Ascending Hearts

by Leta Blake

Shaking his head, Rion stumbled to his trunk and pulled out a sword. It hadn’t been sharpened in years as he’d had no one to spar with, but it would do. He unsheathed it and unbolted the door before staggering toward the great hall. Another bellow followed, and Rion allowed himself a small smile. He’d know the shout of the mask’s amplification anywhere. Jack was playing the role of the giant with great aplomb from the sounds of it.

  His head spun, and he grabbed for the wall. He was almost to the walkway overlooking the great hall, and from below frantic voices wailed.

  “T’ hell with this!”

  “I told you there was a giant!”

  “I’m first!”

  Rion lurched to the railing just in time to see three of the men tussling at the portal for a length of rope tied to a pillar. Two of them got the upper hand, and they fought bitterly at the ledge. As Jack’s shout boomed again, one of them started and lost his balance. For a long moment, he wheeled his arms, eyes like saucers as he hovered at the edge.

  Then gravity won the battle, as it always did.

  As the man’s scream faded into nothing, the two remaining men stared at each other mutely. Then one nodded. “You first.”

  They soon disappeared through the portal. So that left two men, including the leader who had wielded his belt. Assuming Rion had seen all the men when he’d practically raced straight into them. He cursed himself for his folly. He’d been so sure it was Jack returning that he hadn’t even thought to use caution.

  Rion went to the top of the stairs but stumbled, tripping on the rubble of the shattered statue. On his knees, he fought for breath, his entire body aching as if it was on fire from the inside out. As he tried to gain his footing, voices approached from the direction of the kitchen downstairs.

  Heart seizing, Rion fought the burst of panic. Then he realized that it didn’t matter. Let them have the damn treasure. What had it ever brought him but grief? It was time to put an end to it.

  “Get back here! We are not finished!”

  “Forget it, Adair. There is a giant here and I’m not gonna wait around to be torn limb from limb!” The young man raced to the rope.

  Adair. Rage boiled through Rion, propelling him to his feet. He’d kill the bastard.

  The man at the ledge was tangled in the rope in his panic, and he spun around. As he turned his back, Adair lifted his foot and with one efficient motion sent the man tumbling to his end.

  Coward! Rion clutched his sword and descended the stairs as quietly as he could. There was too much light now to hide, and Adair whirled. After a blink of surprise, a cold grin creased his face.

  “Come to give me the pleasure of finishing you off? How sporting.”

  Rion didn’t bother with words, instead thrusting with his sword. Adair darted back out of harm’s way, his smile faltering. They circled each other. Rion’s sword skills were rusty, but he remembered enough. He lashed out, slicing Adair’s arm through his tunic and drawing a furious shout.

  “Why should you get to keep the treasure? Or this giant?” He glanced around the great hall. “This giant who does not show his face!”

  “I’ll give you one chance to live.” Rion jerked his head toward the portal. “Go now. Never return.”

  “How did wretched Jack find the gold? It isn’t fair!”

  Rion flinched. “I said go now!”

  Adair regarded him with a new gleam. “You know Jack, do you? Was it you who gave him the gold? Bet I can guess what he did to earn that.”

  Clenching his jaw, Rion thrust with a sword, but Adair danced out of the way.

  “Oh, yes. Worth every shilling. I should know, since I was the first to have his tight arse. How he loved going to his knees for me. He was like a dog, ever at heel, so eager to please. Such a lovely little whore, even if he’s ugly as sin. At times I wished I could put a sack over his head so I wouldn’t have to see even a glimpse of that hair.”

  With a growl, Rion lunged. Adair sidestepped and yanked on the hilt of Rion’s sword, and they tumbled to the floor. His advantage gone, Rion struggled to fight back, but his head swam as Adair slammed it into the stone. With a last burst, Rion rolled on top of Adair, hand at the man’s throat as he squeezed.

  It was no good—he was too weakened. They rolled again, and Rion found himself at the portal, his head and shoulders dangling back into the air. He clawed at Adair’s face, trying for his eyes.

  Straddling him, Adair smiled, batting him away as if he was toying with a kitten. “I regret that I can’t dally longer, but I have a treasure to find.”

  As the sword tip appeared through Adair’s chest, Rion blinked in confusion. Adair’s smile faded, and he gazed down at the spreading bloom of blood staining his tunic. He turned to look over his shoulder. “Jack?”

  Jack moved into Rion’s field of vision, a grim expression on his face. With a mighty tug, he removed the sword from where he’d plunged it into Adair’s back. “Yes, Adair. It’s Jack.” He shoved Adair to the side and pulled Rion back to safety. “Are you hurt?”

  Rion could only laugh, his ribs aching. “Yes.” At Jack’s stricken expression, he added, “I’ll live.”

  Jack took Rion’s face in his hands and kissed him soundly. “Good.”

  They both inched away as Adair wobbled to his feet at the ledge of the portal, listing from side to side. He rubbed his hand across the blood dripping from his chest and lifted it to his face, blinking. “You’ve killed me, Jack.”

  “Yes. I have.” Jack’s voice was steel, but his hand trembled. Rion clasped it in his own, threading their fingers together.

  “You always were a surprise.”

  With that, Adair sailed back into the air and was gone. Rion and Jack shared a glance and then crawled to the edge. Aside from the curled end of the stalk below, there were only clouds, thin enough that one could spot patches of green far below in the valley.

  They leaned against each other, breathing deeply. Rion tried to speak, and could do little more than croak, so Jack hurried off to bring him some water. He held the cup to Rion’s lips and helped him drink. It was cool and Rion felt as though he could drink for days. When the cup was drained he leaned back against the wall.

  “Thank you.”

  “Of course.” Jack brushed back the hair from Rion’s forehead.

  “Not for the water. For coming back. They caught me unaware. I would be dead if not for you.”

  Jack’s cheeks flushed and he glanced away, eyes downcast. “They wouldn’t have come here at all if not for me. Adair guessed where I’d gone. Knew I’d come back with gold. I’m sorry. As soon as I realized I came as fast as I could.” He caressed Rion’s cheek. “I hate that they spilled even a drop of your blood.”

  “It’s not your fault. It’s theirs. It’s Adair’s.” He spat the last word, the name vile on his tongue. “He was the author of his own demise. Remember that.”

  Jack nodded. Then he smiled sadly. “My sister is a widow. I’m sorry for her. For the children.”

  “Do you…do you want to go back? If your family is in need…” Rion held his breath, uttering a selfish prayer in his mind.

  But Jack only laughed ruefully. “Believe me, I’m the last person they’d want to see. No, the baron will provide for them. They’ll want for nothing. It’s for the best.”

  “Do you think anyone will come to avenge them?”

  A smile creased Jack’s face. “After their defeat at the fearsome giant’s hands, no one will go near the stalk all summer.” His smile faded. “Come now. We have to see to your wounds.”

  “Wait. I want to show you something.”

  Jack frowned. “What?”

  “Just come along.” Rion grimaced as pain shot through his body. He ignored Jack’s reproachful look but didn’t argue when Jack wrapped his arm around Rion’s waist and supported him as they walked to the kitchen. He sat by the hearth for a moment, resting while Jack lit a candle at Rion’s request.

  While the whole castle was cold most months of the year,
the pantry was barely above freezing. Rion had never questioned the freshness of the food, but realized now that Jack had mentioned it, that it must be somehow enchanted.

  “Are you hungry? I can bring you a tray in bed.” Jack’s frown deepened in the candlelight as they entered the pantry.

  Rion didn’t answer, just kept moving until he reached the far corner where sacks of flour and sugar were stacked. He placed his hand on the wall and waited a moment. Then, without so much as a groan, the stone swung away, revealing another chamber. Rion glanced back at Jack as he stepped over the flour and sugar, beckoning him on with a smile.

  As Jack followed with the candle, Rion’s smile vanished and nausea roiled in his gut. Gone.

  Jack peered around the empty chamber curiously. “What am I meant to be looking at?” He examined Rion closely. “Were you unconscious for any period of time? Perhaps you’re confused. We really must get you to bed.”

  “I’m not confused! It was here! The treasure has always been here. Always. Piled from floor to ceiling, more riches than you could imagine.”

  Jack blanched. “I’m sorry. God, I’m sorry. But how? They didn’t take anything!” He waved the candle around, holding it high and then low. “Wait. What’s that?”

  Blinking, Rion struggled to focus. In the center of the chamber sat a worn-looking canvas sack. He approached it cautiously and sank to his knees. Was he dreaming? Was this all in his mind? He reached out for Jack, needing to feel him, warm and alive and real.

  “I’m here.” Jack pressed a kiss to Rion’s head. “Let’s see what we have.”

  With a tug, Rion opened the sack. They peered in, heads close, and Jack gasped aloud. Rion blinked and then rubbed his eyes. He glanced at Jack. “Do you see it?”

  Jack nodded, face a vision of wonder. “I see it.”

  Looking into the sack, it seemed to go on forever, glittering jewels and coins stretching to infinity. Yet when Rion lifted the sack, it was as light as a pound of sugar.

  “How?” Jack asked.

  “I don’t know. But I think…I think it’s ready to go.”

  “And are you? Are you sure?”

  Rion took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Yes.” He pressed their lips together. “Yes.”

  He was free. Truly and forever. Free.

  * * * * *

  “Rion, must you be so stubborn?”

  “Yes.” As he leaned against the bedpost, Rion crossed his arms. “I must.”

  A smile twitched at Jack’s lips and he worked to stifle it. “It’s not enough to have been only a week abed. You’ve barely had time to heal.”

  “I’m as good as new. I don’t need a nursemaid. Not anymore, at least. I’m perfectly capable of bathing.”

  “All right. Rest while I prepare the bath.” Jack glanced over his shoulder, eyebrow raised.

  “Yes, yes,” Rion grumbled. “Resting.”

  Rion smartly kept his tub in the kitchen since he had no servants to haul buckets of hot water. Jack whistled as he went about heating the water in a large pot over the hearth. It took several pots before he had a proper amount for a bath. He turned to go fetch Rion and found him in the doorway, stark naked.

  Jack’s mouth went dry. While Rion still sported bruises, his cuts had healed well. Jack yearned to caress his broad chest. Rion’s thick cock and big bollocks hung between his powerful thighs, swelling already under Jack’s hungry gaze. Their eyes locked, and Jack jerked his head toward the tub.

  Silently, Rion crossed the kitchen and sank into the steaming water with a sigh. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes. The tub wasn’t big enough for him to extend his legs, and his knees flopped open against the sides. Desire simmering in his veins, Jack kneeled beside the tub and rolled up the sleeves of his tunic. He picked up a wedge of soap.

  He started at Rion’s head, dunking his head gently to rinse the soap from his thick hair, which curled around Jack’s fingers when it was wet. He moved on to Rion’s shoulders and arms, soaping him carefully and following with a cloth. Rion murmured contentedly. As Jack circled the soap around Rion’s nipples, Rion moaned low in his throat, one of his hands moving down to grasp his cock.

  “No.” Jack plucked Rion’s arm from the water and rested it over the side of the tub. “Not yet.”

  Rion’s eyes darkened with need, and he licked his lips.

  As Jack cleaned Rion’s belly, he could feel the curve of Rion’s cock nudging his hand. He flicked his thumb across the head, and Rion gasped, arching his hips with a sly smile. But the smile disappeared as Jack moved to the foot of the tub and went to work on Rion’s feet.

  By the time he brushed the cloth across Rion’s inner thighs, Rion was fairly whimpering. “Jack. Please.”

  Eyes locked on Rion’s, Jack drew the soapy cloth under Rion’s bollocks to his hole. Lips parted with shallow breaths, Rion slid down in the tub, pulling up his knees to his chest, the water lapping at his chin. Jack teased with the cloth, rubbing it against the sensitive flesh. Rion shuddered, eyes closing.

  Jack discarded the cloth at the bottom of the tub and ran his fingertip around the rim of Rion’s hole. Tentatively, he pushed it just inside. Rion moaned so loudly that Jack yanked back his hand. He peered at Rion’s face anxiously. “Are you all right?”

  Rion’s eyes snapped open. “I will be if you’d stop treating me like a delicate flower!” He pushed himself to his feet, splashing half the contents over Jack and the kitchen floor. He crushed Jack against him in a bruising kiss. “I want you to fuck me. Enough teasing.”

  Jack swallowed hard. “Truly?”

  “Truly.” Rion stepped from the tub and wrapped his arms around Jack, grinding his erection against Jack’s answering hardness, still confined by his breeches. “I know what it is to fuck you. To spill my seed deep inside you. You’re tight and hot as an oven, and it’s heaven with my cock in you. I want to know what you feel.”

  Jack could only groan and kiss Rion deeply. Rion reached down between then and tugged open Jack’s breeches to free his straining flesh. “I want to be fucked with your hard cock. Be stretched open. Be filled by you.”

  Nodding, Jack stumbled back and they practically ran to Rion’s chamber. Jack yanked off his clothes and they dived onto the bed, their laughter ringing. Jack pressed kisses to Rion’s wet skin, rolling him onto his back and teasing his nipples until Rion writhed beneath him, begging.

  Jack shimmied down between Rion’s legs. He pushed them apart, and Rion bent his knees, his feet flat on the mattress, before lifting up so Jack could put a pillow beneath his hips. Ducking his head, Jack sucked at Rion’s bollocks as Rion moaned his pleasure. His tongue darting out, Jack licked down the skin that led to Rion’s hole.

  On a whim, he drew Rion’s hips up and pressed his mouth to the puckered flesh. He traced Rion’s hole with his tongue, and Rion gasped, shivering beneath Jack’s touch.

  “Oh God. Don’t stop,” Rion muttered.

  Jack knew how pleasurable fingers or a cock could be in his own hole, but he’d never considered a tongue. Boldly, he plunged his inside Rion, who cried out. Jack laved and sucked on Rion’s hole, fucking it with his tongue and mouth until Rion could only moan, limbs quivering at Jack’s touch. It was a heady rush, to have Rion so under his power. Jack wanted so much to bring Rion the deepest pleasure, to fit into his body like a hand into a glove, for that was how they felt together.

  The oil sat on the bedside table where they’d left it a week ago. They’d slept curled together each night since Jack’s return, but Rion had been too injured to do anything strenuous, despite his protestations. But now, Jack reached for it gladly, pushing his slick fingers inside Rion’s virgin hole.

  He wanted to see Rion’s face as he entered him. Cautiously, he lifted one of Rion’s legs and placed it on his shoulder. Nodding, Rion lifted the other, and Jack leaned over him, opening him. With his cock oiled, Jack lifted Rion’s hips again and pushed against his hole.

  Rion closed his eyes, lips a thin l
ine as Jack inched his cock inside. Jack’s arms shook as he kept himself in check, wanting so much to recklessly plunge inside Rion’s heat. Instead he pressed gentle kisses to Rion’s eyes and cheeks, his chin and forehead, the tip of his nose. “I love you,” he murmured.

  Opening his eyes, Rion smiled. “I’m yours.”

  They kissed, tongues winding together, and Jack thrust all the way, buried to the hilt in Rion’s incredible heat. He was patient, moving inch by inch as Rion adjusted to the burn. Before long, Rion was squeezing around him, urging him to thrust harder, harder, harder.

  Bending Rion practically in half, Jack fucked him, stretching him open as he begged for more. Reaching between their slick bodies, Jack stroked Rion’s leaking cock, angling his hips one way and the next until Rion cried out, vibrating like a string plucked on a lute as Jack found the spot.

  Rion’s hot seed spurt from his cock in long strands, and he clamped down on Jack, head thrown back, mouth open in ecstasy. Jack thrust faster, his bollocks tightening as his own release overtook him, his seed pumping deep into Rion’s body. Shaking, Jack cried out Rion’s name.

  He pulled out gently, lowering Rion’s legs to the bed before stretching out atop him, resting his head on Rion’s chest. Beneath his ear, he could hear the thump-thump-thump of Rion’s heartbeat matching his own, eventually slowing as they came back down. Rion wrapped his arms around Jack and kissed the top of his head.

  “I suppose I need another bath.”

  Their laughter filled the room, and Jack imagined it must ring out across the whole of the sky.

  Epilogue

  “Ready?”

  The wide ledge of the terrace felt impossibly narrow beneath Jack’s feet. He pressed back against Rion’s reassuring warmth. The kite had wrapped them and their only possession, the worn canvas sack, securely in its silk. There was nothing to do now but leap. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky this day, and in the distance the sea glittered, a deep blue of endless possibilities.

  “You’re sure this will fly?”

  Rion’s chuckle tickled the back of Jack’s neck. “There’s only one way to find out.”