They were able to waste the entire afternoon, drinking and chatting. Iova gave Rae his impressions of all the people he’d met at Camp Ashem, and Rae embellished them with his own stories. They talked of the wines and sweets people enjoyed in the empire, and Rae looked on with childish wonder as Iova tried to draw a diagram of his old home on the dirt floor.

  “So, we would take this corridor every morning, and pay respects to my first Aunty. Then my brothers and I would take lessons from the tutor here,” he pointed to a wonky box he’d drawn. “After that, we could entertain ourselves in the grounds as we saw fit.”

  The map had already been spoiled by Iova stepping on it, but when Rae sat back and took it all in, he was struck by what a vast maze this house must have been.

  Life in the plains must be…

  “Must be what?” Iova hiccuped.

  Rae shrugged. He hadn’t realised he’d said that out loud.

  “It must be very different to life up here. If only it were possible, I’d like to see for myself,”

  Iova solemnly patted him on the back, “It’s a great shame you won’t be able to. And a worse shame for me,”

  “You have no hopes of going home? Won’t the Emperor punish your brothers after the dust settles and their wrongs have come to light?”

  Iova’s expression went strange, twisted into a forced smile.

  “I’m perfectly satisfied to spend the rest of my life out here. Or if you won’t have me, I’ll go north,”

  So there really was no hope. Rae’s heart stung. To know you can never go home because your family wouldn’t have you… Because there was danger lurking there… Rae could remember what it took to accept that.

  “You have no other family who might defend you?” Rae asked. He was thinking of his aunt and uncle. He needed to write to them soon, so they and Gaori would know he’d arrived safely.

  “There’s no one,” Iova said.

  That wasn’t the best thing to ask, Rae scolded himself. He blamed it on the alcohol. It was making him thoughtless and insensitive.

  No more questions about his family, Rae decided and poured them both more wine.

  They drank in silence for a while before Iova let out a gasp and hid a grin behind his hand.

  “There’s something you must know!”

  Rae startled at the change in tone, and Iova laughed.

  “That young lord, the one who brought me here—”

  “—Venn Ashem.”

  “Yes, yes. Master Ven. Did you know that he fancies you?”

  Rae studied Iova’s expression. He was holding his face in his hands, smiling at Rae with half-lidded eyes. He had the dreamy look of a contented drunkard.

  Before Rae could decide how to answer, Iova cried out, “So it’s true!”

  “What?”

  “You’re blushing,”

  There was no looking glass in the tiny hut. So all Rae could do was touch his cheeks. Maybe they were a little fevered…

  “That’s the alcohol,” Rae said.

  “Wha—? You don’t seem drunk at all,” Iova laughed, “or maybe I’m too drunk to notice.”

  Rae relaxed, “That must be it.”

  “Honestly, though. I was surprised. I was always told the mountains were full of wild men, who run around naked and covered with hair… So I was surprised to find there were so many handsome men among your people,”

  “So many?” Rae thought back to the glimpses he’d caught of Camp Ashem’s people. None of them stood out as exceptional. Other than Ven, of course.

  “Well, of course. First, there’s Master Ven. He’s got this suave, domineering confidence about him. From the moment I first saw him, he made an impression. And he has stunning skin.

  And those two men you brought with you: I saw you arriving, but was too shy to show myself. The one with the pale hair, I’ve never seen anyone like him! And I’ve seen all the beauties the empire has to offer. Surely, you must know he’s exceptional?”

  Rae couldn’t deny either of these assessments. As Iova spoke, he had crept closer. By this point, he was inches from Rae’s ear, whispering yet more scandalous thoughts. Rae suppressed a chuckle.

  “And the tall, brooding one. He’s from here, isn’t here. I’ve heard the local girls talk about him. Not as striking as the other one, but those sharp features, and those long legs! One would be a fool not to notice it,”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Iova’s eyes were gleaming, so Rae didn’t dare point out that those good looks came with a troublesome personality.

  “Are these kinds of discussions normal among your people?” Rae asked, once Iova had shared his thoughts on seemingly every man in the camp.

  Iova hummed and stroked his chin, long lost to the liquor.

  “I don’t know about everyone else. But it’s certainly normal for me!” he laughed.

  Rae longed to ask more. If it was normal for Iova to speak of such things to a near stranger, what else was so readily accepted?

  Among the mountain people, relationships between two men were not strictly forbidden. For young men, such things could even be considered healthy. Good for the soul. Unlike the strange practices of the imperial peoples, Rae’s kind practised strict monogamy. But while no wife would begrudge her husband a bosom friend, such matters were best carried out in secret.

  Could things be different elsewhere?

  Iova must have taken Rae’s sullen and serious expression for despair over his appearance not receiving any praise.

  “I simply must mention, you have a very cute face too!” As Iova said this, he cupped Rae’s cheeks and gave them a squeeze.

  The door to this hut didn’t have a lock. Iova had nothing worth stealing, and even if he did, no one in the camp would dare.

  Regardless, that wasn’t Rae’s concern. He batted Iova’s hands away and was about to give him a taste of his own medicine —Rae wasn’t the only fresh-faced youth with round cheeks and a slender waist in that room— when the door swung open and a familiar voice rang out.

  “Excuse—” Ven’s voice stuttered to a halt as he took in the scene.

  Iova and Rae were mid-wrestle, practically in each other’s laps, both flushed from the alcohol.

  “What’s…?” Ven asked.

  “Speak of the devil! I was just—!”

  Rae elbowed Iova in the ribs.

  “He’s had too much to drink. Ignore him,”

  When Rae stood up, his drunkenness hit him in full force. The room seemed to sway, like the slowest earthquake in history had just struck. Before he could topple over, Ven caught him by the wrist and held him steady.

  “It seems he’s not the only one,” He said in that low voice, laced with fondness. A voice that gave away far too much!

  Rae’s cheeks burned, and he cursed internally.

  Must you give this loose-lipped imperial more to gossip about?

  Iova had groaned after being struck, but by now he was smiling again, “Master Ven, there’s still some wine left. Won’t you join us?”

  Ven guided Rae back onto his seat before replying, “Save the rest for me. I’ll fetch some water, then I’ll be back.”

  Ven did as he said, and guarded the wine like a dog when he returned.

  “Sip your water. You need it. And let me enjoy myself, I’ve had a long day,” he said, as he batted Rae’s reaching hand away.

  Rae pouted and heard Iova snicker. Thankfully, the foreigner kept his mouth shut.

  “I’m sorry, I was meant to be assisting you, and instead I…” Rae hiccuped.

  “Think nothing of it. Your first day is for resting, who am I to deny you your vices?” Ven laughed, “Just sober up in time for tomorrow, okay?”

  Ven’s smile was luminous, and it made Rae transparent. In the dying light, Rae could perceive the slight bobbing of his throat as he drank.

  “What will you do tomorrow?” Iova asked.

  “Sebi Bejuk and I visited the outlying camps today to check on the sick. Tomorrow, we will hear his verdict, and hopefully take action.”

  Rae nodded. After a few minutes of sitting down and sipping his water, he wasn’t feeling the alcohol so strongly. Through the glowing beauty, he could see the exhaustion in Ven’s features: shadowed eyes, his skin more pallid than golden, his smiles more wry than playful. Rae felt a pang of guilt.

  “What are you making such a sad face for?” Ven asked him.

  “What do you know about the sickness? Last I heard, it was almost nothing…”

  Ven smiled, as if, in his smug way, he planned to reassure Rae’s fluttering heart with a show of arrogance. Instead, his eyes rolled back, and his head impacted the table.

  After this incident, Iova would comment on how calm Rae seemed. That, while Iova was running about the hut, making nothing but a mess, Rae had barked at him.

  “Go to the main house, ask for a healer,” before adding, “ask for Sebi Bejuk.”

  You were so cool, Iova would later say. I was afraid, but you took care of everything. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have known what to do.

  But that wasn’t how Rae remembered it.

  Blood rushing in his ears— so loud! How was he supposed to check for breathing with that racket going on? Keeping his own breath steady was like taming a wild horse.

  Is he still breathing? Rae rested his ear against Ven’s chest. Even feeling the gentle rise and fall, his heart couldn’t relax. He was certain that each exhale would be the last.

  “Ven, please wake up,” he said, once he was left in the hut alone. Not alone. He was still with Ven. Ven was still…

  Still. Limp. Dead. He was dead.

  He groped at Ven’s wrist, feeling the smooth skin there, feeling his warmth, feeling a pulse. Was the warmth a fever, or had Rae’s body suddenly become unnaturally cold? Now he’d confirmed that Ven was still breathing, his heart was still beating, he was still throwing off heat… Now, it was Rae who felt like a corpse.

  Sitting there, in the dark room with a motionless body, made Rae think of his parents. Of stinking herbs and tiny bodies.

  Grief choked him, and he gripped Ven’s hand like a vice.

  I would sooner die here than see his spirit off, too. Resting his forehead against Ven’s, not daring to place a kiss there, he thought: If I die, my spirit will linger on earth forever. As long as he lives. He thought this and tried to conjure that thought into a prayer. He beseeched the heavens. But before he could think of a more worthy trade, the door swung open.

  Then, light was streaming in, reflecting off silver hair and eyes.

  “Let me see him,” Sebi said, his tone firm and sharp. Rae pressed himself against the wall and watched Sebi make all the checks he had just made.

  When Rae finally found his voice, he asked, “What happened to him?”

  Sebi sighed, “This is how all the other cases started.”