touched the crook of his neck, where Cedric's mouth had been mere moments before, and it burned beneath his fingertips. "Besides, it's not as if either of us know what we're doing."

"You're right," Cedric said. "I never thought I'd regret leaving Destrius' party early, but imagine the things we could have learned there…"

Adrian burst into snorting laughter so loud that he surprised himself. Soon, they were both breathless with it. They flopped down onto the grass beside each other, and their eyes were brimming with tears by the time they regained the ability to speak.

"That aside," Cedric said as his chuckles faded. "I know you want… more. More than this."

"Only what you'll freely give," Adrian said. He propped himself up on an elbow. "By the way, did you and Grace ever…?"

Cedric raised his eyebrows. "Not that I know of."

"But she's all over you. Haven't you noticed?"

"I'll take your word for it," he said doubtfully.

"You really are an oblivious dolt…"

Cedric shrugged, then contemplated further. "I may have come to see her that way, given time. She was kind to me, witty and warm." He looked ruefully at Adrian. "But that ship has long sailed."

Adrian grinned and leaned down to kiss him again, then sighed. "Let's stay here forever. Forsake everything beyond this place."

"There's water nearby," Cedric said agreeably. "Trees for shelter, soft grass for bedding…"

"Little birds and forest animals to sustain us. Provided you can catch them, of course."

Cedric snickered. He lay on his back, hands folded across his bare stomach, loose hair fanned out beneath his head like a silk-spun halo. Adrian watched him closely, determined to absorb every detail.

"Sayid called me a demon, too," Cedric said after a long, pensive silence. "Same as Aja."

"Don't tell me you've taken that to heart."

Cedric turned his head, away from him. "I'm not frightened or anxious, though by all accounts I should be. Instead… I like it. All of it. The danger, the contest, the victory. This tournament is merely a means to an end, and yet…" He didn't finish the thought.

"You happened to find some joy and excitement in this whole sorry endeavor. Who'd condemn you for that?"

Cedric frowned. "I can't afford to get caught up in it. And without you, or even Candra there with me…"

"You won't," Adrian said. "You're too hard-headed for that."

He rolled his eyes.

"Just know that you could never compare to the Bloodclaw. You'll win the tournament as she did, but you'll do so as compassionately and kindly as you're able."

Adrian rolled onto his back again. His hand found Cedric's, and the two of them lay there in quiet observation of the dancing, sunlit leaves overhead. But Adrian found himself incapable of true serenity, even within this temporary haven they'd claimed specifically to forget the outside world.

"I know we agreed no serious talk," Adrian said after another silence. "But you already broke that pact, so…"

"Hmm. What is it?"

"Those children that Lady Salus has already brought to the capital--I keep thinking about what they could be suffering, at this very moment."

"So do I," Cedric admitted. "Once I earn the caste mark, I intend to find them."

"Because overthrowing Iridesca's ruling power is not enough of an undertaking on its own."

"What would you suggest?"

"I don't know, but I'll think of something. You do your part, I'll do mine."

Cedric squeezed his hand. "I'm proud of you."

A swell of emotion rose in Adrian's throat; never in his life had he dared imagine those words directed at him. He couldn't keep his voice from cracking when he said, "Of what?"

"The boy I met in Laetera would have never cared so much."

"Well, he was also a delusional loon."

They chuckled. A comforting warmth had bloomed in Adrian's chest. "This goes without saying, but I'm proud of you, too. The world has dealt you nothing but pain, yet here you are."

"Not only pain," Cedric said. "The kindnesses of many, including yours, have greeted me at every turn. How could I be anywhere but here?"