Kaelith's fingers moved with a hesitation that belied his confidence. He undressed Hale slowly, his palm brushing over the firm lines of Hale's abdomen, then down lower, where his touch lingered just long enough to stir the tension between them.
But his gaze wavered.
He wasn't ready.
Not yet.
Hale could feel it, not just in Kaelith's trembling hands but in the silence that clung between them like a second skin. A silence full of unspoken questions, especially the one Kaelith hadn't dared to ask.
Instead, Kaelith exhaled softly and pulled the sheets over them. His arms wrapped around Hale's bare torso, his body curling close like a shield, as if proximity could ease the war inside his heart.
They didn't speak. They didn't move.
They just breathed two bodies drawn together by desire, divided by doubt.
As they lay in the quiet of Kaelith's hidden sanctuary, Hale turned his head slightly, his voice soft but curious.
"Is Zarethrone the biggest kingdom in the realms?"
