by Auryn Hadley
"Think about that." She lifted her brow, making it clear she expected him to think hard.
"Saying if he tries to hit on me, I should just politely turn him down, and that'll be the end of it?"
"I'm saying he wouldn't try because he might like to keep his damned balls. Same reason you don't flirt with me, even though you aren't that picky. It's not that you won't look, but I can trust you because we have an understanding."
"Yeah, but Temotio? I need to tell him."
"You don't." He tone left no room for debate.
Gregori groaned. "Leyli, you don't understand. It's not right for that to, you know? I mean, you want to put two ladies together, and I'm not going to complain, but not men."
"Oh, keep digging that hole, Gregori. This is almost amusing, if you weren't pissing me off."
"Nah, I'll be nice. I mean, I'm not the one gonna be spending hours with him alone. Thing is, I'm just worried about Temotio. He keeps to himself a lot anyway, and it isn't like he's got some woman to run home to or use as a good excuse. What if he feels pressured, you know, to keep his position as Captain?"
"He'll talk to Tristan."
"Leyli!"
She grabbed his arm and shook gently. "Shut the fuck up, Gregori. Get your bigoted mind in gear. Next thing I know, you'll be saying I need to let Connall rule, because he's got the dick. Or maybe I should go back to sewing and just worry about the babies? Should I lay on my back and do nothing but pray for conception? I thought you respected me for being honest about who I am? Why is it any different for them?"
Gregori's mouth dropped open. "Them?" He turned back to the sands. "Oh shit, Leyli. What are we going to do? Temotio, too?"
"You," she ordered, "are going to get over your foolishness or Armando will become my shadow. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Highness." He stepped back. "Temotio?"
"You think I wanted to fall in love with a gladiator?" Her voice was low, but there was intensity in the near-whisper. "You think we get to pick? You think they wanted this? If you consider either man your friend, then stop and think about how hard it must be. Connall keeps telling me that he isn't much of a man, and yet he's done nothing but protect all of us in his own way. How is that different from what you do, fucking some innocent girl on a borrowed coverlet? Who the fuck do you think we should be worried about?"
"Yeah, but - "
She cut him off. "But when you didn't talk to her again, I'm sure she had no worries about it. I'm sure she didn't sit there, counting the days to make sure she didn't have your bastard. I'm sure that poor girl isn't worried at all about finding a man who will marry her, take care of her, and not abuse her, because she can't sell him her maidenhead. You fucking cock. You ruin lives over and over and think it's your right because you have a damned dick between your legs?"
With each word she shoved her finger into his chest. "You arrogant and self centered prick. It's men like you that made me worthless for most of my life. You're so proud of yourself because you're guarding my back, but you're not ashamed of the dozens of girls you leave crying over their lost future? What the fuck would happen to you if I treat you like that? What if I dismiss you from the guard tomorrow, because you no longer amuse me?"
"You can't," he breathed, knowing very well that it was within her power.
She thrust her chin up at him. "No? Why not?"
"I'd be ruined. I have no lands, Leyli. I have nothing but some empty title that my older brother gets. I'm Lord Gregori, master of nothing. The only thing it was good for was getting me into the guard. It's all I have!"
She stared at him, letting that sink in. "Yeah. Your whole life hinges on one single thing. So did mine." She tilted her head to Connall. "So does his. The thing is different for each of us, but it's still that thread that holds our lives together. He didn't ask for this. You didn't ask for this. I didn't ask for this. Pull your bigoted head out of your ass and talk to them. That, my friend, is an order."
"I understand, Highness." He swallowed, looking down at her. "I'll try, Leyli. I can't promise not to feel awkward, but I'll try. I'll probably piss off Temotio doing it, though."
"Yeah? Like you piss me off? Be honest and we'll get over it. Listen and think, and you might find that he's no different from you."
"It's gonna be weird."
"No," she told him. "It's not. If you can't accept the complications that surround the Heir of Norihame, you're welcome to quit your position. I'm deadly serious, Gregori. You will learn to accept this, or you will learn to find another profession. One where I don't have to worry about the stories you will tell. I don't want to lose my friend, so I hope you figure it out."
Chapter 43
It was almost a week later when Connall stopped by her rooms with Temotio in tow. Gregori was on duty while Tristan talked to the King about using Leyli's wedding as an excuse to demonstrate the new gladiator laws Connall had devised. She had a feeling that her father wanted to talk about more than just the event, and knew Tristan would tell her when he got back.
As soon as the men walked into her sitting room, Gregori tensed. He tried to hide it by fumbling to open a bottle of wine, but Leyli wasn't the only one who saw. Temotio sighed and rubbed at his head, then offered a weak smile to Leyli. He moved to take a chair but Gregori stopped him.
"Hey, Temotio? Lock the sitting room door?"
He looked up. "Worried that two of us aren't enough to protect the Highnesses?"
"Yeah, when we're in the other room." Gregori lifted the bottle. "Wanna share? Haven't seen much of you lately, and figured we could catch up, since they don't need chaperones."
Leyli caught Temotio's eye and nodded. Connall dropped into a chair across from her and propped his feet on the other. "We're good. I also have a free afternoon, so take as long as you need."
"Astrid's out," Leyli called back as the two guards left. "Feel free to use her room."
"Thanks, Leyli," Gregori said. A moment later, the door to the maid's room closed.
Connall sat back up. "What's that about?"
"Gregori's trying."
The Prince's face fell. "He figured it out?"
"Yeah. That one's like a damned terrier, remember? He'll worry something until he gets an answer, so I told him he needed to get over it."
"And you think that's going to work? Leyli, that's not how men think."
"Is for the Heir's shadow. He makes an effort or he finds a new line of work. Unfortunately for him, this is all he has."
Connall reached over and patted her hand. "That's sweet of you, but you can't make him be ok with us. Don't be too hard on him."
"It's Gregori. If he'd already made up his mind to hate you, he never would have said a thing. He complains to start a conversation because he doesn't know any other way. He was also pretty close to Temotio before he was reassigned."
"So he'll feel betrayed."
"Nah." She waved her hand at the other room. "He'll feel embarrassed, and Gregori hates that. He'll also be enough of a man to talk. Oh, I'm sure he'll say something crass and vulgar. I'm also sure that he'll be strange around you for a while, but he will get over it."
The guards talked long enough that Leyli and Connall started a game of Go. Eventually, Tristan returned, but Leyli stopped him from interrupting them. An hour after that, Astrid's voice came from the other room, then she stormed out.
"Gregori just kicked me out of my room!"
Leyli giggled. "Man talk. They needed some space."
She rolled her eyes. "Sounds more like girl talk. They're talking about love, and Gregori's going on about how all the good women are taken."
Tristan looked at his sister. "And you?"
She shrugged. "Can't be a lady's maid if I'm married, Tristan."
He huffed at her. "That most certainly did not answer my question."
Astrid looked at Connall, then over to Leyli. "Dario asked if I would accompany him to the event. I've kinda been putting him off."
"Why?" Leyli asked.
; She bit at her lip and shrugged again. "Because I can't be a lady's maid if I'm married."
"There's no law against it. It's just that most husbands prefer that their wives know little about what happens in other bedrooms."
Connall grinned and leaned back, looking up at Astrid. "I think my wife can do anything she wants. You interested in this Dario?"
Leyli realized that none of them had ever told Connall about that secret. "He's my half brother. Alain, the Master of Horse, married Dad's mistress."
"So, he's a minor noble? Tell me, Highness, if Astrid marries into a title, doesn't that make her brother eligible for one?"
"I have one," Tristan said. "Secor."
"Mm. Yes, but that doesn't mean you can't be raised to a lordling." He winked. "One without lands, I think, so your responsibilities won't be divided."
Tristan patted Connall's arm. "Thanks for the thought, but don't make my sister feel pressured. I'd like at least one of us to have a real and very happy marriage."
"Well, I know a few other minor nobles." He lifted a hand. "Who like women, thank you very much. I think the Princess's maid would be an attractive draw. That is, if the Lyone-Aravatti attraction isn't a family trait."
Astrid giggled and shoved her face into her hands. "It might be. He keeps bringing me flowers and asking me to come ride with him. He doesn't understand that I don't know how to ride."
"Then you should learn." Leyli lifted her cup to her friend. "You know, for when we go out for whatever stupid noble crap we need to do. I'll schedule you with the Second Horseman, if you'd like."
"I can't learn to ride from Dario!"
Tristan gestured to Leyli. "She taught me. Careful, though. He might end up giving you a horse."
"Not Dario," Leyli assured them. "Master of Horse sees to the Royal Stables. He only owns two of his own, I think, and doesn't get paid enough to buy them frivolously. Now, your sister-in-law?" She tilted her head. "Well, I'm sure I have something getting fat and lazy in my stable that I don't need. I'm afraid that since my marriage, I haven't had as much time to ride as I wish."
"Gotta make sure she has something to match yours, or some dress, or whatever," Tristan teased
Leyli gave him an incredulous look. "I think you spent too much time dressing up as a gladiator."
Astrid laughed at that, but Connall quickly took a sip. When Tristan looked at him and lifted his brow, the Prince choked back a laugh. "What?"
"That's what I was going to ask," Tristan said.
The color rushing into Connall's face told on him before he could find an excuse. When everyone in the room started to laugh, he raised his hands in defeat. "Ok, ok. I may have been remembering that time I saw the Secor without his shirt on. I'm afraid that the games were not something I kept up with, but I do know that the armor does not cover much."
"Right arm," Tristan told him. "Bracers on the forearms. Rhian style armor skirt. Yeah, that's about it."
Connall glanced to the door and his eyes widened. Suddenly he sat up. "Gregori."
Leyli turned to see both Gregori and Temotio standing in the entrance from her bedroom. Temotio looked horrified, but Gregori just looked confused. He took a deep breath and walked in, rubbing at his mouth.
"That doesn't bother you, Tristan? Connall eying you like that?"
"Nope." Tristan tilted his head, looking hard at Gregori. "Why would it? No different from an old woman, or an ugly one. Doesn't bother me to have someone - anyone - think I look attractive. Doesn't mean I'm going to jump in his bed. I think Temotio might put a dagger in my back."
"But..." Gregori took a deep breath. "I'm trying, Leyli. Ok?"
"I know. Keep asking."
With a nod, he looked at Connall. "Temotio says you aren't interested in men that you know don't, um, like you."
Connall lifted his hand and tilted it back and forth. "Interested, no. No more than you want to rape some girl. It's the same thing. Doesn't mean I don't wish a man wouldn't change his mind, or can't see that he's fine to look at. I prefer my lovers to be enthusiastic, though."
"So you gonna be checking out my cock when I take a piss?"
Connall's brow furrowed, disgust flashing on his face. "No! You spend a lot of time checking out Astrid using the chamber pot, do you? What about when the ladies stop on a long trip to relieve themselves? Trying to get a glimpse? Is that how you like it?"
Gregori looked back at Temotio, who shrugged as if to say, "He's right". Turning back to Connall, Gregori took a deep breath, then moved to take an empty chair along the wall. Everyone in the room was watching, but for a long moment, Gregori just stared at the ground.
"It's strange," he told the room. "I don't respect Temotio any less." He looked up at the Captain. "Still brothers at arms. Always will be, but I can't wrap my mind around it. I just..." He waved his hand toward Connall. "He's got a hairy ass, Temotio. What the fuck, man?"
Leyli's mouth fell open, shocked. For a moment no one said anything, then Temotio chuckled softly. "He's got a tight ass. Just like that bitch you were bragging about last week. Guess we aren't so different."
Astrid whooped as she slapped her hands over her mouth. Tristan gasped, looking at Leyli. She squeaked out a giggle, but Connall flushed bright red, his head turned to his lover. Temotio lifted his palms and shrugged, but his eyes were on Gregori, waiting to see how he'd take it.
A smile was growing on Gregori's face, then he ducked his head. "I woulda preferred that the Princess didn't know about that."
"And I would have preferred she didn't walk in on me. So we're fair."
"Yeah." Gregori took a deep breath. "I got your back. Anyone says you're a man-lover and we'll go find some whores and make sure they all think they were wrong." He leaned back, as if he'd finally come to terms with it. "Don't worry, I'll fuck 'em." Then he looked up at the man who he's stood beside so many times, willing to die with. "You're sick, Temotio, but you're still my brother at arms. Nothing comes before that. We live and die together, and it doesn't matter who we fuck in between."
Temotio nodded, sighing in relief. "Thanks, Gregori. Doesn't mean you're not an insensitive ass, but I'll die with you."
"You too, Connall," Gregori said. "You're not bad for a queer, and you make a pretty damned good Prince."
"Thanks, I think."
Gregori laughed, gesturing to prove that he was joking. "Just make sure you fix up this gladiator thing. Don't want to hear that someone from my family ended up on the sands, and I'm not so sure it won't happen."
"I'm trying," Leyli told him.
"I know. That's why we're doing this thing, right?" Gregori rubbed at his face. "Ya know, this is going to be my first time to see the games? And I'll be watching from the Royal box?"
"You'll be watching for threats," Tristan reminded him.
"And you think those guys on the sands with all the weapons aren't a threat? Just saying. I may need to keep an eye on them. If I happen to get some ideas for how to improve my style, I won't complain."
Leyli gestured to Tristan. "Best in the games. You don't need to watch some hundred victory scrub to learn how to fight."
"Oh?" Tristan leaned over and poked her. "You think your forty-five wins makes you an expert?"
"Chained to you? Yes."
Connall lifted his hand, drawing their attention. "Ok, before this gets out of hand, we do have some things to think about. Theodian said he's bringing fifty fighters. Merino begged to be involved, but wasn't as thrilled with the idea of non-lethal fights. Tore was recommended by Theodian, and had some ideas to convince the crowd that giving the loser another chance might be even more exciting."
"And," Tristan said, dropping his elbows on the table, "Ilario plans to make an ordeal of his heir." He turned to her. "So he wants you in clothing that emphasizes the Gladiator Queen the public loves so much."
"I can do that."
Tristan smiled. "Good." He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her brow. "And he's going to tie the two decades of peace to the change
in the games. He wants to convince the public that it all comes back to you like some blessing of the gods."
"That will make it harder for Palino to subvert the throne."
Tristan nodded. "Yeah. I didn't know that the last war with Rhia ended the same day your mother announced her pregnancy with you."
Leyli's eyes went wide. "I didn't either."
Tristan nodded. "Ilario said that he'd just made the announcement to the court that he would be having a second child when the messenger arrived to say that the Emperor was willing to accept his terms."
Connall laughed, lifting a glass to her. "My wife and friend, the harbinger of peace. I think we need to use the goddess of war in the decor."
"Yeah," Tristan said. "May want to leave the god of Victory out of it, though."
"Um." Temotio scratched at his jaw. "I think we should use him. And Knowledge." He tilted his head at Connall. "The stories never confirm that War and Victory were lovers. It was always assumed, because they worked together, but War married Knowledge. I think the imagery is a little too apt. Use it. If you don't, someone else will, and they may not portray you the way you want."
Leyli pushed her chair back. "What will the priests say?"
Gregori jumped up. "I got it, Tristan."
"Trying to get away from the queers?" he asked.
Gregori shook his head. "No, sir. Wanted to thank the Princess for being enough of an ass to make me pull my head out of mine."
Tristan flipped his hand, giving Gregori permission to escort Leyli to the priests. "And that is why you got promoted. You're a dumb ass, Gregori, but you can be taught."
"Which is a step up from you, Lion." He ducked his head to the Secor, then grabbed Leyli's sword, belting it behind his back. "Highness? Shall we?"
"I can still carry a sword."
Gregori smiled. "Not in that dress you can't."
She grabbed her dagger from the table at the side and waved it in his face. "Keep it up. I'll geld you myself."
"Yeah? Just wait till your pregnant and I get to be overly protective."