by Aldrea Alien
Confusion tweaked Darshan’s brows. Those hazel eyes lifted, even as Darshan’s palm continued massaging Hamish through his clothes. His other hand was deftly working on unbuckling Hamish’s belt. “Are you afraid your brother will berate you?”
His brother? “Nae exactly.” Hamish wet his lips, struggling to form words. If Darshan kept this up, he wouldn’t have to worry about being found in the midst of anything. “If one of me nephews find us first…” He trailed off, already seeing the answer in the lack of fire gleaming within his lover’s eyes.
“Blast,” Darshan muttered. “That does put quite the damper on things. You are, of course, right. This is perhaps not the best time or place. Although…” With an impious twist to his lips, his lover practically climbed Hamish, stopping only once he straddled Hamish’s hips. “I am not letting you take another step without a little something,” he breathed, their lips not quite meeting. “It is a matter of pride.”
“I love you,” Hamish murmured, laying his forehead against Darshan’s. By the Goddess, which one of them was sweating? “It’s going to kill me if you go alone.”
Darshan laughed, the sound small and breathless. “I am not going anywhere you cannot follow. I promise.”
“That depends on how well we manage the next two trials.”
“Then how about a kiss for my troubles?” Grinning wickedly, Darshan pressed close. “A nice chaste one that shall remind me just what I will lose should I not try hard enough.”
The small gap between them was sealed before Hamish could think of a reply. True to his lover’s word, the kiss was softly innocent. Or it would’ve been had Darshan not tightened his legs around Hamish’s waist.
Two can play at that. He grasped his lover’s rump and the man moaned against his lips in response. His legs wobbled at the sound. Hamish pressed his back against the tree in support. He sucked on his lover’s lip until the majority was trapped by his teeth to the sound of a hushed whimper.
He ground himself against Darshan, groaning alongside his lover. Maybe… maybe they did have time. He had witnessed only a single sign of someone having come this way recently, but the noises had been much further from here than—
“Found them!” Ethan’s voice cut through the haze of Hamish’s thoughts.
The reality of the forest slammed back around him and heat flared across his face. The wisp of a curse tightened his throat, unable to escape his lips as more than a senseless grumble.
“By the Goddess’ bleeding ears,” Gordon barked. “Can I nae leave you two alone for a moment without you snogging each other’s brains out? Or cannae you two find a room to grind against each other like frustrated dogs?”
With his body shaking in poorly-restrained mirth, Darshan bent forward until his lips brushed Hamish’s ear. “He is fortunate to not have found us a little later,” he whispered in Udynean.
Hamish barely had time to let the implications sink in—and just what would his nephews and brother have stumbled upon had they been delayed in discovering them even a short while later, anyway?—before his lover tipped back in his arms to shoot Gordon a charming smile.
“There you are,” Darshan said, seamlessly switching to Tirglasian. “I was beginning to think we had lost you.”
Gordon’s face was carefully neutral, but his brother wouldn’t look directly at them. Saying nothing, he headed back the way he had come. The boys tailed him. But not without Ethan shooting him a wide grin and whispering to Bruce.
Darshan snickered.
“It’s nae funny,” Hamish mumbled, his face growing hotter. Could he even release his hold on Darshan’s backside without embarrassing either of them? His own trousers and overcoat should hide the obvious outcome of them grinding against each other—slow as it was in getting the idea that nothing further was happening—but Darshan’s trousers were slightly more formfitting.
“Of course not.” His lover laid a hand on his chest. “If it were one of my siblings, I would have been mortified to be caught in any sort of intimate act.”
“But you’re still laughing,” Hamish growled, gently prising the man’s legs from his waist and lowering Darshan to the ground. His lover’s overcoat seemed long enough to avoid immediate embarrassment.
“Well, he is not my brother, is he?” Still chuckling quietly to himself, Darshan stepped back. “Are you going to stop leaning on the tree?”
Hamish tipped his head, resting it on the bark. “I’m nae sure if me legs will hold me weight just yet.”
“Well, I—”
The nearing crash of something moving through the foliage caught his ear.
Hamish straightened. His bow was in his hand before he had finished righting himself. Was it another person walking through the forest or a potentially dangerous animal? His focus darted momentarily to the boys—who had taken a few steps towards the sound—as he nocked an arrow.
The trio seemed more troubled than scared. Should he order them back further? Or maybe have Darshan shield them? Nae. Not until he saw what they were up against. If there was a time for someone to try and cheat their way through, it would be during this trial.
A figure emerged from behind a tree, lightly trailing their hands across the bark.
Hamish lowered his bow. Sorcha? Although the girl was glancing over her shoulder, her face hidden by the windswept mass of auburn curls, Hamish had known his niece practically from birth. He could pick out every one of his siblings’ children from a crowd.
“ ‘Cha?” Ethan blurted, rushing to his cousin’s side. “What are you doing out here?”
Startled, Sorcha swung about. She tucked her hands at her back, instantly raising Hamish’s suspicion. The girl wasn’t usually one to cause trouble, but she also didn’t tend to leave the castle without a family member at her side. “What am I doing? What are you all doing out here?”
“Gor,” he called, hoping his brother hadn’t gone far enough to not hear him. “We’ve got company.”
To his relief, Gordon emerged swiftly enough, his bow in hand. He’d barely joined them before his gaze settled on his daughter. “Lass, what are you—?” he growled. “You should nae be out here without an escort.” He stormed over to kneel before Sorcha. “You’ve nae a weapon on you, have you? Isnae that what I always tell you?”
“Aye,” she mumbled, refusing to look her father in the face. If she balled her hands any tighter, they were going to disappear altogether. At least she didn’t seem to be holding anything.
Sighing, Gordon got to his feet. “I’m taking this lot back home. You two can carry on to the end, if you like.” Clasping his daughter’s wrist, he ordered the boys to follow with a jerk of his head and marched off in the direction of the castle.
“The finish line isnae far.” Hamish took a few steps, halting beside the tree Sorcha had touched. Just beyond it was a small clearing marked by a row of broad-leaf ferns. All carefully cultivated. “See?”
“For the moment,” Darshan murmured. He lowered his glasses, gently hooking one of the earpieces into the neck of his overcoat. “Shall we discover how well I can make it back to the castle without these?”
A gnawing hollowness took Hamish’s stomach. Few of the competitors were going to make it through even without the impediment Darshan had to deal with. If only he could compete in his lover’s place, but the rules against them competing for their own hand were explicit. “All right then, lead the way.”
Squaring his shoulders, Darshan struck out for Mullhind with Hamish plodding silently behind him. At least he was off to a good start by facing the right direction. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as difficult as Hamish had dreaded.
Please Goddess, guide his feet. Surely, it couldn’t be that much to ask for. Just for tomorrow. He needed Darshan to get through the second trial unmarked. He could ensure victory from there.
Darshan crouched next to a sturdy tree trunk. Reach the ferns unmarked. That was his goal. He had made it only a short way into the designated piece of forest before divertin
g to one side whilst the rest of the competitors raced on.
All this had seemed far easier yesterday, when he had succeeded in navigating to his tent by the castle tunnel. But then, he hadn’t the added difficulty of people throwing objects at him or the uncertainty of when.
Without his glasses, the forest was an unending swath of green. He could make out impressions readily enough, although he couldn’t be sure if the darker blobs he saw in the distance belonged to other trees or were just shadows.
At least he could be confident they weren’t people. Not unless they had gained a statue-like talent for stillness. They were out there, though. He could feel it. A wisp on the wind.
Invaders.
Darshan shuddered. The whisper of—he couldn’t quite call it words, but the impression of them—drilled into his mind. The ethereal notes grew stronger the deeper he pressed into the forest. Similar had happened yesterday when they had practised archery, but it had been more akin to a faint howl of pain. If he had time, he would’ve pondered on the cause.
In the distance came the occasional cry of his competitors as they were hit. Not dangerous—at least that was what Gordon had claimed—but judging by the screams reverberating through the trees, getting hit was an unpleasant experience nevertheless. And an instant disqualifier.
He strained his hearing, seeking any hint that he might be in danger. The far off rustle of a body stalking through the bushes caught his ear. Nothing closer.
This wasn’t a contest of speed. As long as he reached those ferns at the other end by midday, time was a commodity he had enough to play with. Perhaps, if he waited long enough, the guards hidden in the foliage would run out of ammunition, leaving him with just the task of making it to the other side.
At least the headaches had yet to start. They would eventually, especially if he continued to strain his eyes like this. Such was always the cost of abandoning his glasses.
Another whisper of disturbed leaves, this time at his back. Was there another, more cautious, competitor lingering at the rear?
The muffled snap of a twig pressed into the earth heralded their closeness. There was definitely a presence behind him. Were they looking to waylay a few people on their way through?
“We ken who you are,” a small voice declared.
Darshan hunched his shoulders. Only the faint familiarity behind the voice kept him from instant retaliation. Where had he heard it? “And just who would that be?” he asked, hoping the scarf muffled his voice beyond recognition. He spread his fingers, calling on his magic in readiness for an attack if need be. Perhaps he could knock out the tattler and be through the forest before anyone found them.
“The Udynean Ambassador,” another voice replied, this one less familiar.
Well, that is rather unfortunate. Did that mean they were friendly? Darshan couldn’t let anyone hostile to his task slip away after revealing such knowledge. Why track him down in the middle of the trial to announce their finds?
An acrid scent drifted on the breeze, carrying a clear message. Danger. The prickle of thorns scuttled up his spine, stabbing into the base of his skull. An image invaded his mind. Three figures hunched in the bushes, their bodies bending fragile branches and bruising leaves.
Darshan shook his head, trying to shake the image, but the howling dug deeper into his brain.
“We’re here to—”
The image shifted. One of the figures had moved closer. Danger. The pressure in his head increased with the cry. Darshan whirled about, ready to unleash a blast of air that would knock the source of such pain unconscious.
And halted, the summoned power still dancing through his veins like needles.
Not danger. He knew those faces.
All three of Hamish’s nephews peeked out from the bushes, their ruddy hair a beacon amongst the dark green foliage. They stood close enough that Darshan could clearly make out their identically smug expressions.
“We also ken that you’re the one our uncle would most want to win,” Ethan said.
“Is that so?”
The trio stepped out of their cover. All three were garbed in drab shades of green and brown. “We want to help,” Ethan added with his brothers nodding along. “We’ve been running through this forest since we could walk, we ken these hills.”
Darshan considered how easily the three of them had left behind not only Hamish and himself, but also their older uncle. Having three young pairs of eyes on the lookout as well as guiding him could only make the trial easier. “Does anyone know your whereabouts?”
“Mum thinks we’re waiting at the finishing line with our uncles,” Mac supplied.
“And Uncle Hamish said he would make sure everyone else thought we were with our mum,” Bruce finished. He handed over a wooden case that looked suspiciously like the one holding his glasses. “He also said you needed these.”
“I see.” Flipping the case lid open, he found his glasses still neatly tucked into the velvet lining. Hamish had told the boys of their deception? And he had also sent them?
Darshan put on his glasses. The world once again had depth and definition.
He crouched next to the trio, peering over his shoulder as if he could spot anything untoward within the patches of green and grey. “So, what is your plan?” The gods knew his idea of scuttling through the undergrowth and hoping wasn’t much of one. It was definitely improved now he could see, but not by much.
“It’s simple,” Bruce said. “Ethan’ll guide you.”
Over the boy’s shoulder, his brother beamed.
Darshan couldn’t help but be a little sceptical in the face of their confidence. “He knows where the traps are?” He had come across one, warned back by a ghostly whisper and a flash of men straining the strength of a tree’s branches.
Ethan shook his head. “Nae that. Even the lobbers wouldnae ken their stations until they were given them this morning. But I ken the best routes to avoid any tricky spots. As for the rest…” He jerked a thumb at his brothers. “They’ll scout ahead and warn us. Maybe even play diversion.”
“What are the chances of you three getting caught?” As much as he appreciated the children’s attempts to help, getting them into trouble would have quite the opposite effect.
“Slim to none,” Bruce replied, shrugging. The boy’s brothers seemed somewhat less confident of his opinion, but not enough to voice any doubts.
Truthfully, Darshan would’ve preferred a complete absence of risk. It was utterly ridiculous to place his chances at the hands of these three children, but the likelihood of him making it through the forest alone was far lower than the boy’s estimation. “No time like the present,” he mumbled, squaring his shoulders. “Did any of you happen to note any obstacles on the way?”
As one, the boys raised the hoods on their cloaks.
“Most of the dye-lobbers are further in,” Bruce said. “We’ll nae come across them for a stretch.”
Dye? Was that what they were throwing? Something like the powdery balls of cloth the boys had attached to their arrows whilst they practised hunting with their kin? “Then, by all means, lead the way.” With a low sweep of his hand, he indicated the breadth of forest stretching before them. A wisp of relief puffed out his nose as the trio started off in that very direction. At least he hadn’t done something as crude as gotten himself turned around.
They crept through the undergrowth and hustled across open patches as swiftly as could be done once the path was deemed clear, always keeping as low as possible. Whilst the boys were certainly taller than the average child back home, encroaching on his own height when it came to the eldest of the trio, their stature was just that little bit lower to let them scurry along whilst stooped.
Darshan’s back strongly objected to the stance. His healing magic thrummed through his lumbar region, having to soothe the area even as he subjected it to more abuse. It tugged at his already frazzled concentration.
At last, Bruce halted them at the base of a large tree where the t
runk was surrounded by a loose cluster of budding bushes. He beckoned Mac forward, whispering to his youngest brother and pointing into the leaves and branches beyond whilst Mac shook his head and argued back with similar results.
Once they both seemed to be of the same mind, Bruce turned back to Darshan and his other brother. “There’s a wee formation of lobbers set up in the trees just beyond.” He jerked a thumb in the direction Mac still watched, but Darshan couldn’t pick out anything different from the treetops. “We’re going to get their attention on the eastern side. Take him west, keep him low. There’s a ditch nearby. Be careful they’ve nae got someone stationed there. We’ll meet up on the other side.”
Ethan gave his brother a curt nod.
They waited for a short while as the two boys slipped out of the undergrowth and darted off into what Darshan assumed was an easterly direction. He tried to track them, but they vanished swiftly.
“Stay close,” Ethan whispered, motioning Darshan onwards as he lifted a branch for them to crouch under. “They’ll nae stay distracted for long.”
Over the hushed crunch and rustle of their footsteps, came the faint exclamation of the nearby men. The sound was followed swiftly by a dull, and rather wet, thwack. Did that mean the other two were doing as planned, or was that one of the competitors?
Darshan risked a peek the way they had come. Nothing but green. And a buzz that carried on like the drone of an angered hive.
“I wish I could go with you,” Ethan whispered, jolting Darshan from his fruitless search.
“And be miles away from your family?” he replied, keeping his voice just as low. He continued to follow the boy’s footsteps closely, doing his best to step in the same places to reduce noise. “All the people who love you?”
Ethan froze for a heartbeat, then dropped to his stomach.
Knowing better than to hesitate, Darshan followed suit before daring to risk a peek at what had caught the boy’s eye.