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

25- Blood on the Tapestry

*****⚠️ MAJOR TRIGGER WARNING: there's a rape scene in this chapter. It doesn't go into crazy detail, but it doesn't really gloss over it either. Please read with caution ⚠️ *****

*****If you want, my Patreon is a few chapters ahead. The cliffhangers are gonna start since we're getting to the climax of the first book in this duology, so maybe go check that out if you wanna read a few more chapters :)*****

HEATH—

"We can't find Khif!" I yelled, jerking against the guards who held me back from the prince. The man who stared me down with tired, glazed, and red-rimmed eyes.

Had the asshole been crying?

My irritation at that was apparent and unwarranted, but my fear was rising and I didn't know how else to vent it.

Like a coward, the prince had run from me and Khif as soon as Khif had risen to meet his eyes. I had glared at his retreat, glad I had spooked him away.

But the moment I looked down at Khif, I regretted what I had done. He stared after the prince with a glint of anxiety and genuine hurt in his eyes. Yes, he loved me. This I knew, this I accepted, and this I had to move past. But he was in love with, or at least, falling in love with, the prince, too. I could see the soul-deep affection in his eyes as they welled with tears to see the prince's reluctance to meet his eyes.

At the prince's retreat, Khif had turned away, hopelessly staring at the sky. "He doesn't know. He... He'll never know who I really am."

"Idiot. He should be able to tell with one look who you are, if he spent even a day on Wal'yah. He should feel it."

"No, he is sweet. And gentle. And I can't believe I feel this way..."

With his words, he moved towards the doorway to the balcony, staring long after the prince's form had disappeared.

I had left him to bring drinks and food back to the balcony, so that we could eat in peace, but when I had returned he was gone. I immediately knew something was wrong. Something in the pit of my stomach refused to allow me to breathe. Something told me he was hurting. Someone was hurting him. Right at that moment, he was terrified, in pain, and desperate. And dammit, I couldn't find him.

I tracked Ryker down easily, but when I explained what had happened, I earned a black eye and a split lip with a single one of his huge fists against my face.

"How could you let him out of your sight?!" he screamed down at me on the floor at his feet, earning fear and a few angry looks from the nobles around us. They couldn't care less what had happened, but I knew someone who might. Leaving the nobles to their selfishness and debauchery, Ryker and I moved quickly through the halls of the palace.

Although I found the prince's chambers easily enough, the many guards around it were not easy to pass.

Ryker, in a fit of rage, had managed to pry a sword from one of the men and, throwing it with all of his might, embedded it halfway through the door. It made a loud banging, clanging noise that must have roused the prince and his slave as our scuffle hadn't so far, and with my words, the prince held his hand up and quickly moved to me, pushing against the guards until they let both Ryker and me go.

"What did you say?" he hissed, gripping my shirt in his fists. But Ryker was much faster than me to answer. Although still unable to speak Nelek fluently, his desperation was apparent as he gripped one of the prince's hands that held my shirt and stared into his eyes.