The quiet of the master suite was a stark, welcome contrast to the roaring fireplace and loud laughter of the dining hall below.
The candles had been dimmed to a soft, flickering glow. Outside, the rain beat a steady, rhythmic pattern against the tall glass window panes.
Caelen had already taken a thoroughly exhausted Seli off to bed, leaving the upper floor enveloped in a comfortable, heavy silence.
Thoris sat near the edge of the large feather mattress, his outer tunic removed, wearing only a soft linen shirt with the collar unbuttoned, and he leaned forward, unlacing his heavy leather boots and setting them aside with a tired sigh.
A quiet rustle of velvet came from across the room. Adrian stood by the vanity, setting down his heavy silver rings one by one onto the marble tray. Without the dramatic flair and chest-puffing posture he had maintained all evening in front of Elyria and Vikra, his exhaustion was finally showing. He looked softer, his shoulders dropped, and his hand rested habitually beneath the heavy curve of his belly, supporting the weight that had been straining his lower back all day.
Thoris watched him in the mirror's reflection, his eyes softening.
"Your back is aching, isn't it?"
"Only a little,"
Adrian grumbled softly, though he winced slightly as he untied his waist sash.
"Our third inherits your relentless determination to push boundaries. He has been kicking my ribs since sundown."
Thoris smiled, standing up and walking slowly across the rug toward him. He reached out, gently sliding his hands over Adrian's shoulders and smoothing down the fabric of his shirt.
"Come sit down before you fall down, sweetheart."
Adrian didn't fight him this time. He allowed Thoris to guide him to the side of the bed, lowering himself onto the soft mattress with a low, drawn-out breath of relief.
Then Thoris knelt on the rug right in front of him. Without a word, he reached up and unlaced Adrian's slippers, gently sliding them off and lifting Adrian's feet onto the bed. Then, shift by shift, Thoris climbed up onto the mattress behind him, pulling the thick fur blankets over them both and pulling Adrian back until he was resting securely against his chest.
Adrian leaned his head back onto Thoris's shoulder, letting his eyes close as Thoris's large, warm hands slid over his sides, coming to rest over the high swell of his stomach.
"I know I was... difficult today,"
Adrian murmured quietly into the shadowy room, his voice lacking any of the theatrical sharp edges from earlier.
Thoris rested his chin gently against the top of Adrian's head, his thumbs tracing slow, soothing circles over Adrian's belly. Then he smiled.
"Difficult? No. A territorial menace to northern border officers? Absolutely."
Adrian let out a low, breathless chuckle, his fingers lacing through Thoris's atop his tunic.
"He was touching you, Thoris. I don't like other people in our space. Especially not now."
"I know,"
Thoris whispered softly, pressing a tender kiss to the side of Adrian's neck, right over the steady pulse point.
"I know. But you don't ever have to worry about that. My heart isn't something that can be coaxed away by old stories or familiar faces. It sits right here with you, in these chambers all the time."
Beneath their joined hands, a sudden, sharp press nudged against Thoris's palm—a firm, spirited kick from inside. Thoris let out a soft gasp, his hands tightening slightly around the curve. "Well. He certainly agrees with that."
Adrian smiled, a genuine, warm expression that reached his eyes, his head turning slightly so his lips brushed against Thoris's cheek.
"He's just reminding you who really rules this estate."
"I am well aware," Thoris murmured, turning his face to capture Adrian's lips in a slow, deep kiss that smelled of sweet wine and hearth fire.
"I am surrounded by loud, dramatic rulers, and I wouldn't trade a single one of you."
Adrian hummed against his mouth, finally letting the last lingering traces of jealousy melt away into the quiet warmth of the storm-filled night. And after a short while of being immersed in Thoris's warmth, Adrian spoke softly. His eyes still locked on Thoris's eyes above his head.
"You and Vikra–.."
Adrian paused for a moment and then let out a sigh.
"Although you two always try to hide it in front of us, there is still tension lingering between the two of you."
"My love–"
"Thoris, it has been fifteen years already. Five years ago, your family came to sign a peace treaty between the families in order for the children to be able to visit their paternal homeland whenever they wanted. Just because you were exiled and banished from the Steppes, it never meant that your children would be as well. They carry the Madurai bloodline no less, and we all agreed that as long as you carried the Valemont's name, you would be able to step into the Iron Steppes again, but not as their son, Prince, or warrior, but as the imperial envoy, as the knight commander of the Fourth Battalion, and as my noble husband, a Count of this Eastern territory."
"So why are you and Vikra still awkward with each other?"
"That's because it's not as easy as you think it is to move on from the past, Adrian. I wronged you and my family's honor back then; how can I ever look at him and Father without feeling ashamed?"
"And as for Vikra, he was the one to send me away with curses when I was being stripped of everything of mine to be the slave of the Empire. That moment hurt him more than anything in the world. So how could he ever look at me in the eye without remembering the moment he cast away the relation between us of being brothers? We are merely like unrelated strangers married to siblings now, so how can things ever be the same between us again?"
Thoris sighed, pulling Adrian toward him even closer.
"As people who were meant to never cross paths again because I was exiled, seeing each other like this again is enough for both of us. And us being awkward and tense is only natural, but I know for a fact that things will be different going forward. We may not be brothers anymore, but we will definitely get along as brothers-in-law. But I don't think I would ever step a foot into the Steppes again; you and the children are allowed to visit them, but I am merely a stain that cannot be scrubbed off no matter what."
"Thoris–"
Adrian pressed his lips against his again.
"When you speak like that, you truly hurt my heart. Is there really no way to ask for forgiveness from your tribe?"
"Even if there were, I would never exchange this new life of mine for anything. I am content living like this, and I won't always be reminded of the past wherever I turn. Having you as my family now is enough for me."
With that, Thoris placed a soft peck on Adrian's temple and then smiled.
"Sleep now, my heart; your body must be truly exhausted."
"I will, but promise me one more thing."
Thoris looked at him attentively.
"What is it?"
"Promise me that no matter what happens to us in the future, never abandon your children and cast them out, no matter the trouble that they cause. Seeing you and Vikra like this, I don't want them to experience that too when they grow up."
"I promise you with my heart that no matter what, I will teach my children just how to be good men, both in their families and with their lifelong partners."
Adrian nodded, sinking back under the covers.
"That's good then. Now hold your darling husband to sleep. I am really tired."
Thoris chuckled, doing just that, and they both stayed snuggled on each other to sleep.
*****