Ascending Hearts

by Leta Blake

  Jack crouched down and stroked the silken sails. When he looked up, his eyes were bright. “Let’s go. Today. Now.”

  Rion’s stomach clenched. He forced out a laugh. “Nonsense.”

  “I mean it.” Jack stood, body electric with sudden energy as he raced to the terrace ledge, gazing out at the distant waves far below, beyond the cliffs. “Let’s go across the sea. Start a new life there.”

  “You don’t even know what there is like.” Rion smiled. “Come now, let’s go back inside.”

  “If not there, then somewhere else. Anywhere. We could go as far as we want. See new worlds. Different lands!”

  The thought lit a flare of old yearning in Rion’s chest, but he tamped down the feeling. “It’s impossible.”

  “Why?”

  “Why?” The warm bloom curdled and anger boiled in Rion’s veins. “How can you ask why? You know damn well. I am duty bound to protect the treasure.”

  “Forget the treasure! What good does it do, moldering here in the clouds? We can start a new life for ourselves.”

  That’s all he wants. The treasure. Not you. “So you’ve just been biding your time until you could talk me into giving it to you.” The hurt twisted like a knife in his gut.

  Jack took a step back. “No. No! I don’t care about the money. Dash it to the bottom of the sea. Just don’t stay here, wasting your life.”

  “It’s not a waste,” Rion hissed. “I honor my family. My ancestors. My feckless brothers and sisters all cared more for their own happiness. But I will do my duty.”

  “To whom? How did this treasure come to be? This giant’s charade? Was there ever a giant? Do you even know?”

  “Of course I know!”

  “Then tell me.” Jack took a step forward, eyes beseeching. “Please. I only want to understand.”

  Oh, and how Rion yearned to be understood. He went to the ledge and gazed down into the valley far below. Jack stood beside him. Rion exhaled and began the tale. “There was a giant once. He came from your land, where he was mistreated and abused, considered a freak as he kept growing, heads above the other men.”

  Jack laughed without humor. “A familiar tale thus far.”

  “Yes. But the giant—Balor was his name—he left the valley. Braved the cliffs and the sea, and survived. Across the sea he was welcomed, and found his fortune mining deep into the mountains. There are elves there who granted him the gift of magic in return for a favor. If my family ever knew what it was, the knowledge has been lost over the centuries.”

  “So how did he come to build this castle? Why return to the place he was so hated?”

  Rion shrugged. “Revenge, I suppose. To lord his riches and magic over the people who had tormented him so. Do you never imagine your own revenge?”

  “Sometimes. Yes. But…”

  “What?”

  “But I’ve wanted happiness more. Escape. Revenge would bring a satisfaction that would be cold in the end, I think.”

  Rion considered this. “Perhaps that’s true.” He smiled ruefully. “Balor wouldn’t agree. Although he brought back a wife from across the sea and had many children that begat my family line, taunting the people of the valley was his passion. That’s why the beanstalk exists.”

  “To dangle the possibility of riches before them.” Jack shook his head. “He was more successful than he could have dreamed. All these generations later, you’re still hoarding the treasure, a slave to revenge.”

  Jerking his head up, Rion curled his hands into fists. “I’m no slave!”

  “But you are. Don’t you see? Your ancestors turned the people below into villains that controlled your family’s destiny. Even after Balor and those who ridiculed him were but ashes, it goes on. Your Outsiders are raised to hate and fear the greedy giant in the clouds, and you stay here guarding a treasure that only grows old.”

  “It is my responsibility. I must honor my family’s wishes.” He’d said the words to himself so many times, and now they sounded hollow to his own ears.

  “To what end?” Jack reached out, but Rion dodged out of reach. “That treasure does nothing but gather dust, generation after generation. You can’t take it with you to the other side. You could help people with it now. Many starve and suffer. Orphans with no hope. No one to care for them. You could change that.”

  Jack’s words echoed thoughts Rion had ruthlessly silenced for years. He shook his head roughly, driving those thoughts away. “Stop. I see your game. I’ve been reckless. A fool.”

  “We’ve both wasted so many years. For what?” Jack grabbed Rion’s shoulders, eyes imploring. “Now that I’ve found you, I don’t want to let you go. Leave with me. We can’t stay here forever. There’s a whole world waiting. We can’t live in fear. Not anymore.”

  Rion fought the desperate urge to crush Jack to him and say yes. “Jack, I…”

  “It falls to you now, Rion. My brave boy.”

  He shoved Jack away as his father’s voice echoed in his mind. No. He could not abandon his duty. “I can never be the man you want me to be.”

  Jack stepped forward. “Come now, let’s not argue. We have only just begun to know the kind of men we are and we do not have to decide on our destiny today.”

  Rion swallowed thickly and nodded. He could not bear the thought of being alone again, not now that he’d had Jack, kissed him and felt him from the inside and out. But neither could he walk away from his duty. It was all he’d ever known.

  * * * * *

  Jack stood at the edge of the opening in the great hall, staring down numbly at the beanstalk.

  Nothing had been the same since Rion had shown him the kite. In the ensuing weeks, Jack found he could not leave well enough alone. It seemed that the taste of freedom was intoxicating to him, and now that he’d sampled it, throwing caution to the wind and setting off up the beanstalk, his safety and all he’d ever known be damned, he wanted more of it.

  The castle, though it met their every need, soon felt as lonely and empty as his existence as a manure hauler had been before. Worse, even, in that he did not have any work to keep him busy.

  At first Rion’s arms and the pleasure they took in each other had seemed like more than enough. The joy of being fed with ripe, delicious foods whenever he was hungry, the sweetness of conversation with a man who shared his love of books, the library and its vast riches, and the eager, delicious joining of their flesh had more than distracted him from the emptiness of their life in the clouds. But only for a time.

  “How can you stand to be so idle?” Jack had eventually demanded.

  “We are not idle. We guard the treasure. It is what we do. Every moment of every day, I am vigilant.”

  “Are you vigilant when you’re fucking me? When you’re finally living after all this time?”

  “It is my calling,” Rion stubbornly insisted.

  “But is it?” Jack always asked. “How do you know that it is your calling if you do not even know why you do it?”

  “Because my family has guarded the treasure for—”

  “I know, I know!” Jack had said, at last tired of the same explanation. “And I beg of you to see this castle for the prison that it is. The duty you claim for yourself is unnecessary. There is so much more out there, Rion. Places for us to go, adventures for us to have, people for us to help. Come—leave with me. Please.”

  “I cannot.”

  The disagreement began to poison things between them. In the end, they’d fought loudly, and Rion had stormed away for fresh air, leaving Jack frustrated and certain of one thing. When Rion had returned, Jack had said, “I should leave. Shouldn’t I?”

  He had waited, hoping to hear Rion say, “Don’t go! Stay forever!”

  But instead, Rion had nodded his head, looking as ill as Jack had felt, and said, “Yes. You should go.”

  One last night in Rion’s arms, and now he was here at the stalk again. They’d been fooling themselves, pretending they were something other than enemies. Something other t
han strangers. It had been a lovely dream, but it was over.

  It seemed now that Rion would not even say goodbye. Jack gazed around again, listening for approaching footsteps. But the castle was silent as a mausoleum. He peered down again at the stalk. It had grown, but was still a dangerous distance away from the opening. But he couldn’t seem to care. What am I going back to? A debt I can’t pay. A family and village that abhor me.

  Even if he left the valley, what would he do on his own? What if the fear and hatred of his hair extended to other parts of the world? The idea of leaving with Rion on his side had made so many of his fears disappear. Now they’d all returned tenfold.

  Sighing, he sat down on the edge, dangling his feet into the air.

  “Wait!”

  Rion appeared, as if he’d been watching from some hidden position. Jack got back to his feet to face him. Rion held out a small velvet pouch. “For your debt. And to start a new life.”

  Jack shook his head. “I can’t.”

  “You must take this.” Rion took Jack’s hand and slammed the pouch into it. “Don’t be a fool. You owe a debt.”

  “So instead now it will be you that I owe.” The pouch was heavy in Jack’s hand.

  “No. It’s a gift. There is no debt between us.”

  Jack opened the pouch, his eyes going wide. “This is gold! It’s far too much.”

  “It’s nothing. Take it. Use it well.”

  “Why will you not reconsider?” Jack stepped in, wrapping his arms around Rion’s waist. He dropped the pouch to the floor with a dull thunk. “It’s you I want. We could be happy together. I know we could.”

  Rion was unyielding. “I’ve told you why I must stay. Next winter I will find a wife. I will honor my family.”

  Anger lanced through Jack. “She won’t make you happy. She won’t give you what I can.” He grabbed Rion’s face in his hands and kissed him roughly. Rion was a statue, and Jack bit his lip. “Stop denying yourself!”

  With a groan, Rion came to life, kissing him back. They stumbled to the floor, and Jack straddled Rion’s hips, grinding down as their lips met and tongues dueled. They kicked and yanked off their tunics and trousers, both moaning as their skin and straining cocks met.

  Jack lifted up to his knees and lowered himself onto Rion’s cock. Without the oil it was rough, but he wanted it that way. “Going to feel you even in the morn.”

  Eyes darkening, Rion growled, thrusting up into Jack’s arse. “And the next morn.”

  Rion gripped Jack’s hips with fingers so tight Jack knew his fair skin would be bruised. He moaned and pinched Rion’s nipples. “Harder. More.”

  As he rode Rion’s cock, Jack took in every detail of Rion’s face and chest, his neck and shoulders, the curl of his hair as sweat dampened it. He felt complete with Rion inside him, as if the missing piece of himself had finally been found. Not only his physical hunger was sated, but the hollowness in his soul.

  Their eyes locked, and they fucked as if their lives depended on it, striving together hard and all too fast. Jack never wanted it to end, but Rion took hold of Jack’s cock, pumping it in time with the upward thrusts of his cock in Jack’s arse. Rion reached up with his other hand and threaded his fingers in Jack’s hair.

  The pleasure was a tidal wave crashing over him, and Jack tipped his head back, riding each spasm. When he opened his eyes he saw that his seed splattered Rion’s chest and neck. As Rion pumped into him, breath coming in short bursts, Jack spread his seed across Rion’s skin.

  The hot rush inside him as Rion spent was something he wanted to treasure. He squeezed, and Rion moaned his name as he jerked with another load. Jack kept Rion’s softening prick inside him as they came down, and Rion reached up to trace the curve of Jack’s lips. Jack kissed Rion’s fingertips.

  And then it was over.

  They dressed quickly without cleaning themselves. The pouch of gold sat on the floor, and Rion bent to pick it up. There was a ribbon to keep it closed, and Rion pulled on it, producing a longer loop that he put around Jack’s neck before tucking the pouch beneath Jack’s tunic.

  Jack relented. “Thank you. One day I’ll repay you.”

  Rion turned away. “You should go now.”

  It might have been Jack’s imagination—or wishful thinking—but Rion’s voice sounded strained. “Rion. If you would just—”

  “Goodbye, Jack.” Rion faced him again, eyes dry.

  His heart a lead block in his chest, Jack went to the edge. Without a word, Rion gripped his hands and lowered him down. Jack let go with his left hand and reached out for the tip of the stalk, his fingers grazing it. In the time he’d been at the castle, it had grown. Rion lowered himself to his stomach, and Jack was able to get a firm grip.

  “I’ve got it.”

  But still Rion held on.

  Jack looked up at him. “You have to let go now.” He said a silent prayer that Rion would haul him back up.

  With a final squeeze, Rion released him. The wind was calm, and Jack shimmied down easily until he had the stalk with both his hands and feet. It felt solid and dependable in his grasp. He glanced back up and smiled for a moment.

  Then he began his descent, and although he felt Rion’s eyes on him, he didn’t look back up once, even when his feet reached solid ground.

  Chapter Seven

  As he made his way through town to the slaughterhouse, the stares and whispers were tenfold what they normally were. Jack wore no cap, and he could feel the villagers’ avid gaze as if it was a physical force brushing against him. Head high, he walked on.

  The butcher’s eyes widened as Jack crossed the threshold of the abattoir, and the old man herded him out with insistent shoves. He gave Jack an appraising look before clearing some phlegm from his throat and spitting it onto the blood-soaked grass. “Yer late.”

  “Here’s my debt. Plus interest.” Jack held out the coins in his palm.

  The butcher snatched them up as if they might disappear into thin air at any moment. “Good, good. Now be gone.”

  Jack was only too happy to oblige. Instead of taking the long way back to the cottage, he went straight through town once more. Even more people had gathered, their words only hisses on the wind as Jack passed by. Mothers herded their children inside, their playthings abandoned in the dirt. Jack considered making some kind of display to frighten everyone even further, but it made him think of Rion, and he had to take a deep breath over the twist of pain in his chest.

  In the cottage, he surveyed his meager belongings stacked by his pallet. While he felt a pang at leaving the books, he realized there was nothing he wanted to take from his old life but some necessary clothing. The sun was setting, and he knew it was wise to wait for morning to head out, although the thought of spending another night in the wretched building made his skin crawl.

  The sensation increased a hundredfold as Adair burst through the door.

  “You’ve returned! Thank God. We worried you’d met your end.” Adair brimmed with empty concern. His eyes flicked up to Jack’s uncovered hair and he flinched.

  Jack’s smile was wry. “Yes, I’m sure my mother and sister have had many a sleepless night.” He turned away and began opening and closing kitchen cupboards, pretending interest in their contents. His pouch of gold hung around his neck, resting safely against his chest beneath his tunic, and he resisted the urge to clutch it in his fist protectively.

  “Come now, let’s not quarrel.”

  Jack snorted. “Whyever not? What do you want? Leave me in peace.”

  Adair’s voice lowered as he drew near. “There was a time when we were the closest of friends. I realized these past days how much I’ve missed you.”

  Jack whirled and dodged Adair’s outstretched arm. “We were never friends. I was your plaything. Always at your beck and call, pleasuring you with no thought of myself until the day you cast me aside without a backward glance. Without explanation.”

  For a moment, an expression that appeared to be genuine re
gret crossed Adair’s features. “I had no choice.”

  Jack’s laugh was harsh to his own ears. “You tired of me. Don’t pretend otherwise. It’s pointless.”

  Adair hesitated, about to speak but seeming to think better of it.

  “What, no pretty lie ready to slither from your tongue? You’re losing your touch.”

  As he sighed, Adair’s polished artifice seemed to crumble away. “A servant saw you climbing from my window. She told my mother, who kept it from my father at least. She demanded I marry one of the daughters of the neighboring baron. There was nothing else I could do.”

  The truth at last. Jack smirked. “Nothing else? Why not one of the baron’s daughters? But no, instead you married lowly Damara to spite your mother’s decree.”

  “I suppose you do know me well, Jack.”

  “Oh yes. I know you.” Jack’s smile was razor sharp. “You could have married anyone, but instead you chose to fuck my sister for the rest of your life since you couldn’t fuck me.”

  “It had nothing to do with you!” Adair puffed up with fury, eyes flashing. “Nothing!”

  The twisted satisfaction was something at least, and Jack quelled the urge to laugh, instead waving carelessly at the door. “It doesn’t matter now. You did me a favor in the end. After all, it’s not as if you ever cared for me.”

  Adair wavered, thoroughly ensnared. Jack could practically see the wheels turning in Adair’s mind. Admit to any feeling and prove Jack right…

  The false emotion returned to Adair’s visage, his eyes wide, hands outstretched in an impassioned plea. His voice trembling just the perfect amount. “You wrong me, Jack! Of course I cared for you. Would I be here if I hadn’t? If I didn’t?”

  “Your concern is truly touching. You can see yourself out.”

  Instead, Adair took a step forward, his voice lowering. “You did it, didn’t you? You can tell me.”

  “Did what?” Jack could feel the tips of his ears burning.

  “You climbed it! You’ve found the treasure.” Adair went on, excited. “I know you did. “All these years you’ve wanted to conquer it, and you have. How did you best the giant? Where is the treasure?” He glanced around the cottage. “Hidden, of course. But I know you have it.”