by A. H. Lee
He finally risked a look at Roland’s face and felt sorry for the hurt and concern he saw there. Sairis leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll come back.”
“When?”
Sairis thought about it. “Two weeks. I’ll meet you in Chireese.” Then he climbed onto Cato, turned his back on the Malconwys, and headed home.
Epilogue
Roland Malconwy adjusted his linen cravat and flipped open one more button on his shirt as he strode into the Tipsy Knave. He hadn’t bothered to wear the plainest clothes he could find. His waistcoat had a tasteful flourish of gold brocade over Mistalan green. His trousers were fitted to flatter a physique he’d earned in battle. His boots were tooled leather, and if one looked very closely, one might see the royal crest on his cufflinks.
Roland wasn’t trying to hide, but he wasn’t trying to flash his status, either. He hadn’t worn a wig or a dress sword. At a distance, he might have been any well-turned gentleman out for the evening.
Nevertheless, a hush followed his passage through the tavern. Men pulled at their caps nervously, smiled, looked away. Roland inclined his head in return and ignored the more excessive gestures. When it was clear that he had no intention of holding court, the hush dissipated. The games of cards and darts resumed. In the corner by the fire, students shouted over one another in their discussion of the rumors that Lord Hastafel had returned to rule Zolsestron with a young female apprentice. Some said he was in love with her, others that she had him under a spell. It was all very juicy, and the students couldn’t get enough.
Roland smiled. Just a normal evening in the Tipsy Knave.
Normal, except... It had been exactly two weeks from the day he’d watched Sairis ride off a drowned battlefield. Two weeks since he’d felt that kiss on his cheek. Two weeks since the last time Sairis had died and then come back before his eyes. He does that far too often.
“I have to go home, Roland.” He’d been trying to go home since he arrived.
What if he doesn’t want to come back?
Nevertheless, as Roland approached the bar at seven o’clock, he half expected to see a slim, dark figure in the corner already waiting for him.
The stool was empty.
Roland swallowed his disappointment and sat down. It doesn’t mean he isn’t coming. He never told me when or where to meet. It’s only sentiment that brought me here.
Roland ordered a drink. He remembered his shock at finding Sairis on this same stool after he’d been stabbed. He could barely stand, but he kept our date.
Because he had nowhere else to go, whispered a voice in Roland’s head. You’ve been the only safe option for him at every turn. Do you really think he’d choose a knight and a Malconwy now that he has choices? He hasn’t sent a single letter...
Roland shut his eyes. It’s not easy to send letters from Karkaroth’s wood. He’s probably been busy.
Nevertheless, persisted the voice, what if he doesn’t want you anymore?
I wouldn’t take anything back, thought Roland. But I do hope we’re still friends. I hope—
Something moved in the spotty mirror behind the bar. Roland blinked. For one second, he could have sworn he saw the gray silhouette of a mouse, watching him. He turned and looked around the room again, but no one approached. He turned back to his drink and someone leaned across the counter. “Roland.”
Roland looked up into dark eyes, luminous behind silver-rimmed spectacles. Roland wanted to stand up and pull him across the bar. “You came!”
Sairis broke into a grin that created points of light in his dark eyes. “I told you I would.” He came around the counter. “I actually stayed here last night. I told the mouse to watch for you. The poor thing needs something to do. I waited far too long to banish it, and now it just seems determined to haunt the tavern.”
Roland stood up and hugged him as he reached his stool. “I missed you,” he said against Sairis’s hair.
Sairis’s arms folded tightly around his chest. “You haven’t forgotten I’m a necromancer, right?”
“I have not forgotten. Does my horse still have fangs?”
Sairis smothered a laugh as he pulled away. “No. Although I may have fed him too many beans. Living horses are so inconvenient, what with all the feeding.”
“Well, they smell better than dead ones, at least.”
“Not when they’ve been eating beans. How is Butterball?”
“He is hale and hearty. Although I would like to give you a real horse.”
“Butterball is a real horse!”
Roland smiled. Everything in the world seemed exactly as it should be. He was surprised to catch another familiar face at the end of the bar. “Is Marsden here?”
Sairis nodded. “I sent him a note when I got into town. He came over this afternoon to talk about the university. He wants me to help with some of the collared students.”
“What did you tell him?”
Sairis shrugged. “I told him I’d try. He’s right that some of them are dangerous, but keeping them collared will only make them resentful...or dead.”
Roland nodded. “Daphne was asking whether it would be possible to place a magical perimeter around the whole kingdom.”
Sairis frowned. “Ward the border? Yes, I suppose it’s possible. It’d be a lot of work. And we’d have to renew them periodically.”
“We could ride up along the Ridge Road this spring,” said Roland with a smile. “Try it.”
Sairis smirked. “I hear there are flowers.”
“A few.”
“And hot springs.”
“We might have to stop at Mosshaven. Just because the trail is so dusty.”
“Of course.”
Marsden was talking to November and Hazel. A short, plump woman stood beside him. She had dimples and an impish grin. “Is that his wife?” asked Roland.
Sairis nodded. “I think November might like to try some glamours.”
Roland chuckled. “I see where she and Marsden might have something to talk about.” He was shocked when a young woman at the card table glanced his way and winked. The wink and tilt of the head were familiar, but the disguise was quite good. “Daphne?”
“Shhh!” hissed Sairis.
The gentleman across from her waved. He’d also gotten better at disguises. They no longer looked quite so much like frogs in fruit salad. Roland caught sight of Uncle Mani beside them, his head bowed over a pad of paper.
“I gather your only surviving uncle is still pining over a beautiful woman he met among the Falcostan emissaries,” said Sairis.
Roland snorted a laugh. “Yes. Apparently Mal is a pretty unforgettable lay, although Uncle Mani is foggy on the details. Marsden says that being fed upon by an astral demon can do that to you. He says Uncle Mani wasn’t to blame, and he won’t have any lasting ill effects. Which is good. Daphne and I have lost enough uncles lately.”
Sairis scratched his head. “Did he draw pornography during meetings even before he bedded an astral demon?”
Roland passed a hand over his face. “Nearly always. Sairis, did everyone know you were coming here today except me?”
Sairis grinned, and Roland couldn’t have held anything against him. “I wanted to surprise you,” said Sairis. “I thought you’d like it if we all played cards.”
“What if I hadn’t come tonight?”
Sairis only smiled.
“Am I that predictable?”
“You’re perfect.”
Roland swallowed. “Sairis, something happened after you left. I saw...I saw Marcus in the water. Everyone was leaving, and nobody else saw him, but...I did.”
Sairis’s eyes studied Roland’s face. He said nothing.
“I told him I love him,” continued Roland. “And he sort of smiled at me. He said something, but I couldn’t hear him. I think it was, ‘I know.’”
“Of course he did,” said Sairis softly. “You’re not exactly subtle, Roland.”
Roland forced his voice steady. “Then
he disappeared. Do you think he’s...alright?”
“His ghost is free. He was haunting Mount Cairn with a lot of other ghosts, and he helped me find the way down. He wanted vengeance for his murder and he got it.”
“Marcus always was a stubborn bastard,” observed Roland.
“I’m surprised he lingered so long afterward,” continued Sairis. “He must have wanted very badly to tell you goodbye.”
Roland wiped at his eyes. “But he’s at peace now? The others, too?”
“Yes.”
“The golems?”
“Gone. Exorcised. Down the River.”
Roland nodded. That would have sounded like a terrible fate to him a month ago, but now... I’ve seen the River. It’s a good place to be...in the end.
Sairis was speaking again. “I’m a little afraid that I might have created a weak place with my wave.”
“A weak place?” echoed Roland.
“A spot where faeries or other monsters could cross over,” said Sairis, “a thin spot between the worlds. I should take a look at it when we go on this warding tour in the spring.”
Roland smiled.
Marsden, his wife, November, and Hazel had all joined Daphne, Anton, and Uncle Mani at the card table. They kept shooting glances at Roland and Sairis.
“I think we’re wanted,” said Sairis. “Unless you’d like to read my palm first.”
Roland reached for Sairis’s hand and folded it up between both of his.
“Looks difficult to read that way,” said Sairis skeptically.
“It says you’re coming home with me tonight,” said Roland.
Sairis raised one eyebrow. “Spoken like a true knight.”
“I can take no for an answer. Are you saying no?”
Sairis gazed up at him. Roland brought one hand gently to his jaw, and Sairis did not flinch. He did blink. His dark lashes brushed the silver frames of his spectacles. Roland leaned closer. “I want to kiss you. May I?”
“Yes,” whispered Sairis.
His mouth opened like an invitation. Roland pulled him close, almost off the stool, and folded him up in his arms. He broke the kiss and whispered in Sairis’s ear. “I want to play cards with our friends and drink and make jokes, possibly dance. And then I want to take you back to my bed—my real bed in the palace, not some hiding place. I want to kiss you everywhere and fuck you into the mattress. But if you don’t want to, I am still happy beyond measure to see you tonight.”
Sairis swallowed. “You can take me anywhere you like. Tied across your saddle, Roland.”
“You don’t sound sad about it.”
“Not remotely.”
Roland pulled away with a grin. “Then let’s go see our friends.”
Thank you for Reading The Knight and the Necromancer!
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You’ll get an exclusive second epilogue called “Spring in the Haunted Forest.” You’ll also get the prequel story “Putting the Romance in Necromancy.”
Curious about What Happened to Mal?
You remember Candice’s curse to Mal? “I hope you fall in love so hard it breaks you.”
Well... ;)
Mal has his own series. The story begins hundreds of years after Sairis and Roland's time. The series currently has 4 books plus a novella. It is MMF (two guys and a gal), and the MM portion doesn't really heat up until Book 2, but I promise you, it is worth the wait. Lots of feels.
The Incubus Series is a bit steamier than The Knight and the Necromancer (hey, it is about an Incubus), and it does include some sexy times with ladies. Book 1 - Incubus Caged - opens with one of the edgiest scenes I've ever written.
If you like my brand of storytelling, check it out.
Yours,
H. Lee
About the Author
A. H. Lee is a medical professional. You can connect with her on Facebook. “Like” her A. H. Lee Author Page to get major announcements. If you want more personal discussions, join her Facebook Chat Group. It's a closed group, but we’ll let you in promptly if you request to join.