Bitten

Rhys showed up to the palace the next day dressed semi-formally, as expected for meeting with the King and Queen. Sylvae was with him, along with Tierney, but it was mostly to let Tierney connect to her vampyric side more and because Sylvae wanted to see the palace herbiary to see if there were differences here with what Rhys' family could offer her. Nikodemus was the first to volunteer to take her to the herbiary while the other royal children other than Nik, Vasile, and Viktoria, took Tierney off to play around the gardens with them.

Viktoria didn't stay with them. She went off to her own rooms to enjoy some quiet time, and Rhys followed Vasile into a room where they could sit down and have some privacy. Rhys was trying not to look nervous but he was failing that. His face was paler than it normally was and he seemed antsy, as if he had too much energy to burn off and hadn't been allowed to do so.

"I'm sorry again for the interruption last night," Rhys said once they had sat down. "It was bad timing but it was necessary to get my family to safety."

The monarchs waved that off, though their words softened the gesture. "Please, family emergencies happen, and this one was deadlier than most," Veronika said while Vortigern followed up with "You're practically family, Ambassador."

Rhys had been nodding along to what Veronika said, but he looked at the King in shock once his brain caught up with what Vortigern had said. "I am?" he asked, clearly surprised and unsure, his eyes shifting over to Vasile to see if he was just as surprised. Vasile was indeed surprised, but not that his father admitted Rhys' importance so much as admitting it in this setting. He shrugged in response to Rhys' look and looked unsure of how to proceed.

Rhys cleared his throat, turning back to the King. "I appreciate that, Your Majesty, though I know this is definitely a, um, bump in the road for your plans for the heir. This certainly complicates any political marriage you were planning. Not that I'm going to apologize for it."

Veronika bristled at Rhys' response, but Vortigern simply nodded to acknowledge him, placing a restraining hand on his wife before she could launch into an angry tirade that she may regret. "Truly our plans, such as they were, for the kingdom amount to nothing in the face of a blood-bond and are impossible to enforce if Vasile is not on board. In fact, that is what we've asked you two here to discuss," he said.

Rhys raised his eyebrows at that, unsure how to respond to that. It was true that a blood-bond changed everything. Even if they could make a state marriage, it would be difficult to find someone okay with Rhys having such a high importance in Vasile's life and heart. He knew that marriages like his parents' worked all the time as he had seen plenty of them in Fyrie, but it came with open trust and communication, and vampyres could be more secretive and fickle.

First, Rhys looked at the Queen, having recognized her anger and said, "I'm truly not trying to upset either of you. I knew back in school that you liked that I had created a friendship with your children, but didn't want it getting

too

close. I tried my best to walk that line carefully, and I was truly heartbroken when I left and Vasile seemed to not even care about keeping up with each other."

At this, the King looked guiltily at his wife, clearly embarrassed. Neither of them interrupted Rhys, but he could tell that someone had been operating without the other's knowledge in this. What Rhys didn't know was which one was responsible, though he had his ideas.

"I came back here planning to keep a wide berth from him; I just wanted to keep him alive and safe. I could love him from afar. I really only sought him out after I was told by someone else that Vasile

had

written to me constantly, and felt the same way. I know it probably wasn't the right choice for my career, but I couldn't bring myself to not make sure before I turned away from him forever.

"You two were lucky that your bond formed after marriage," Rhys explained, letting his own pain show on his face, which was something everyone there knew he didn't do often around those in vampyre society. "To form that bond, but never know for sure until recently, and deny it for over a decade is nothing short of torture."

As Rhys had talked, Vasile's parents had both gotten increasingly more chagrined. It was clear to him that he was no longer speaking to the king and queen of the vampyres but to parents who had tried too hard to do what they felt was best for their son. He wasn't sure that a few moments of humility was sufficient to make up for a decade of unrequited love, but they

were

all among the long-lived, so he was sure that eventually the sting would fade.

Rhys and Vasile allowed the silence after Rhys finished speaking to stretch out for several minutes as the monarchs' faces went through a whole range of emotions. Rhys turned his eyes over to his love, knowing that the rest needed to come from him. Rhys was part of this discussion, but parents and child needed to speak through it as well. Rhys' pain only went so far; they needed to know how this had affected their son.

Vasile nodded as if he had heard Rhys' thoughts, taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders. His parents focused on him as soon as he began to move, their posture clearly demonstrating that he had their complete attention. He opened his mouth to speak with nothing really planned to say for the first time in his life: no witty one-liners, no calming words to soften the blow or deflect the subject to spare his parents. "I... recently found my letters to Rhys in my room. To say I was devastated would be underselling it by a long shot," he began.

"I was led to believe that he didn't care to read or respond to my letters after the time we spent in university together and I'm certain you only endorsed his Ambassadorship to ensure that he wouldn't be near me. It's pretty upsetting to realize that your parents view you as a child when you've been recognized as - and treated as - an adult for more than a century. We should have been having this discussion ten years ago.

"I understand the importance of being the Heir and the responsibilities that go along with it and I am more than capable of making my own decisions for what I feel are the needs of the realm. All of this makes me feel like you don't trust my judgement and if that's the case, why am I training to be the Heir in the first place?" he asked, finally winding down. He fell silent after his question, half-expecting that they wouldn't respond.

Rhys decided to ignore what normal decorum would say in this instance and reached over to take Vasile's hand in comfort and solidarity. It was a small gesture, but a clear one. They stood together, as any good partner would, in good times and bad. It was a gesture that echoed in everything Rhys had done up until now; how he had rushed back to Arcasias, which he had run away from, with only the information that Vasile was in danger. How he came to risk his own life to save their son's.

Vasile's glance at him and squeeze of his hand told Rhys all he needed to know that his feelings were returned as they both waited defiantly for what the king and queen would say next. They shared a look of solidarity of their own before the king spoke. "Well, it would seem that we have been found out. We did not intend to cause the two of you the harm that we have, but instead meant to give an infatuation time to cool off. For that harm, we apologize," he said, while Veronika nodded along with him.

"Had we known that the two of you were destined to be blood-bound," Vortigern continued, "I would hope that we would have tried to accommodate, but that is speculation. We have made no secret that we were determined to prepare you to rule in our place someday, but what we have not told you is that..." Here he faltered, looking over to Veronika for support. She reached over and took his hand much the same way that Rhys had taken Vasile's a bit ago. The king nodded and straightened his own shoulders before saying, "We intend to retire and give the throne to you as soon as you are ready."

Vasile looked stunned by this revelation, staring silently at the floor between them for a few moments, his hand still gripping Rhys' as if he were trying not to drown. Rhys felt cold all over at the revelation. While the coronation couldn't happen before Vasile's 200th birthday, that meant everything else was going to move ahead faster than they had imagined, which included whatever state marriage they were arranging. All of it felt suffocating to Rhys, so he couldn't imagine how it might feel to Vasile.

Rhys finally cleared his throat, because Vasile seemed too shocked to respond. "So, what does that mean then?"

The queen cleared her throat, glancing at her husband before answering. "Well, we

were

attempting to arrange meetings for Vasile with various eligible parties, but that doesn't seem realistic now. There's no denying a blood bond, so any official marriage wouldn't hold the weight it would need to if you decided to go public," she said somberly. "So really the question we have for you two is: where can we go from here?"

Rhys was silent, mostly because while he knew what he

wanted

to happen, he wasn't the main person it affected going forward. Yes, he was part of the equation, but even if he married the King, Rhys wasn't the one ruling. So Rhys looked to Vasile to see what he thought.

Vasile looked up finally, a decision plain in his eyes and by the set of his jaw, not one he felt his parents would like. "I'm marrying Rhys. Openly. After the coronation. After your retirement, if I have to wait for you to do so before the marriage will be allowed to happen. We haven't really discussed it, but that's how I feel. I think the time for marriages of state had its purpose but today's world no longer requires it. Besides, I think it would be a wise move toward repairing some of the division in Avanær," he said.

Rhys was slowly nodding his head as he considered the last thing Vasile said. "This racism has been what caused these coups. More openly accepting that mixed marriages happen more than we like to admit is a way forward. A prince or even king marrying someone he loves, despite their heritage or perhaps even because of it, isn't a bad sign to send."

The king and queen seemed to ponder that for several moments. Vasile could tell that his father didn't like what he and Rhys had had to say, but was begrudgingly considering it. His mother was beaming with pride, leading Vasile to believe that she had been involved in returning his letters to him. It led Rhys to the same conclusion, though he was a little surprised by it. With the Queen on their side though, it was only a matter of time before the King agreed.

Rhys looked over at Vasile now though, his eyes shining with love, hope, and unshed tears. It felt like it had taken them a lifetime to get to this point, but this was all he had ever wanted since he first met Vasile. He really wanted to kiss Vasile, but he held himself back, not wanting to upset his future father-in-law. The king interrupted Rhys' daydreams of openly showing his affection, however. "We shall give this matter some consideration and reconvene in a fortnight's time, if that suits you two?" He phrased it like a question, but everyone present knew it wasn't, so Rhys and Vasile nodded politely, stood, and left the room, both of them struggling to do so at a casual speed.

They were barely past the closing door before they kissed each other with equal fervor. As their lips touched, though, Vasile heard his mother begin to say something to her husband that nearly made him lose focus on his lover: "Who returned his letters, Vortigern?" Before Vasile could hear more, the heavy door closed, effectively cutting off all sound from the room. Could it be that his mother hadn't returned the letters after all?

Rhys looked back toward the now closed door, considering the same thing. They'd have to do some more checking into that, but right now, Rhys stepped closer to Vasile, putting his arm around his love, and using his magic to teleport them back to Vasile's rooms. Vasile had to admit that traveling that way was both amazing and terrifying. As soon as they were alone, Rhys kissed Vasile again, pressing their bodies up against each other. Vasile quickly lost track of his observations about teleporting as he focused on more urgent concerns, like the sudden tightness in the crotch of his pants.

Rhys backed them up until they had made it to the bed, and then fell back onto it and pulled Vasile down on top of him. He loved the feel of Vasile's weight on top of him. Vasile could feel the evidence of Rhys' own arousal against his pelvis now. Being with Vasile even just like this, kissing and rubbing up against each other, proved that they had been right when they had been in school that if they were intimate, they never would have been able to part from each other.

Vasile's thoughts were along the same lines, though he wondered if the blood bond was a significant factor in making this experience more intense or if he would have felt like this about Rhys even if they hadn't confirmed their attraction on a spiritual level. Both of their bodies were so sensitive, and every touch seemed to make them shiver in pleasure. They had their shirts off, though neither remembered removing them, and their hands were all over each other, exploring the tight muscles and sensitive areas of each others' chest when the door opened.

Rhys growled, "Again?!" exasperatedly while Vasile practically leapt toward the foyer, furious.

His violet eyes were dark with barely restrained lust and a level of anger he hadn't felt in his century and a half of life. He came to a stop rather abruptly, however, when he saw that it was Viktoria standing respectfully in the doorway with Virmarus. "Sorry to," here she cleared her throat daintily, "disturb you, Brother. This... person insisted that he speak with the Ambassador immediately."

Rhys could already catch the cedar and woodsy scent that he had always recognized as Virmarus', so he grabbed his shirt and pulled it back on. When he followed Vasile into the front room, he said, "Have none of you royalty learned to knock on doors?" Here, he demonstrated on a wall. "See? Not that hard."

Viktoria glanced coolly down at their crotches and back up to meet Rhys' eyes. "No, but I see something appears to be," she said before turning and leaving the room.

Vasile would have blushed in response but she was already leaving and he remembered his shirt in the bedroom. He looked apologetically to Rhys and ducked back in to put his shirt on, leaving Rhys and Virmarus in the foyer. Rhys had put his hands down to cover himself, and Virmarus just grinned at him as if the discomfort his subordinate was showing was amusing.

"What, pray tell, could be so important at this time to come all the way back to the palace?" Rhys asked him, his tone full of annoyance.

Virmarus chuckled at that, not taking any disrespect from Rhys' emotional display. "Forgive the intrusion, but we aren't quite done with everything yet, as you should well know. We're sending in people to try and clean up the rebels in Fyrie, but we've caught a snag in that plan. Did you know your cousin was finishing talking out everything with a young lady's parents for their betrothal?"

Rhys' annoyed countenance went away at that as he looked like he knew what Virmarus was talking about. "Yes, Cyran had mentioned that he was proposing to Lady Leora. They were simply finalizing everything between the parents and then they would be announcing it. Why?"

Virmarus fixed him with a look that said the situation was bad, and it didn't take much for Rhys to figure out what it meant. If they wanted to have leverage over the heir of Rhys' family, then going for his almost-betrothed is a great way to do that. He didn't bother to ask how they knew. They had been doing their own spy work over time. Instead, Rhys swore under his breath at the realization that this meant Leora was in danger and that Cyran would lose his mind once he knew.

Vasile emerged from his bedchamber, shirt back in place and his face drying from splashing cold water on it in an attempt to cool off. He found Virmarus roughly in the same spot, but Rhys had leaned back against the wall, looking tired but with that look on his face that Vasile recognized as him coming up with a plan. Vasile's hopeful look evaporated as he nodded his understanding of what that meant. "A spy's work is never done, eh?" he said.

Rhys gave him an apologetic look as he straightened back up. "Something like that, yeah. If it makes you feel any better, I plan to give up the spy life once this is all done."

"Such a waste of good skills," Virmarus commented, which earned him a glare from Rhys.

Vasile ignored Virmarus for the moment, focusing on leaving a lasting impression on Rhys as he prepared to leave. He approached his love where he stood against the wall and leaned into him, the scent that was simply Vasile's flooding Rhys' senses as he kissed him soundly. Rhys reacted by putting his arms around Vasile's shoulders while he kissed him back. Virmarus looked away from them, deciding to give them a moment.

When Vasile slowly pulled back from the kiss, Rhys murmured, "You make it really difficult to leave."

"That was the idea," Vasile responded with a sultry wink and backing away regretfully.

"I will be back before you know it," Rhys told him and then walked over to Virmarus. Then he remembered something. "Oh, we need to get Sylvae and Tierney back home. I mean, Sylvae I could leave with Nik and she'd be fine, I'm sure, but Tierney is still just little. I mean, she'd have a blast all day with the others, but..."

Virmarus nodded his head at that before he got a smirk and looked over at Vasile. "We can take her home, but you know, Your Highness, you may want to get to know little Tierney better if you hope for her to live here with you eventually. Her daddy and her are a package deal, after all."

Vasile smiled at that. "I plan to get to know her, but I feel as if she would be more comfortable if our first time hanging out was with her father present," he said.

Rhys smirked at Virmarus. "I told you he was too smart for you to trick." Then he looked at Vasile. "That's a good plan. She can be shy in the beginning, but she blossoms in the right atmosphere."

"I'm just making sure he's right for you," Virmarus replied with a shrug. "Surely his highness here can't blame me after watching you basically in pain the entire time I've known you over him."

"I'm sorry," Rhys mouthed to Vasile.

Vasile smiled wickedly. "Maybe I'm a sadist, and maybe Rhys enjoys that in our relationship," he said.

"Okay, enough, both of you," Rhys said, his cheeks turning red.

Virmarus laughed though as Rhys pulled him out of the room and off to find Sylvae and Tierney. It didn't take long to get them both and head back to the house, especially since all four of them could teleport. Of course, Sylvae had argued that she could stay and look at more of the garden, but one comment about how she might need to be there for her brother stopped her cold.

"I'm sorry, Nik," she told him quietly as she put her bag back around her shoulders. "We'll have to pick up this conversation another time. My family has already been uprooted from our home, and if my brother has bad news coming, I would hate to not be there for him during it."

Nikodemus sighed regretfully, nodding his understanding. "You will be missed,

melda nestoril

," he said quietly, calling her beloved healer in Elvish, as he bent over her hand in gentlemanly fashion. "Return as soon as you are able, please."