Each year the Kingdom of Khearia throws a festival in remembrance of one of their most beloved kings who had tragically perished along with his wife and second son. His first son, Prince Fabian, was the only one to survive. Witnesses claimed his cro...
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"Why Riley?" James asked, stabbing his wooden sword into the floor.
ㅤAlex glared at him, bent over and out of breath. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with his hand, his curly hair coming undone and sticking to his face. His cheeks were a darker shade than normal but his skin was light enough that James imagined a pink tint to it.
ㅤIt had been a cruel joke that, once James had finally managed to seduce Alex, he wasn't able to watch the man unravel with his eyes. The room had been too dark for him. James imagined Alex would have looked something like this, hot and bothered.
ㅤAlex straightened his back and repositioned his feet, shoulder width apart, lifting his sword and preparing for another attack. Thomas groaned in the background, knowing the cycle of defeat would repeat.
ㅤThey'd finally found the opportunity to spar with each other. James was breathing hard, his body aching and tired. They were training in a private sparring room, away from onlookers except Thomas. It wouldn't have been good optics for the royal knights to see one of their bosses getting beaten up. Thomas came along because he'd wanted to watch James spar from a distance after their own match, perhaps trying to spot weaknesses in his technique.
ㅤ"Riley has Theos royal blood in him," Alex said, "I can't think of anyone better."
ㅤJames inwardly scoffed and then went on the offensive, aiming his sword to Alex's chest before sweeping it low last minute to get his legs, contorting his body to the side so that he missed Alex's upper block.
ㅤJames' eyes caught it again; Alex's feet shifted one way and then his body moved in another. Every single slice of Alex's sword was clinical and clean but there seemed to be somewhat of a disagreement between Alex's instincts and discipline; that was why he kept losing.
ㅤAlex cursed after James hit his shins, letting his training sword fall in frustration. James sighed and dropped his own pole to the ground, stopping the match for Alex's own sake.
ㅤ"Those things give me splinters," James complained, flexing his fingers, not that he felt it.
ㅤ"Better a splinter than a stab wound."
ㅤJames looked Alex in the eye.
ㅤ"I don't like that man," he stated, wanting to get his opinion on the record.
ㅤAlex glared. "I don't care if you like him or not. It's what I've decided."
ㅤJames shook his head. Alex didn't like Riley either, James knew that much. Riley's royal blood wasn't a benefit, it was a risk; especially since King William believed Theos and Ankaid were conspiring together. Fabian could catch wind of their every movement if Riley decided to rat them out. Knights with connections were always the most dangerous.
ㅤ"Why don't you like him?" Thomas asked. He had walked up to them with two towels. James took one and wiped it all over his bare shoulders and neck, feeling gross with sweat. Alex still had a shirt on, using it only on his head, and James wondered what he was so self-conscious about.
