Fennrin was still reeling from what had happened. The following festivities after the feast had been cancelled given the situation, but his hands were still shaking.

He’d not expected Daryan’s fake assassin to try to kill him, let alone the way he had. Fennrin had certainly been waiting for the man to strike, but to throw a knife at the Herald? Fennrin had nearly not managed to stop the knife in time.

If he had failed, it would have ruined everything, and it would have been Fennrin’s fault. It was horrifying to think about.

“I apologize for what happened,” Daryan said, making Fennrin blink. The other man had been talking for a while and Fennrin had not been listening, he’d realized belatedly, much to his embarrassment.

They were both in Daryan’s chambers, sitting next to each other on his couch. Fennrin barely remembered getting here. Everything was a blur.

“Was the assassin not supposed to be so convincing?” Fennrin questioned, not sure why Daryan was apologizing.

Daryan blinked at him, frowning. “No, that went all according to plan. I meant kissing you. I…the situation made me forget myself.”

Fennrin nodded, somehow having forgotten to have a crisis about that detail of it. Next to everything, it had seemed so unimportant because Daryan had nearly died. Everything else came second.

“Oh, that’s—”

“It does not have to mean anything, of course. I wish I had not done it so publicly, too. You were simply too heroic in that moment for me to resist.”

Fennrin shrugged. He truly didn’t mind. He had liked it, thinking back on it. He’d simply not given this much thought until now. It seemed like he would not be focusing on the right thing here.

“I will be honest, what I am shocked by is mostly what nearly happened to you. Did you truly pay that man to try to kill you? You didn’t mention this.”

Daryan sighed and nodded. “Very well. Yes, I told him to go after me. It only made sense. An Orinovan loyalist would wish to remove me from the game board, no? The position of the High Herald is a symbol, if nothing else.”

“Why did you not tell me?” Fennrin sighed, shaking his head. This had been so foolish. If he’d known ahead of time that Daryan himself would be the main target—

“Because I needed your reaction to be genuine,” Daryan explained.

Fennrin wanted to be angry because he had been tricked and much more than that, Daryan had put himself into needless peril just to make this more convincing.

And yet Daryan’s kind, deep eyes made his ire disappear as quickly as it showed up. He stood by thinking this had been very foolish, but he couldn’t be angry with him.

“You knew someone would attack, but if you knew who or how, it would influence your reactions. People might get suspicious. And you did wonderfully, my dear.”

Fennrin’s heart fluttered at the praise, feeling good about himself despite not wanting to let it get to him. Yes, stopping that knife midair must have looked quite impressive.

He wasn’t that good at controlling the shadows of quickly moving objects yet, which was why he didn’t tend to try to stop arrows on the battlefield. Though he wished he’d managed to stop the weapon sooner.

“It was too close.”

Daryan put a hand on Fennrin’s knee, squeezing comfortingly. It was remarkable how he always relaxed felt when Daryan touched him.

“It was just close enough. I knew you’d manage it. You never disappoint me, my dear. I have utmost trust in your abilities,” Daryan said, smiling at Fennrin so fondly, his gaze so full of admiration, it almost made his head spin. “And I trust you will someday see how talented you are as well.”

Fennrin blushed, ducking his gaze, unable to keep looking into Daryan’s eyes when his gaze was so intense. “I hope so. It holds me back, my lack of confidence.”

Daryan nodded, leaning in closer.

“But I am not particularly talented, am I? Surely every shadowforger before me was like this, if not better,” Fennrin added, sighing.

Daryan gently coaxed his chin up with a finger, making Fennrin look at him again. “Your forebears were largely selfish, evil people. You are the greatest already simply due to using your power to help people.” Daryan smiled, his eyes sparkling. Fennrin found himself entranced.

“But yes, you are very talented. But I would not want to make that seem as though significant effort didn’t go into you learning to use your powers. I am incredibly impressed with how well you’re doing. And you will only be more powerful in the future.”

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Daryan’s face was only about two inches away from Fennrin’s. And the Herald was looking at his lips. Fennrin found his own eyes sliding there. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to kiss him now that there was no shock or panic. The kiss was a blur in his mind, but he remembered it being pleasant.

“I…maybe desire to kiss you yet again,” said Daryan, his eyes never leaving Fennrin’s lips.

Fennrin nodded. “Perhaps I…do not mind.”

Daryan’s gaze flicked up to meet Fennrin’s eyes then, surprised and hopeful. “Truly?”

Fennrin nodded, his face slowly moving closer to Daryan’s. The Herald did the same, soon both of them brushing noses. And then Daryan was kissing him, his surprisingly soft lips pressed against Fennrin gently.

Fennrin’s eyes fluttered closed, moving his lips against Daryan’s, intrigued by the feeling of his beard against his chin, familiar yet so different from Ainreth’s.

As Daryan brought up a hand to cradle Fennrin’s cheek, kissing a bit harder, Fennrin felt his remaining anxieties vanish, relaxing into it as he ran a hand through Daryan’s hair.

It felt nice, comforting, peaceful. It made Fennrin feel safe. Like everything would be okay. And that feeling only increased when Daryan’s surprisingly strong arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer.

The kiss ended soon after, but Fennrin felt a little dazed. He blinked at Daryan, having momentarily forgotten where they were. “Ah. That was…quite nice.”

He smiled at him, his heart fluttering as Daryan grinned back. He looked oh so happy, his eyes practically glowing, the crow’s feet around them defined with joy.

“It truly was,” Daryan said, smiling at him. He leans in to kiss Fennrin’s forehead, so gentle, so loving. It was calming and comfortable.

Perhaps this was not such a strange, impossible idea after all.

“Oh, my dear, I am so happy you like me as well,” Daryan said, smiling even more as he let go. “But I will not push you into anything more if you do not wish.”

Fennrin nodded, not sure himself. “I…we can just…see where things go?”

Daryan smiled, nodding. “Wonderful idea, yes. I agree.”

Daryan took his hand, rubbing his thumb over the back of it, bringing it to his lips so he could kiss Fennrin’s knuckles. Fennrin blinked, blushing a little as he smiled.

“I am honored to have you be by my side as we see this through.”

Fennrin squeezed Daryan’s hand, smiling at him and nodding. “Yes. I agree. What is next to do?”

“We shall see how the situation develops first,” Daryan said, nodding to himself. “While we have little time to spare, we cannot afford to rush into as turbulent a situation as this. We have to let things develop a little. Then we decide.”

Fennrin nodded. That made sense to him. It did bother him still that they were forcing the situation to develop a certain way rather than letting it happen naturally, but they didn’t have time. And it was done now, either way. There was no going back.

“What happens with the pretend assassin?” Fennrin asked, actually curious how this must have been done. No one could know that the man had been nothing more than an actor, which must have been incredibly difficult to hide.

Daryan smiled. “He was in disguise. The fake beard will be quite enough to make him unrecognizable afterward. Do not worry, my dear. I took care of everything.”

Fennrin nodded, smiling back. Daryan was incredibly smart. Of course he’d thought of all of this. The less Fennrin knew the better, probably. It didn’t involve him anyway. He’d done his part.

“Do you mind if our relationship is public, or would you rather keep it private?” Daryan asked.

Fennrin blushed. He wanted to say that this was moving a bit too fast, but they’d kissed, Fennrin had expressed his liking of that, they were currently holding hands…. If this was not a romantic relationship, then what were they doing?

“I…I do not see why not. Aside from Ainreth likely not handling this very well.” Fennrin sighed, immediately feeling a little sick imagining what Ainreth’s reaction might be.

He hadn’t seen Ainreth after the attack. Fennrin had been too preoccupied with everything to pay attention to anyone other than Daryan. But Ainreth might have seen the kiss as it was.

Actually realizing that helped Fennrin relax a bit. It was too late, wasn’t it? Ainreth must have seen. Which meant whatever Fennrin chose didn’t matter anymore.

Daryan sighed. “Yes, but do not worry. I will handle him if necessary.”

Fennrin frowned. “What…does that mean?”

Daryan smiled. That kind, warm smile that always made Fennrin relax. “I will not have him hurt, do not worry, my dear. It is very kind of you to care for his wellbeing after what happened, though.”

Fennrin’s heart fluttered. He didn’t want to let all the praise Daryan kept giving him go into his head, but he couldn’t not enjoy it.

“But no, I mostly meant that the important people around the court might want to get to know you better, simply to try to improve their station using your influence on me.”

Fennrin shook his head. Politics were so exhausting.

“I do not care about that. I will simply tell them I am not interested in anything they have to say.”

Daryan chuckled, kissing his forehead. Fennrin’s heart fluttered again. Every single one of Daryan’s touches always felt so significant.

“Wonderful. You always are very kind and patient with people. That is why I didn’t want to push anything on you.”

Fennrin shook his head, smiling. He didn’t think he agreed, especially lately, but it was nice of him to say. “I will be quite all right. Erm, is there anything I should know about courting, well, a Courtier?”

Daryan chuckled. “No. There are no rules. Not that I would insist on them. The only thing I expect is you being yourself, Fenn.”

Fennrin nodded, smiling at Daryan, yearning to hug him, yet feeling too awkward to for some reason. It was too soon for such casual affection in his head, he supposed.

As if reading his mind, Daryan wrapped his arms around him, pulling him in. Fennrin blinked, hugging back, melting into it and closing his eyes.

“You should rest,” Daryan told him. “I predict more troubles will arise tomorrow.”

Fennrin nodded, humming. “In my room?”

He didn’t need to say the alternative for Daryan to understand what he was saying. “You can stay here if you wish. You are very comfortable to hold.”

Fennrin blushed a little, unable to hold in a slight chuckle at that. It was such an endearing thing to say.

“I need to feed Snowflake,” Fennrin said, smiling at Daryan. “But I will return afterward.” He hesitated before leaning in to kiss Daryan quickly. He felt shaky but in a good way.

It felt so nice to have someone to be with again. He and Ainreth hadn’t been apart for that long, but it had felt like an eternity. And it had been oh so lonely.

“Very well,” Daryan said, smiling as he shrugged off his vest, staying only in his shirt. Fennrin tried not to stare too much. “I shall await your arrival.”

Fennrin got up, heading to the door, smiling at his new cape that was hanging by it. Today had been a strange day, to say the least. But Fennrin was full of new energy to continue fighting.