"How can you even talk about anything with you," as soon as he came out of the portal, Egor immediately attacked Klaus.
They were standing under a large tree at the entrance to the cave, and everyone who was, as usual, doing their own thing there turned around at the shouts of the fair-haired guy.
"But it's not my fault!" Klaus spread his arms, letting go of the tree trunk, which he was holding on to so as not to fall from dizziness, "she attacked so unexpectedly, what could I do?"
"Dodge, push away, I don't know! You..."
Klaus got tired of listening to the stream of curses and simply shut Egor's mouth with a short kiss, first dragging him behind the tree and hiding him from prying eyes.
"I didn't kiss her like I kissed you," Klaus said into Egor's lips, who immediately moderated his ardor. "Besides, after the portal opened, I was a little... unable to dodge. You know what happens to mages when they lose their energy reserves?"
"I know, but it just pisses me off that I have so many competitors. Sorry."
"You don't have competitors. Let's go. We have business ahead of us, and, I suppose, a difficult conversation," Klaus sighed.
"Oh, and who is this! You deigned to return and with... what the fuck, Klaus? Why did you drag him back?"
The prince met the captain in the corridor halfway to his room. He knew that Augustus would be displeased and did not want the captain's indignation to spill beyond his room, but someone warned him too quickly about Klaus's return.
"Let's talk in your office," Klaus answered tiredly.
"About what? That you disappeared for a few days and came back with the same thing you left with?"
"I left Lilith there."
"And why did you bring this one again?"
"Let's talk in the office." And, ignoring August's displeased look, he walked past him. Egor hurried after him, and three men carried their bags behind him.
"Take everything to my room," the prince ordered.
As soon as the door to the room closed behind August, Klaus turned to him, not letting him open his mouth.
"Firstly, I had a good reason to take Egor back, and no, I do not intend to discuss this now. This is my decision. That's all. Secondly, let's talk about business. Over the past few days, I realized that I need to change the government as quickly as possible."
"As always, no compromises?"
"Yes, and if you are not happy with something, then keep your dissatisfaction to yourself and do not bother Egor in the future. He is my confidant, just like you."
"Are you putting me on the same level as this weakling?"
"It is not about your strength, but about my attitude. Didn't you advise me to show more emotions? I follow the instructions of my older brother."
"That is not what I meant..."
"So what about the border guards? Is the issue resolved?"
August sighed heavily.
"Yes. But we have a new problem. Yesterday, the king publicly executed twenty-eight of my men from the castle. I do not know how he figured them out, but he announced to everyone that these people were sent by you and now you are criminal number one. He removed your title of crown prince and gave it to your youngest son."
"Great, now I don't have to hide."
"Now we need to act and show your strength. The counter-move must be truly grandiose if we want to undermine your father's authority."
"I know just one way that will help us get new lands and reveal the carefully hidden secret of the king. This will help stir up the highborn, make them think and come over to my side."
"Intriguing."
"But let's discuss this later. I want Gorald, Pritik and a couple more people from the people to be present. My entourage must include people of all classes."
"Okay, Your Majesty," said August, and Klaus did not correct him, realizing that his brother was angry with him now.
"He's just furious," Egor groaned as he closed Klaus's bedroom door behind him.
"Don't pay attention. He'll calm down quickly," Klaus waved it off.
"I'm not sure. You promised him something, right? I mean, that day we went to my world."
Klaus thought for a moment. Images from the bathhouse flashed before his eyes. He tried to remember his feelings and compare them with what he felt in the hotel room. They were definitely different, but Klaus couldn't deny that at that moment the physical attraction was much brighter than ever. Before Egor.
And how can we understand what this means? Does he also love August in the same way as Egor? Or is it something else? The prince shook his head, throwing these thoughts out of his head.
"So what did you promise him?" Egor insisted, watching Klaus the whole time.
"I told you not to ask questions that…"
"But I want to hear the answer, even if I don't like it."
"You know that August doesn't treat me like a brother?"
"Of course I know! He reminds me of it all the time!"
"Well, so I promised him to try… Try to treat him the same way."
"Were you going to sleep with him?" Egor summed up.
"Yes."
"You haven't had sex with him yet?"
"Sex, no," Klaus answered honestly.
"What happened?"
"Look, that's enough. It was before I spent the night with you at the hotel…. Anyway, I made you a promise, so no need."
"Easy to say when you know Augustus Deffender!"
"Come here and grab something you can use as an ashtray."
Egor picked up an empty mug from the table and handed it to Klaus, who grabbed his wrist and ran his finger over the brand.
"We need to get rid of it."
"No. I like it."
"You're weird."
"No weirder than you, Your Majesty."
"Are you trying to make me angry?"
"What if you are?"
Klaus grabbed Egor's wrist again and pulled him towards him, sitting him on his lap.
"Better not."
And he kissed him, knocking all extraneous thoughts out of the blond's head.
"I think you should move back to this room."
"I was just thinking about it. You can't be left here alone, you never know."
***
"Have you found him?" Jiro asked his search mage once again.
"No, my lord. As soon as we hit the trail, he disappears. I dare say that the place where he is is surrounded by a barrier."
"Then find a way around it! How did this even happen? Both my sons turned out to be useless! How did Abel even think of attacking Klaus?"
"I don't know, my lord. It all happened without our knowledge. All of Lord Abel's guards are under arrest, but they all say the same thing, that they were following orders. They are not to blame."
"I will decide for myself! Find me the crown prince before the situation goes too far. Did he really get involved with the rebels? How could I have missed this?"
"I think their lair has always been under a special barrier, and we can't say for sure the scale of the problem. They are definitely led by one of the highborn, but we haven't been able to find out the name either. If His Highness is on their side, then I'm afraid it could cause a coup."
"How many highborn are inclined to side with Klaus after he was declared a traitor?"
"At the moment, there are no people who openly advocate for a change in power, but there are fewer people who condemn the traitor than we expected."
"I need to find him before he takes a retaliatory step. I don't know what this boy will get into his head, but I have a feeling it won't end well for me."
"Do you think he will take a step so soon?"
"He's not stupid, so yes, I think we should expect an answer soon."
Jiro leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes tiredly. The last hope of gaining power was slipping away from the man's hands. He couldn't even imagine that his brother would use Abel, and that this arsehole would do such a stupid thing. Jiro didn't care where his son had disappeared to. He was sure that Klaus had taken him with him. In any case, now he needed to find Klaus and try to reason with him.