Bringer of Winter- a M/M/M Epic Fantasy Romance

23- Marks

KHIF—

A few days after he returned home, the Prince of Pryn visited me and Ryker in Master's home. After a while of his ignoring me and simply changing the subject anytime I pushed him, I gave up trying to get rid of him and accepted that there was nothing I could do to make the persistent man leave. Not only did he come in the middle of the day, but he was in disguise. He dressed as a poor merchant, and his elven bodyguard wore a turban to cover his sharp ears.

What an annoying man.

Ryker and I had spent our days for the last many, many months of our slavery resting, exercising, and in general being bored as hell. Ryker had even taken it upon himself to train some of the gladiators. He and Thom had grown— if not close, then at least closer than they had been as strangers. Tye had stayed by our side just as I had known he would, and many times he had saved my life, Ryker's life, and we had saved his. We were family now. Thom and Tye, and even the stoic, difficult Ryse, were my brothers— they watched out for me, they teased me, and they protected me. And I them. I was the youngest and as such was the baby of the group, and they never let me forget it. I was teased to no end for my stature, my nights with Heath and my prayers in Nibean each morning. But they did it good-naturedly. Just as I teased them mischievously but with love. No one could say we were not dysfunctional.

Ryker had taught Tye the fighting style of a berserker, and the man had taken to it ridiculously well. So well that out of all of his gladiators, Master had chosen Tye to fight with Ryker and me when we had fought in the mock battle for the prince's return.

Our friendship with these men had made us, especially Ryker, more accepting of the Pryn people, if still unable to accept the evil they committed against us.

For the prince to come in the middle of the day only to sit down next to me as I leaned back against the wall of the courtyard, and talk— and even to fall to sleep on the courtyard's stone floor after only an hour— was a bit stunning for both Ryker and me. As I stared down at the sleeping prince, cocking my head and wondering how he could sleep surrounded by murderous slaves— and enemy Nibeans— I actually felt a smile rise to my lips. He would have fit in well with our strange group, oddly enough. Both Thom and Tye had seemed to accept him, with only light teasing directed towards me. They had even told him my name, not that it was any secret. But hearing him say it, his voice deep, his eyes flashing to me as she smiled, had done something to my chest that made me flinch back away from him.

"He's insane," I muttered to myself as I watched his eyelids flutter in sleep. Gods, he was a handsome man. Constantly, I watched him, wondering why Myertha would ever let a man that stunning live for so long; why she hadn't stolen him back into her realms.

"He won the respect of many of your people for this same insanity. He feels no fear of death— and somehow he trusts you and Ryker."

"Why would he do that?" I answered, my smirk dropping from my face as I turned to Napa. "We are enemies. If given the chance, I would kill him. I wanted to kill him in the Courtyard. Would have if things had not ended the way they did."

"You are connected," he answered, his eyes watching Ryker, Thom, and three other gladiators as they trained with mock swords and shields. "He has been haunted by you since we saw you in Uriok. Something about you disturbs him. He is not like this with many others. For some gods-forsaken reason, he trusts you."

"Yeah?" I asked distractedly, my eyes now on Henry as he moved into the courtyard and motioned towards me and Ryker.

"It's time," he called, letting his voice carry over the throng of quieting wooden swords. "Ryker and Khif will fight in two hours, along with Nedi, Teleo, Tye, Thom, Alan..."