Chapter 70: Concessions

"You can always export the trinkets, and give the people of Yaranhold the extra food you were going to sell," Thomas was making his case next to Leon, his head on the king's lap. Leon was petting him absentmindedly; Lucius was glaring daggers at the both of them.

"What do I get if I help Lester?" Leon asked. Not one to mince his words.

"It won't be Lester that you would be helping, but Yaranhold," Thomas sighed. He knew he had to keep talking. The king was still smarting from being in chains not even ten hours prior. He would continue to sulk, no matter what Thomas did.

"Let us say I help Lester," Leon insisted, his fingers weaving through the wavy hair. He could imagine the siren thin and with waist-length hair. What a delicate vision he would be. One to match his melodic voice. "What do I get out of it?"

"Must you repeat yourself?" Thomas snapped; the fingers tangled in his hair.

"Must you hold that tone with me?" The king snapped back.

"Name your price," Thomas finally spoke. Pavel and the rest of the caravan waited for him to tell them the good news. He was not going to disappoint them.

"I will play the benevolent king, if you do something for me," Leon made his voice sugary sweet. Thomas felt sick.

"What?" The siren asked. It could be many things. Yet, he doubted that the king would tug at his tail too much.

"I want you to tell everyone that you are doing this, the connecting of the outposts to the country, in my name," Leon spoke.

"Just that?" The summoner was ready to tell many lies. He found they came easy to him these days.

"Just that," Leon pressed his lips against Thomas's nose, and gave it a light kiss. To those who looked from the sidelines, they were just two lovers and nothing more. To Thomas, they were a predator and prey. Much to his dismay, he was not the predator.

"Alright. If that is your wish," Thomas spoke, and got off the king's lap. "You will get the love of the people. Just don't misuse it."

Leon smirked at him, and brought their heads together.

"You know, after we get married," Leon began, and Thomas shivered. "After we tangle the vampire in our sheets. After..."

Leon ran his tongue over Thomas's mouth, and the siren gulped.

"After I am secure on my throne. We will do many things together, and you will never think to threaten me again," Leon smiled earnestly then, an act for the crowd, and let go of Thomas. "I take it you want me to write up a contract for the trade?"

"That would be nice, my king," Thomas bowed, and went back to Pavel and the rest of his caravan.

"The king will buy everything you carry personally," the summoner told them. Their eyes shone with joy. "And you will get to carry food out of Orestria."

"This is wonderful news," Pavel looked ready to cry. Thomas did his best to not show how unsettled he was about making the image of the corrupt king seem good.

"When you go back to Yaranhold, tell Lord Vermont that he should make a list of demands, and I will see them done," Thomas spoke. His interests lay in Yaranhold. The marble city too big of a prize for him to quit the game now.

"Ah, Silver-Tongue, won't the king mind when he finds how close you are to our lord?" A caravan tag-along asked. She looked to be a kind woman in her forties. Thomas smiled at her.

"They are cousins, are they not? Soon, Lester and I will be family," the bitterness these words brought him didn't escape Thomas.

"Well, who are we to argue?" Pavel asked. He chanced a look at the king, who was writing on a scroll. "Just be careful, ok?"

Thomas nodded, and went to Lucius. The vampire glared at him, when he approached.

"It seems that you are not above using everything in your arsenal, right, Tommy?" The vampire snapped.

"If you really cared all that much, the three of us wouldn't have ended up in a heap on the road," Thomas bit back. He sat next to Lucius, and offered his neck. "You haven't drunk anything since last night. Help yourself."

"I suppose you want some of my blood in return?" Lucius asked, his red eyes locked on the exposed neck.

"We both know I need it, just as much as you do," Thomas spoke. He felt eyes on himself, and saw that Leon was looking at him with calculating eyes.

"He will definitely mind," Lucius nodded towards the king.

"He cares as little as you do, considering he shared me last night," Thomas spoke, annoyed at the entire situation.

"He shared you because, if he had not, I would have killed him," Lucius kissed the exposed neck, eyes not leaving Leon's.

"And you still might, but do you know what? I think I know more about vampires now than I have ever hoped to find out," Thomas placed a hand in the red locks of hair, and brought the vampire's mouth flush against his neck. "You are not kind. Caring, or any of the things you faked around me, back before this entire mess began."

"Oh, you are an expert on me now, are you?" Lucius's eyes finally left Leon's so that he could stare at the flesh below his mouth.

"You are a creature of the night. Primal and a predator," Thomas spoke. Lucius could no longer contain himself. He bit down, and began to suck out the blood. It was human blood, what else could he had expected? It was given freely, something he was not used to. Not only that, but it was Tommy's.

They heard a snap, and Lucius's eyes traced the sound. Leon was fuming, the upper half of a pen in his hands. The vampire smirked, and wrapped his hands around his prize.

Yes, Thomas was going to marry Leon. Offer him immortality, and give him an eternity on the throne. But he was going to be Lucius's first and foremost. No matter how much the king raged.

The end.