The King of Forever (Scarlet and the White Wolf, #4) by Kirby Crow Read Free Book Online Page B

Liall ignored the remark about men. Scarlet was not ashamed to be known as his lover, but the stigmas inflicted on Scarlet in his homeland were hard to erase. Liall hoped that, in time, he would completely forget them. 
    He is young. Time will erase those memories, and he will forget that he ever lived in a country that killed men such as him, or put brands of shame on their flesh.
    Scarlet scratched his palm idly. “I think my magic is stronger, here. Is that possible? It must be the cold or somesuch. I swear, my hands felt like they wanted to kindle a fire withy when I fell through the deadfall. That wouldn’t have been good.”
    Liall went cold at the sudden mental image of Scarlet surrounded by the rotten wood of the deadfall and wreathed in fire.
    Esiuk glanced up, his attention pulled from his task by talk of magic. Every curae Liall had ever known was intensely curious about such things. Esiuk was a loyal retainer, but in learned men, the thirst for knowledge was boundless and unpredictable.
    “It must have been the fear,” Liall said quickly. “You were frightened.”
    “Not that much.”
    Liall didn’t want to dwell on the subject, especially not with Esiuk listening. He had trusted Melev once, too. “Well, it’s over now and you’re here, if only a little worse for wear. Nothing broken and now you’re warm and safe. But are you quite finished turning the castle upside-down for the rest of the week?”
    Scarlet suddenly looked wary. “Why do you ask that?”
    “I may have to be away for a time.”
    Scarlet’s expression turned from cautious to blank. “Oh?”
    “Yes. It won’t be for very long, I promise.” Just as long as it takes to win a war. The barons are already gathered, all the pawns in one palace, and no queen; just a new king to risk his crown and his head.
    “I see.”
    And just that. No questions, no protests. The painful and distant wedge growing between them widened. Liall had known from the beginning that their months in Rshan might turn into years, but that was when Cestimir was the heir, and they never expected to remain here forever. After the coronation, Liall had let himself believe that once Scarlet got a feel for the court and his position, he would be happy here. It was no shock to Liall that a reserved Hilurin youth raised in the rustic Byzantur countryside would flounder in the opulence of a royal court, but simply hoping it would get easier with time was wishful thinking. Scarlet had seemed content for a while, but then the rumors about Ressilka had sprouted like weeds. Now there were Rshani who had reasons other than bigotry to make Scarlet feel unwelcome.
    I will keep him with me, Liall thought fiercely. No matter what the cost. If all of Rshan, my people, and my birthright must be hung ‘round my neck, so be it, but Scarlet is mine. I will not lose this one happiness.
    He looked at Esiuk’s hands as the curae deftly finished sewing the lacerated skin of Scarlet’s calf. “Does it hurt much?”
    Scarlet flinched as the needle pushed in and out of his skin. His voice was neutral. “Cuts and bruises. I’ve had worse. It’s nothing.”
    Liall’s heart sank. It’s a great deal to me , he thought. You could have been killed. I’d have lost you forever. Why don’t you ask where I’m going? I’d prefer a fight to this.
    “This will leave a scar, sire,” Esiuk spoke up. The round dome of his head, shaved smoothly bald like all Rshani physicians, gleamed in the lamplight.
    “If it does, you’ll have one to match,” Liall said.
    “Don’t listen to him,” Scarlet said.
    Liall merely raised a snow-white eyebrow and regarded Scarlet in silence. The quiet remained until Esiuk had bandaged Scarlet’s leg with clean linen.
    “Will you be wanting a draught for the pain, ser?” Esiuk inquired.
    Scarlet shook his head. “I’ll set a withy to it on my own. Thank you, ser.”
    Esiuk gave him an intense stare, and Liall knew that the curae would have desperately