Mongue stopping woke him with a start and he sat up, the hood of the cloak falling back. It was dark out now and Prince Aspen had found them another cave to bed down in for the night. He was murmuring softly to Mongue who still looked peeved at him but accepted the attention nonetheless. 

Phoenix straightened his spine, wiped the crusted tears from his cheeks and wiped his hands of his sob fest. It was fine; if Prince Aspen didn’t want him, he would at least make himself useful, prove to him that he wasn’t good for just breeding and cleaning. He slid the cloak off his shoulders and shifted himself in Mongue’s saddle and slid down to the ground. The instant the impact hit his feet, pain shot up his legs and he all but crumbled, holding onto Mongue for support as he did so. This immediately got Mongue’s attention who huffed in concern and Prince Aspen who was immediately at his side. 

Before he could shove him away and tell him he was fine and that he could do it himself, the Alpha was scooping him up and carrying him into the mouth of the cave. “Didn’t Ezra tell you to take it easy on your feet?” he growled, setting him down against a side wall, well away from the chill of the mouth of the cave. “I’ll just cut them off if they get worse.” He told him coldly before walking back out. 

Prince Aspen had such a way of making a nice gesture into something horrible. Strangely, he had no doubt the frigid Prince would do just that and he curled his knees to his chest as he shivered. He had meant to grab the cloak once he was off Mongue’s back but with his pain and Prince Aspen picking him up with annoyance, he completely forgot to grab it. Just like when he had been on Mongue’s back, his breath puffed out but even the fascination of the phenomenon couldn’t take away from his growing sadness. 

The sound of footsteps and he looked up in time to get a face full of fur cloak and… it was covered with a fresh scent of Prince Aspen. A strange sort of warmth shivered through his body as he clutched at it before shyly wrapping it around himself. Did Prince Aspen suspect how his scent was making him feel? Did he know it kept him calm? He didn’t dare ask. Along with the cloak, the Prince had also carried in a bundle of wood and was now arranging them on the floor of the cave, far from the reach of the painfully cold air blowing from the mouth. Mongue eased his body in as far as it would go before plopping himself down and essentially blocking out most of the cold air. Phoenix smiled at the beast who would appear like nothing more than the ground should someone walk by. 

He watched Prince Aspen get the fire started, feeling his own ability shift beneath his skin in response but he didn’t dare. Even though Prince Aspen knew he had a direct bloodline to Autumn, not once had either of them spoken of. Even when it was clear Prince Aspen could benefit from his abilities, he didn’t ask. Or maybe it was pride. He supposed he’d never know. He did notice, however, that Prince Aspen certainly wasn’t phased by the cold and had even shrugged off his cloak the moment he’d begun to make the fire. Curiosity ate at him and he opened his mouth before he could stop himself. 

“You said it’s going to get a lot colder. Colder than this?” he asked softly over the sound of Prince Aspen striking the stones to get the fire to light. 

There was a pause in the sound before he continued on. “Yes. Lesser fae not used to the cold freeze to death often.”

Phoenix felt a chill down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold. He had said that with not much empathy. He was frozen now, he couldn’t imagine anything colder than this. “Is this why you aren’t wearing your cloak?” he asked. “This isn’t that cold for you?”

Prince Aspen let out a long drawn out sigh before stopping with the flint and looking up at Phoenix with that same cold expression. Even his eyes looked like shards of ice. “I rather preferred when you weren’t talking.” he growled before continuing to ignore him and trying to start the fire. 

Phoenix wished he could curl in on himself then. He pulled the cloak tighter around him and buried his face into his arms that had been placed on top of his knees. He supposed he put up with Prince Aspen’s cruel words and treatment simply because… he had no where else to go. The promise between King Midas and Prince Aspen was binding. Even if he took off to live his own life, fate would bring him back regardless. And there was no telling if it would be at Prince Aspen’s doorstep or King Midas’s. He shivered at the thought. He itched beneath his collar, shifting uncomfortably as he remembered why it had been placed on him. For your protection, the woman back in Spring had told him. Not that it would do much good. He’d only ever experienced one heat, when he had turned eighteen and presented as an Omega. It had been short and painful and he hadn’t had one since. No one but Eva had known that and he liked to keep it that way. He could still attract the attention of Alphas but the need to mate with him, to breed him, eluded him. Which was perfectly fine with him. He had heard of defective Omegas before and they didn’t last long around the Spring Court. It was why only Eva knew of his irregular, or in this case missing, heat cycles. Defective Omegas wouldn’t make money and they were a waste to feed and clothe. 

Finally, there was a spark and the fire burst into life. A part of him yearned to reach for the flames, to warm his frozen body but he held himself back, clinging to the cloak heavy with Prince Aspen’s scent. The Winter Prince sat back then, looking pleased with himself before standing and walking over to one of the bags hanging from Mongue’s saddle. Prince Aspen pulled out a frozen carcass before jamming a stick through it and  bringing it back to the fire. Already, the promise of meat had him sitting up straighter, his stomach twisting with the need to taste it and he was sure he looked like a anticipating hound waiting for its share. 

Already, he seemed to forget Prince Aspen’s request for him to keep his mouth shut. “I’ve never eaten meat like this before…” he murmured softly, eyes wide as he watched Prince Aspen position it over the flames. Already, water began to drip off of it as it thawed. “We slaves were given nothing more than a bowel of watered wheat and a hunk of bread. The only time it wasn’t moldy was at the beginning of the week when it was freshly baked.” 

Prince Aspen was watching him strangely from atop the fire, the orange flames' shadows dancing across his face. Phoenix wished he knew what he was thinking. At times, it seemed as though Prince Aspen hated his very presence while others, like now, he seemed contemplative, as if comfortable in his presence. 

“Who birthed you?” he asked after a moment and Phoenix found himself taken aback by the question. It certainly had nothing to do with the meat or his position as a slave. 

He shifted nervously, happy he had the cloak as his own personal comfort space. “I… I don’t really remember.” he told him honestly. “I remember they were kind and that they loved me but, also, there always seemed to be a sort of sadness that I didn’t understand.” He gave a sad smile as he found himself transported back into his memories. “I remember the day they were taken from me. They promised me… they promised me that I would be safe and that I would see them again…” 

He couldn’t talk anymore and he immediately clammed up. The memory wasn’t raw, as it had happened so long ago, but he still felt an aching hole in his heart that had been taken from him and never put back. 

“Your eyes,” Prince Aspen started, clearly unfazed by the emotional story. “Are a sign of Autumn Court nobility. Were you aware of this?”

Yes… and no. He knew he had to hide them at all costs but it had been his ability with fire that was his telltale sign of his Autumn ancestry. “Sort of.” he told him. Not exactly a lie. “But I always kept them hidden. Only Eva, the female that looked after me and King Midas, were aware of their color.” No reason to give away his magic at this point. Though, confirming that he was of Autumn descent, he wouldn’t be surprised if Prince Aspen already knew of his abilities. It wasn’t like it was secret knowledge. 

A moment of silence passed between them before Phoenix spoke up again. “If… what King Midas said is true, and I am the heir to the Autumn Court, what will happen to you with your promise with King Midas?”

A darkness seemed to come over Prince Aspen’s face and Phoenix’s heart quickened in slight fear. It was a look of a male who wanted to tear something, or someone, apart. “I have no choice but to bring you back to Winter.” he said, his voice clipped and clearly done with the conversation. 

Phoenix could tell he was struggling with far more information than he had but he left it alone. It was far above his station as an Omega and a slave to know what a Prince was thinking about. 

They remained in silence until the carcass was cooked and Prince Aspen used his knife to cut it in half before handing the one half to him. Phoenix took it with gratitude and happily dug into it. It was the greatest thing he’d ever tasted and fell apart in his mouth with each bite. He resisted the urge to moan at each bite and finished it far faster than Prince Aspen did, even going as far as to lick each and every bone clean. Now full, and warm thanks to the cloak and the fire, he felt immediately sleepy and he shuffled to the side, where a large boulder was looking rather inviting to lean against. 

“Thank you…” he murmured after a moment, his gaze shy from beneath the hood of the cloak and a warm flush to his cheeks. “For everything…” 

Prince Aspen stirred the fire as he tossed his own bones into it, his frown tugging further at the corners of his mouth but he didn’t answer. Phoenix took that as acceptance before he snuggled down beside the boulder in the cloak and allowed himself to fall asleep, surrounded by the Alpha’s scent.