“We wouldn’t want that,” Briar responded, walking to my left. He stopped at one of the food stalls and purchased three servings of pork meatballs with a sticky glaze over them. He handed one to Maddox, who thanked him, and instead of handing one to me, he held it to my lips. “Fancy a bite?”
I took a little nibble and groaned. The sticky glaze on the pork was mildly sweet but smokey too. Similar to the barbeque from my old world. Not that I could tell them that. They still didn’t know I had been isekai’d to their kingdom.
I planned to tell them someday. When the time was right.
“He can feed himself, physician,” Maddox said with a snarl on his lips but no bite in his tone.
“Are you jealous?” Briar smirked. “I can feed you too, Captain. You only need to ask.”
Maddox glowered at him before shoving an entire meatball into his mouth and looking away. His other hand rested on my side, and it thrilled me that he felt comfortable enough to touch me in public. Briar was the same. He leaned in and wiped sauce from the corner of my lip before softly kissing me.
“Delicious,” Briar murmured against my lips before kissing them again.
Maddox then grabbed my jaw, angled my face the way he wanted it, and kissed me. “Very delicious.”
The two of them would be the death of me someday. They did crazy things to my heart.
People in Bremloc didn’t even bat an eye seeing us hold hands and kiss. Heterosexuality wasn’t the standard here. As we walked, I noticed a few other same-sex couples.
Two women sat beside the large fountain in the square, feeding each other pieces of candy before one kissed the other.
A man waited beside a lamppost, dressed in a nicely tailored suit and holding blue flowers. Another man then approached, slightly younger in appearance and wearing a knight’s uniform. The patch on his shoulder told me he was from the Third Order. The dashing gentleman beamed with a smile before pulling the knight into his arms. The two held each other like that for so long I suspected it had been a while since they’d been able to do so.
“Evan?” Briar asked. “What’s the matter?”
Maddox looked at me, frowning.
“Nothing,” I responded.
“The shakiness in your voice isn’t very convincing,” Maddox said.
“I promise nothing’s wrong.” I linked mine and Maddox’s fingers before reaching for Briar’s hand. “I’m just happy. You’re both so busy but made time to spend the day with me.”
“I’ll always make time for you.” Briar brought our joined hands up and kissed my knuckle.
“As will I.” Maddox tugged me closer and, after tossing a look at Briar, kissed me on the lips. One-upping him.
Briar rolled his eyes.
“Who’s the jealous one now, physician?”
“I liked you better when you glared at everyone and didn’t speak much,” Briar countered. But I caught the curve of his mouth before he looked in the other direction.
“Step right up, ladies and gents!” an exuberant voice called out. A man in a flashy red-and-gold costume stood on a small wooden stage that had been set up at the edge of the square. “For what you are about to see is an extraordinary feat of courage!”
Entertainers had traveled to the kingdom for the festival as well. Among the merchant booths, there were a few tents where patrons could play games to win prizes, like hitting a metal plate with a rounded hammer in a test of strength or guessing the location of a hidden gem in a sleight-of-hand trick.
“A feat of courage?” Maddox stared at the stage.
“Do you wanna watch?” I asked.
“No. I’m sure it’s uninteresting.” Maddox cleared his throat and looked toward the other side of the square. “Where do you want to go next?”
Briar and I looked at each other before each grabbing one of Maddox’s arms and walking over to the stage. It was clear our captain wanted to watch the show; he just tried to hide that interest. As we stood in the crowd near the front of the stage, he watched with fascination as a man with a bushy beard and bald head lifted a massive ball of iron above his head.
A woman then came out and withdrew three long daggers. She threw them into a wooden target to emphasize how sharp they were before lighting them on fire. As she tossed them in the air and juggled, a younger guy stepped out from backstage and lit the blade of a fourth dagger. And then, he threw it at her head.
A gasp went through the crowd as the woman caught the dagger inches from her face. Cheers erupted as she started to juggle it too.
