He smiled up at his lover, trying to ignore the fluttering warmth the man’s words had infused in him. “I am sure that certain sacrifices could be made.” If things went to plan, he wouldn’t be some port in a storm for whoever sought to curry favour with the Mhanek. Growing out a beard because Hamish favoured the look was a trivial inconvenience in light of all he had witnessed the man suffer through these past few weeks.
“I see they’re already lining up for a dance,” Gordon said. The man had rocked back in his chair to give a disdainful look over his shoulder at the women clearly waiting for Hamish.
Hamish also looked over his brother’s shoulder and groaned. “That’s all I need, another night of being groped.”
Frowning, Darshan peered at the clump of women. To a one, they seemed hesitant, almost scared, to come any closer. Would any of them dare if Hamish chose to stay put?
Gordon gave his brother a sympathetic pat on the back. “It’ll be over soon.”
“I thought you enjoyed yourself last night,” Darshan said, deftly skewering a scant mouthful of roast beef onto the tines of his fork before it slipped into the range of Gordon’s questing fingers. “You seemed to be having fun.”
“As long as I stuck to dancing with the married women, aye it was a pleasant evening. But to be fair…” Hamish leant closer. “Nothing could compare to dancing with you the other night.”
Darshan smiled, the bubbly heat in his gut slowly pooling in his face. That night had been enjoyable and not because of where it had wound up.
“This is me now leaving the conversation,” Gordon mumbled into his mug before pushing himself away from the table and onto his feet.
Hamish scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Oh come on, now. I was just about to regale you with how they’ve their own version of the four-step. Although, I dinnae remember most of the moves.”
Gordon gave a hearty, rumbling laugh. “I’m surprised you remember anything after the amount of drink you sloshed down.” He shook his head, still chuckling. “But I best be off.” He clamped his hand down onto his brother’s shoulder. “Dinnae get into any trouble in the meantime.”
“You ken me,” Hamish quipped, grinning.
“Why do you think I said it?” Gordon shot back, holding his brother in a headlock and rubbing his knuckles across Hamish’s head. He released Hamish almost as swiftly and, giving a nod to Darshan, slipped into the crowd accumulating in the middle of the hall.
The man’s absence left the pair of them alone and, had this been anywhere in Udynea, Darshan would’ve made use of the fact in a more intimate manner than was considered most unseeming even back home.
Instead, he pushed back his empty plate and contented himself with nursing his drink; a red wine he had procured from the inner city market. “I wonder if you have the time to speak about your nephew. The middle one… Ethan?”
Hamish shot him a suspicious look whilst half-engaged in tending to the mess Gordon had made of his hair. “What about him?”
Attempting to still the racing in his mind, Darshan considered the direction to take the topic. Outright revealing another’s preferences wasn’t typically a done thing, but the idea of the boy suffering like Hamish wouldn’t stop invading his thoughts. What harm was there in a more directly probing question? The boy’s uncle would be the last person to lead Ethan into a dangerous situation. “Are you aware he is like us?”
His lover’s brows shot up. His hands dropped, leaving the fiery orange-red coils sticking out in all directions. “He told you that?” he whispered.
“Not directly.” A faint pressure eased itself from around his chest. Not that he had expected an explosive reaction. Whilst Hamish was certainly surprised, the shock didn’t seem to come from a place of ignorance. “I take it you have known for a while?”
Hamish nodded. “As does his mum and brothers. In fact, I think only me parents dinnae ken. We’ve all managed to keep it hush from them and anyone outside the family.” He bowed his head and murmured, “It’s one of the reasons I havenae left.”
One? How many threads bound Hamish to this awful life? “I thought you said you chose to stay?”
“I did. I chose to stand in the way, to protect him.”
“But you could not have left anyhow.” Not if what Hamish and his siblings had told him about their mother’s insistence on her children remaining within the clan lands was true. “Being forced to do the opposite of what makes you happy is not a choice.”
Hamish grunted, his expression souring as he shook his head.
“You know,” Darshan said, hoping to bring a touch of levity to the conversation. “The boy offered his own hand in lieu of yours… should I fail tomorrow’s trial.”
His lover gave another grunt, this one slightly more amused. “For you? He can bloody get in line. I’ll damn well fight him if he tries muscling in on a man thrice his age. Lad’s got a lot of growing up before he can start to think of such things.”
Darshan hid the smile tugging at his lips behind the guise of taking a sip of wine. He’d had plenty of matrimonial offers, from men and women, but none had declared their intentions of fighting another for the right. “There is no need, I assure you. I made it quite plain that my interests lie with older men.”
“Damn straight,” Hamish grumbled before taking a final swig of his drink. “What had him get that idea into his head, I wonder.”
“Something about wanting someone like me.”
Hamish stared silently into his empty mug for some time before fixing those stunning blue eyes on Darshan. “Do you think any of them might show signs of…” He dipped his head and whispered, “…magic?”
A considering hum stuck in his throat. Darshan attempted to wash it down with a mouthful of wine. “A month ago,” he said, deliberately choosing his native tongue to
