"What do you want from me?" Akoni asked, wondering if his father was still sane with the way he rambled.
"To beg your forgiveness," Luciano said with a despondent expression. "I've not been a good father in a great many years. I've not been a good king either. I wish I didn't leave you this legacy, that you didn't have to suffer this same fate. I couldn't fight the curse. I pray that you will be stronger than I was. And so far, you seem to be doing well."
"I'm hearing a lot of 'I's'," Akoni said, trying to keep the scathing tone from his voice. This man had terrorised him for over a decade. Forgiveness would never be so easy.
"The magic corrupts, Akoni. In ways you have yet to learn. What you are going through now is only the beginning." A coughing fit wracked his body. "There's enough magic left that I can see the change. You've found love?"
Akoni's gaze drifted to Jeffrey without conscious thought.
"Would you introduce me to her?"
The question startled Akoni. Her? He eyed his father again. Lying flat on his back, he couldn't see Jeffrey. The canopy curtains would be blocking his view. Looking back at Jeffrey, he raised an eyebrow in question. The blond shrugged and came forward.
"Yes, I have found love, but not with a woman. This is Jeffrey, he's my consort."
Luciano's eyes opened wide. "I... I apologise. You seem familiar, Jeffrey. Have we met?"
"I've been serving as your son's guard. We had previous encounters. I'm also told I resemble my father, Fabrizio Trevino."
"Trevino... Corvin?"
Jeffrey gave a faint nod, his lips pursed.
"You found the lost Trevino boy." Luciano smiled at Akoni.
"I assure you, Father, he's all man." Akoni took hold of Jeffrey's hand, giving it a squeeze.
"He makes you happy."
Akoni nodded.
"I'm glad. I gave you a promise once and then I did reprehensible things. I'm sorry, Akoni. Your magic is different, I sense it. You need that, it will make you stronger. So I am pleased but...what will you do about an heir?"
"Let that be my worry, Father." It didn't seem right to tell him he had no intention of fathering an heir, ever.
Luciano nodded. "And you, Jeffrey? Are you ready for the road you've chosen? Being his consort will mean great hardship, and not because of the...unusualness of your choice. His magic...he will need your help."
Jeffrey smirked and turned his head sideways to gaze at Akoni. "I think we'll be all right. Besides, the goddess is watching out for us."
The glint in Jeffrey's eyes turned Akoni's knees weak. There were naughty thoughts on Jeffrey's mind, and Akoni didn't think he minded one bit. Because of Jeffrey's injuries, their intimacies had been too rare. Before Jeffrey had left the palace, they'd been at odds, never able to be civil for long, intimacy out of the question. Except for a single night, the culmination of their only date. But now, they were together and yet felt as separated as ever, if not more. Touches and kisses were all they shared, a sweet torture of its own kind.
"You look good together, happy."
The comment startled Akoni out of his thoughts, and he turned his gaze away from Jeffrey, embarrassed to have been caught. "Father, you said you want to beg my forgiveness. There are a great many years of lying and manipulating to make up for. You've never told me about the magic. If you do now, we'll see if it's enough."
"Most of it is a mystery lost to the ages. But I will try and answer your questions."
"Start by telling me what to expect."
"That may take some time, son. There is no straightforward answer. And," he paused, casting a glance at Jeffrey and continued cautiously, "this will be personal. You may wish to send your consort away."
"He's staying. He needs to know this, too," Akoni replied, allowing no argument.
"If you're certain, then sit, get comfortable."
Akoni pulled two chairs closer and sat, Jeffrey by his side the whole time.
Luciano drew a long breath, as if readying himself for a big tale. "I was thirteen when my father activated my own magic. When you turned thirteen, I realised why. Something in the magic changes, like it matures. My own magic reacted every time I saw you. It didn't make sense at first, but it was strong. After your magic activated, the reaction became more intense until I drew from you, then it would go quiet for a time.
"In the beginning, my father only drew from me once, maybe twice a year. Then gradually it became more and more often. He was my king--whatever he needed, I offered. He stopped after I married, when we had you. Or at least, it was less for a while. As time went by, the drawing became regular, frequent and painful, though it hadn't hurt in the early years. It would take me longer to recover, too. A day came... I'd barely recovered from the last transfer. It was the day before your ninth birthday, and if he drew from me, I'd miss the celebrations because I'd be laid up in bed again. I pleaded with him, begged him to wait a few days. He didn't.
"Something happened that is difficult to explain. When your grandfather tried to draw from me that time, my magic reacted differently. It fought the transfer, resisted somehow. Almost like an act of self-preservation." Luciano stared at the bed's canopied ceiling for a time. "It was different to what happened with you. But it had the same outcome. My father collapsed afterwards. His body began to fail him within days, though his mind lasted. His magic transferred to me. I felt it, every day a little more.
"I heard it calling to me. Some days it would pain me, others it would...it got worse with each day that passed. Your grandfather suffered, too. He pleaded with me to help him, to give him back some of the magic to stop the pain. Other days he'd beg me to take it all. In the end I was too weak and I drew it from him. All of it. Every last ounce."
Akoni watched his father's face, but the man's expression remained empty, giving away nothing, and he didn't speak again. "How was it different to what happened with me?" he asked at length.
Luciano turned his head, his gaze locking on Akoni's. "You are different. Where I always gave willingly to my king, you never did. Even from the first day you fought me. Not your magic. You."
"I don't understand. What difference does it make?"
Luciano turned to look away again. "Tell me about your magic. How does it feel?"
"I'm not here to talk about me but to hear what you have to say for yourself. I've heard nothing yet that would let me be inclined towards forgiveness."
"Yes, so different," Luciano murmured.
Jeffrey reached for Akoni's knee, drawing his attention. "I think he's trying to say you're stronger. You resist the magic's pull on your own, where he let it control him. Could that be?"
Akoni's brows drew together as he tried to comprehend Jeffrey's words, his gaze returning to Luciano, who gave the faintest nod. "You said the magic called to you and you drew it in. Because you couldn't ignore it? I don't hear any call. I feel it, but there's no pulling."
"It knows you're stronger. You've already lasted longer than I ever did. How many weeks has it been? And you're not even tempted."
"This isn't making any sense." In frustration, Akoni rose from his seat, pacing the room. "I came for answers, and instead you're telling me nonsense."
"You both talk about the magic like it is an entity. Explain that to me," Jeffrey said.
Akoni continued to pace, staying quiet.
Luciano regarded Jeffrey. "Because it is. It may not feel or think as we do. But it can act."
"How?"
"By taking control," Luciano whispered, the admission seeming difficult for him to make.
"As in, it takes over your mind?"
"And body."
"So you're telling me your magic actually takes control of your body and makes you do things you wouldn't?"
Luciano nodded. Jeffrey gave Akoni a questioning look.
"I've tried to tell you before. It makes me do things sometimes."
"The servants you've hit..."
Akoni lowered his gaze and nodded. "And worse."
"Does it
ever do good? Because this is Gaia's gift, right? She's not cruel, she wouldn't..." Jeffrey shook his head as if determined to deny the obvious.
"It saved your life. It protects us when we're young. Beyond that..." Akoni shrugged. He'd seen little evidence of any good in the magic, raising the same questions in his mind that Jeffrey seemed to have. Turning back to his father, Akoni said, "You said it knows I'm stronger. What does that have to do with anything?"
"I'm not certain. I want to say it fears you but I don't know if that's giving it more credit than it deserves. But it knows you will be a considerably different host than I was. I don't think it knows what to make of that."
Akoni continued pacing. "If I'm stronger...does that mean I'll be able to control it?"
"I can't answer that. But I guess time will tell."
"Jeffrey said you let the magic control you. Is that what happened? Is that why you changed?"
"My memories are hazy at best. I remember you as a young boy, barely reaching to my chest. Now you're a tall young man in the prime of your life. I have lost many years, I think. I cannot tell you what I did because I remember so little. But I know I hurt you and I know I hurt my people. I'd beg your forgiveness but I was too weak and... You deserved a better father, one who didn't leave you such a legacy as this. In time, maybe you will understand and judge me less, if not forgive me. Your mother has told me much of you. You will be a better king than I ever could have been. For that I am glad. I pray you can heal what I ruined, for the sake of our people."
"You didn't answer me."
"It whispers in my ear. Even now. I wish... Hmm, no, I cannot ask that."
"You never truly fought it, did you? You simply gave in and let it take over."
Luciano closed his eyes and didn't answer.
"Did it ever hurt you?"
"Me? No!" Luciano's eyes opened wide in astonishment. "Since the ascension, it has only...it sings, it caresses. Gentle waves."
"It's time to leave," Akoni said, looking at Jeffrey and nodding at the door.
"Akoni...son...will you return?" Luciano's voice sounded frail and broken, pleading without words.
"Unless you think of something worthwhile to tell me, no." Akoni turned away from his father and strode out of the room.
Jeffrey caught up with him halfway down the hall, slipping his hand into Akoni's. "Are you okay?"
Akoni continued walking, a slight squeeze of Jeffrey's hand his only response. His head swam from trying to decipher his father's words. He seemed to have more questions than before he'd spoken to the man. Why did the magic hurt Akoni but not his father? Why did it seem to react so differently to them? What did any of it mean?
Chapter 19
On entering his room, Akoni found Toby fast asleep on the couch. He went over to him and gently shook his shoulder. "Toby, time to wake up."
"Your Majesty, I'm so sorry!" Toby sat up hurriedly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Shush. I took much longer than I expected, I apologise. I hope the rest was good?" Akoni asked and sat in an armchair, leaning his head back. A sudden tiredness swept through him. The conversation with his father had been more draining than he'd expected.
"Yes, of course. Are you all right? How can I help?"
"First of all, I need you to look after Jeffrey. Tend his wounds and tell me how he is doing."
"Don't issue orders on my behalf. I'm perfectly fine," Jeffrey said, disgruntled.
"I believe I told you not to use that word again. I'll have to make good on my promise." Akoni smirked at Jeffrey while waving Toby towards the other man.
Toby got up and approached Jeffrey. "I'd need you to remove your clothes, my lord."
Jeffrey rolled his eyes but stripped out of his clothes, Akoni following every move. With the bandages off, new red lines were revealed on Jeffrey's skin. Since the rebels had fought not only with swords but pitchforks, axes, and whatever crude tools they had available, it had been a messy fight. And it would leave permanent marks on Jeffrey's body, new scars joining the ones he already had.
"The wounds are healing well, it seems," Toby said, kneeling in front of Jeffrey and inspecting his leg.
"Why don't you sit down, Jeffrey, or lie down or something to make this less awkward on Toby." The sight of Toby kneeling in front of a nearly naked Jeffrey was much too disturbing for Akoni to watch.
"Why don't you run us a bath?" Jeffrey asked back but fell into a chair. "Don't use any salves now, Toby. Not on him either, nothing that'll wash off. He needs a bath."
"Speak for yourself," Akoni grumbled, closing his eyes again.
"I'll leave the salves with you. You can take care of each other. Will that be all right, my lord?"
"Perfect, thanks, Toby," Jeffrey replied.
There was silence for a while, aside from some mumbling from Toby and groaning from Jeffrey. Akoni kept his eyes closed. Sleeping in the car had not been restful, nor had the nights he'd spent worrying about Jeffrey. A few nights spent in a proper bed might help. He opened his eyes when he felt a touch on the back of his hand--Toby inspecting the scabs.
"It looks to be healing well. Do you have any pain? Any soreness flexing your fingers?"
"No, none. It's nothing really. Tell me about Jeffrey."
"How is your arm? May I take a look?"
Akoni rolled his eyes but removed his robe and shirt to let Toby inspect the one wound he'd received.
While taking off the bandages and checking Akoni's injury, Toby spoke. "Jeffrey's injuries are healing well now. The new stitches seem to be holding, and the infection has eased off. As long as the wounds are kept clean and the salves applied regularly, they should be no trouble now."
"Can he do exercise?"
"Exercise. Like fighting? Well, I really wouldn't recommend it. We're safe here, too, right? There should be no need." Toby looked between the two men, and his cheeks turned pink, his lips forming an O. "I mean...uh, light exercise should be fine, Your Majesty. Just...uhm, no acrobatics, nothing too strenuous..." He busied himself with his bag of jars and pastes and salves.
Jeffrey shook his head at Akoni, who shrugged helplessly.
"Thank you, Toby. That'll be all for today."
Toby closed up his bag and mumbled something unintelligible then headed for the door. "Your Majesty," he started and paused, gaze moving between the door and Akoni. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about, regarding the pilgrimage... If now isn't a good time, though..."
"What pilgrimage?" Jeffrey asked.
Akoni ignored Jeffrey, his gaze pinned on Toby. "Tell me."
"Well, before we left the palace, I found something. I could only bring a small number of books; we left in such a hurry."
"Toby, please get to the point. I am rather tired." Akoni tried to give a smile, tired though it may be, to take the sting out of his words.
"Apologies, Your Majesty. I believe the temple in question is here in the Pyros Mountains. The passage is ancient and difficult to decipher, but I'm certain. I've tried to ask people, but they are close-lipped around here. I figured you may get better results."
"Here, in Pyros?" Akoni repeated, sitting forward, his elbows on his knees, wringing his hands.
"Well, it wouldn't be near the keep, I don't think. It'll be higher up in the mountains. Hard to reach probably. But..." Toby shrugged.
"Will you tell me what in Tempesta's name you're talking about?" Jeffrey asked again.
"That may change everything. Did you find anything else? Any clues what happens at the temple?" Akoni asked.
"None, Your Majesty."
Jeffrey came and knelt in front of Akoni, grabbing his chin to force Akoni to look at him. "Is this about you leaving? Are you still considering it? Because if you're going to up and leave, we have some serious problems on our hands. You've demanded more from me than I was willing to give. I won't let you leave now."
"Jeffrey," Akoni whispered, his lips curled upwards. He took hold of Jeffrey's hands and kissed each knuckle. "I'm
not going to disappear on you. Anywhere I go, you're going, too, now. Won't ever let you out of my sight again." He leaned in and pressed his lips against Jeffrey's, sneaking one hand around the back of Jeffrey's head, holding him there.
Akoni pulled away from the kiss when he became aware of Toby shuffling from one leg to the other. The physician stood holding his bag, hovering near the door, unsure whether he should leave or not.
"Toby, you've done excellent work again. Is there anything else you found?"
"No, Your Majesty. Well... I think you should talk with the priestesses here at the keep. I've nothing else substantial for you, though."
"Thank you, Toby. This has been most helpful indeed." Akoni paused. The situation had already become uncomfortable, but he needed to ask. "The things you see and hear--"
"Your Majesty, I would never break confidentiality. The things you've done for me, and my sister especially... I could never betray the trust you place in me. Even if the oaths allowed it. Nothing I see or hear or in any way become privy to will ever be repeated unless you specifically ordered it."
"Thank you, Toby. It's been strange times. I know and I trust you, but I needed to hear it."
"I understand, Your Majesty. My lord." Toby bowed and left.
"That was so unnecessary," Jeffrey admonished.
"Maybe. I..." Akoni sighed, burying his hand his hair. He felt like he was losing his grip. For once it had little to do with his magic and everything to do with politics.
"I think you're due another lesson in control." Jeffrey stood and took on the look of a hunter stalking his prey.
Akoni eyed him cautiously but didn't say anything. Maybe Jeffrey was right. When he held out a hand, Akoni took it and let himself be drawn to his feet. Jeffrey's arms went around his waist, pulling their bodies tight against each other.
"Do you accept, Your Majesty?" Jeffrey whispered, his lips less than an inch from Akoni's. A promise, with a hint of danger in it.
Akoni didn't need to think about it. He nodded and knew it wasn't enough. "I accept, but you can't do what you did last time. You'll open your wounds."
"Same safe words?" Jeffrey asked, as though Akoni had not spoken.
Ties of Magic (Curse of the Crown Book 2) Page 18
