Aleneo pretended to be asleep when Erebus got up. He listened as the man moved to the bottom of the mat and pulled his shoes on. The faint sound of rustling fabric almost lulled him back to sleep, but at the same time, he was too awake.
Carefully, he cracked his eyes open and looked down at where Erebus was sitting. The man's back was toward him. He saw Erebus's messy hair, his wrinkled shirt, and his back muscles moving from under it.
He watched up until Erebus turned. He squeezed his eyes close and stilled his breathing. His heart pounded. The rhythmic thumping made him feel more anxious than he already did.
What happened last night was a mistake. More than a mistake. It was...
The words were lost on him. He was confused by the actions though he knew rationally that it had only been the consequences of lust. However, men weren't supposed to find release with one another. Maybe Erebus had thought Aleneo was a women in his daze. The dress Aleneo still wore could have further confused him.
Except Erebus hadn't hesitated to touch him...down there.
Aleneo's face flushed as he thought about how good Erebus's hand had felt. He'd never been with anyone and to have his first experience with a man was—
"I know you're awake."
Aleneo jolted. He'd been squeezing his thighs together to stop from getting hard. He immediately stopped when Erebus called him out.
Aleneo kept his eyes closed. He heard Erebus open the flap.
"We leave in ten."
Then he left.
Aleneo could breathe again. He opened his eyes and looked around. He was alone in the tent.
He turned over on his back and stared up at the ceiling. His feelings of confusion wracked his mind all the way up until Erebus ordered him.
Erebus's arm around his waist had a new meaning. Aleneo couldn't relax as he was forced against Erebus's chest once more. He couldn't stop thinking about last night and how Erebus's hand had given him so much pleasure.
He was going to go mad if he had to be forced to be close to the man for much longer.
Cephus lead the way and periodically, he would glance back at them. Aleneo didn't know if he was making sure they hadn't disappeared or if they weren't misbehaving. Aleneo would have died of embarrassment if he came to find out Cephus had known what they were doing last night.
He didn't quite see revulsion in the slave's eyes. So that was good.
The further they traveled the less snow there was on the ground. It seemed they were getting closer to the edge of the forest, but Aleneo was pretty sure this wasn't the way back to the kingdom.
His gut clenched as he remembered how odd these two were acting.
"I need to piss."
Aleneo rolled his eyes at Erebus's language.
They stopped and Erebus went off into the trees a little ways to relieve himself. Cephus held onto the reigns of Erebus's horse just in case Aleneo got the idea of taking off.
A few minutes passed. Aleneo shared a look with Cephus.
"He's probably taking a shit," Cephus mumbled.
Aleneo couldn't believe the vulgarity of these two. Alette would have fainted if she overheard them.
When a few more minutes passed, Cephus finally started to look a little worried.
Aleneo snorted. "Did the Dark Prince die while trying to pee?"
The image of Erebus sprawled on the ground with his pants down shouldn't have been amusing, but it was. Aleneo could only hope.
Cephus gave him an annoyed look and got off his horse. He tied the reigns together to make it a little more harder for Aleneo to ride off.
"Don't do anything stupid," he said before he went in the direction Erebus had.
Aleneo mocked him behind his back. He mumbled a few curse words under his breath. He waited a moment before he looked around at the horses and the packs. He took a glance at where Erebus and Cephus had gone. When he didn't see anyone he turned around in the saddle and opened the flap of the bag.
He saw loads of wrapped food, money, and first-aid. There were other things that he didn't recognize that must have been human items. But as he expected, this looked like someone was on the run.
It dawned on him then. But he searched Cephus's bag as well.
More of the same. Wrapped food that would last a week, money, and personal items that wouldn't be brought along if Cephus was planning on returning back to the kingdom.
No wonder Erebus hadn't cared when all the men had died. They were probably put there to make sure Erebus did return to the castle. Cephus probably convinced him this was the only way to get back home!
Something worse than betrayal settled in Aleneo's chest. He was nothing more than an expendable piece to these men. He now knew that they weren't going back to the castle and they were heading to Hinythia.
They were going to trade him to the Hinythians.
He was turning back around in the saddle when he heard shouts. He sat up straight as he whipped his head in the direction from which it had come. The same direction Cephus and Erebus had gone.
Before he could make any kind of decision, Erebus and Cephus came running back.
Erebus jumped onto the horse and grappled from the tied reigns. "Fucking fuck!"
Cephus struggled to get onto his horse while Erebus finally got the reigns untied.
"What's going on?"
Erebus kicked the horse and sent them off. "Your mother, that's what."
He growled it with such malice that Aleneo was taken back by it.
The horses galloped through the dense trees. Aleneo held on tight to the saddle as he was jostled around.
"What do you mean?"
He looked behind them, but he couldn't see anything they were riding so fast. Cephus kept up with Erebus though it wasn't without effort. Erebus pushed the horse like it was a machine and not a life animal.
"You're going to tire her out!" Aleneo went for the reigns. Someone needed to be the brains in this situation before they all got killed.
Erebus grabbed Aleneo by the neck and choked him until he dropped his hands. "I'm the one in charge! Now sit your ass back!"
Aleneo panted as he was forced to do nothing.
They broke out from the forest and were heading toward a large open land. It was similar to the one Erebus had tried to force him to go in, but instead of feeling like his body was going to be ripped apart from the inside, he felt nothing.
As they ran across the open field, there was a rumble. Aleneo recognized the sound of dozens of horses. His mind went back to the field where Teryn had died. He didn't have to look to know that the men Alette had sent were here.
She won't stop. She needed Erebus. Unlike Aleneo, Erebus wasn't dispensable.
"They're catching up!" Cephus yelled.
"I know!" Erebus growled back. He dug his heels harder into the horse, but she couldn't go faster than her body was able to.
Aleneo was really afraid that she was going to collapse from exhaustion.
He quickly thought about what he wanted most in this moment. He had to choose between going with Erebus to wherever and with whatever plan he had or if he wanted to go back to the castle and face the fate of being killed and eaten.
For the first time, the unknown and the uncertain was more attractive than the known. He'd choose Erebus now until the alternative became better.
"Turn around!" He shouted to be heard over the commotion.
Erebus dug his fingers into Aleneo's side. "I thought I told you to shut up!"
Aleneo couldn't give up. "I'm serious! Trust me!"
He twisted as much as he could to look Erebus in the face. Erebus's jaw clenched. His eyes narrowed as he thought about what Aleneo had already thought about. They weren't going to escape an army of men. How they knew Erebus was making a run for it just meant Alette had been prepared for it. Something about Erebus's behavior beforehand must have made her paranoid.
"Cephus! Follow me!"
Erebus made a hard right. "Where?"
Aleneo's heart lodged in his throat. "B-Back where you found me. Follow the river."
Erebus didn't give any indication he heard him, but Aleneo knew that he had. There was a harshness in his eyes that unnerved Aleneo. It made Aleneo feel like Erebus didn't quite like being told what to do.
They were riding so fast that the wind made tears spring in Aleneo's eyes. He blinked them away and seethed as shivers wracked his body. His entire legs were numb as well as his hands. Still, he kept focus as he thought down the crazy plan.
Erebus followed the river as they broke through the forest again. "What's your plan?"
Aleneo found it hard to speak. "You can control the forest creatures, right?"
Erebus gave him a quick look. "Sort of. They listen to me, but I can't give them orders."
Aleneo ignored the horrid feeling he at the idea that Erebus was communicating with the monsters. Though, if there was a chance that they would disregard what Erebus told them then Aleneo's plan probably would go side-ways.
"There's a red pond. Creatures rose from there."
"And they'll kill the men?"
Aleneo closed his eyes as he remembered what happened to Yazif.
"Yes. They will."
He kept his eyes closed for a long moment. He didn't think about Yazif, Teryn, or Angel. He did think about Wolf and where he was. He hoped the horse had made it to safety, but a part of him realized that that was probably not the case.
When he opened his eyes again, he almost thought he'd wake up in his bed in the castle. No. He was still here. Kidnapped by the Dark Prince and running from his mother's men.
The river began to get wider. Aleneo became more awake as he could sense that they were close.
He didn't need to say where to go. Erebus seemed to sense it as well. He took off into a seemingly random direction, breaking through a dense part of the forest and ending up on the other side of the warmth Aleneo had left behind.
Erebus came to a stop at the center of the clearing. "Cephus! Get behind us!"
Cephus didn't need to be told twice. He got behind them. "What is going on?"
"Stay close and be quiet."
Erebus stared intently at the red water. Aleneo hadn't told him anything about the monsters being in there, but Aleneo figured he knew it because he was connected to them in some way.
Aleneo took a deep breath. He heard yells and the hooves of horses. The men were coming close.
"Get ready," Erebus whispered in Aleneo's ear. Aleneo didn't get the chance to ask why he needed to get ready.
Alette's men burst through the clearing. At the exact moment the men charged toward them, the monsters from the red boiling water rose up.
"Prince!"
Aleneo instinctively turned his head. Of course, the man yelling it was one of Alette's guard's and he wasn't referring to Aleneo. The man's wide-eyes were locked onto Erebus, but Erebus didn't even blink. His dark eyes stared intensely at the figures coming toward them.
Aleneo clutched onto Erebus's arm. He held his breath as the creatures crept closer. But they went past them.
They gained speed as the water dropped from their bodies. There seemed to be strips of rotting flesh coming off of them. They ran straight toward the men and attacked. The men attacked back, wielding their swords.
Aleneo tugged on Erebus's arm. "Let's go!'
Erebus shook his head. "I need to see it through."
"What?" Aleneo gave him a bewildered look. "You need to see them die?"
Erebus didn't even pretend to be ashamed. Giving no other explanation, Erebus ignored Aleneo's stare as he watched dozens of men die right in front of him. He did not flinch. Nothing changed on his darkened face.
But in his eyes, Aleneo saw enjoyment.
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