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Shifting Hearts - Chapter 2

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SnowCrowWolf Fantasy AU Bisexual/Polyamorous, Established Throuple + Slowburn Fourth.

Special thanks to @kawaiikittenkawaiikitten for letting me run with their idea!

(6.1k words)

Part 1

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Sylus loved flying. It was the main reason he had been thankful to be cursed with his ability to shapeshift. He sometimes pitied Valko, born with a form that would forever remain stuck on the ground. Flying was freedom. It was something Sylus revered more than almost anything in this world and never once took it for granted.

Between travel preparations, borrowing a horse for Zayne and the actual time it took to make the journey, it was nearly a week before the three of them arrived at the outskirts of Linkonshire proper. Familiar woods slowly grew dense as young pine were replaced by older oak. Eventually the woods broke, giving way to more open spaces and grassy plains. Once they'd gotten close enough to their destination Sylus took to the air on white wings, eager to survey his potential new territory.

It was as just Valko had described it. Linkonshire was nestled in a shallow valley of bright green. On two sides, dense forests with trees as wide as a man was tall bordered picturesque green hills overlooking a valley rich in farmland and quaint stone and timber architecture. A river rolled lazily through it in the middle, fed from snowmelt from the nearby mountains to eventually flow into the ocean beyond the horizon.

At the center of it all, perched on the highest hill with the river to it's back, was the duke's castle compound. The main central structure was less grand than Sylus had seen in other places but still impressive, with a large main building, multiple high towers and a large glass atrium attached on one side. The outer walls were sprawling, encircling an almost absurd amount of ground and dotted with it's own greenery and at least a dozen or more smaller structures within it.

One thing Sylus didn't spot during his flight, blessedly, was any temple or church dedicated to the Everlight. Good, Sylus thought. That was one less potential hazard to worry about. There was still the matter of the King's Watch, but they were more easily avoided. They didn't use magic to track and snare their quarry like the Templars did, so Sylus was fairly confident he would survive any potential encounter.

Sylus was more than accustomed to dealing with danger and threats of violence than the others. He had been born in the slums of Philos, capital city of the kingdom and seat of power for the king's court. Shifters there had always been met with mistrust and fear. "Deception is in their blood and in their nature," people around him would say. He'd never known a life where he wasn't hated.

He'd lost both of his parents to a mob too high on their own self-riotousness to see a family simply going about their day. Sylus had been taken then, locked in a cage, traded, sold, and eventually forced to fight against beasts and occasionally other shifters for the entertainment of jeering crowds.

He was ten years old.

Early on, his captors likely thought he would be an easy meal for his opponents and an amusing appetizer before the real fights began. What damage could a bird do after all? They hadn't counted on Sylus's cunning, determination and fierce desire to survive. As he miraculously won more and more fights, they began throwing him against larger and stronger opponents. They brought in large sums of coin as people continued to gamble against his survival and lose. Even after he hit his growth spirt and shot up to his now impressive height in his human form, they still naively believed that his bird aspect gave him some sort of disadvantage.

Anyone who underestimated him - which most did - paid dearly for it.

He lost things too in the arena. One lucky foe even managed to claim his right eye, but Sylus took far more from them in return. Eventually, Sylus's life was all he had left, and he would be dammed if anyone would attempt to claim it without making them suffer for it.

He wanted to make them all suffer for what they had done. He was also patient… and so he waited.

One fateful night, he got lucky. All it took was one lapse in judgment from one guard, too drunk off his winnings to remember to lock Sylus's cage properly. He claimed his freedom then, as well as the lives of everyone who had put him there. By pitting him against more and more impossible odds, they had inadvertently created their own destruction.

Vengeance on ghost white wings.

He'd fled Philos then, vowing never to return. He spent brief periods in countless cities over the years, never leaving any trace behind and only staying long enough to earn as much coin as he could before he was forced to move again.

His exact age was somewhat of an unknown - birthdays weren't exactly celebrated in the arena - but he guessed that he was somewhere in his early 20's when his travels brought him into the barony. He met Valko purely by chance. He later introduced Sylus to Zayne, claiming he was sympathetic to their kind. Trust was earned slowly. Sylus had suffered too much for too long to simply believe the word of one love struck wolf. However, over time what began as an arrangement of convenience blossomed into something greater and more precious than any treasure in the world.

In spite of his prickly demeanor and a fondness for teasing, Sylus cared deeply for those two men. He would have laid down his life or burned the world for either of them without a moment's hesitation. They had revealed themselves to each other, sharing their secrets, hearts, and bodies with one another more often than he could count. He had even gained a new eye, lovingly crafted for him from ruby, black steel and white gold by Valko and inscribed with runes by Zayne to allow it to function like the real thing.

They build a life together, and within just a few short but rich years Sylus began to believe with hopeful naivety that perhaps, he could actually allow himself to relax.

Perhaps this was why he had fought so fiercely against the baron's order to flee into exile. The others seemed to believe this was something new, something temporary, hatreds that had been insignificant annoyances until that moment.

Sylus knew better.

To run was to give in to the hatred that had always been there, submitting to the sharp teeth just waiting for an exposed neck. It was weakness. Sylus couldn't stand being weak, and he was tired of running.

In the end he had little choice. He could either leave with his beloveds, or stay and face death alone. If he truly was to die, he would rather it be by their sides. There was little else to it.

He returned to his companions just as they neared the edge of the city. Sylus knew this might be his last chance to talk to either of them for a long while. Familiars were not capable of speech after all, so even a single word from either he or Valko could give the entire ruse away. Sylus knew from his aerial observations that they likely had a few minutes of privacy at least, so he would do his best to make them count.

"Well?" Zayne inquired as Sylus took up a perch on Valko's back, "What did you see?"

"Modest castle, at least as castles go. Large grounds inside the walls with a lot of accessory buildings. It was difficult to tell the purpose of anything, though it's possible one of them could be serviceable." He tugged at his wing, finally loosening a stubborn pinfeather that had been bothering him since the night before. "The Everlight doesn't seem to have a presence here, so we shouldn't have to worry about Templars sneaking up on us without warning."

Zayne nodded, eyes locked like a sentinel on the road ahead. "That's good at least."

"So what's your plan?"

"It's as we already discussed. My intention is simply to meet with the Duke. We will see what he has to say, and then depending on his needs regarding his daughter's instruction we will make our decision." he tugged gently on the reigns, bringing his horse to a slow walking trot. "I expect you both to stay by my side for as long as possible. I want you to hear everything I do so you may come to your own conclusions."

Valko sucked a lungful of air though his nose, letting his eyes flutter shut briefly as he did so. He exhaled with a satisfied growl. "I like it here already. Gods, I wish the two of you could smell it like I can. I don't think I've ever smelled this many different fruit tree in one place. You think we could plant a few of our own?"

Zayne chuckled softly. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, love. We still don't know if we will be staying or not."

The wolf huffed but said nothing. Sylus took the opportunity to speak up again. "Now little puppy, I know you've had your fun acting a fool for Whitetree's townsfolk, but these are nobles. I expect you remember how to behave?"

Valko yawned. "Of course I do. Geez Sylus, you need to lighten up. But if it makes you feel any better, I promise I won't sniff anyone's crotch but yours."

The crow chuckled. "Later, sweetie."

"And Zayne's too of course, but only if he asks nicely."

Zayne huffed from atop his horse. Sylus couldn't see the wizard's ears from underneath his traveling cloak, but he knew his companion well enough to know that they were likely a bright shade of rosy pink.

"That's quite enough, both of you." Zayne gave his horse a firm nudge with his heel, encouraging it faster. "I would advise silence for the remainder of our journey."

They reached the walls of the castle compound in late afternoon. The gates themselves were solid and impressively thick thanks to the enormous trees in the nearby forest. Flanking the massive open doors were half a dozen of the duke's guard, three on each side, wielding long steel halberds and wearing bright chainmail armor. Each one displayed the duke's purple unicorn sigil on pale gray tabards, darker gray cloaks billowing behind them.

One of the guards stepped forward to greet the trio as they approached. Brief formalities were exchanged before Zayne produced the duke's invitation from a pocket sewn into his cloak. The guard read it, nodded, then waved him forward.

"Honored to have you, Wizard. Duke Joseph told us to watch for you." He gestured toward a wide stone building just inside the gate. "You may stable your horse there. Someone will be out shortly to collect you."

Zayne guided his horse to the stables, taking his time to get a look around. Sylus scanned the area as well, attempting to match his aerial view of the compound to this newer, much more grounded perspective. Nondescript roofs became stables, a large barn, barracks and a modest trading and delivery outpost, the front of which was littered with all manner of crates and barrels. Further past these buildings was the castle itself, it's entrance a grand display of white marble and tile mosaics, flanked by statues of six winged figures, unicorns and gargoyles.

Zayne handed his horse off to the teenage stable hand who accept it with a well practiced bow. The stables themselves were large, open on one side to allow for the small collection of wagons and carriages easy passage in and out of the building. From his vantage point on Valko's back, Sylus counted nearly a dozen horses inside with space for at least two dozen more. The back appeared to open into a field and Sylus noted at least three more horses grazing in the distance.

Sylus hoped into the air, circling Zayne once before taking his favored position on his shoulder. He liked the height that Zayne granted him. Sylus's human form was tall, imposingly so in fact, and he preferred maintaining that vantage point whenever possible. Even if he wasn't flying, he still wanted to hold the higher ground. Still, he didn't mind riding Valko. There were even nights when that was all he wanted to do, though that was a completely different kind of riding.

As they stood waiting, the castle's main portcullis slid open slowly on hinges bigger than their entire door back in Whitetree. A young woman with tightly trimmed short brown hair emerged, wearing a blue waistcoat over a billowing white dress. She began gesturing enthusiastically in greeting the moment she spotted them.

"Ahh, my good sir wizard! There you are." The woman practically floated down the stars toward toward them, bowing with a flourish before righting herself. "It's so good to see you again. How was the journey here? Not too much trouble I hope?"

"No trouble at all," Zayne asserted softly with a bow of his own. "My apologies, I do not remember having met before."

"Ahhh, of course," the woman chuckled. "We'd had a rather unfortunate accident when we happened to run into each other the first time. I was passing through Whitetree about a month ago on an errand for the duke when one of our carriage wheels broke nearly clean in half."

"Ahhh…. Yes, I believe I remember now," Zayne recalled, "I mended your wheel, is that correct?"

"And so quickly too! It was surprising enough to encounter anyone of magical talent that far off the king's road." She gestured with a wide smile toward Valko and Sylus. "But what truly impressed me were your companions. I've only met two other wizards who were able to command two familiars at once, and each of them had stone gray hair and beards nearly down to their navels. To meet someone so young with the same skill? Truly remarkable."

Zayne bowed his head politely. "Thank you, but the praise is unnecessary."

"And so humble as well!" the woman gushed, "The moment I returned home, I informed the Duke of our chance encounter. He had been looking for a new magic tutor for his daughter for quite some time, and we knew immediately this must have been fate. Possibly even a gift from the Everlight itself."

Sylus felt Zayne stiffen slightly beneath his talons. "As you say," he replied simply.

"Ahh, but where are my manners?" the woman bowed again. "My name's Tara. I'm Duke Joseph's steward, and it's my job to assist him with the general goings on around the castle. And may I ask your name? I regret not asking you when we met before. I hope you'll forgive me, given the state we were all in at the time."

"It's Zayne," he told the steward, mirroring her bow. "And it's quite alright. There's no need to apologize."

"That's a relief. And of course my services are yours as well, should you choose to accept the duke's offer."

"That remains to be seen," Zayne remarked delicately, "I would like to see the castle grounds first, as well as meet with the duke and the young lady in question before I make my final decision."

"Of course, of course. Follow me. The Duke asked me to bring you to him as soon as you arrived." She nodded to Valko and Sylus as she added, "Your animal companions are of course welcome to accompany you anywhere within the castle grounds, so long as they are well behaved."

"I assure you, they will not cause any trouble."

As castles go, this one may not have been as grand in size as most, but it more than made up for it in it's rich interior. Marble, rare polished wood, ornate mosaic tile and gold adorned the walls, ceiling and floors. The walls contained an impressive collection of tapestries and art depicting dragons, merfolk, crystalline beasts and of course, many unicorns.

They passed a dozen doors as they walked down the winding hallway, leading to parlors, guest rooms, wine cellar, a large dining room and an even larger ball room. Tara pointed out the door to the library as they passed. "We're very proud of our library. Technically speaking, it takes up the entire western tower and then some. A previous court wizard a few generations back enchanted this space so it's actually many times larger on the inside than it appears from the outside. You will of course be permitted to peruse this space as much as you'd like."

Zayne nodded. "I see," he murmured, his eyes lingering on the door. "Thank you." Some might have assumed a lack of interest due to the wizard's cold tone, but Sylus knew better. Few things tempted Zayne more than a well stocked and finely curated library. It was the one thing he had lamented losing most about their old barony. Well, that and the chef's fine baked goods and sweets. Gods, Sylus thought, if they offer him so much as a single macaron, he might demand to move in on the spot.

As if on queue, the group passed another set of doors that lead into the kitchens. Zayne and Valko nearly stopped in their tracks, their noses savoring the fresh scent of warm chocolate drifting out into the hallway. Even Sylus allowed himself to admit - privately, of course - that it smelled heavenly. He couldn't remember the last time he had tasted chocolate.

They finally came to a set of marble and tile arches that lead out into the large glass atrium that Sylus had spotted during his flyover. The walls were lined with rich greenery and more flowers than Sylus could personally identify, but he managed to recognize patches of jasmine, daturas, and lily of the valley. Along one wall, roses in six different colors grew in neatly trimmed bushes. In the center grew an enormous twisting tree with leaves like pearlescent crystal. A lone figure sat at a round oak table in one far corner, sipping a glass of deep purple wine.

"My good Duke Joseph!" Tara called out, prompting the man to turn his head in the group's direction. "Might I present to you, the Wizard Zayne!"

As Zayne bowed, Sylus took a moment to inspect the duke as he stood to greet them. He was a colossal bear of a man, round in the way that suggested strength rather than sloth. His shoulder length hair was a deeply textured salt and pepper brown with more solid patches of pale gray at his temples and down the center of his thick beard. While his clothing was clearly well made and custom tailored to him, it was more understated than Sylus might have expected. He wore a simple white silk shirt, pale purplish gray waistcoat with leather bands around his forearms, and black dress slacks finished with polished black boots. The only sign of his house was a small golden pin in the shape of a unicorn near his heart.

"Ahhh, Zayne is it? Good. It's wonderful to finally put a name and face to the story my steward told me. It's also good to see that he wasn't exaggerating this time." He nodded approvingly at both Valko and Sylus. "Fine creatures you have there. Very fine. Your bird in particular. I've never seen a white crow before." He extended his hand toward Sylus, apparently hoping to touch him. "May I?"

Sylus bristled inwardly. This was the part of their charade he hated most, being treated like a pet. His based desires wanting nothing more than to snap his beak around this man's finger for daring to be so bold. Of course, he knew if he did so, everything would be lost.

Swallow your pride, Sylus. Just for a little while. Just until we get what we want.

With great reluctance, he tapped on Zayne's back with his tail twice, their quiet signal for 'yes'. Zayne then nodded to the duke. "You may, though stick to his head and back please. He prefers his underbelly and wings be left alone."

The duke graciously followed Zayne's order. His pale gray eyes were sharp with focus as he lightly stroked Sylus's feathers with two surprisingly calloused fingers. "Fascinating," the duke remarked, "I had no idea that familiars could have preferences."

"One might assume they don't. However, they are extremely intelligent," Zayne explained, his perfectly level tone leading validity to his half truth. "and as it is with any intelligent being, they develop their own personalities and preferences over time."

"I see. Does it have a name?"

"Sylus. The wolf is Valko."

"Ahh, Valko! A strong name for a strong creature." The duke turned his attention to Valko, much to Sylus's relief. He watched with great amusement as Valko's paws slid forward, arching his back in a perfect canine approximation of a bow. "Ha, and so refined. Anything else about this one I should know about?"

Only that if you find one very particular spot on his hindquarters, he will make the most delicious noises.

Valko's signal of approval was far less subtle. He rolled over onto his back, exposing his belly to the duke and letting his tongue loll out of the side of his mouth.

Zayne huffed quietly in amusement. "He likes belly rubs."

The duke took several minutes greeting Valko in the manner that men greet any friendly dog, which eventually earned him a single slobbery lick on his hand. It was shameless and authentic to an unnecessary degree. Sylus had to wonder, as he often did, if Valko really did enjoy being a wolf more than a person.

They chatted briefly about Zayne's background and where he'd gone to school. He mentioned having worked as a court wizard previously, but declined to say where and why he had left beyond 'needing a change in scenery.' The duke didn't seem the least bit curious about pressing the matter, and for that Sylus was grateful. The last thing they needed was the duke asking inconvenient questions. The less he cared to learn about Zayne's past, the better.

Eventually, Zayne steered the conversation to their entire reason for traveling here in the first place. "So, might I ask to meet the young lady I am being asked to teach? I cannot properly make my decision until I know whether or not I am adequately suited to her needs."

"I have no doubt you are," the duke chuckled, "but fine. This time of day, she's usually somewhere out on the grounds, though it might be difficult to find her. I can send some of my staff to fetch her, if you don't mind waiting."

"There's no need. Sylus can find her from the air." He peered at Sylus out of the corner of his eye and nodded. "Describe the young lady to him. Don't worry, he can understand you perfectly."

As they passed through a pair of arched glass doors out into a small courtyard, the duke described his daughter, the young lady Cienna. "She inherited my brown hair, but her mother's purple eyes. When I last saw her this morning, she was wearing a purple dress with a tan jacket. Hopefully that will be enough." Sylus bobbed his head in acknowledgement and took to the sky, flying low enough that he could still be spotted from the ground.

It wasn't difficult to find her. Most of the people he saw outside were quite clearly groundskeepers and guards, and the only other lady he spotted was a woman in at least her early to mid 40's, neatly trimming a hedge.

He finally spotted a figure near a narrow archery range. She matched the description well enough. Her hair was indeed a deep and rich shade of chocolate brown, pulled back out of her face by a loose braid that fell mid way down her back. Her dress was a light shade of lavender, though the bottom hem of it was stained to match the dirt at her feet. Her jacket was more of a bolero, with a high waist that ended a few inches under her armpits with long sleeves that were hemmed with a thick band of gold trim. Even without seeing her eyes, Sylus was confident this was her, though even still she was certainly not what any of them suspected.

Oh ho… Sylus sniggered to himself, This adds an interesting layer to things.

He began to fly tight circles over head, letting out a series of sharp caws. Cienna tilted her head up toward him briefly before returning to her business. He flew back down once he spotted the group approaching, returning to his seat on Zayne's shoulder just as Tara finished whispering something in her Duke's ear.

"Of course she would be at the archery range," the duke muttered to himself.

"Alone and unsupervised?" Zayne inquired, "Isn't that dangerous?"

"She knows her way around a bow well enough. She comes out here often whenever she has free time. Blowing off steam, she likes to say."

"She is very skilled," Tara interjected cheerfully, "I might even say she's a better archer than most of the men at arms employed here."

The duke sighed. "I just wish she had shown half as much dedication to her studies."

As they rounded the corner, Sylus knew the instant Zayne saw her. He felt the shift in his body almost immediately as his gaze landed on the young lady Cienna with chocolate brown hair, purple eyes, lavender dress… and most definitely not a child.

The group watched as the young woman carefully nocked her arrow from the ground quiver near her feet. Her stance was sure and solid as she aimed her bow, holding it steady as a statue before letting it fly. In the blink of an eye it hit the target with a dull thud, claiming a space just up and to the left of the central bullseye. Her next shot hit slightly lower and a little wide. Her third hit nearly perfectly true, just off center by half an inch.

Sylus felt the vibrations of Zayne's exhale through his talons. "Impressive…" he breathed. "You'll forgive me, but… I assumed she was still a child. May I ask how old she is?"

"She will be twenty four next February," the Duke replied, "Old enough that she should have grown out of these fancies by now, but she's headstrong. Takes after her mother."

Zayne hummed quietly in acknowledgement. "And might I ask where her mother is now?"

"No longer with the living, I'm afraid. A sickness took her about six years ago."

"My condolences."

"It's quite alright," the duke heaved a deep sigh. "We have a small shrine in the far corner of our private orchards. She asked to be buried there, rather than in the family crypt. She wanted to be beside our son."

"Your son…?"

"Caleb was his name. Cienna's elder brother by two years. What happened to him was…. well, it was sudden, that's all I prefer to say. I'd rather not talk about it." The Duke took a deep breath and forced the straightness back into his posture. "Sorry, you didn't come here to discuss past tragedies."

Duke Joseph took several long strides toward his daughter, who was in the process of retrieving her arrows from the practice target. "Cienna, darling! Could I interrupt you a moment please? There's a gentleman here who'd like to meet you."

She groaned as she pulled on one particularly stubborn arrow. "Ugh, father, I told you I'm not interested. I don't care what his parents promised you."

"Cienna, it's not-"

"I've already met almost every unmarried lordling my age within a hundred miles. You know as well as I do that they're useless, spoiled, and hopelessly dull." The arrow she had been tugging at finally came loose. She added it to the bundle in her hands, waving them dramatically in their direction. "I don't see why this one should be any different."

Bold, brash, and unapologetically blunt, Sylus thought. This just gets more amusing by the moment.

The duke stepped to the side, urging Zayne forward. "Cienna, this is the wizard Zayne. I have asked him to consider becoming your new magic instructor, and-"

"Wizard?" Her eyes went wild with surprise as they locked onto Zayne, but that lasted for barely a moment before they were overtaken by suspicion. "Father, why are we doing this again?"

"Cienna, please. You have a gift. Surely you must want to-"

"It's not a gift, father. It's…" She stared at Zayne, then down at the bundle of arrows in her hand. "It's nothing."

"This is important, sweetheart," the duke's voice had noticeably softened, though it still possessed the commanding edge that Sylus could only assume was baked into his blood. "Can you at least put those arrows down and greet him properly?"

Lady Cienna opened her mouth to groan again, but clearly thought better of it. She retreated momentarily to her ground quiver to deposit her arrows with a decisive toss, then turned back toward the group. With an exaggerated flourish, she gently lifted her dress in a mocking curtsy, muttering, "It's lovely to meet you, Sir Zayne."

The duke crossed his arms. "And?"

"Aaand we are truly blessed to have you here within our walls," she mumbled, noticeably averting her gaze from both Zayne and her father. "May I go now?"

"Yes, I suppose you may."

She grabbed her bow and quiver, taking one last look at Zayne as she rushed past. There was something in her eyes as she looked at him. It was no longer suspicion, Sylus knew that look far too well. It was more curious, but with an edge of something else that he couldn't quite place. Regardless, he barely had a moment to analyze it before the woman had slipped past them, disappearing through a set of doors on the other side of the courtyard.

The duke shook his head as he watched her go. "I'm sorry for that. As I said, she is rather strong willed and stubborn. Some days it's impossible to talk to her when the moods hit her. She's been like that ever since she lost her brother. Losing her mother a few years after that only made things worse."

He supposed it was understandable. Still, how much had she truly suffered? People lose family every day. He had lost everything once. She still had her father, her life, her comforts. She'd probably never even seen the inside of a cage. Sylus doubted she even knew what a cage was, apart from a pretty decoration for keeping birds.

Tara stepped forward into the heavy silence. "Ahem. Now that you've met your potential future student, is there anything else you need before you make your decision?"

Zayne cocked his head to one side, letting his hair brush lightly against Sylus's wing. His fingers raked Valko's fur as he answered, "Privacy."

The steward blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"If I am to stay here, I would prefer to be within the walls. However, I will need lodgings in the most secluded part of the compound. My work requires intense focus and many of my instruments and components are rather delicate." He bowed his head graciously to the duke. "If you could grant me something that would satisfy this and allow me to stay there overnight while I consider your offer, I should be able to give you my final decision in the morning."

"That would be very gracious of you, thank you. I believe we have something that will be perfect." He turned to his steward with a grin. "Tara, please show Zayne to the southern guest house, past the orchard."

Tara nodded cheerfully before gesturing for Zayne to follow. The archery range gave way into a small multipurpose field, more manicured gardens, and then an orchard filled with pomegranate, pear, and blood orange trees. At the far end was an enormous gnarled apple tree, its trunk curving into a dramatic bow and fruits almost as big as an infant's head. A pond filled with orange and white koi created a small barrier between the orchard and the guest house, crossed by a low wooden footbridge.

"Dinner will be served in about an hour," Tara informed him. "Will you like to request a seat with the Duke in the dining hall, or should I have someone to bring a plate out to you?"

"Please have them bring something by and leave it just outside. I would like to meditate on the day and do not wish to be interrupted. I would also appreciate at least a double portion, please. Long days of travel work up one's appetite."

She nodded. "Shall I have them bring some wine as well?"

Sylus immediately began tapping his tail against Zayne's back. taptap taptap taptap, yes yes yes!

Zayne coughed to hide his laughter. "Yes, that would be most appreciated, thank you."

After the steward had left, Zayne crossed the small wooden bridge toward the house. He insisted on entering first, taking several long minutes to check and cleanse the space before allowing Sylus or Valko to follow him. He took another twenty minutes to apply all of the necessary privacy and protection wards to keep outsiders from perceiving them in any way. The waiting strained Sylus's patience, but it was necessary. All of this was necessary to get what they wanted, and so he was willing to be patient.

When he had finished, Zayne dropped his hood and turned to his companions. "Alright, we are safe to discuss things now."

Sylus returned to his human form before speaking. "I feel like our choice is obvious."

"Is it?"

He gestured in the direction of the castle. "Zayne, everything we could desire is within reach here. This shouldn't even be a debate."

Zayne crossed his arms. "I'm not going to sell out your safety for wine and books, Sylus."

Sylus's throaty sigh came out like a growl. It was frustrating. Safety and danger were never two mutually exclusive sides of one coin. One did not eliminate the other. Danger was always ever-present, and safety was something illusive that you paid for with blood.

They hadn't been 'safe' in Whitetree either. Sure it was calm and isolated, far enough away from the capital that running into King's Watch or Templars was like seeing a snowstorm in April. Still, Sylus had heard things when he was out on his flights alone. He knew the idle gossip they shared as they tended their fields, when they discussed a shifter that had been caught in the next town over with little more comment than "good riddance."

Zayne couldn't possibly understand. Neither could Valko, as privileged as he had been with his own upbringing by comparison.

There was no such thing as perfect safety. That was a myth told to children to keep them from screaming at every sound in the night. Trying to seek it out was like chasing the sunrise. It was pointless. Even kings could be murdered in their beds.

Valko shifted, rising to his feet beside him. "He's right though, Zayne. This is perfect, or as close to perfect as we might get. I don't think we could have picked a better setup if we tried." He cocked his head to one side, eyebrows raised. "And Cienna seems interesting, eh?"

"Yes…" Zayne murmured. "Interesting."

"Not a child at least," Sylus added. "That had been your other biggest concern."

His hazel green eyes narrowed, flitting momentarily to one side. "No… definitely not a child."

"So what do we have to discuss? You're not being expected to play babysitter to a babe, and we are both more than willing to accept the risks necessary to stay here." He took Zayne's chin between thumb and finger, turning his face toward his own. "We now have the opportunity to begin reclaiming everything that was taken from us. If anything stands in our way, we will face it… and we will make it tremble."

Zayne closed his eyes as Sylus leaned in. A gentle but persuasive slide of Sylus's tongue caused his lips to part, and the wizard's body relaxed into his partner's kiss. Valko slid in behind him, pressing the lower half of his face into Zayne's neck and running the tip of his nose along his earlobe.

"Very well," Zayne sighed. "I will inform the Duke first thing in the morning of our…. of my decision. I hope we do not grow to regret this."

Sylus smirked. "You won't."

After everything Sylus had been through, he deserved this. He had already paid his dues in blood. It didn't matter if the Gods felt him worthy. He would have what he desired, for himself and his companions, by any means necessary.

If more blood was eventually required to keep it, so be it.

He was done running.

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