Princess Onella. It had to be for Darshan to speak so disparagingly of the woman. The same person his lover credited the scar in his torso to. If she was willing to injure her own brother, then only the Goddess knew what sort of ruthless manner she had cultivated in her son. Certainly not the sort of person to leave an empire in the hands of. “You have to forfeit the union contest.”
“I do not! And I shall not.” Darshan shuffled around on the bed to kneel before him. “What has gotten into you?”
“You’re the bloody heir to the Udynean throne,” Hamish mumbled, hoping that would be enough. He should’ve known better than to think the Goddess would ever want someone like him happy.
“I believe we have already established that.” He hugged himself, running one hand over the other arm as if struck by a sudden chill. “I thought I was your chosen spouse?” A queasiness took his face and, for a second, Hamish thought the man might just vomit. “Are you saying you do not want me because of what happened? Because the fault there does not lie with you.”
“It’s nae that at all, me heart.” By the Goddess, his very soul ached at the thought of Darshan leaving his side. “But we— You cannae do this. You’re the heir to an empire. You need an heir of your own.” Such a requirement was even greater than for himself as a prince who was currently seventh in line. “Let’s be realistic here, I cannae give you a child. You need a wife for that.”
“This again?” Darshan huffed. Pushing the wire frames further up his nose, he peered down at Hamish as if his entire ancestry had been offended. “Well, I do not want a wife. I want you.”
Hamish searched his lover’s face for some sign that the man jested. Nothing. Of course there was nothing. Darshan had proven a multitude of times how much he desired Hamish.
Darshan chuckled. “Gods, if you could see the look on your face.” He shook his head, a delightfully smug smile playing on his lips. “Allow me to make this entirely clear for you: I would not have put myself through this great malarkey if I did not find you so… compatible. And before you start rolling those stunning blue eyes of yours, I mean more than when we are fooling around.” He shuffled about on the bed, planted himself before Hamish. “I love you far too much to leave you in this miserable place. I am going to win this, then I shall drag you back to my country like the savage I apparently am and marry the living daylights out of you. And there is nothing you can do to stop me.” He bent over Hamish, pushing his face close. “What do you have to say about that?”
“Marry the living daylights out of me?” Hamish echoed. “I think some of that might’ve gotten lost in translation there.”
“No, I do not believe so.” He sat back with a sigh. “Look, I spent a little time in the library the other night. After we danced,” he clarified.
“Even after I had…?”
Darshan grinned. “Well, I had to find some way to calm down afterwards. You did leave me so terribly flustered that, really, my only other option beyond my failed attempts at archery would have been to hunt you down and repay you in kind.”
Although his lover continued to speak, Hamish was only vaguely aware the man’s mouth continued to move. All rational thought had been engulfed by the mental vision of Darshan on his knees and orally servicing him in a similar manner. That tongue. Those lips. Would he feel the moustache? What—?
“Are you listening or am I merely airing my teeth?”
Hamish mentally shook himself, barely having the forethought to give a little nod. It was probably for the best that his lover hadn’t taken that line of thinking. “I heard you.”
The look Darshan shot was one of utter disbelief. Nevertheless, he continued, “My search led me to a small passage on Tirglasian customs. Wedding one’s specifically.” He sat back on his heels. “I understand that your Goddess is mostly concerned with bringing forth new life and her priests demand an understanding in the matter of children before vows are taken.” He absently toyed with a ring before the fingers dropped to pat Hamish’s leg. “You really do not need to concern yourself with it. I shall have it all in hand once the time to think of that comes.”
“Except you havenae told me. It’s very well saying you have ideas and that you need time to think them over, but you dinnae say what any of it entails.”
Darshan bit his lip. “You are right, I have left that rather vague. In all honesty, I would need to return home first. There are people I would have to speak with before I could confirm anything and I do not wish to promise you what I cannot deliver. Suffice to say, there are ways that even your people would be capable of utilising.”
“Speak to people? What about this person?” Hamish tapped his chest. He didn’t need a promise that there would be children, if they ever came to that point, but they both needed to be sailing the same boat and that meant discussing it. “Having an heir is one of your duties as the crown prince.”
Those hazel eyes widened. The faint remains of kohl around their edges making them stark. “Please, no,” his lover whispered. “Do not do that. Do not sit there sounding like my father.”
“Maybe he’s right.”
Darshan wrinkled his nose. His lips twisted as if he had swallowed something unpleasant.
Hamish probably would’ve given a similar look had someone told him that his mother really did know all the Goddess’ secrets. Taking pity on his lover, he nudged the conversation in a slightly different direction. “I ken you
