Why did he wish to speak on it? Did Hamish even think it would be possible for them outside of adopting? Not that the idea didn’t hold some merit. It wouldn’t satisfy his father’s insistence on it being of Darshan’s blood, but it seemed plausible enough on the surface.
Hamish bent to collect a tankard Darshan hadn’t even noticed sitting at the foot of the railing.
Well, that certainly answers the question of when he last drank. Although, how many his lover had consumed was a far more pressing concern.
Hamish tipped back the tankard, shaking it to drain the last drop, and sighed in one blustery blast. “You’re right. We should focus on getting you through the other trials and…”
“See you settled in Minamist?” Darshan finished when his lover’s voice trailed off. “You are going to love it. The palace is set a little further back from the shore and we rather lack the imposing stature of your cliffs, but you can see the Stamekian shoreline on a clear day and—”
A new melody started up, livelier than the last and loud enough to jangle his hearing. Had those blasted shrieking instruments returned?
Still, Darshan took hold of his lover’s hands. He probably had enough in him to twirl for a bit. “Care for another dance?” he asked as if Hamish’s foot tapping to the beat wasn’t answer enough.
“Do you want to lead this one, too, or should I?”
Grimacing, Darshan ducked his head. “I admit, I am unfamiliar with this dance. Lead away.”
Hamish swept him into the middle of the mezzanine as the deep boom of a drum resounded through the great hall.
The dance started off quite simple. Although they held hands, Hamish remained at his side with one arm behind Darshan as they marched forward then back again to a steady, reedy tune.
In the distance, Darshan fancied he heard a voice calling out to the dancers below. Just as they’d done during that nightmare of sound and the crush of bodies he’d been unable to escape until finding himself here.
With one flick of his wrist, Hamish had Darshan twirling on the spot. He had taken perhaps three rotations before his lover grasped his hand and guided Darshan through a move akin to the four-step he had led them through earlier, only much faster.
The music picked up pace, the screeching of that dreadful Tirglasian instrument and the tattoo of drums overtaking the lighter notes. Hamish hooked his arm into the crook of Darshan’s elbow and they cavorted in their little two-man circle as the music swelled.
Having been forced into a similar move earlier, Darshan was able to keep his balance a little better this time. The heady beat, a combination of drums and stomping boots, thundered through his body nevertheless. His own feet pounded out the same tune as he did his best to match pace with Hamish.
Magic tingled through his body, temporarily ridding his muscles of weariness. That would eventually take its own toll.
He lost all sense of time, barely registered the music fluttering between the heart-stirring pounding and the lighter trills of flutes. Each change demanded a different action, but he somehow managed to follow along with Hamish.
Despite the weariness threatening to gnaw at his bones, he couldn’t help smiling. He had caught only glimpses of his lover dancing throughout the evening, but Hamish hadn’t displayed even a fraction of the unadulterated glee that now adorned his face. Such a sight was his alone to behold.
Hamish grasped him around the waist as the music climbed its way to an almost deafening crescendo. He deftly guided them as they twirled across the mezzanine, growing ever closer to the wall opposite the railing.
The drums stopped with a single echoing bang just as Darshan’s backside lightly connected with the brickwork surrounding the mezzanine’s window.
Darshan leant back against the ledge, breathless. His legs wobbled at the point of collapse. “I should take you dancing more often.” Getting caught up in the music was one of the best parts of Udynean soirées. The orgies that generally followed often being the other highlight.
Hamish chuckled. He also leant on the ledge, albeit with his arms on either side of Darshan. “As long as you’re nae as distant in public as you were tonight.”
“It appears I play my part as the uninterested foreigner all too well.”
Another tune started up, soft and slow, clearly meant as a breather between more exuberant dances.
Rather than suggest they participate in a third spell of cavorting around the mezzanine, Hamish seemed content to merely stand. “It’s nae that, you looked like your thoughts were out to sea.”
“Did I?” His mind was abuzz with so much, it could barely steady itself for more than a few minutes. Perhaps if they were to retire to some place a little quieter. “Is there somewhere we can be alone?”
“We are.”
Darshan shook his head. “Really alone. Just for a little while. It does not have to be physical,” he added in a rush when Hamish’s brow rose. He rather doubted he’d be good for more than just sitting there and that wasn’t acceptable. “I just… I hate all this hiding.” In a few more days, that would be over. Nevertheless, his nose wrinkled at the thought of having to continue this act for another moment. “There will be no more of it once I win.”
“Aye,” Hamish breathed, drawing closer. The scent of alcohol lingered on his breath, even after dancing for so long. “That would be nice.” His hands roamed almost idly down Darshan’s side.
In one clean move, Hamish fastened his hands onto Darshan’s hips and hoisted him up until he sat on the window ledge.
“Mea lux!” Darshan managed on the wings of a gasp before his lover’s lips were on him.
