Bed [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMYqcxu-a57rQ4I2OT814_WujgN6-_zn_IZrmddPMI4cafHeqechVVMHsqR61Fp9bB3tRlq-cBceS0CmJ6dAZ8JAI-W7lx89PEPGLzYOgqekNcw11cV4w1SfSs-QVTQehvSkG7rtNivw-II24yQIfsB=w639-h958-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
Phoenix noticed Uriel flinch at the god’s usage of the word ‘Now,’ and she wondered if that had been intentional on Sovereign’s part, but her best friend was the first to respond, “No.”
His strong retort surprised both her and Dazien as Uriel finally seemed to work up the nerve to speak.
The god shrugged, “I can deal without your acceptance; it was more of a sweetener anyway. What about you, Saint?”
“She won’t either,” Uriel replied adamantly in her stead.
Sovereign rolled his eyes and gestured towards Phoenix, “The offer was to her. It is her choice to trade. Go back to bowing your head, Chosen of Destroyer.”
Uriel almost growled as he said, “You forgot to mention it was her freedom she would be trading. All of your clergy are practically enslaved to your will. I don’t want your gift if it means clipping her wings.”
The god narrowed his eyes at Uriel, then shifted that gaze over to her brother before saying thoughtfully, “I think I might have to keep a closer eye on you, Dazien, if he’s willing to capitulate to you but not to me.”
“He actually cares about our desires while you just want to control us,” Uriel countered, but Phoenix noted the slight tremble of his hands as he gripped his pant legs in an attempt to mask his fear.
Sovereign donned a look of irritation as he suddenly focused his gaze on Uriel and stated harshly, “If Dazien is truly of my ilk and seeks to be a king, then he seeks to control as well, boy.”
The god gave a wolfish grin as he added, “I know you’re aware of this. That’s exactly what you desire from him, after all. Do you think us deities can’t see what happens behind closed doors?”
Phoenix flushed in embarrassment at the reminder of what she had almost walked in on, but Sovereign interrupted those curious thoughts as he asked, “Well, Saint? Do you accept?”
He gestured towards Uriel, “Freedom for your friend in exchange for service to me?” Then he gave another unnerving smile and added as though trying to sweeten the deal, “I might even be able to help with getting your brother that kingdom he desires. You could make both of your closest friends’ dreams come true with a single simple agreement.”
She looked at him suspiciously. For some reason, this god rubbed her the wrong way, and she didn’t like how he spoke down to all of them, even if he was a divine being that could crush them with a single stretch of his aura or send some temple minions to end them.
“Why would you offer all of that?” she asked, “Those aren’t insignificant things you’re willing to trade just for… what? Worship?”
The god of kings glanced towards the ceiling and admitted with a casual wave of his hand, “There may be a few side benefits I gain from the offers, but it’s a win all around.”
“For you but not her,” Uriel rebuked again before turning to address her instead, “Don’t accept, Phoenix. I won’t take his so-called gift. He can’t force it on me, whatever it is.”
“I’m offering a Conversion Cultivation,” Sovereign interjected with a grin, “While an extremely rare offer, they are not unheard of. I’m not selling snake oil if that’s what you were implying.” He gestured toward Dazien, “I believe this one has even read about them before while studying ways to save you.”
She and Uriel both turned to look at Dazien in surprise, and he got an awkward expression on his face as he tried to explain, “Scraps of legend and rumors. There was almost as much about that as there was on Kindred Spirits. I was hoping to look into it more when we reached a better library, but I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. Those same scraps usually implied an extremely heavy cost.”
Uriel’s gaze shifted to her as he continued pleading, showing more emotion than she normally saw from him, “I still won’t let you sacrifice everything for me. We can find another way. I’ll train my aura harder, okay? Maybe find another tutor for it? Please… for once, don’t sacrifice yourself; I’m begging you.”
She looked at him for a long while, contemplating what the deity had offered. A small part of her admitted it was a tempting proposition, but the look on her friend’s face was reason enough for her to acquiesce, “Okay, Uriel,” she said before turning towards the lavishly dressed god. Putting on an overly polite facade, she said with a smirk, “I’m afraid I have to decline your offer, Sovereign. Our Seneschal has given his advice, and I’m inclined to heed it.”
“Pity,” he practically spat before waving a hand to clear the air between them and saying indifferently, “No matter, though, I have other plans in place. Maybe I’ll go check in on the other Wayfarer that seems to be more your opposite.”
“What?” she replied, her mind instantly thinking of Jin, but the god vanished without so much as a goodbye, “Well, that was just rude,” she said in annoyance.
Then she turned back to her friends but was surprised to find Uriel burying his face in his hands and trembling all over. Dazien had wrapped an arm around those broad shoulders and was looking at his partner in concern.
She found herself moving to kneel in front of him, placing a hand on his knee, and asked in concern, “Uriel? What’s wrong?”
His voice faltered as his pent-up anxiety seemed to overwhelm him with the god’s disappearance, “You— you refused him… you refused the Sovereign… for me.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?” she asked in confusion, glancing over to Dazien, who shrugged in equal confusion.
“Yes. I just—” Uriel lifted his head just enough to meet her eyes as he admitted, “I didn’t fully expect you to listen to me…”
She gave him a soft smile, “I might be stubborn sometimes… Dazien and Tala have both been helping to point that out recently, but I’ll always listen to you, Uriel. I might not agree,” she added looking back at her brother, “But after that last argument I had with Daze, I realized I need to at least listen to both sides.”
“You made it clear that this was beyond your limits,” Dazien added softly to Uriel before smiling at her, “And I think you recognized that and respected that boundary just like we talked about earlier. It doesn’t always need to be some grand agreement on paper, but knowing each other’s limits and honoring those is something we can all do for each other and remind ourselves to keep getting better at.”
He rubbed his partner’s back as he added with a small smirk toward Phoenix, “I think a new boundary for you in particular, though, will be to only knock during sleep time if it’s an actual emergency.”
She ducked her head in embarrassment and murmured, “Yes, King.”
“Thank you,” he replied with a grin, “If you don’t mind, then, can we retire for the night? We’re going to the Temple District tomorrow to visit Scholar, and I have unfinished business to discuss with our Seneschal.”
Both Phoenix and Uriel blushed brightly at that, and she began explaining, “I was just trying to play up the Princess role! I wasn’t— I didn’t mean—”
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Dazien laughed, “It’s fine. I’m mostly teasing, but right now, I’m really just trying to kick out my little sister so I can be alone with my partner. Apparently, I need to be as blunt as Rayna’s fist for you to take those kinds of hints. So, while it might be awkward, that’s what I’m going to do if that’s alright with you?”
“Well, it’s better than accidentally walking in on something I definitely don’t want to see and making things even more awkward,” she replied with a heavy sigh of resignation.
A few moments passed as she thought about if there was some kind of system or code they could work out to help her get the hints without being so awkwardly overt when Dazien cleared his throat and said, “Hey, Princess?”
She glanced up, still distracted by some of the ideas running through her head, as she idly replied, “Yeah?”
“Get out.”
“Ah, right,” she glanced toward Uriel, whose cheeks were glowing brighter than she had ever seen them before, and she scrambled for the door, babbling the whole way, “I’m just gonna— yeah, um, sorry. I, um, thanks again for the advice and— you know, the god stuff—”
“Get out!”
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Veldrix had been glad to have woken up from their Evolution Recovery a few days ago, just in time to bury Dazien’s mother and go to the soiree with Everin. It was their first official “date” that the voxen had finally worked up the courage to ask them on. It was sort of testing the waters, since they were also able to use the excuse of not having any other person of suitable station to attend the party with.
Most heads of the noble houses were already married, with Paul being a notable exception, and with Kara gone, nobody in Tulimeir even came close to Veldrix’s Caste level. However, Everin had the unique social position of being the Avatar to two deities which helped fill in that gap.
The knight still refused to initiate anything beyond making their openness known and was patiently waiting to see if the younger man might make the leap. When he did, the first thing Vel told him was, “I’ll go at your pace, but I’ll let you know if I’m uncomfortable with anything and hope you do the same. Let me know what your limits are.”
“What about yours?” Everin had asked.
“I’ve discovered that I don’t have many,” Veldrix said, not feeling ashamed but trying to quietly explain, “I’ve done much that most would find uncomfortable. My true limits lie beyond the bedroom, where I often don’t have a say in things.”
Everin had stared at them for a long moment before asking in barely more than a whisper, “Who would ever not give you a say in something like that? You’re one of the strongest—”
“I have people to protect and a liege that I serve in order to keep them safe,” they said before gently admitting, “While I’m not exactly proud of everything I do outside of being their Executioner, I’m not going to hide it, especially from someone asking me out on a date. That’s not something you should need to worry yourself over, though. I just want to make that part of my life clear to you before you get more involved with me.”
“So, you’re telling me that the Royal Knight Veldrix Thevaris, the Pyre Executioner by day, is reduced to… what? A toy at night? A shiny trinket to entertain those vile royals with?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Vel replied with a firm nod.
“That’s abusive—”
“That’s reality. For me, at least,” they interrupted, not wanting to argue the point, “I’m well aware of what it is. I just want you to be aware of that before taking things beyond flirting.”
To Veldrix’s surprise, Everin replied with a smirk and naive optimism, “Well, I guess I’ll just have to start a rebellion in your heart to free you from their tyranny.”
The party itself had been pleasant for the most part, filled with dancing and alcohol too weak to actually affect Veldrix’s new Obsidian Fortitude. Everin abstained from any alcohol, apparently no longer interested in the intoxicating effects after some poor decision-making in the past that he hadn’t elaborated on.
It was slightly amusing in a nostalgic sort of way for the knight as they watched the drunk noble confront the young Dazien, who had most recently joined their ranks. The dominance put on display was slightly overkill, in their opinion, but it did send a very clear message to everyone watching.
Veldrix was certain that this city wouldn’t be kind to the gemite orphan who looked so different from the cinderen and runeforged that made up its majority. Dazien’s unyielding attitude would serve as both a warning and a challenge to many.
The only reason the knight wasn’t openly confronted was exactly what they had told Dazien a mere three hours ago. The Rule of Caste didn’t care about what species, gender, age, or background one had; it only cared about magical power.
While that kept Veldrix safe from most forms of harassment, that rule alone couldn’t keep all the gemites in the capital safe from all the other Ruby and Obsidian Casters out there. They needed the extra strength behind the monarchy to ensure their safety, too.
Veldrix thought they had made that duty clear to Everin. So, it came as a surprise when he turned towards them in their currently shared bed to say, “We’re going to Scholar's Temple tomorrow to talk about Phoenix’s divine quest, and since Scholar is letting you know, I wanted to ask if you’d come with us on the journey to help save Tyrand.”
They blinked, trying to piece together how Everin went from consoling Dazien to dragging them to bed and having a lovely time that didn’t involve Veldrix feeling like an object to be fought over between two disgruntled spouses, then to asking them on some random quest to the other side of the continent.
It honestly felt a bit manipulative at first for him to ask while neither of them had clothes on, and the only word Veldrix could come up with was, “What?”
“Now that the blood moon is over, I believe we’ll all be leaving imminently to help her with it. I’m sure you know how far it is. Took me about two months to get here, and that was with spending a hefty amount of Bits for some portal jumps. We’re going to be traveling the scenic route, however, as we search for some misplaced artifacts. I, for one, would be ecstatic if you’d come with us. We could use your strength, and I would love to do this again,” he said, gesturing up and down the bed.
It sounded like a lovely adventure. The sort of journey they had often dreamed of going on as a child after listening to their parents talk about their own. Veldrix hadn’t been allowed to leave the safety of their city in the Underdeep. It wasn’t safe out in the world for a child that would originate an entire species, which the Cultivator’s clergy was more than happy to help with.
Once they were deemed strong enough and finally took the step to leave that safe haven, they ended up in this small corner of the world, bound to their ideals of knighthood and fostering the growth of their gemite descendants —a community that depended on the Royal Executioner to provide their protection.
Veldrix sat up, pulling the blanket up over their chest as they ran a hand through their garnet hair and said, “What are you talking about? I can’t just leave Tulim or Blomsterang on a whim for some quest I know nothing about.”
Everin frowned and propped himself up on an arm as those wonderful tails wrapped around him, “That’s why I’m telling you about it now. Scholar just told me a few minutes ago that I could inform you about it now, so that’s what I’m doing. Why do you seem upset?”
“Because you never said you were planning to just sleep with me and then leave the country!”
Veldrix took a breath, then shook their head. They should have known better. They knew this was just going to be some light fun, but the way Everin seemed to just assume they could abandon everything—
“I don’t understand, you know I’m not from here. Rebel’s clergy don’t usually stay in one place unless there’s an active rebellion going on. I thought I made that clear earlier when we talked about my travels.”
He moved to sit on his knees instead and gently brushed more of the hair out of their face as he said, “I wasn’t planning to just use you like those vile royals. I want you to come with me… stay with me. I like how soft you become with me… like this. I don’t want it to end just because my duty calls me away.”
Veldrix relaxed at his touch and words but shook their head, “My duty is here. I am a Royal Knight. I—”
“Have to go back to being used by the crown?” Everin scowled, “You're more powerful than them. Why would you kneel to such wickedness and blatant abuse of authority? You told me how bored and discontent you were becoming in the capital. Executing people for a queen who is apparently no better than the ones she sentenced to death. Just forget about them and choose your own happiness for a change!”
Veldrix stood from the bed, retrieving their clothes now that they realized Everin was going to get angry with their next words. As they finished dressing, they turned to face him and bluntly said, “Unlike you, I won’t simply abandon my position because I’m unhappy. I won’t risk the lives of my people just so you can have a playmate on whatever quest you’re chasing after. Unlike you, I have responsibilities that I take seriously. I enjoy my time with you, Everin, but right now, you’re not more important than my duty.”
As they expected, the look on Everin’s face turned from shock to hurt to anger as he moved in a blur of colors to put his clothes back on and retorted, “Well, forgive me for believing you were worth more than being some royal toy and thinking you actually cared about me, too. I didn’t realize that staying with me and choosing your own autonomy would be beyond those limits you claimed to have so few of.”
Then he fled from the room without even a goodbye.