Kai knew Junmyeon was trying to sow discord between him and Sehun, but that did not mean that Junmyeon's words did not hold truth in them. Did he trust Sehun wholeheartedly? Knowing what Junmyeon was capable of meant that he had constantly been on guard, not even daring to speak plainly within his own rooms, but Kai had not put up any protective spells against Sehun as he slept next to him like he had done to Blink. He tried to think if there was anything in Sehun's behaviour that had seemed suspicious, and came up with nothing. They spent a large portion of their waking hours together. But if Sehun was intent on plotting against him, he was sure that he was clever enough to find a way.  When he returned to his rooms, he found Sehun perusing one of Jimin's scrolls, which traced the lineage of Enchancia's royal family. He seemed pleased to see him, setting his reading aside instantly and standing up to greet Kai.  "Is everything alright? Jimin came by an hour ago with these," he said, gesturing to the scrolls. "He seemed to think that you should have been back already."  Did it sound like Sehun had been worried about him, or was it just wishful thinking? Perhaps Junmyeon was just lying. Kai forced out a smile. "I merely lost track of time. The townspeople send their regards." Sehun nodded his acknowledgement, although he seemed skeptical, and began to tidy up the scrolls he had been reading.  "I have been expecting word from the merchant of Uxtan.," Kai said, using the code they used for Namjoon. "Have you by any chance seen a messenger bird?" Sehun's hands stilled for a split second before he resumed his task. "No, I have not seen a messenger bird."  Kai's heart sunk, but he had barely started to think of how to react to the turn of events when Sehun suddenly added, "At least, I have not seen a bird from Uxtan."  "Oh?" Kai asked, keeping his voice even.  "Joo-hyun and Yifan have been sending me messages, borne by a crow that they tamed," he admitted. He looked up and met Kai's gaze squarely. "There is nothing in their messages that you need to worry about, I swear." "They must miss you very much. And you, them," Kai said, and he was sure that he had been unable to keep the relief out of his expression.   Sehun's eyes narrowed. "You knew," he said flatly. "Was this a test of my trustworthiness?"  "I had known about the crow, but did not know where it came from. Junmyeon cornered me to warn me against you just now," Kai explained.  "Junmyeon knows?" Sehun asked, the fear evident in his voice.  "You should warn them to exercise caution for a while," Kai said.  "You presume too much to think that they even know the meaning of the word," Sehun muttered, then in a colder voice, asked, "Did I pass your test?"  "Oh, Sehun. I..." Deciding that his actions would speak louder than his words, Kai removed the Adamas blade from his belt and stepped closer to slip it into Sehun's hand. "I went into the town to procure this for you, as a gift– and also to protect yourself after those two attacks, I am not sure if more wouldn't come. I have one little personal experience with this material, and will need some time to find out how it affects my magic so that I can take you through portals safely as I normally do, but it is yours if you will accept it." Sehun glanced down at the blade in his hand, running his thumb along the flat side of the blade disbelievingly. The Adamas sparked blue under his touch like Adamas usually did when a nephilim touched it.  "Thank you," he said softly, and there it was - that tentative but genuine smile that immediately made Kai's' heart lighter, and Kai felt a smile rising to his own face in response.  And in that moment, with the setting sun flooding the room with golden light, and the man he was helplessly falling in love with smiling back at him, there was no more need for words.   *** Walking briskly out of the brothel, Luhan straightened his tunic and pulled the cloak tighter around his neck. He wasn't used to such harsh weather, Ilda was much warmer compared to how Enchancian was. Next to him Zitao had a face so read he feared his friend might turn to a tomato any moment. It was a fun night, Luhan had a lot of fun bending two boys and ed the senses out of them. If there was one thing about Enchancian that he liked, then it was the freedom he had to explore his uality. Back in Ilda, he had never thought of taking a man to his bed even though he so much wanted to do so. He had live a life that was expected of him, but here he wouldn't have to worry so much. Yet he still fear for his friend's innocence, because Zitao had never bedded with anyone, today was his first but Luhan was sure his friend had a good time if the noises that came from the room next to Luhan's indicated that. He turned slightly to look at his friend attempting to on how he made the lady screamed but stop death in tracks when he noticed the state Zitao was in. His brother had tears running down his cheeks and he was using the back of his hands to wipe them furiously. Unable to form a word, Luhan opened and closed his mouth several times before he took closer steps and gingerly took Zitao's hands in his. Luhan's heart was clenching painfully inside his chest, he hated it when Zitao looked sad, he hated to see tears in Zitao's face. His friend was a strong man and the last time he had seen him cry was when they were kids."Tao?" He asked gently, reaching a hand to wipe Zitao's face. "What's wrong?" Zitao looked into Luhan's eyes for a brief moment before averting his gaze elsewhere. Shaking his head he took a shaky breath. "N-nothing" "Nonsense!" Luhan snapped. "How could say nothing when I can clearly see something is wrong." Pulling a hand back, Zitao used it to scrub his face. "It's just me being an idiot" "Share with me, so I can be the second idiot." Luhan said and he meant it. Despite himself, Zitao chuckled softly. 
"It's uhm– i didn't do it– couldn't do it" Luhan knitted his brows in confusion. "Couldn't do what?" ", I couldn't do it with that lady." "You didn't? The noises?" He asked, at same time wondering how that would make Zitao cry. "She started touching me, but I stopped her because it felt wrong, so I left and I guess she brought someone else." That explained the pleasure noises Luhan heard. But he was still not getting what Zitao meant by it felt wrong. "You prefer the company of men?"  "No– yes, I mean I like women too, they're beautiful creatures but I've never thought of sharing my bed with one." he said ducking his head a little. "Because I only had– have eyes for one person." "Oh" Luhan smiled. "You're in love with someone?" He asked and Zitao nodded. "Who is this person?" Zitao blinked rapidly and looked away once again, refusing to lock gaze with Luhan and that only made Luhan confused. Zitao brought a hand to rub at his chest as though it was hurting and he was trying to ease the pain. "It hurts so much to hear you those boys." He said voice low and when he lifted his eyes Luhan saw more tears running down his cheeks. "I stood in front of the room and heard every second of it and, and–" he scrubbed his face once again.  Luhan was the one blinking now, he heard what his friend had said but he wasn't sure he understood him. Why would it hurt Zitao if Luhan ed a ? "I am lost here brother." "I am not your brother." Zitao snapped and pulled his other hand free from Luhan's. "This is the problem, you only see me as your brother and a friend and I don't want it, I don't want to be your brother." "But we–" "I want more,I want to be more than a friend. I want to marry you, have your child and I want you to love me." Luhan was sure he looked ridiculous right now, he knew his eye were wide and his mouth hanging open like a fish out of water. Never in a million years did he ever thought something like that was going to come out from Zitao's mouth. He had never seen Zitao as someone he could share his bed with, even though they were not blood related Zitao was his brother. His best friend and one of the fewest men Luhan could die for. Shaking his head to get his brain to work again, Luhan cleared his throat and it suddenly felt dry. "I – i had no idea" "Of course you didn't." Zitao let out a laugh and it sounded so hollow, pained, devoid of the usual sweetness Luhan was used to hearing. And it broke his heart to hear such sounds coming form Zitao. "I know knights hardly settle down but I wanted that with you, I wanted it since the moment I knew what love is. And that was the moment we met, I didn't befriend you because you were like me" he grazed his fingers over the similar pointed ears they shared. "I didn't even know you were half fairy until a year later, remember how you always hide your ears? So I couldn't tell, the only thing that might look odd was your hair but I thought you just dyed it at that time" he took another shaky breath before he continued. "The point is: I've wanted you for twelve years, kept myself pure because unlike you I am a male carrier and couldn't risk it and the only child I wanted to have was yours." Luhan could only stared at his friend, he didn't know what to say or do. Instead he continued to stare until Zitao demanded he say something. "I am sorry brother–" "Stop calling me that, you make fell dirty like what I am feeling is wrong, I've endured that name for twelve years, i do not want you to call me brother any more." Zitao looked angry and sad as he said those words. He made a gesture between the two of them. "What I feel for you is something I can never feel for my brother. This is not . It felt right to love you." "Alright, alright" Luhan raised both hands in surrender. "I get it and I am sorry I didn't know, I am sorry I've never looked at you romantically. And I–" he paused, chewing on his bottom lip as he dropped his hands to his sides. " I don't know if I ever could." He looked away not wanting to see the look in his friend's face. It was a long pregnant silent that followed, none of them moved or say anything more. Luhan dared a glance at Zitao and he wished he never did because the most heartbroken expression a person could ever wear was what marred Zitao's face. His eyes were shut, mouth twisted in a sad smile that was more like a grimace and hands fisted at his sides. Slowly, very slowly he opened his eyes and took several breaths clearly to calm his heart. Then he nodded and smiled, a smile Luhan never wished to see ever again because of how sad it looked. "I understand!" Was all he said and with that he began to move, and just when he was about to walk past Luhan, Luhan quickly took a hold of his hand and Zitao stopped to give him an unreadable look."Tao please–" he begged and Luhan wasn't sure what he was begging for, all he knew was he hated seeing his friend like this. "It's okay Lu," Zitao freed his hand and continued to walk away. Luhan could only stare at Zitao's retreating back for a long moment, his whole body suddenly felt paralyzed. Cursing out loud he fisted the air before he commanded his legs to function. When he started trailing after his friend, Luhan called out but Zitao ignored him and continued to walk down the street until Luhan couldn't see Zitao's figure. Huffing out a breath, Luhan scrubbed his face with both hands, he paused momentarily when he heard some noises. He looked around searching for the source until he realized it was coming from a building he had just passed by. Cautiously, he took a few steps backwards and peered into the open window, the room was well lit and Luhan could see two men standing close to each other. One of the men was at least as tall as Luhan had been, with shoulders equally broad, but the hair on his head was blond and a piece of black metal had been strapped to his face. When it caught the light, Luhan realized it was less to contain and more to assist in mauling—the end was open and shaped like a wolf’s snout, and a hinge at the side meant the man could open and close it like an extension of his face. Around his neck and shoulders was draped a patterned scarf in the same brownish yellow as his hair, with black designs throughout. It laid over his shoulders and dangled down over the curve of his biceps, though oddly enough, there were long bracers that formed a sort of sleeve tied along his arms from just below the elbow to the wrist.  The thick leather was well-made, though, and a pattern of intricate designs foreign to Luhan was carved with surprising elegance into the material. He wore dark, imperfectly dyed trousers that looked to be made from deerskin and cloth, and thick-soled boots were apparently his greatest acknowledgement that it was fading winter.
 
Despite the cold he was wearing no tunic or undershirt, and the chest that was bare to the elements was covered in faint scarring. Every inch of him seemed to be muscle, but the size of his body was so great it was impossible to classify him as lean or underfed. None of this strangeness detracted in the least from the imposing stature of the figure, and Luhan found himself braced against the wall. He had never seen someone dressed like that. He had lived in Ironhide for a few months and Luhan knew this was not the way the Enchancians dressed.The way he dressed and carried himself screamed barbaric, if Luhan could give him a name, then it would be a barbarian. He did notice that the man had a tattoo on his lower stomach, a sort of curling bracket that framed a sigil of some sort, though what it stood for Luhan didn't quite remember. He had the feeling that he’d seen it before, but his mind was so muddled he couldn’t make sense of it. As a merchant son he’d been made to study the signs and heraldry of multiple nations in their region and beyond the seas. Averting his gaze from the barbarian, Luhan focused on the other man whom with no doubt was Enchancian, he was adorned in expensive silk shirt and leather b