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Damon touches the hilt of the Amber Blade. His guts boil with rage at the idea Atticul would try to hurt Lyr. But he says nothing. Lyr is his. He will take him to Vashti. They walk in silence back to the terrace.

As they reach the main throng of people, Inez approaches them. She embraces Damon and turns to Atticul, “My brother in love. What an honour to welcome you here.”

It is then that Damon sees Opeth for the first time. He is surprised. He had not expected Opeth to still be so favoured by Atticul that he would bring her as his consort to a Feast of Surrus. She is wearing a brief gown of gold, cut very high and very low. She moves close to Atticul and he winds an arm around her waist. Atticul smiles wolfishly at Inez. “Thank you, sweet sister of love. And may I present my concubine, Opeth. She is from the same harem in Pellex as your husband’s new kitchen slave.”

Inez says, calmly, “Indeed,” as she leans to kiss Opeth on the cheek. “The custom at the Feast of Surrus is for all the servants and slaves to join the revels. You will see your old friend later.”

“I hope so,” says Opeth. “He is a dear thing. I have missed him.”

Atticul laughs, it is hard to tell quite what has amused him. “Sweet Inez,” he says. “How is my bastard brother treating you?”

“Master Damon Darekul is my heart,” Inez says, taking Damon’s arm.

“How delightful. May Surrus bless your womb tonight,” Atticul says, before walking away into the crowds with Opeth on his arm.

Not long afterwards a gong sounds for the feast to begin. Bitter argent flows. Damon eats and drinks. When the feast is well underway, the servants and slaves are allowed to take their place at the tables. Damon watches Lyr walk in with a scullery maid whose name he does not know. They are laughing together, Lyr leaning in close to hear what the maid is saying. Perhaps she is who he plans to take to the grove. Damon’s heart is sore to see it. He pours himself some more bitter argent, waving away the pearl tonic offered by Inez.

Inez turns to Opeth, sitting on her other side. She offers the tonic to Opeth, who takes the bottle and fills her own small tonic glass and Atticul’s. He leans in close to whisper something in her ear.

Damon looks away from them and, of course, finds himself gazing back at Lyr, down on one of the lower tables, smiling happily as he eats honey and bread. Damon can see a smear of honey glittering on Lyr’s lips in the candlelight. He thinks of kissing it away. His cock throbs to taste that honey.

The scullery maid is still chatting to Lyr. They are both drinking bitter argent. She passes him a piece of something. A little lump of brown. Damon isn’t sure what it is. Lyr pops it in his mouth.

As he watches them, the minstrels begin singing an old folk song in Juran. Damon can pick out enough words of the lyrics to understand it is filthy. Something about a fae maiden who bewitched a demon and lay with him in the Amber Forest, in quite a lot of detail. Damon knows the word ‘tongue’ in Juran. Many other people are laughing merrily at the song. Juran folk songs are popular, many of the crudest Juran words for cocks and cunts and fucking are well known. But in other places, Damon is not sure if the minstrels themselves know what they are singing.

The exact descriptions of the way the demon pressed his tongue into the fae maid’s asshole, for example. Damon’s cock swells a little to think of Lyr understanding every word. He thinks of himself as the demon in the song, pressing the fae maid’s thighs apart, making her scream with his thick tongue; and of Lyr as the blushing fae maid who is not as innocent as she seems.

He hopes Lyr is thinking the same. But as he watches Lyr, he sees him lean close to the scullery maid, whispering in her ear and making her eyes stretch wide. Clearly, Lyr is giving her a translation of some of the more obscure lewd descriptions. Damon feels a pitch of jealousy.

Atticul says quite audibly, “Juran filth,” and Opeth laughs. In Juran, she says, “Nothing that you haven’t done with me a thousand times.” And Atticul laughs back, perhaps his Juran is improving now he is regularly bedding a Juran whore.

When the minstrels end the song a performance troupe appears on the edge of the grove. Such dancers are traditional at the Feast of Surrus. The female dancers wear white dresses so thin Damon can easily see their breasts moving and the dark shapes of the hair that covers their sex. Male dancers in gold hip cloths, wearing white and gold antlers join them. Stags and does. They whirl as the males fight and the females run and hide, grabbed and pulled back by the victorious males. Each doe is pulled down on the ground by her stag and covered. As the performers begin to rut the music reaches a huge crescendo of heavy drumbeats and clashing sounds. Inez grabs Damon and kisses him. She tastes of honey. As her tongue slips into his mouth he thinks of Lyr’s honeyed lips and groans.

Inez pulls back and looks at Damon with lustful eyes and flushed cheeks. “Master Damon,” she whispers, sliding a hand into his lap. Damon’s cock is hard. He couldn’t say what part of the evening is the cause. “Sweet husband, Master of my heart,” Inez continues as she caresses him between his legs. “It seems the Feast of Surrus has aroused your ardour.”

“Indeed,” Damon says. “You taste of honey.”

Inez laughs. She puts one fingertip into a dish of honey and uses the touch of it to glaze her sweetly rounded lips.

Damon leans in to kiss Inez again. As he does he notices Opeth is in Atticul’s lap.

Damon lets Inez kiss him for longer this time, deeper. Honey fills his senses like a sweetened dream. He pulls back from Inez’s honeyed lips eventually, and before he guards himself, he looks over at Lyr again. And as he does, the scullery maid leans in and kisses Lyr on the mouth.

Damon finds himself frozen. He shouldn’t have looked and now it’s too late, he can’t look away. Lyr’s eyes are closed in pleasure. Is he enjoying the kiss?

He cannot do this. Where is the will he was promised?

Inez stands, “Come my love. It is time for our blessing from Surrus.”

He stands. He lets Inez take his hand. There are already some people coupling in the grove with the dancers. Damon says, “My love, let us go to your bedchamber.”

Inez looks confused. “But husband. It is traditional to couple in the grove. We might anger Surrus if we leave.”

Damon lowers his voice. “Your chamber,” he says sternly. If his body is going to fail him, he cannot have it fail him in front of his entire household and a selection of Azurian nobility.

“Are you not sure what to do?” Atticul calls mockingly. Damon glances at him. He has his hand between Opeth’s legs. “There are two holes on a woman.”

Opeth grabs his chin and pulls him into a kiss.