Kell held on, anchoring them both in the moment. Upset as he was, he couldn't make sense of it. There had to be something else, some bit of information that would have it all falling into place.
As it stood, there wasn't.
... and as Neria didn't give voice to the feeling, it was mirrored all the same in Kell. They had both her. Lost what they'd had. The ties borne on that battlefield, in the campfire's glow, with drinks and cards and imperfect understandings.
Things would never be the same.
Kell's lips thinned as Neria asked, but Rhy did the same when he was hurting, even if he did it with a joke, making light of what he'd suffered to change the subject, and Kell had learned to let those moments go. He threaded his fingers with hers, looked down between them.
"We came back only hours after we'd disappeared," he said quietly. "No one, not even our guards, had noticed we were gone. We explained what happened to the king and queen, but... have agreed to keep the reality of what happened to us a state secret."
Kell ran his thumb over Neria's knuckles.
"We did much the same with Rhy's death, but his eye is harder to conceal, so... we will not. The royal family has not yet addressed the rumors to the public, but it's been implied that it was a natural, if late, manifestation of Rhy's talents.
"No one living knows much about Antari," Kell added. "Even if there are whispers, it would be nearly impossible to dispute."
... of course, when Rhy and Kell failed to age, failed to die... things would need explaining. But they would cross that bridge when they came to it, and it was not a new problem to consider.
no subject
As it stood, there wasn't.
... and as Neria didn't give voice to the feeling, it was mirrored all the same in Kell. They had both her. Lost what they'd had. The ties borne on that battlefield, in the campfire's glow, with drinks and cards and imperfect understandings.
Things would never be the same.
Kell's lips thinned as Neria asked, but Rhy did the same when he was hurting, even if he did it with a joke, making light of what he'd suffered to change the subject, and Kell had learned to let those moments go. He threaded his fingers with hers, looked down between them.
"We came back only hours after we'd disappeared," he said quietly. "No one, not even our guards, had noticed we were gone. We explained what happened to the king and queen, but... have agreed to keep the reality of what happened to us a state secret."
Kell ran his thumb over Neria's knuckles.
"We did much the same with Rhy's death, but his eye is harder to conceal, so... we will not. The royal family has not yet addressed the rumors to the public, but it's been implied that it was a natural, if late, manifestation of Rhy's talents.
"No one living knows much about Antari," Kell added. "Even if there are whispers, it would be nearly impossible to dispute."
... of course, when Rhy and Kell failed to age, failed to die... things would need explaining. But they would cross that bridge when they came to it, and it was not a new problem to consider.