The carriage had already been traveling toward the capital for several hours, but Alex was bored.
He needed to move, to do something—anything. Preferably with the mage, but William was so absorbed in reading one of his novels that he didn't even notice his impatience.
"I want to get down," Alex muttered.
"We should be stopping for lunch shortly."
"But I want to get down now."
William pressed his lips together but kept reading. "You may ask Sven to switch with you. He's riding Tempest, isn't he?"
"I don't want to leave you alone."
"I'm not a child, Your Highness."
Alex pouted. "What does that have to do with anything? I just want to spend some time with you."
William looked up from the novel. "You're really clingy. And childish."
"I've got an idea!" The prince leaned out of the carriage window and beckoned the soldier. "Sven, Will and I want to go for a ride."
"I don't want to do anything at all," the mage protested from inside.
"Yes, you do. I'm ordering you, and it's part of your punishment."
Sven sighed. "We'll stop for lunch in half an hour. Try not to tire your horse too much."
He had the carriage stop, and Alex got down, dragging William along with him.
The prince stroked Tempest's muzzle. "Did you miss me, huh?"
The horse snorted and bit his shirt.
"I know, I know. You want to gallop, but you have to behave because Will is riding with us."
"I doubt he can understand you," the mage commented.
"Don't underestimate his intelligence."
He helped William up into the saddle and mounted behind him. He wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned forward to take hold of the reins.
"Are you comfortable?"
"It's not the first time."
"I'll take that as a yes, then."
He nudged the horse's sides, and Tempest sprang into a gallop.
The wind lashed against his face, and Alex's heart swelled with happiness. A laugh escaped him as he held William tighter. He felt his tension ease within his arms, and that made him even happier.
For him, riding meant freedom. And doing it together with the person he loved made him feel one step away from paradise.
He pulled on the reins and brought Tempest back to a walk. The stallion's muscles trembled from the effort; William's cheeks were flushed red from the wind.
He was beautiful even with all his hair in disarray.
Alex leaned down toward his neck and breathed in the scent of his skin. Desire clenched his stomach, along with the pain of everything that had happened between them lately.
He needed to ride for that reason too—to forget how much they had suffered and to try to return to normal.
"Can I keep holding you for a little while?"
"Yes." William stroked Alex's gloved hand. "Your Highness, why do you always wear gloves?"
"I don't like others seeing my missing finger. It makes me feel incapable."
William turned to look at him. "You're not. You're good at some things and completely inept at others. Like anyone else. You can show your hands to me."
Alex stifled a laugh against his shoulder. "Has anyone ever told you you're terrible at comforting people?"
"A prince once told me I wasn't that bad."
"He must have hit his head."
The landscape ahead of them flowed calmly, like the river they were riding alongside. The road wound through gentle hills and fields of cultivated wheat.
The sun warmed Alex's skin and loosened the tension in his chest.
"You've improved," he murmured.
William looked back at him. "At what?"
"Riding. You're less stiff."
"I think that's more because of you than me."
"Sometimes you're too humble. I prefer you when you're just a bit arrogant."
Alex brushed his nose along his neck, and William tensed against his chest. A deeper breath escaped the mage's lips, and an uncomfortable yet pleasant warmth flared in the prince's belly.
"Will," he murmured. "Once we're home, there's something important I need to tell you. But until then, I'd like to keep courting you."
"I'm no longer the man you set out on this journey with."
"You're still the same man. You just have a few more cracks—but if you let me, I can fill them with gold."
William sighed and turned to look at him. "Your Highness, I don't think it makes sense to court a man who has already fallen at your feet."
"Why not? I'd court you even if we were married. I'd do it for the rest of my life."
The mage parted his lips, then pressed them together again and lowered his head. He took a breath, as if gathering his courage, and rested his fingers against Alex's cheek.
"I only ask you to be patient with me and to trust me. If you stay by my side, in time I'll heal."
"I will." He gave him a smile. "Shall we stop? We can wait for the others to arrive here."
They dismounted and sat down on the grass by the road. They waited in silence for the carriage and the escort to arrive, then helped set up camp and ate together with the others.
From time to time Alex glanced briefly at the mage, and seeing him calm again eased his worry.
The journey to Narea had put them to the test, but perhaps something deep and hard to break had been born among the cracks.
At dusk the convoy stopped at an inn.
Aside from them, there were no other travelers, and the innkeeper was more than happy to host the prince and his escort.
Dinner immediately became lively and convivial. The soldiers laughed and drank heartily, while the owner's daughter handed out soups and roasts.
William had managed to corner Falko and a couple of the younger lads in what looked, for all intents and purposes, like a history lesson. Alex eavesdropped and chuckled in amusement, earning more than a few disapproving glances from Sven.
After a while, the prince rose from the bench and raised a hand. Silence fell instantly.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I have an important announcement to make."
Falko leaned over the table. "Are you marrying the mage?"
"No. And how do you even know there's something between us?"
The soldier shrugged. "You give him flowers, you hug him, you dance with him. And you look at him like a man in love. And William smiles at you, while he scowls at the rest of us."
"Why did I even ask?" Alex sighed. "Anyway, I was just joking. I don't have anything that important to say."
He looked toward William and gave him a mischievous smile.
"But Will does have to make a public apology."
The mage blushed and nodded, then rose from the bench and addressed Ian.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have attack you. You were only carrying out Your Highness's orders."
"There's no need, William. You didn't really hurt me."
"But I shouldn't have done it. I acted impulsively and put all of you in danger." He bent at the waist in the Xianese manner, with his hands clasped before him. "I humbly ask for forgiveness from everyone."
A pang of discomfort bloomed in Alex's chest. "Will, you don't need to humiliate yourself like this."
"I'm not humiliating myself. In the Empire, when someone apologizes, they bow. I'm only trying to convey my feelings to you all."
He straightened his back and addressed the soldiers.
"I thank you for the patience you're showing me. And for the way you've welcomed me as well. The prince is fortunate to have men like you, and I am fortunate as well to have been able to travel with you." He bowed again. "I hope to be able to call you companions for a long time to come."
The silence lingered for a few moments, then Falko slammed his tankard on the table.
"Of course we're companions! You're our prince's mage, and soon enough, his fiancé too."
"Maybe you can convince him to give us a raise," another lad exclaimed. "The prince is stingy."
"And Sven is strict!"
"True, true. William could put in a good word with both of them."
William's eyes widened, as if surprised by all that warmth, then his expression softened into a sweet smile.
Alex rested a hand on his shoulder. "You did well, but it's not over yet. I have another punishment to give you."
William furrowed his brow, and the prince once more called his men's attention. He wasn't sure it was a good idea, but he hoped that this harmless game would push William to regain a bit of self-confidence.
"Since our mage is still being punished, I was thinking of asking him to read something for me. Out loud."
William shot him such a sharp look that Alex felt a shiver of excitement. He would have killed to be looked at like that one more time.
"I could refuse, Your Highness."
"I don't think so. You have to obey my orders for the rest of the journey."
The mage sighed and held out his hand. "What do I have to read?"
Alex took out the erotic novel William had been reading in the carriage and opened it. He flipped through a few pages until he found a particularly daring passage, then handed it back to him.
"Please. Out loud, so everyone can hear you."
William looked at the page, and his cheeks turned red. "You are a terrible man."
"Would you rather back out?"
The mage gave him a defiant smile. "Oh no. I want to see if you can resist."
Alex's heart raced. He was challenging him. By the spirits, when was the last time he had done so this openly? And why was the very idea turning him on so much?
Alex sat down and leaned back against the wall. William cleared his throat and began to read.
"The duke tilted his head to the side and studied the shapely body of the young slave. Sun-kissed skin marked by small, pale scars, where the slavers had whipped him."
William's voice was warm and smooth, almost gentle, as if he were an actor on a stage. And it seized Alex by the throat and chest, holding him suspended over the precipice. The prince liked hearing him speak, and he liked letting himself be dominated by him.
A tense silence had settled over the hall, everyone's eyes fixed on William, but the mage was looking only at Alex. There was no discomfort or shame in those poison-green eyes, only a subtle pleasure.
"He brushed his fingertips over his chest, and the slave pressed his lips together. It was unclear whether he liked it or not, but the duke didn't care. He had bought him; he belonged to him."
Falko swallowed. "Is this… is this porn?" he whispered.
Sven jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow and shot a bewildered look at Alex. The prince shook his head and went back to watching William.
He wasn't uncomfortable—quite the opposite. The mage was enjoying holding all of them by the throat. When Alex had asked him, he had feared it would make him feel humiliated. It had been a gamble, but part of him had known that William was tougher than he seemed.
And he had been right.
William turned the page, his voice growing even softer and warmer.
"The duke slipped off his belt and bound the slave's hands behind his back. He gently stroked his lip, then slid two fingers into his mouth. A shiver of excitement ran through the man with pale eyes, his sex twitching."
"Your Highness!" Sven exclaimed. "With all due respect, you have to stop him!"
Alex let his gaze wander over his soldiers. They were blushing, and maybe one or two were affected more than just embarassed.
"Don't you like it?" he asked, feigning surprise.
"We like it far too much," Falko murmured. "I think I need some air."
"Come on, don't tell me you've never read an erotic novel in your life."
"Of course we have," Sven said. "But William is… he's just too convincing."
Alex laughed. "All right, all right. Then the mage will continue reading another day."
He gestured to the men, and the silence was broken by the clinking of tankards and spoons. Laughter and jokes filled the room again, and someone shouted a few compliments for William's performance.
The mage sat down beside Alex. "Did you enjoy it, Your Highness?"
"Very much. Especially the way you were looking at me."
"Next time, though, you shouldn't involve your guard."
"Fine. Next time you'll read just for me."
William smiled, then hesitated for a moment. "May I speak to you in private?"
Alex nodded and followed him outside the inn.