Page 73 of Under the Lion Star

“It’s fine,” I felt my face blush. “I, uh, after the council chambers, I started drinking the contraceptive tea.”

“Is that so?” He smirked.

“Not to be presumptuous,” I rushed to clarify.

“You can be anything you want,” Leor pulled me into his body. “As long as you’re my wife.”

Chapter 24

Leor

The journey home had been painfully long. Now that I knew what Zialda felt like wrapped around my cock it was hard to think of anything else. The hours riding from where we docked in Hinterholm to when we reached Galvord castle were agonizing, my mind replaying an endless loop of our time on the ship. Meanwhile, Zialda rode her horse ahead of me, surrounded by guards. The temptation to pull her off into the woods and fuck her was halted only by the idea of my knights hearing the sounds she made. Sounds that were meant for my ears only.

Thankfully, I’d rectified the issue upon our return to the castle, leaving Z passed out in my bed.

I stalked through the halls, clenching my fists to silence the voice that was begging for a deeper emotional connection with my wife. Zialda was likely giving into lust, a fact I needed to remind myself of. Not to mention the reality that being near me was dangerous. I couldn’t allow my wife to become collateral damage should someone discover the depth of my feelings for her.

Allowing physical intimacy into our marriage didn’t need to be a big deal. I could remain detached.

If this is all I’ll have, it’s better than nothing.

With a sigh, I pressed open the door to Orin’s room, finding him and Liras playing cards in front of the hearth. It was a scene I had seen before.

When my parents first brought Liras home, I had been away at war. They mentioned that he would now reside permanently in the castle after explaining the unfortunate circumstances that they’d taken him from, as well as the reasons they would never be able to legally adopt him.

Once on leave, I came home, greeted by my entire family except for Orin. Looking to spend a bit of time with my then ten-year-old brother, I found him in his room, in front of the hearth, with a small blue-haired boy as they played cards.

Liras was quiet, but not in the brooding way that Orin and I were. He didn’t seem to be hiding emotions but rather appeared unaffected by just about everything that occurred around him. As if his soul was impervious to the wickedness of the realm.

I knew right away that he was a good match for Orin—someone who was a calming presence and rarely gave into spiraling thoughts or anxieties. Slowly, though, I had learned that he wasn’t impervious but rather had come to a sort of acceptance that terrible things were bound to happen. The calm demeanor was artfully crafted through years of repeated trauma as a child.

As I watched them on the precipice of becoming men, I wondered if they had been made for one another. The Gods creating matching pieces, two hearts that fit together. I loved it for them, having found something similar in Atlas.

Liras glanced up at me first before shooting a glare at Orin and hiding his cards against his chest. Orin only smirked in response.

“I hate to interrupt,” I said. “But we need to talk about Keldsfen.”

Tension rose through Orin, his spine rigid at the town's mention. Liras observed him but didn’t appear on edge. We hadn’t spoken to Orin about that night since he came home. The only version I had was based on Liras’s discovery of the carnage after it was finished.

“There was a witness,” I sighed, sitting on the floor in front of them.

Liras pressed his mouth into a thin line, his eyes still fixed on Orin’s profile. My brother’s expression softened in a way I had not expected.

“Violet eyes,” he whispered.

“You were saying that when I found you,” Liras set his hand on the prince’s knee. “Over and over.”

“King Doran said she didn’t get a look at your face,” I added, hoping to ease any anxiety. “She only knew you were an elf because of your height and your swords.”

“I will turn myself in,” Orin nodded resolutely.

“No, you will not,” I snapped. “I need you here. Arresting you doesn’t bring anyone back. It doesn’t ease any tensions.”

“Leor,” Orin glanced at the cards in his hands and sighed. “I was going to do much worse.”

“But you didn’t.”

“I planned to walk all the way to Krannol Castle, killing anyone I saw until I ended King Morlan.”

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