No one's POV:
The fire crackled quietly in the hearth, casting golden shadows across Kael's bedchamber as the two commanders departed with swift silence. Their armor shimmered briefly before vanishing beyond the thick door, leaving Kael alone again. Or not truly alone.
Auren, curled and half-covered in the tangled sheets, lay blissfully asleep, soft breaths ghosting over Kael's bare chest. The marks he left behind the night before were scattered across Auren's skin, tiny trophies of a war he fought with lips, tongue, and devotion.
Kael took a long moment to stare at him, his fingers brushing back silver locks from the boy's flushed cheek. He leaned in, breathing deeply near Auren's neck, as if committing that scent to memory. Warmth. Rain-kissed leaves. A bit of honey from the pastries he'd eaten earlier.
He'd give him the world.
Which was exactly why he needed to ensure Auren stayed safe, unaware, and untouched by the chaos that would unfold in the coming days.
Kael moved quietly, rising from bed and retrieving a goblet from the nearby table. From a hidden drawer beneath the bedside stand, he pulled a small vial. Its contents a soft, milky blue. A Draught of Dreamless Sleep. Harmless, safe, and potent. It would lull Auren into a restful unconsciousness for a full day, maybe two. Long enough.
He poured the vial into the goblet, stirring it carefully. No smell. No taste. Perfect.
Then, he leaned over the bed again and gently shook Auren's shoulder.
"Mmnn... Kael?" Auren's voice was hoarse and warm, his eyes only halfway open. His limbs were pliant, heavy with fatigue. The boy blinked slowly up at him, a ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
"Drink some water for me, love. You need it."
"Mm-hmm," came the groggy reply.
Kael helped him sit up just enough, cradling the back of his head and guiding the goblet to his lips. Auren drank with slow, trusting sips, barely even conscious of what he was consuming. His lashes fluttered.
"Good boy," Kael whispered as he gently lowered him back onto the pillows.
Auren hummed, already sliding back toward sleep. "Stay... close."
"Always."
But even as he promised, Kael knew he would soon leave. To meet shadows with steel, to undermine the Queen's betrayal before it bloomed into war.
---------------
"The Blade Beneath the Silk"
It was just before dawn when Kael rose again. The chamber was heavy with warmth and the scent of shared passion, but he moved through it like a phantom, already dressed in a darker version of his uniform.
He leaned over Auren, brushing a kiss to his temple. No reaction.
"Sleep well, Auren. I'll return before you wake."
With one final look, he turned and strode from the room.
In the empty corridor, System 707 manifested beside Auren's unconscious body, arms crossed.
"EXCUSE ME?" the system said to no one in particular, though his glitchy voice cracked with sass. "Did that seven-foot-tall menace just roofie my host with affection and concern?"
The system floated closer to Auren and scanned his vitals.
"Ugh, stable. Of course. Safe. Dreaming of dicks and doom, probably."
A pause.
"Still. That was kind of hot..."
System 707 flailed. "No! Bad! I'm a system! I don't simp-"
[YOU ABSOLUTELY DO.]
A secondary window popped up in System 707's interface. It was a glitchy mirror of himself with devil horns.
"Shut up, Demon Debug."
Outside the manor, Kael's men were already waiting with cloaks and swords. The noble they had been tracking? Caught. The plan for countering the Queen's information network? Ready to ignite.
And Kael? He held Auren's journal to his chest, like a war map to his heart.
Tomorrow, the Kingdom of Solvanyr would bleed its secrets.
And its Queen... would not see it coming.
------------
"And He Calls This Love?"
Kael stopped. After ordering the army to wait for a few minutes and turning around again– back to his chambers– to where Auren was asleep.
Kael stood by the bedside, arms crossed as he observed Auren's peaceful, unconscious form. His chest rose and fell slowly beneath the soft covers, a picture of innocence wrapped in exhaustion. Kael brushed a thumb across Auren's cheek, unable to stop the twitch of guilt that stirred behind his calm facade.
"You'll hate me for this when you wake up," he murmured, tucking a loose strand of silver hair behind Auren's ear. "But I won't let you get tangled in this. Not more than you already are."
[ SYSTEM 707 INTERNAL LOG - PRIVATE CHANNEL ]
SYSTEM 707: Oh, I see how it is. Just drug the Host like he's some delicate waif who can't stab a royal snake in the back himself.
SYSTEM 707: You know what, Kael? This is why you're a war criminal and a walking red flag. I mean, just LOOK at this man, all broody and controlling, and yet Auren wants to braid daisies into his hair.
SYSTEM 707: Unbelievable.
Kael adjusted Auren's blanket with a tenderness that contrasted sharply with the violent counter-strategy he'd just orchestrated. He didn't notice the glimmering translucent figure hovering in the corner of the room, flipping him off with both hands.
[ SYSTEM 707 ATTEMPTED ACTION: PUNCH COMMANDER KAEL ]
ERROR: Action not permitted. Physical interface locked. Nobody but Host can perceive System.
SYSTEM 707: Tch. Coward. Let me land one punch. Just one. I'll even pull it. Maybe.
Kael leaned down and whispered against Auren's forehead, voice low and intimate. "I need to do this, love. I need to burn down every last thread that touches the Queen. You've done your part. Now it's my turn."
Auren murmured something incoherent in his sleep, shifting slightly. Kael stilled, eyes softening, and sighed.
SYSTEM 707: Oh great. He's doing the forehead-kiss-while-you-sleep thing. Classic possessive strategy. Kael, you manipulative bastard. Why don't you go full drama and write a tragic love letter while you're at it?
Kael gently stepped back from the bed and signaled for the guards outside to prepare his armor.
"Keep him safe," he said to no one in particular, though the order echoed like a command to the very walls. "If anything happens to him while I'm gone, I will turn this entire city to ash."
Two shadow guards showed up near Kael with head bowed with a hand over their chest. Low Yes's were heard before they slipped back to the dark.
SYSTEM 707: Okay, Thanos.
SYSTEM 707: But fine, whatever. Go be your possessive self, Kael. Meanwhile, I will be here babysitting the Host and his soul-shattering trauma dreams while you flex your muscles and storm enemy castles. Typical.
The door closed softly behind Kael as he left.
Auren remained still, unaware of the storm brewing just beyond the gates, and the lovesick, rage-fueled man who would set the world on fire for him.
SYSTEM 707: ...If I have to hear another one of his monologues about "protecting what's mine," I swear I'm going to code in my own middle finger emoji. Ugh. Let me just go recompile some files before I start glitching out from secondhand embarrassment.