In Enemy Hands Chapter 7.1

Chapter 7.1For the next few days, their routine was pretty much the same. They ate the morning meal and then explored the surrounding area near Adlar’s home. Varo spent the evenings learning to cook, which more often than not ended with laughter. Varo was hopeless in the kitchen, but he did try. They laughed, and they talked.
As the days passed both of them lowered their defenses and got to know one another. But the nights… the nights were spent in unbridle lust. Adlar never forced Varo to his bed. Instead he tempted and teased.
And Varo couldn’t resist.
Yet another day had come and gone. They’d eaten the last meal and cleaned up after themselves. Now they were in Adlar’s office. Adlar was at his desk doing whatever it was he did on a small comp.
Varo sprawled on the long, armless black relaxation couch reading. He was still shocked at how many actual paper books Adlar owned. At first he hadn’t understood what the big deal was, but as time had passed he begin to see.
There was something about holding a book, turning the pages… and its smell. He couldn’t describe the rich scent except to say it was old. His father would have have laughed at such a sentiment, but Adlar had just nodded like he got it.
In the beginning he’d called Adlar an animal. Now he was beginning to wonder if the Helkans weren’t more sophisticated than his own people. Adlar was educated, polished, and well-spoken. If it wasn’t for the fact they took slaves, he might have believed they were better than his people. But slavery was wrong. And if continued down that road, he’d ruin the evening.
“Varo?”
Varo looked up from his book. “Yes?”
“I really need to get some training in, and I was wondering if you would like to take part?”
Varo immediately flashed back to that first night he’d seen Adlar’s idea of training. He was nowhere near that level. “Um, I saw you that night, you know. I don’t have your level of experience. I won’t be much of a workout for you.”
Adlar smiled. “You watched me that night? Why didn’t you join me?”
“Ah, I didn’t want to disturb you. And frankly, I wasn’t in the mood for an ass kicking. I’ve never trained with a battle bot before. I’m not a soldier.”
“No, princeling, you’re not. But that doesn’t mean you’re defenseless. I’d like to increase your knowledge.”
Varo set down the book he was reading. “That won’t get you in trouble?”
Adlar cocked his head. “I don’t understand. In what way would training you get me in trouble?”
“Teaching a slave to fight. Would that not be a problem?”
Adlar just snorted. “You already know how to fight. I’m just going show you a few things. Besides, the only person I answer to is my brother.”
Varo was glad Adlar brought that subject up. “Speaking of your brother, I have a question, if you don’t mind.”
“What?”
“You once said he’s younger than you, but yet he’s king. Shouldn’t you, as the eldest, be king?”
“Our ways are different than yours. In our culture, the first-born child becomes leader of the D’noir. If you remember, the D’noir is a group of ten assassins who protect the king. The men who belong to the D’noir are close to each other. They form strong ties.”
“So you never had a chance to do something else?” Varo asked.
“Did you?”
“Well, no.”
Adlar shrugged. “Didn’t you grow up knowing you were part of the royal family and what your role would be? Is the eldest of your brothers not the crown prince? Is he not the one slated to become king? Isn’t the second-born son considered the spare?”
“Okay, yes, that’s true.”
“Those are your traditions. This is ours. I’ll tell you something too, Varo. I’m glad I’m not king. I don’t have the patience for such an undertaking. And politics? I’d end up knifing someone.”
“Don’t have the patience? What about how you skulk in the shadows when you’re waiting to kill someone?”
“Please, I rarely skulk,” Adlar said. “That sounds so sinister. More like lie in wait.”
Varo rolled his eyes. “And that doesn’t? But I do agree with you. I have no desire to rule and never had. Not that it matters. I’m so far down the line it would never happen.” Especially now, but why bring that up? “Just curious though. What would happen if your brother couldn’t rule for whatever reason?”
“I would, of course, step in until his son was old enough to take over.”
“Oh, he has a child?” He had no idea.
But then, why would he? It wasn’t like he and Adlar were friends. But now that he thought about it, it seemed like he did vaguely remember hearing something about it. He hadn’t really cared at the time.
“Of course. He was two: a son and a daughter.”
“Do you?” Stars, he hadn’t thought of that until now.
“Have children?” Adlar asked. “No. That hasn’t been a priority for me, but I’ll have to at some point.”
“So you plan to take a female as a mate?” What would happen to him, then? Would she also have control over him? And why in the blazes did Adlar having sex with a female bother him?
Adlar stared at him until the silence grew. Finally he spoke. “Not… not now. I’ll use a surrogate mother when the time is right.”
“Oh. Okay.” Relief flooded through him, then disgust at his reaction. Why did that make him feel better? Right. You know why that relieves you.
He didn’t want to share Adlar with anyone else. Which was the height of stupidity. No way could this end well for him.
“So, about working with me. Are you interested?”
“I guess.”
“Excellent. Follow me.”
He followed Adlar to the same courtyard he’d seen Adlar practiced. Adlar showed him how to stretch out and loosen his limbs, then handed him a weapon.
Thanks to the light, Varo saw the knife clearly. It was simplistic in its design. The handle was Black Phospolrock that had been refined until it was nearly iridescent. The blade was black and thicker at the base.
“Really?” Varo asked as he examined the weapon.
“It’s a training weapon. The blade can cut, but it’s very dull. It would take a lot of work to use this to kill.” Adlar showed Varo his weapon. “Mine is the same, so I don’t have an unfair advantage.”
“Okay. I was just surprised you’d give me a weapon.”
“You behaved yourself the last time you had one.” Adlar strode to a control panel on the outside wall of the courtyard. “We spar only. No hits to the face, no broken bones. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
With a nod, Adlar began to circle Varo. Varo turned with Adlar, working to keep Adlar in front of him.
Even with the lights, Adlar obviously was a creature of the night. His body flowed, his moves were smooth. Deadly. Varo maintained his breathing, determined to keep it slow and steady. He glanced down at Adlar’s feet.
“No. Keep your eyes on my face. Watch for tells. Trust me, there are always signs if you know what to look for, like eyes narrowing or lips tightening. Maybe their nostrils flare before they attack.”
Varo jerked his gaze up, and kept his eyes trained on his opponent as they circled each other. He studied Adlar’s face, but there was nothing to see. It was like looking at a blank mask. No emotion was there. Nothing. It was kind of scary.
Then he thought he caught something. Yes! Adlar’s lips twitched. Adlar suddenly darted in and swung a fist at Varo’s face. Varo jerked his head back, and Adlar’s fist whistled past his nose. Stars, he felt the air brush past him.
“Excellent! You saw something, didn’t you? What gave it away?”
“Your lips twitched.” Varo thought he saw approval in Adlar’s eyes. The Helkans admired courage above all else from what Varo had learned in his brief captivity. Their people reviled cowardice.
“Good catch.”
“I’m also betting you did that on purpose.”
“Oh? Why?” Adlar asked, still circling Varo.
“A first year cadet would have caught that, and you’re not first year anything. Neither am I, Adlar, so stop acting like it.”
Adlar grinned, a look of satisfaction gracing his face. The he threw back his head and laughed.Moving quickly, Adlar dove at Varo’s feet, knocking him to the ground. Varo grunted. Stars the male was fast.
The other rolled away so fast Varo barely had time to react. He did manage to get in one good swipe with his dagger though. Smirking, he watched a red welt rise upon Adlar’s bicep. He sprang back to his feet and grinned at the Adlar.
It was only a graze, but Varo was rather proud he’d even managed to get near Adlar. Adlar sprang to his feet and turned to face Varo. He glanced down at his arm, and a look of satisfaction passed over his face.
“Well done, Varo. You’ve drawn first blood.”
“Technically, I haven’t. You’re not actually bleeding.” He refused to admit he was breathing hard too. He backed away from Adlar. God, he was tired. And the other male wasn’t even breathing hard!
“True, but we’re not actually trying to draw blood.”
They continued the fight, each trading blows. They might be pulling their punches, but Varo was still aching from the hits he took. What had possessed him to tell Adlar not to teach him like a rookie? For every one hit he landed, Adlar landed three. What was really disconcerting was he knew Adlar was going easy on him too.
Adlar was careful not to hurt him, at least. Good thing. If this had been a real fight, he’d be in trouble. No, that was incorrect. He’d be dead. Sweating now, and panting, he knew he needed to end this and soon.
Best bet was to go on the offensive. Adlar wouldn’t expect that. He hoped. With a battle yell, he threw himself at Adlar, who sidestepped him… just like he wanted. Swinging around quickly, he raised the knife over his head and leaped onto the Adlar’s back.
He brought the knife down toward Adlar’s neck. He wasn’t planning to really hurt Adlar. He had planned to mimic cutting Adlar’s throat. He didn’t stop to think how Adlar might respond. In a lightning-fast move, Adlar reached up and grabbed his wrist.
As he pulled Varo forward, he twisting downward, bringing his face close to Varo’s. “Nice try, princeling.”
He pulled away and hurled Varo over his head and onto the ground. Varo landed on his back, blinking in shock. Adlar kicked Varo’s knife across the courtyard. Varo watched, helpless, as it landed several feet away.
Well, that was the end of that, thank all the stars. But before he could speak, Adlar straddled him. Grabbing Varo’s wrists, Adlar yanked them over Varo’s head. Holding his hands hostage, Adlar bent down and took Varo’s mouth, insistently nudging his lips open.
He thrust his tongue deep into Varo’s mouth. Varo couldn’t miss the possessiveness of the kiss. He went limp under Adlar, letting the other male take over. His cock strained against his pants as Adlar drove him crazy with his lips.
Having his hands restrained added another edge, one he hadn’t ever thought of before. He felt helpless, and he liked it. He whimpered into Adlar’s mouth. He wanted more. Adlar ended the kiss and raised his head.
Varo gasped for breath at the desire he saw shining in Adlar’s eyes. Desire, and something more. Something that looked like affection. Finally Adlar smiled. He eased his body off Varo’s and stood.
Leaning over, he held out his hand to Varo. “Good fight.”
Getting tossed over Adlar’s head and ending up flat on his back was a good fight? Well, he hadn’t ended up bloody. And he walked away from it intact. He was willing to bet that didn’t happen often even when Adlar sparred. So maybe it was a good fight.
He took Adlar’s hand and let himself be pulled to his feet. “Thank you. Tossing me over your head like that was pretty cool.”
“The counter to it is easy,” Adlar said as they walked back to the main housing unit. “Next time I’ll show you.”
“I’d like that.” They entered through the kitchen.
Adlar fixed them both something to drink. Once they satified their thirst, Adlar suggested Varo go take a shower and clean up while Adlar finished what he was working on. Varo did as Adlar suggested. It wasn’t until the hot water hit him did he realize why Adlar had suggested this. Grateful for the suggestion, he moaned softly as the kinks in his back and shoulders loosened.
Now that he was clean and his muscles no longer ached, he was starving. He returned to Adlar’s office to find Adlar snacking on finger foods on a large tray. Some of the fruit he recognized, like the red Hayberries. There were several different colored berries he’d before, along with two different kinds of dip: one was white, and the other was blood red.
He also saw Adlar had included cubes of Algraine cheese and thick dark brown crackers. A number of thinly sliced meats decorated the tray along with sliced black Breadian pickles and Katmere Moon olives.
Oh, Adlar had Moon olives. Varo’s mouth watered. The white round fruit tingled on the tongue when bitten and had a sweet explosive taste. They were considered a delicacy in many cultures and expensive.
“Oh, thank the stars! I’m starving.” Varo hurried over to the spread of food. “That looks really good. And you have Moon olives. Stars, I love those things.” Varo grabbed a small plate and started filling it, adding his fair share of the olives. Next to the food were glasses with water in them.
“Help yourself, and then join me.” Adlar gestured to the food. He already had a plate and was seated at a small table in the office.
Varo stacked food on his plate then sat down across from Adlar. He nodded to the stuff on Adlar’s desk. “Did you get all of your work finished?”
“Actually, yes. Good thing since while you were taking a shower, my brother contacted me.”
Varo’s stomach dropped. “Oh? What does he want?”
Adlar continued to eat, not noticing Varo’s sudden stiffness. “He wants us to come to the palace.”
“Us?”
“Yes. He wants to meet you.”
Varo grasped his plate, his knuckles turning white. His mind flew in all different directions. Why would the Helkan king want to meet him? Was it because he was a Yesri prince? Or for some other reason?
“Um, could I ask why he wants to meet me?”
“He knows who you are and how you came to be here, but….” Adlar shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ve mentioned you to him a time or two.”
Varo didn’t know if he should panic or plot. He really never thought he’d get an opportunity to meet the Helkan king. Now that he was, what should he do? 

TBC