2: (Just a Little) PatienceA fire fairy with hot blue eyes settled on Eagle’s scarred chest like a coal. After a year with Fox, the genderless, tiny being’s touch felt no more than warm, a matter of course rather than a distraction, even if he did wish it would move. He stroked it idly with the backs of brown fingers while he stared at the colorful tent ceiling above him, bored stiff and not fucked out enough to sleep.

  It wouldn’t even be fun to throw a knife in here. The ceiling wasn’t high enough. The drape of yers of oilcloth let light through the striped bnket above him. A welter of more cotton and wool bnkets clung to his skin.

  Fox was still thin enough to be cold all the time, and still a little torn besides. As much as he’d gained in the st year or so, there was a long way to go. If he wasn’t so very himself, you’d say he was more trouble than he was worth, but he wasn’t. Accommodating him was the easy part.

  Eagle sat up and caught the fire fairy before it nded in his crotch. It shot up from his cupped palm, popping and hissing with offense.

  “Well, sorry,” he said, leaning back on his hands to admire how it flew. Its wings spread wider than he’d have expected from its lick of a body. “I didn’t think you’d want to go there. Was I wrong?”

  Instead of answering, the fairy sailed through the aperture a few feet above and was gone. They never tried to talk directly, but why not? Eagle could try to find out—that would lead him down interesting paths, at the very least—but Fox would never leave his work, and Eagle didn’t want to leave him.

  Why would he? It wasn’t hard work Fox wanted him to do. Every so often Eagle would go a pce and steal a thing or kill someone. Mostly, though, it was just—it was pretty—

  Boring.

  Eagle slumped back into the nest of bnkets and cushions Fox liked. Doors ced every inch of this pce, murmuring their silent siren song. The adventures behind them all hummed in Eagle’s bones. Instead of looking through any of them, he’d watched Fox do math for days—and in their spare time, because this was all the time Fox could spare.

  Luckily, the bodyguard mantle rested easy on Eagle’s shoulders. Maybe a little too easy—to say he was protective might have been several shades of an understatement.

  He sat up again, scrubbing at his short dark hair with both hands. The Doors hummed in his awareness, singing songs about what they might have in store if he only stepped through. He would’ve been more tempted, but Eagle knew himself. Before he could blink, he’d figure out he was in it to his neck, and there would be a boy, who without fault of his own would somehow get Eagle stuck on him, and then what? Didn’t he get enough at home?

  “Ugh,” he said aloud, pulling his face down on the bones. Then he rolled off the pile of cushions. There was a rag rug made of old skirts for a floor; Eagle had gotten it in this world. To his credit, Fox liked that too. For a Prince of the People, he wasn’t as choosy or spoiled as all that.

  To his credit, he was kind and warm and open-minded, and Eagle was absolutely head over heels. No denying he was worth the work.

  Still, Eagle kind of wished it was less work. He did pushups on the rug, first with both hands, then with one hand behind his back, then using the other. His mind didn’t drift into the background with the physical exertion, so all he got was sweaty. His muscles buzzed warmly with use.

  It was no good. He sat back on his heels next to the pile. Across the round tent—a little way for Eagle, but Fox could snatch one from the bed if he stretched—were their bags. Two mirrors hung from nails on the center pole: one high for Fox, one low for Eagle.

  He opened his knapsack and took a chilly towel from the void inside, then closed it and gave it an affectionate pat. Maybe it was his imagination, but it seemed to settle.

  “You and me, we’re gonna go pces yet.” He rose and toweled down, talking to the knapsack but reassuring himself. “And Fox’ll be with us too. He wouldn’t miss it.” Sooner rather than ter, he’d have to take a shower, but he started out taking a shower before Fox came along and things got slippery and then—

  “Stop,” he said, gring down his stomach at half a chub. “You’re a goddamn dowsing rod, you know that?”

  It wilted slightly.

  “Listen to me. I’m talking to body parts now. I’m so bored I’ve lost my mind.”

  It wilted the rest of the way. “First time you’ve listened to me my whole life.”

  Eagle got dressed in fresh, chilly clothes. Maybe he could convince Fox to take a single day off from the math. They’d been here a fortnight already. “We could take samples. Maybe if I sell it that way. What do you think?”

  Of course, there was no answer. Eagle sighed. When he looked into his own eyes in the mirror, there were no surprises, but no answers to his problem, either. His eyes were the same as always, ordinary hazel. His beard was disarrayed, never mind his hair. The only jewelry he wore was a fat diamond earring, three carats solid, in the left ear: a crown prince’s gift. Magic scribed the earring on an invisible pne, or so Fox had said.

  “It’s like I’ve written my name on you,” he’d expined, hanging off the end of the bed while Eagle did sit-ups on the floor one night a few weeks ago. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

  Back then, Eagle hadn’t known what to tell him and still didn’t. And then again, Eagle was pretty sure he couldn’t die, so what did it matter? He might as well enjoy Fox while he could.

  “At least you’re a handsome idiot,” he said to his reflection. “Otherwise, you’d really be in trouble, wouldn’t you?”

  There still was no answer, even though he paused like there might be one. “Well, I’d know.” He pointed his comb at the mirror. “You’re ten pounds of asshole in a five-pound sack. Why don’t you calm the fuck down?”

  His reflection didn’t deign to enlighten him. He combed his hair and beard neatly, clipping a bit he’d missed that morning. Fox hadn’t noticed that, but he’d noticed enough to say Eagle was careless about his hair and nails. “You’re going to be enchanted!” Fox would say, had said this morning, and they’d fought, and then Fox had come all sweetly asking forgiveness while he was trying to shower, and now here he stood talking to himself in the mirror and feeling like shit.

  He tossed the comb down, snatched a knife and sheath, and stalked out of the tent. Enough was enough, but once he got out into the jungle next to his fire pit, he didn’t know what he’d do. He could get a start on dinner. With the time he had, he’d wind up fixing a six-course meal Fox would barely taste.

  Fox would sit across the fire and nibble while he worked, side-on in a folding chair, with a mage-ntern spilling light from the other way. Eagle could see him now, in his oasis of calcutions, beautiful like summer. The firelight would touch gold from his rich hair. Every so often his clever golden eyes would dart to Eagle on the other side. His whole perfect face would soften, and he would look on Eagle with pleasure over the golden rims of his gsses.

  That. That was the gut punch.

  Eagle faced the tent from a few feet away. He drew in breath and let out an angry shout that reverberated weirdly in the dense foliage all around.

  This clearing was only a bit wider because he’d made sure to clear it the day before they came. The greenery seemed to close in on him.

  The jungle was as quiet in the wake of his yell as it had ever been. Birds and monkeys called and squabbled among the lush trees. It was sunny now, driving hot little fingers through the canopy, but ter rain would sheet down from the sky for a quarter of an hour or more and rattle off the leaves as it poured straight for the ground.

  Fox would stay in the cavern unless he couldn’t. Again and again, Eagle had scolded him for it, but maybe that was the same as the hair and nails.

  And maybe it wasn’t. The way he focused, Fox could die before he realized what was happening. A fsh flood could kill him in two seconds ft, and the sky could be just as clear as it must be now.

  Eagle pressed the bridge of his nose between both hands. “It’s an important job,” he reminded himself in an undertone. “Somebody’s got to do it.” Hadn’t the Mountain asked for enough of Fox? All right—she needed him—fair enough. Eagle knew what that was like, but she had Fox for herself more often than not.

  Since they’d stopped having to run, Eagle never got that anymore. He could almost miss trying to get away from Eilis. At least back then he’d been able to get a little attention. They might’ve been fleeing for their lives, but there was nothing boring about stealing a kiss here, a fondle there, with adrenaline shooting a charge to their systems.

  Passion still burned like a brand in Eagle’s heart, and in Fox’s too, come to think, but that was all there had been time for tely. There was never enough Fox left over. He made Eagle feel like the most important man ever to exist—until he had to go somewhere else.

  Pink light shone from the mouth of the cave, a rough hole in the ground, less than ten feet away. It looked like Fox had his mps going all at once. It’ll be a week before he touches me again, Eagle thought, but I can’t say boo either. When magic chose someone for its own, there was always a purpose, even if there was never—to his mind—a reason good enough for the things the Chosen had to go through.

  He fed himself down the hole until his feet found the rope dder. When he reached the rocky ground forty feet below, his feet crunched in the scatter of crystal chips around the entrance. They pricked and tingled like fairy touches. You could only tell it was light outside if you looked at the hole.

  He ducked huge pink crystals jutting across his path to get to the epicenter of the glow. Fox sat with his gorgeous legs crossed and his back to Eagle; he’d focused everything on one spot in one crystal, and he didn’t notice Eagle had come in. He stared at his work through an unwieldy device strapped to his face and muttered to himself so low Eagle couldn’t understand him.

  Even without all his hair, there was plenty left to grab, not that Eagle would. Fox had a nest of sculpted, soft curls even the device’s straps couldn’t quite smash, and in the light he was all gold and honey, but he didn’t like being grabbed by the hair or anywhere by surprise. Eagle knew because—like an idiot—he’d done it.

  Fox had cried. If Eagle hadn’t already known he was an asshole, he’d have known it when he made Fox cry.

  Fox even cried pretty, but then, everything he did was graceful. When they had a chance to talk, it was about nothing and something at the same time, and when they had a chance to go py outside, Eagle couldn’t imagine anyone more fun.

  Come out of your tower, Eagle thought. I’m tired of being alone. Then, immediately, shoving his hands in his pockets: I’m sorry. The lights illuminated bits of sparkle among the detritus. He wanted it all back, the misery and the fear and the goodness, but the Rev Liedan of all the People frowned over a tiny section of pale rose crystal that would have been in the shadow of the one thrusting diagonally above him—if it weren’t for the lights.

  It would be rude to scare him, and it wouldn’t end like Eagle wanted, with his arms overfull, feasting on a soft mouth. As Eagle climbed around to the front, Fox squinted down, adjusting the top yer of many-yered spectacles in and out with a knob on the side. The slender pnes of his face were set in an epic scowl.

  Oh, I can get you, Eagle thought, with a little wriggle of glee in his stomach, crouching on the massive crystal spike that grew from the wall and ended just across from Fox.

  Fox felt for a tool on the ground with an ink-stained hand and lifted a tiny brush to the crystal in front of him. It covered him to the chest.

  There was a Door right behind him. It sang in Eagle’s blood.

  Eagle could’ve watched as long as he wanted. Sometimes he did, but that was one of his creepier mannerisms. He’d keep it to himself. “Hey.”

  Obviously swallowing a squawk, Fox dropped the brush and jerked at the spectacles. Their leather bands bound his head. He almost panicked before he thrust the device off and into his p, throwing his head up in a burst of fat, loose curls.

  He blinked owlishly at Eagle across the crystal. His mouth formed a plush ‘o’ of surprise and relief, making a guilty fsh in Eagle’s brain: all the times Eagle had looked down. “Oh, Eagle, I’m gd it’s you. What is it? I’m very busy, you know.”

  “I know.” Eagle wanted to touch him, even though (maybe) an hour ago they’d been making love. “We’ve been camping here two weeks. If I don’t get out of that tent, there might be mayhem.”

  “I had better not,” Fox said.

  What was he going to do? More of the same. Eagle suppressed his annoyance. Mostly. Disappointment, he couldn’t suppress. “You’re really gonna scrape rocks all day?”

  “Not all day.” Fox’s voice was soft, and warm enough to make Eagle blush to the tips of his ears. “I took a little time to myself, if you’ll recall…”

  “Well. Yeah. I recall.” Eagle hooked his elbows over the crystal between them. The Doors hummed in his awareness, tempting him—but especially the one behind Fox. “As well as I could, since you fuck me like I’m going out of style.” I’m not… am I?

  “I’ve never cared much for fashion.”

  “Liar,” Eagle said, but they were both smiling.

  “What do you want, wicked nymph?”

  “You.”

  “You said you recalled that part.”

  “Which was great, except that’s not what I want.”

  Fox id his loupe device on the floor. “Come here.”

  Eagle rolled his eyes, but he slid over the crystal and sat across Fox’s p. “Now you can probably convince me you need to stay,” he said, crossing his arms.

  “I should.” Fox csped hands at the small of Eagle’s back and let out a tired exhation. “I don’t know if I want to, though. I hate to admit I’m stuck.”

  “You’re not stuck. You’re with me. I’m never stuck. Except in that damn tent.”

  He never could resist Fox’s genuine ughter. “Touché! Where would you take me if you had the chance?”

  “Anywhere.” Fox’s lips were warm beneath his bare fingertips. He traced them lightly, again and again. Where their skin touched, invisible sparks leaped. For a series of ephemeral ecstatic moments, it was only them in the world, and it was perfect. Fox tipped his head back and bared his golden throat. Eagle would’ve gone at it with his mouth, except—

  Except the cruel, wizened skeleton in the Pace rose garden always found a way to win. There were only so many ways he could touch Fox.

  “Oh, darling, tell me what’s wrong.”

  “I’m not good at sitting around.” The defense rolled right out: a hundred times before, but this time, Fox didn’t even sigh about it.

  Instead, he arched his dark brows high. “I would never have guessed.”

  “I’m lonely,” Eagle blurted, then looked away, face burning. Fox shattered his barriers every time they were together. He’d built them as high as he could, but somehow he’d never accounted for the little boy Fox had been, or the man he’d become. Because of one sunny afternoon in summer, Eagle kept opening the gates to anyone who wanted to come in. It was a disease like no other.

  “Wherever you’re wandering, don’t,” Fox said.

  Shadows and light danced together over the thousands of crystals, from giant formations to sparkling crusts, which lined the chamber. They cavorted on Fox’s beloved face, so beautiful it could stop a weaker heart.

  You’re not the only one who’s lonely, Fox said with his searching eyes, always full of shining glitter from the magic Eagle poured into him at a touch of skin. I understand you. He licked his lips. “I suppose I can spare the time.”

  Eagle broke into a wide grin at st. “You mean it?”

  “Yes, I mean it.”

  “You won’t regret this.” He made to stand up, but Fox caught him around the waist.

  “I never do.” Fox sparkled up from where his chin rested on Eagle’s stomach, as enchanting as the right poem at just the right time. “I love you,” he added suddenly, soberly. “I hope you know that.”

  “To my bones.” Eagle kissed him, and his lips were softer than anything had the right to be. The invisible spark cracked between them, and goodness filled Eagle to bursting. “I love you, too.”

  “So?” Fox asked after a little while. “Where are we going?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “We’ll need to get our kits.” Fox meant the sample-collecting kits he always made Eagle carry, but Eagle was in no mood for that.

  “Nope.”

  “Since you’re stealing me away, at least I can get something productive out of it.”

  “Read my lips,” Eagle said, pointing. “No.” Fox was even closer to the Door than he’d estimated. It would be fun to pass through and take Fox by surprise, but Fox wouldn’t like it. “Hang on tight.”

  “Surely you jest,” Fox said, his eyes widening until there was white all around.

  Eagle’s ughter was probably at least a little maniacal. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you. Now then. You don’t know what surface you’ll nd on, so don’t hit your head. Roll back and toss me like we practiced. On three. One…”

  “Absolutely not.” Still, he didn’t move.

  “Two…”

  “Eagle, the kits.” His hands csped to Eagle’s sides.

  “Three!”

  With an annoyed grunt, Fox tucked his head in and rolled back. Cackling, Eagle helped him along, and they toppled through a Door and out of the world.