All previous gusto visibly depleted from their leader’s body as the group entered the small tavern. Jacques looked around anxiously, wringing his hands, which was so entirely out of character for the normally blusterous, assertive leader, Adrian couldn’t help but be concerned, wondering why in Elderian he’d decided to come with them last second. 

As they made their way through the small crowd, they went unnoticed and Adrian thought for a moment they might be in the clear when someone at the counter called, “Oi, Andre, is that you?” They all looked over at the young bartender behind the counter. “It totally is!”

The large black man approached. “How you doing, Marceau?”

“Just dandy! Oh, Jacques, you’re here too! Been like what, seven years?”

The leader grasped his arm with the other. “Something like that.”

“What have you two been up to?”

“You know, traveling and stuff.”

“That sounds so exciting. People in Surtrum rarely come and go, so it’s always refreshing to hear about people’s travels.”

“I’m sure.”

“You in town for long?”

Jacques shook his head. “Just a few days while we get supplies.”

The man hummed a note of understanding. “Well, that’s a shame. It’s good to see you both. I’ll get a round of ales started for you four.”

“Thanks, Marceau.”

Jacques led them to the back of the small tavern at a table in the corner. He collapsed into a chair, letting out a long exhale.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Zuri said, sitting on Adrian’s left while Andre sat on his right. “That guy seemed nice.”

“Let’s just hope no one else recognizes us,” he mumbled, arms folded.

“I doubt most would,” Andre said. “You look way different now than you used to.”

“Didn’t you used to have short hair?” Zuri asked.

Adrian’s eyes widened at the prospect. “Short hair?” 

Jacques nodded, tossing his ponytail with one hand. “Didn’t always have these luscious locks.”

He shook his head in disbelief.  “I can’t see it.”

“It was practically shaved.”

His jaw dropped. “No. You’re kidding.”

A small smirk appeared on his face. “You can ask Andre.”

Their drinks arrived then. Soon they were all drinking pretty heavily, Jacques consuming as much alcohol as quickly as possible until Andre had to quickly cut him off.

“Leave me be!” he complained, but Andre kept the tankard out of his reach. 

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“You wanted me to unwind, so this is me unwinding.”

“I don’t want to see you wasted. Not here.”

He exhaled. “Then I’m going back to the ship.” He made to stand then froze in place. “Shit.” Hiding his face with one hand, his eyes flicked to the ground.

Adrian went to look behind him when Andre was grabbing his shoulder to stop him. “Don’t draw attention,” he hissed.

“Did they see us?” Jacques whispered behind his hand.

Andre snuck a peek, his face tensing. “Fuck.”

“What, what?”

“They’re coming over.”

He leaned over the table locking eyes with his brother in a panic. “Are you fucking kidding me? Why are they even here?”

“Who?” Adrian asked.

“Take a wild fucking guess,” Jacques snapped, and that’s when a hand fell on the larger brother’s shoulder.

“I thought that was you, Andre,” someone said, and Adrian was finally allowed to turn and look at the middle-aged man with a receding black hairline and graying beard.

“Oh, Jacky, Dear, is that you?” An older woman with long black hair and rouged lips walked around the table and crushed him in a hug. 

Jacques did not hug her back.

“We missed you so much, Jacky.” She planted a kiss on his forehead, and he was pulling away with a closed off frown on his face.

“What are you doing here, Mother?” he asked sternly.

She gave a small exhale. “Someone recognized Andre walking down the street with a group, and we assumed you were with him as well. We didn’t recognize you when we first saw you with all this... hair and these piercings.” She looked him over with a disappointed grimace on her face. “We were so worried about you, Honey.”

He breathed out. “Of course, the damn people in this town couldn’t help but gossip.”

“Hey, language.”

He glared up at her. “Do you know how old I am?”

“It’s so good to see you, Son.” Jacques froze, his eyes slowly sliding over to meet his father’s. “S’been a while.” The man came up and hugged him, and Adrian had never seen the leader so subdued. “We had no idea if you were alive or dead this whole time.”

He noted how neither parent hugged Andre.

“We can host you at our place if you need a place to stay,” his mother said. “We can have you over for dinner.”

Something finally clicked and Jacques pushed his father out of the hug. “No,” he said firmly. “I left for a reason, and you’re not walking back into my life now that I have my shit figured out.”

“Language!”

“You can’t speak to us that way,” his father said, his voice raising. “Don’t you realize what you put us through? You left us and left your duty as a magic user. You brought shame to all of us.”

Adrian curled his hands into fists under the table, his chest heaving.

Jacques met the dark eyes, glaring with a calm intensity. “I never asked for that—”

“That’s too bad, because it was never your choice.” His face softened slightly. “Now that you’re older, you must understand the urgency to produce an heir—”

Something flashed across his face, and he was standing, still holding his father’s murderous gaze. “You’ve had your say,” he said through gritted teeth. “You are not my parents anymore. I don’t owe you anything, and I don’t owe the Alchemists either.” His mother gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. “If you won’t have me as I am, then you can’t have me at all.” 

Everyone watched as he stormed off.

His mother put her hands on her hips, and glared over at the other brother. “Andre, make him come back and apologize at once.”

The black man stood as well, shaking his head. “Not happening,” he said softly before walking off.

She folded her arms, her face in an ugly scowl as her husband put an arm comfortingly around her shoulder.

Adrian glanced at Zuri who returned an uncomfortable expression. 

“Well, this is awkward,” the inventor mumbled, clearing their throat.

That’s when the woman looked over, her eyes locking on Adrian as she glared. “And who are you, his little whore?”

Adrian blinked at that in surprise, and Zuri was standing now, grabbing his arm, and pulling him out of his chair, saying, “You guys are the fucking worst,” and left with him in tow.

When they’d stepped outside the tavern, Zuri breathed out a big sigh. “Well, they’re as shit as Jacques described them. Can you believe that mom, looking down on Jacques’s beautiful hair?” They shook their head. 

“How could they act so casually at the beginning too?” he asked, trying to contain his rage. “It was as though they didn’t think anything they’d done to him was wrong.”

“That’s Jacques’s parents for you. Hey,” they hit him on the arm, “let’s go find our teammates before they leave us behind.” 

He nodded and they started down an alleyway. They rounded a few corners and then Zuri stopped in their tracks as the sound of soft sniffling rang out. Adrian looked over their shoulder down a dark alley where the sight that awaited him left his heart breaking in two.

Andre held Jacques in his arms, completely smothering him in his embrace, while the smaller man wept quietly into his chest.

“I thought,” Jacques’s faint words came out in a sob, “after all these years, maybe they had changed or gotten better, but it’s just like it was back then. It’s always the same.” A pathetic whimper escaped his mouth. “Oh, fuck, Andre...”

Zuri was taking Adrian’s arm, whispering, “Let’s get back to the ship.”

As they both left, he could hear Andre say, “It’s alright. We don’t live with them anymore. I’m here. I’ve got you.” 

 

🗲🗲🗲

 

Adrian lay on his bunk, staring at the stars through the ship windows. He let out a soft sigh, then turned on his side to look over at the figure curled up against Andre on the middle bunk. 

Jacques’s face was hidden behind black curls, his arms tucked up in front of him in his usual sleeping position. 

It’d been three long nights as they waited on the ship outside of Surtrum for the market to open so they could get supplies, and Jacques had barely left the bed in that time. Adrian hated seeing him like this, but nothing anyone said seemed to cheer him up.

He watched as Jacques’s chest rose and fell slowly. He wished there was more he could do, but he had a feeling the man just needed space, so that’s what he gave him.

 

 

The next day during the early afternoon, Jacques stood at the helm, powering the ship up.

“Alright, let’s leave this shithole,” he said, his eyes glowing for a second as the vessel began lifting off the ground. “Should be at Mermortiva in a few days. Zuri, take over steering.” 

The inventor, who was on the steps again, looked up from their work. “I’m a bit busy.”

Adrian was by his side now, his hand resting on the helm next to Jacques’s. “I got it,” he said gently, and the brown eyes latched onto him. “I have the precise coordinates to the gem key location anyway.” He patted his shoulder bag, giving a hint of a grin.

Jacques blinked away, placing a hand on Adrian’s arm for a moment before walking away, saying, “Thanks,” then retreating below deck.

It went like that for the remaining days to Mermortiva; Jacques popping up for meals and for some important decisions, barely saying anything, then disappearing again. 

When they had finally reached the coordinates and the ship was parked on the ground and shut off, the group soon found themselves walking over sand to stand at the entrance of a large ancient building made of black glass. A hot sun pierced overhead.

Carved ebony pillars stretched upwards, and Adrian could tell by all the sandy footprints on the glass floor that these ruins had been heavily explored. 

“Is this a popular location or something?” he asked, taking a step forward.

“It’s the only reason someone would bother going all the way out to Mermortiva,” Zuri replied. “It’s a touristy location for sure.”

“Are you sure the other gem key will still be here?” Jacques spoke, and they all looked over at him.

“I really hope so,” Adrian said.

Jacques strode into the large passageway ahead of them. “Only one way to find out.” 

Similar to the power plant, Jacques’s presence caused the room to illuminate with green hanging lanterns. There were already lit torches hung on the walls inside, but they were dim compared to the emerald light.

Adrian became aware of just how barren the place was. Other than the hanging lanterns which could not be removed from their indestructible chains, there were just empty walls and footprint covered floors. 

“Well, shit,” Zuri mumbled. “It’s completely picked over.”

Adrian bit his lip. This did not look good.

They made their way into the next room and there was nothing but a small statue of an Alchemist holding a book in both hands with its eyes missing. He assumed there used to be energy crystals in the sockets, but they’d most likely been stolen. 

“Any idea what this is, Ian?” Jacques asked, placing a hand on the base of the statue.

He came to stand next to him. “I don’t recognize it. Let me see what I can find.” He dug through his bag, taking out the journals and beginning his search.

As he did, Jacques ran his hand over the book the Alchemist was holding and frowned. “I feel something. Beyond this room, there’s an energy crystal. A big one.”

“Wait, really?” Zuri asked excitedly. “How big are we talking?”

He gave them a look. “I don’t know, but we’ll need to actually get there if we want to find out.”

“There must be some kind of passageway that can only be opened with your magic,” Adrian said, closing the book. “Maybe try channeling some energy into the statue? It must be the key.”

Jacques nodded, closing his eyes for a moment before they shot open green. They all watched him expectantly, but nothing happened.

“Wait, hold on,” Zuri said, reaching into their pocket and pulling out a handful of energy crystals. They walked up and placed two of them into the eyes of the statue, then stepped back. “Now try it.”

The leader complied, closing his eyes again. When they opened, the eyes in the statue glowed in response, and the whole thing sunk into the ground. They all watched in awe as it disappeared into the floor, and the wall behind it shifted, sliding to the side to reveal the room behind it.

“Fuck yeah!” Zuri exclaimed, patting Jacques on the back. “Now that’s what I call teamwork.”

Adrian was surprised to see a small grin appear on his face. “Thank the stars we didn’t travel here for nothing.” He stepped forward more confidently than he’d done in days. 

The round hidden room was quite large with murals decorating the walls, and to Adrian’s relief, the gem key sat conspicuously on top of a pedestal in the center. Half of one side of the wall of the room was completely crumpled in. 

“Has someone been in here before?” he asked, eyeing the destruction.

“This was done by a magic user,” Jacques said, looking it over.

“What? How can you tell?”

He bent down and picked up a piece of wall that had black marks on it. “These scorch marks were caused by magic.”

“Why would a magic user try destroying a secret room only they can access?” Andre asked, pushing some of the rubble aside to see the ruined mural behind it.

“I don’t know,” Jacques said, then, “Ian, Wait! Let me take it.” Adrian took his hands back from the gem key before they actually made contact with the black glass. “We don’t know what kind of safety measures are on it.” He walked over, placing both hands on the gem key and lifting it up. 

As soon as he did, there was a clicking then whirring sound, and a flash of green light shot upward from somewhere within the pedestal. To all their astonishment, a brand new gem key rose from the depths.

“A gem key maker?” Zuri exclaimed, running over to examine it. “And just when I think I’ve seen all that their technology can do.” They let out a small laugh, obsessing over the device as Jacques handed the gem key over to Adrian who placed it in his shoulder bag.

Andre spoke from across the room. “Ian, there’re words on the walls. What do they say?”

He made his way over, gazing at the mural that stretched around the entire room. “It’s... supposed to be read from one end to the other, I think. Hold on, let me find the beginning.” He walked around until he was sure he found the start of the carved text. “Here. Let’s see...” He inhaled before beginning his translation.

“It says, after the Alchemists created Elderian, they wanted to ensure their utopia would stay safe and untouched by conquerors. Their technology revolves around the Beloved Alchemists and without their royal touch, none of it works. They uh, specifically designed it that way. Any of the technology can be overridden by a magic user. It mentions how the Totrium has a limit, and once that limit is reached, it closes permanently unless activated by a magic user again.”

“A limit?” Zuri repeated. “What does that mean?”

“I’m not sure. This next sentence mentions how the Totrium was the only way Alchemists could peek into um... let’s see. It’s a bit crumbled here. I think it’s saying they could peek into another land?”

“Is it a spyglass?” Jacques asked. “Some way to look anywhere in Elderian?”

“I’m really not sure. The rest of the words are either destroyed or just fragments.” He scanned a particularly long, surviving line then his eyes widened. “Woah, wait, listen. The Totrium is vital to the existence of Elderian, and grants access to...” He let out a guttural sigh. “No, no... Why is this part destroyed?” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “How is it that the line containing the information we need most happens to be the part that’s ruined?”

“Probably because it was destroyed for that reason,” Jacques said, and they all looked at him. “What? That would make the most sense, wouldn’t it? A magic user opens a room only accessible by magic, and destroys a part of a mural that gives important information about the Totrium? That doesn’t seem like a coincidence to me.”

Adrian considered this. “I suppose that would make sense, but why destroy it?”

“To hide the Totrium maybe?” Zuri suggested, then their face melted into horror. “Jacques! What’s wrong!”

Glancing over, Adrian saw Jacques bent on one knee, holding his head in his hands.

“M-my magic...” he said with difficulty. “It’s like it’s being sapped out.”

“You like my new toy, Jacky?” 

They all whipped around as the room was flooded with Carnadine’s ruffians as the woman in red herself stepped inside.

She held a strange device in her hand with a simple, gray stone built into the center of it. Adrian thought that must be the Teptrite Zuri had mentioned. She pressed a button on the device and the leader groaned, unable to get up from his current position.

“Jacques!” Andre shouted, pulling the massive battle axe off his back and swinging at anyone who came close.

Adrian drew his sword as Zuri pulled out their baton, ready to rush forward when they all halted in their tracks. 

With her free hand, Carnadine held a knife against Jacques’s throat. “One more step and I slice your precious leader’s throat,” she projected coldly.

They all froze as Jacques stood there, still as a statue, his breathing coming in and out in ragged breaths.

Carnadine grinned devilishly. “Seize them.”

Andre, Zuri, and Adrian did not fight back as their weapons were taken from them and their hands were held behind their backs. The man on Adrian’s left holding Zuri had an unsheathed pocketknife strapped to his belt that kept poking dangerously at the blond’s hip every so often. Four different men had to hold Andre to ensure he stayed put.

“I’ll make this quick, Jacky,” she hissed into his ear. “Behave for me, won’t you?”

He gritted his teeth. “Fuck you. Guys, save yourselves and leave while you still can. I’m not worth it.” 

“Not a chance!” Zuri shouted, then gasped in fright when Carnadine pressed the knife deeper, and a trickle of blood ran down Jacques’s neck.

“Where you go, we go,” Andre said calmly, and that’s when Adrian’s eyes flicked over to Zuri’s after they had discreetly elbowed him in the arm. 

They mouthed the words, My back pocket, but Adrian only stared.

I can’t read lips, he replied desperately.

They rolled their eyes. “My back pocket, dipshit,” they yelled, their fingers finding the knife on their captor’s hip. 

In one clean movement, they stabbed the man holding them, found whatever was in their back pocket, and threw their hand out towards Carnadine all within a split second. Before anyone could react, a jet of unmistakable green magic shot out of the, what looked like, another baton in Zuri’s hand.

Everyone except Zuri gawked in disbelief as the Alchemist magic made contact with Carnadine’s face and blasted her off her feet. The inventor cackled with glee, blasting the two ruffians holding Andre and Adrian next, and now anyone else who got in their way, their face mad with power.

“Take this you fuckers!” they shouted, laughing maniacally. “Weren’t expecting a second magic user, were you?” They took something else out of their pocket and tossed it, causing a green explosion.

The already partially intact ceiling of the room began to crumble. As it crashed down where Jacques stood, Adrian didn’t even remember his body moving as he shoved him out of the way, tumbling on top of him. 

Coughing, he got up quickly, hefting the leader up by the arm. “Come on, Jacques!”

No longer affected by the draining element, the shorter man shrugged Adrian off him. “I got it! Make your way to the ship!” He drew his dual swords as Adrian drew his own weapon.

They were back-to-back now as they clashed with oncoming ruffians.

Adrian slashed someone across the stomach, then was locked under a heavy axe. Pulling out his little dagger with his free hand, he gutted the man, quickly plunging the blade of his sword into the next on comer. Taking a moment too long to pull his weapons from the corpses, he was slashed across the thigh.

He slumped to one knee, putting his sword up desperately to block the next attack while groaning in pain. A jolt of green lightning shot through his opponent, and the body convulsed to the ground. 

“You okay?” Jacques shouted behind him, and the blond painfully stood.

“Fine. Thanks.”

“Let’s end this.” 

Adrian felt the familiar charge of Jacques’s energy next to him, and the hairs stood on the back of his neck as the room filled with blinding light. 

Through the chaos, they both made it out of the room along with Andre and Zuri. The inventor was throwing grenades behind them as they ran, explosions and green magic spewing in their wake. 

The group was barely climbing up the ship, Zuri having unlocked the security system, when red explosives went off at the top of the ladder.

“Climb, climb!” Jacques shouted and they were hurrying up while red clouds rose all around them. 

Adrian made the mistake of turning around and saw the terrifying redhead emerging from the crimson smoke, a surprisingly cool, and collected fury on her face as she had the device in her hand again, her finger readied over it.

“Zuri!” the blond yelled at the rapidly climbing inventor above him who’d just reached the last rung on the ladder. “She’s going to activate the Teptrite again.”

“Don’t sweat it! I’ve got this!” They hauled themselves up, peeking over the side.

Before anyone else could speak, there was a short click followed by deafening blasts going off. Adrian gripped the ladder for dear life before he could get blown away, as emerald magic surrounded the base of the ship in an eruptive cacophony of sound and devastation.

The group of four managed to all get aboard. Zuri was cackling again like some kind of demon, setting off another round of their homemade magic grenades as Jacques made his way to the helm.

 The ship roared to life, and they were soon lifting off, everything below completely shrouded in green and red light.

“That’s right, bitches,” Zuri screamed over the railing, chortling. “You didn’t stand a fucking chance against the might of Zuri the Alchemist!” They punctuated their last word with a grenade they threw from their pocket over the side. 

It burst into light at the bottom and soon, Jacques was warping them away, leaving Carnadine and Mermortiva behind.

 

 

When the feeling of having their skin peeling off subsided, the four members let out a collective sigh of relief.

Jacques leaned on the helm, still a little weak from the effects of the draining element. “Zuri, I swear, you’re actually fucking insane.”

They came over, grinning. “Weren’t expecting me to make magic, were you?”

“When were you going to tell me?”

They shrugged. “Soon. I wanted to do a few more tests before showing it off, but well, we were in a bit of a tight spot, so I had to be content with a non-final version.”

“How in Elderian did you make magic?” Adrian asked, leaning against the railing behind them, keeping his weight off his wounded leg which now throbbed angrily.

“Oh, shit, Ian,” they exclaimed after catching sight of his conspicuous limp and red soaked pant leg, and rushed over to him. They examined the deep, oozing gash. “You’ll need stitches.”

“What?” His eyebrows arched upward in anxiety.

“It’s not so bad,” Jacques began, and Adrian shot him a look that made him add, “Okay, it fucking hurts, but it doesn’t last very long.”

“Guess this is karma for the stitches you got over your eye,” Adrian said as Zuri helped him away.

Jacques quickly exhaled. “Guess it is.”

“I want to check you over too,” Zuri said, directing their words at the leader. “Andre, that includes you. Everyone needs a check over.”

 

 

Several minutes later, Adrian was sitting on the side of his bed, gripping the bed frame as Zuri carefully and expertly pushed the fine needle through his skin. Sweat beaded his forehead.

“So, you used the things you got from the power plant to make that weapon,” Adrian said, trying to look anywhere but at the rising and falling needle, “and you somehow got the energy crystals to—Ack!” His breath hitched as he gritted his teeth. 

“I figured out that with the right tools and a lot of tinkering,” they said, their hand and movement unwavering as they ignored his complaints, “the energy crystals can have the magic in them temporarily expelled, so after I figured that out, I just created a weapon that channels the expelled energy. It’s great right?”

“Yeah, it’s—” he let out a small gasp, his chest heaving, “it’s really great, actually.”

“You’re doing pretty well for your first time getting stitches,” Jacques said from the middle bunk, watching him amusedly.

Adrian considered him. “I just wish I didn’t have to ruin my brand-new pants.” He groaned, then exhaled quickly as Zuri sewed the last of the laceration shut. “The green ones are my favorite.”

“That’s what you’re worried about?”

Zuri snickered, tying the string, and cutting off the extra with a sharp pocketknife. “Priorities, Ian. Priorities.”

“I can patch them up for you, Buddy,” came Andre’s voice from the side of Jacques’s bunk. “It’ll be like it never happened.”

Adrian’s face brightened. “Thanks, Andre. I’d really appreciate that.”

 

🗲🗲🗲

 

The group stood behind Jacques as he talked with the bartender at a tavern in Pilpeg. It’d only taken two days to reach this town with Jacques’s teleportation powers getting stronger every day.

Adrian was wearing his favorite orange outfit again, the accompanying green pants now expertly mended by Andre. He wore Jacques’s necklace around his neck after the leader had insisted he keep it, since, according to him, “It looks better on you anyway.” 

“I’ll get your regular room ready, then,” the bartender said in the present.

“We don’t need a room—” Zuri began before the leader was elbowing them in the gut.

“That’ll be perfect, Olly.”

“Sure thing, Jacques! Such a pleasure seeing you again.”

They began walking away when Adrian watched Zuri take his arm. “We can just stay on the ship!” they hissed. “Why are we getting rooms?”

Jacques took his arm back, giving them a grumpy expression. “We always take Olly’s room. If we said no, he’d know we were staying somewhere else instead of his place, and that’s just rude.”

“Pfft! Since when have you ever cared about being rude?”

“Sometimes I do, okay?”

“S’cuse me,” a smooth, masculine voice cut in, and the two bickering teammates looked up.

A young, attractive man with shoulder length messy brown hair and light brown skin approached them, placing a gentle hand on Jacques’s arm.

“Let me get you a drink, Hon.” He grinned. “Can’t take my eyes off you.” Said eyes flicked up and down as he said it.

Jacques blinked for a second before a sly grin played at the corner of his mouth. “You’re not bad yourself.” He looked up into the man’s face challengingly with eyes half lidded. “I’m a bit preoccupied though...”

Adrian felt a tinge of hatred pierce his gut as he watched the man’s eyes trail down Jacques’s body and his fingers found the tips of part of Jacques’s ponytail that lay over his shoulder. “Oh, but I’ll make it worth your while.”

“I’m listening.” He began walking with him, and Zuri threw their arms up in the air.

“Seriously, Jacques?” they exclaimed. “You’re doing this right now?”

The leader ignored them as he went off, and Adrian looked away, unable to bear the sight. 

They heaved a sigh. “Come on. Let’s get a table.”

As they walked, the blond felt deflated, his chest concaving on itself.

“Hey.” Zuri’s soft whisper in his ear made him jump. “You alright?”

He blinked up at them. “Yeah. Fine.”

“Jacques can be so shameless with men.”

“Yeah. I noticed.”

“I’m sorry, Ian—”

“I said, it’s fine,” he snapped, sitting down at the table they’d chosen.

They considered him, then nodded. The rest of the evening went by quietly with Adrian saying very little.

 

 

Andre, Zuri, and Adrian turned in a few hours later, leaving Jacques to his night of fun.

The blond lay on his bunk for what seemed forever, trying to will sleep to happen, but he found he couldn’t even bring himself to close his eyes. Jacques still wasn’t back, and the thought of him being with another man... it left him feeling so empty inside. The same kind of emptiness Madi had left him with when he knew he’d lost her.

Biting his lip, he got up and looked out the window. 

His eyes fell on the tiled roof right outside that dipped under the sill. He noted the way it sat almost flat under the window; a perfect spot to get out on the roof.

So, that’s exactly what he did.

 

 

The moody blond sat on the top of the tavern, staring out at the little city of Pilpeg, his fingers fiddling with the end of Jacques’s necklace as his mind was somewhere far away.

He really had no right to feel jealous. It’s not like Jacques had ever talked to him like he talked to that man at the bar. He had so much experience with love, why would he take any interest in someone like Adrian when there were so many better options?

Head in his hands now, he let out a sigh. If Jacques felt that way about him, he would have flirted with him already like he’d seen him do with so many others, but he had never given him any inclination—

A sound made him start and he looked up, his face paling as he blinked at the very man causing his suffering staring back at him from the other side of the roof.