“Welcome back,” Odaius greets, then glances at Ocher. “You brought your sidekick this time.” His words cause the other men in the room to turn in their direction. Their eyes look over him appraisingly before dismissing him, obviously finding him lacking.
“Yes, he’s here. Sometimes we come as a set.”
Ocher scowls and shifts to stand behind Azure, pressing his face between Azure’s shoulders. If they’re not impressed, maybe Odaius should have found people closer to his own age to assist him. They never asked for his help.
“They don’t even look trustworthy,” Ocher mutters.
“He probably hired mercenaries. They’ll follow the money and do what they’re paid to do.” Azure nods towards them, “You see how he’s joking with them? He’s trying to build camaraderie precisely because they don’t owe him anything outside of the bare minimum they’re paid to do.”
“Are you paying them?”
“Absolutely not, they’re his people.”
“But then won’t they be more loyal to him?”
“I already told you that I don’t need them,” Azure answers in irritation. “I’m just here to keep them off my trail.”
“What about - “
“Ocher, shut up!” Azure snaps. “Stop asking so many questions!”
Odaius gazes over at his outburst and frowns, “Everything okay?”
“It’s fine.”
“Walk us through the final plan so we can determine prices. We don’t want any mishaps.”
Azure nods and goes through a detailed plan that’s completely unfamiliar to him. Ocher has to admire the skill with which Azure lies and the thought he puts into it. Their false plan needs to be believable and he’s outdone himself.
When he’s done, Odaius pulls his hired people away to discuss final payment along with the risks they will or will not take. They speak in low voices which seems counterintuitive considering Azure is the one who would need to know their limits.
They can’t do anything but wait now, so taking a page from Azure’s book, he lets his hands wander. His fingers slip below the hem of Azure’s shirt and up his stomach.
“Ocher,” Azure warns. He ignores him, instead sliding his free hand under as well to press against the firmness of Azure’s stomach. He pushes his boundaries even further by pressing his lips against Azure’s bare neck. And all at once, that searing pain inside him returns, just as brutal as before.
His hands fall away as he crumbles to the floor in pain. Azure stands over him, watching impassively. “Don’t push me, Ocher. I don’t want to do this with you right now and you know it.”
“What are you doing to me?” He manages to get out between gritted teeth.
“Did you already forget what happened on the island? I told you before, you’re mine. I can feel the energy inside you and I can manipulate the current any way I want to. Don’t force me.”
Ocher looks away, curling in further on himself and even that doesn’t help. Now he knows how much he can get away with.
Odaius looks over at them, “Is he okay?”
“He’s fine,” Azure answers without turning away from him. “He’s just not feeling well.”
They look at him curiously and he’s never felt more pathetic, huddled on the floor under their judgement.
“We’ll let you finish speaking with them,” Azure continues before walking back the way they came.
Just as fast, the pain passes and Ocher stumbles back to his feet, chasing after Azure. He needs answers and to make sure that never happens again.
He grabs Azure by the shoulder and turns him around. “What did you really do?” Ocher demands.
Azure shrugs, “Whatever I wanted.”
“Azure!”
“Fine. I put a little piece of my own energy into you which normally wouldn’t affect you so much, but since it was after I had swallowed the amplifier, my energy was multiplied several times. You still can’t manipulate energy, but you have enough extra inside to make you stronger and faster."
“And the burning thing?”
“Since your energy is technically attached to mine, I have a lot of control over it. I’m really turning my own energy against you and since it’s inside you, you can’t stop it. Essentially,” Azure smiles. “You really do belong to me now.”
Ocher steps back, mind struggling to put together what all this means. He’s not in control of his body anymore? Azure can hurt him physically with a simple thought? What are the limits? Can he be killed with a thought as well? How deep does this link go?
“Can you undo it?”
“Maybe, but I don’t want to, so I won’t.”
Ocher charges at him, feeling the anger rise within. He’s on his way to being free and understanding himself. Azure shouldn’t be able to tie him down against his will!
Azure steps aside easily, catching him by one arm and spinning him around to hold Ocher's back against his chest, then pinning both his arms to his sides. “Don’t be a brat, Ocher.”
“You’re the only brat here!” He responds, desperately trying to break Azure’s hold on him and ignoring how warm Azure is.
Azure hums in agreement. “I am, but that never stopped you, did it?” Ocher feels a kiss pressed to the underside of his jaw before he’s let go.
He stares at Azure’s amused face, knowing he’s right and feeling the anger dissipate. It would be stupid of him to continue being surprised when Azure acts only in his own self interests. His own feelings about things have never seemed to matter much to the other boy.
There is a bright side to this. If Azure has attached them together in this way, it means Azure has plans to stay with him. Is it in his best interests? No. But at this point, he’s in too deep to keep fighting it. In their own prickly way, they’ve bonded and he wants to stay a part of Azure’s life. If ceding some control is what it takes, then fine, he'll accept it. It’s no more than he’s spent his entire life doing.
Chapter 19: Azure
He’s annoyed with himself, but for the time being he has to push it down. They’ve finally made it to the end and he can’t afford to lose his focus now. Besides, he glances back, if Ocher really does stay with him throughout this, it might just work out. Where he is unforgiving, Ocher is too forgiving when it comes to him. It makes them a good match. He pushes those thoughts aside, his revenge is the only thing that matters right now.
At this moment, Ocher is the only one he can count on. There’s no chance of him trusting the men Odaius introduced him to. They also looked like the type to cause a scene which would usually work in his favor, however for this, subtlety is best. The leader of Haithen might have enough warning to escape if they cause a big enough scene.
He’d left them completely out of his plan, letting them think he would attack tomorrow night. Even if they didn’t believe him, it’s not his concern as long as they stay out of his way.
He and Ocher took an evening train to the capital, the place where they will either succeed or die. It was a tense ride, knowing that everything counted on him making it inside the palace before they were caught. Even Ocher was aware enough to leave him alone for the duration.