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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"Wakey-wakey!"
ㅤWhat was supposed to have been the highlight of their trip, a warm bed and a roof over their heads, had been a sleepless nightmare. Riley had groaned and complained all night, tapping his feet, screaming through his gag. The sight of him sleeping peacefully in his chair now, his pale eyelashes shut against his cheeks in the gentle early morning glow, was an offensive blood-boiling sight.
ㅤRiley woke up in surprise, his eyes wide and pupils small and tired. In a fit of annoyance, James put either hand on the back of the chair and started rocking it back and forth aggressively. The chair legs banged against the wooden floor.
ㅤ"It's morning! Wakey-wakey, snake!"
ㅤThomas groaned, burying his head under a pillow.
ㅤ"Give it a rest," Alex complained, his voice gravelly and sleep-heavy. It sounded sexy, but James was too pissed off to appreciate it.
ㅤThomas sighed, tossing the cushion to the ground and staring at the ceiling. "Wait a night, huh? Yeah, Alex, James sounds totally calm now."
ㅤAlex sat up, the bed creaking as he did so. The dark bags under his eyes weren't as pronounced as they had been at the palace but the weariness was noticeable. Another surge of irritation filled his chest. James was a stranger to sympathy and he didn't like how Alex's misery spread to him, like a psychological disease.
ㅤ"Can we have breakfast first?" Fletcher squeaked, he had a pillow in his arms, hugging it to his chest like it would protect him. It was pitiful.
ㅤThe source of this torment was Riley.
ㅤ"I can torture him for information," James suggested to Alex in the royal language, "I've been tortured before. I know what works and what doesn't. You'll just need to distract the others for a bit."
ㅤRiley blanched at the suggestion and began struggling against the ropes, murmuring for help through his blocked mouth.
ㅤAlex sighed long and loud. "You're not torturing him," he said in plain Khearian, signalling his would-be plan to the others.
ㅤJames frowned. "He's scaring Fletcher, and making you tired."
ㅤ"You're scaring Fletcher," Alex shot back.
ㅤ"I'm not scared, actually," Fletcher voiced, rather unconvincingly.
ㅤOne glance around the room and James' heart began to pound erratically, the blood rushing through his ears and throbbing in his head. No matter how hard he clung to Eris, she could only soothe his emotional issues, the physical reaction of panic was still very much there.
ㅤToo many people were finding out who he was. The fact that none of the men in the room had brought it up again, whether they wished to confirm or invalidate it, meant that they most likely assumed it was true.
