Gordon frowned at him. “What’d he go and do a thing like that for?”
He shrugged. “They believe mercy confuses people or something like that.” It certainly confused him. The reasoning behind it, at least. “I just think he was trying to show off. There cannae be many places in Udynea where you can scare a man with magic.”
His brother clapped an arm around Hamish’s shoulders. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like you had fun.”
“I’ll nae lie, I did.” A long time had passed since he’d been able to venture into a pub and not have one of his mother’s lackeys breathing down his neck. To just relax with a congenial companion was something he didn’t get outside of joining his brother.
“Do you want to see if I can arrange things so you two could…?” Gordon’s brows lifted suggestively. “Be alone? Together like?”
Hamish shook his head. “I cannae risk it again.” This wasn’t like the last time he was caught with a man. Yes, prematurely evicting the dwarven ambassador from Tirglas had resulted in a bitter response from their Coven of hedgewitches, but ultimately nothing further.
To do the same to a Udynean ambassador? A prince, no less? He didn’t want to be the cause of a war between his kingdom and a powerful empire. Whilst the mountainous Tirglasian terrain would be an inconvenience for any army in the short term, it wouldn’t matter if their spellsters chose to burn the forests.
His brother squeezed Hamish’s shoulders. “Listen to me when I tell you it’s nae healthy for you to spend the rest of your life like some virginal prince locked in a tower.”
Scoffing, Hamish rolled his eyes. “I’m nae locked away.” Most times, at least, he was free to roam the castle grounds. “I leave the castle every day. I hunt.” Sometimes, he’d camp out in the woods for days. “I even visit Caitlyn.” And it was a two-week round journey to the Cloister, a place that had become his sister’s home ever since the blossoming of her magic. Granted all that generally involved an escort, but where he went was his choice.
“But you always return.”
“You ken why I stay.” Leaving the castle on a permanent basis might raise a few eyebrows, but his mother would’ve found a way to cover it up. Likely by claiming he had been killed. Yet it was better to have his mother’s disappointment aimed at him than his nephew. Not that the lad’s time wouldn’t come, at least he would’ve lived his childhood not hating himself.
“All I’m suggesting is, if the man’s confident enough to kiss you in public, then maybe—”
Hamish was shaking his head before his brother could finish the sentence. “That’s nae happening. You remember what became of the last ambassador I took a liking to?” It had been over a decade ago, when the dwarves were in need of experienced hunters to keep them safe as they roamed the old ruins up on the mountains behind Mullhind.
His brother chuckled. “Aye. And I can still hear Mum’s shrill tone over that.”
And well he should. Especially since the guards had found Hamish in the guest quarters, on his knees orally servicing the dwarf. That the pair of them had gotten no further didn’t seem to matter. A kiss, it seemed, was too far for her liking. “He said I was phenomenal.”
“Sweet Goddess’ teats!” Gordon cried, clapping his hands over his ears and shooting him a disgusted look. “Did you have to—?” He shuddered. “Nae. That goes straight on the list of things I nae want to hear about, or from, me brother. Right at the top.”
Hamish snickered and waved his hand. “You can put your arms down, idiot. You only deserve that for letting your ears flap far too often.”
Gordon cautiously lowered his hands, eyeing Hamish as if suspecting foul play. “So, if you’re nae going after the man, what do you want to do about all this?” He waved a hand around the room. “You cannae sit here the whole time they’re negotiating.”
His brother was right on that last point. Whilst the only way he could avoid another incident with Darshan was to remain in his room, that wasn’t an acceptable solution. He still had his own duties and the ambassador could be here for weeks. “Visit Caitlyn?”
That had been his original plan. Especially after seeing how coolly his mother’s response had been to Darshan’s arrival. If he had gone immediately and spent the two-week round trip to see his younger sister, then the ambassador would’ve likely hammered out the details of the trade agreements and been off. It would’ve suited everyone perfectly.
He would’ve already been on his way if Darshan hadn’t expressed an interest in seeing a cloister and his mother had agreed to let the man go with him. That certainly wouldn’t be allowed now. “I just hope Mum doesnae do something daft.”
“You ken Mum,” Gordon said. “She’ll nae let it go easily.” He stood, giving Hamish a hearty pat on the back. “But I’ll see if I can talk her into us taking that trip. Or, at least, letting you out of your cell. In the meantime, dinnae forget your grub. I brought you extra.”
Hamish nodded his thanks before his brother left the room. I should never have let him kiss me. His brother was right in that he should’ve seen it coming. I’m a right idiot. Thirteen years and he went and screwed it up with the first man who had expressed an interest in him.
Darshan lay still on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He had discarded his sleeping garments sometime during the night and, still, sweat beaded off his brow. The mattress beneath him was firm, unforgiving and overall hard. He rather wished it was the only thing that
