Ljuflingur

Deep within his loins, he felt the beginnings of an eruption coil. He steadied the pace of his brutal thrusts, not wanting to end it too soon. He sliced along the edge of his frenzy, pleasurable waves pulsing through his balls in time with the furious strokes of his cock. Prolonging pleasure was like a navigating a cliff on horseback. If you knew the path and your own limitations well enough, you could thunder along at a breakneck gallop without plunging over the edge. It was the same exhilarating thrill as in battle, where one false step meant death.

Kaer was crying his name now, though, which made it damn hard not to think he could fly. Eirik reached forward and grabbed a fistful of silky black hair, jerking Kaer's head back. With his free hand, he delivered a series of resounding thwacks against each of the tender white cheeks hugging his cock. His slaps left red-tinged handprints, but Kaer was wantonly gasping for more. Eirik threw control to the winds and galloped off the cliff, letting his hips buck as fast as they could. The fall was ecstasy.

Kaer twisted, suddenly, reaching back to place a shaking hand on Eirik's chest. "Wait," he commanded. "I want to see your face."

Eirik nodded shortly. He pulled out, flipped Kaer onto his back and eased his bent, spread legs back towards his chest. He slid his cock back into Kaer's gripping warmth, holding Kaer in place by his upper shins. Kaer's cock swayed in the air above his tight scrotum. Trapped, folded, and penetrated, Kaer gazed up at him with bleary silver eyes, ebony hair sticking to the sweat on his forehead. His lips curved into the sweetest smile Eirik had ever seen.

The ground rushed up. Eirik leaned closer over Kaer and pumped desperately, feverishly, snarling with the effort. The coiled tension spread to his lower stomach and heat shot to the soles of his feet. Kaer dug his nails into Eirik's shoulders. In the same instant, something splattered across Eirik's stomach and the muscles enfolding his cock clinched.

Eirik dove in as deep as he could as the spasms of Kaer's orgasm milked his cock. Exploding in rapid thrusts, he erupted far inside Kaer's bowels. Kaer gaped up at him, his face frozen in a helpless blend of exertion, bewilderment, and rapture. More wetness sprayed against Eirik's belly. He tried to keep his eyes locked with Kaer's, but the intensity of his climax took over and he felt his face contort involuntarily; his eyes squeezed shut of their own accord, and his lips drew back from his teeth in a gaping, twisted rictus.

The release was pure, complete clarity. He fed Kaer his soul, at once claiming and yielding more than he ever had. When the last jet of semen had spurted from his cock, he managed to open his eyes, and found that Kaer had tears on his cheeks.

He kissed each tear softly, tasting their clear saltiness. Then he pulled out of Kaer, drew him close, and tugged the cloak over them so that they lay enfolded in its heaviness, their limbs tangled together.

"Oh my fucking God." The blasphemy tumbled from Eirik's lips, indicating his brain had not quite caught up yet.

Kaer leaned back in his arms, a puzzled frown creasing his brow. "Are we glowing?" he asked dazedly.

Eirik gave him a tired grin. "Only you, my ljuflingur. For a moment there, I thought I was blinded." Something occurred to him. "What did you see in my face?"

Kaer kissed the underside of his chin. "Me," he whispered.

As Eirik hugged him, the familiar, satiated weariness of repletion gathered quickly, and darkness clouded over his consciousness.

He awoke sometime later to find Kaer curled in his embrace and sleeping peacefully. The sun was not yet overhead; it shone through cracks in the clouds above the eastern horizon, spreading broad beams of light. Steam wafted lazily up from the hot spring, pierced by drifting crystals. It had started to snow.

Eirik shook Kaer gently awake. The pale eyes were still a shock, lovely and fey. The boy scowled dreamily up at him.

"It's snowing again," Eirik murmured. "We should clean off and dress before our clothes soak through. The air is mild yet."

Kaer stiffened. "And then?" he asked warily.

"Then I chain you with my dirty human magic to the pool, to stay here as my slave for all eternity."

The boy grimaced, but Eirik didn't miss the sudden brightness that glimmered deep in his eyes. He chuckled, then realized that Kaer's stiffness hadn't entirely vanished.

"Don't worry," he said solemnly. "Then I will take you to my home. I'll protect you, Kaer. You're mine."

"I told you," Kaer said unhappily, "that isn't safe. It will only bring the monsters to your hearth."

Eirik thought of his uncle's dreams for him, of his father's pious devotions, of the men he lead and fought beside. He thought of his mother and his sisters and little Brunhildi, his fair-haired toddler of a niece.

He thought of Kaer's wide-eyed look of amazement as he came all over Eirik's stomach.

"Then," he said calmly, "we will only stop briefly at home to—to make plans. To set my affairs in order, so that we can leave together."

Kaer looked doubtful, but the tension drained from his limbs. "Where would we go?"

"Wherever you like," Eirik told him blithely. "We can discuss it while we walk."

"What will you tell your family?"

"We'll figure that out on the walk, too." He tossed the cloak open, exposing their bodies to the light snow. Kaer shivered. "Go on," Eirik directed. "Into the pool."

Kaer crept into the hot water without another protest. Eirik hurriedly folded his cloak and piled it and the rest of their clothes against the low rock wall, to shield them from the worst of the snow. Then he slipped into the pool and gave his body a good quick scouring.

Finally, he drew Kaer onto his lap. Snow had collected on his ebony hair like a crown, matching his eyes in sparkling radiance. Around them, the snowflakes fell in silence.

"Are you all right?" Eirik asked quietly. He suddenly dreaded the answer, but his concern for Kaer was too strong to put off the question. He didn't just mean soreness. In the last day, the boy had very nearly been murdered and frozen to death. He had awakened from that nightmare to find himself with a stranger, who had first undressed him and then—pleasured him? Brutally violated him? Unease blossomed in Eirik's gut, and guilt swelled his throat closed.

Kaer slanted a shy smile up at him. "All the important parts still seem to work." His cheeks pinkened delightfully.

Eirik snorted as relief washed through him. "Glad I could test them out for you," he muttered, and pushed the boy up against the pool wall, leaning in to kiss him hard on the mouth, ignoring the icy pinpricks scattering across his exposed back. Kaer returned the kiss earnestly, swirling his tongue around Eirik's and scraping clawed fingers through his hair.

That was how Alfdis found them.

"Eirik?" Her clear, shrill exclamation cut through the moment. "Are you—is that a man?"

Eirik jerked his head up to find his little sister standing a few spans from the edge of the pool, cloaked and hooded, disbelief making rings of her eyes and mouth.

He gaped back at her over Kaer's head, until the impudent girl erupted into gales of laughter.

Blood rushed to his cheeks. "Don't stare," he growled at her, fighting a foolish grin. "I'm glad to see Halkell kept his word, and you are okay."

Alfdis grinned back at him. "Oh, I'm okay. Not nearly as good as you, from the sight of it." She came closer. When she saw whom he had been kissing, her smile faded.

"Eirik," she said in a strangled voice. "Why do you have the Prince?"

Eirik started as her words sank in. He gawked wordlessly at her, then swallowed and pulled away to stare at Kaer.

Kaer gazed back at him, his features still and guarded.

"What," Eirik finally broke the silence, "did you say your real name was?"

Still, no trace of an expression touched the young man's face. "Kaer is short for Egilikaer, my mother's name." Kaer's tone was dispassionate. He paused, then recited faintly, "my full name is Prince Iorund Aesbiornsson and Egilikaersson of the Styrsson Line, Champion of Vatnajökull and—and Heir to the Hidden Throne."

"I did not think," Alfdis breathed, "someone could look so much like a painting."

"And who are you?" Kaer asked, his voice chilly and distant.

Alfdis drew herself up. "I am Alfdis Halkellsdottir and Sigridursdottir, half hidden and loyal to the Vebjornsson Line." Her slender face trembled with outrage as she sank to her knees in the snow. "Your Highness," she spat, "unhand my brother."

"That's enough, Alfdis," Eirik warned. He staked his territory without a second thought. "The prince is mine."

Alfdis drew back in surprise. Eirik had never cowed her the way he could cow his men, but she seemed to hear something different in his tone this time. Her brow drew together. "Eirik," she said, her voice suddenly much smaller, "I don't understand."

Eirik's heart flipped to see her confused and vulnerable, still kneeling on the ground before them. He was far more concerned, though, about Kaer's icy lack of emotion since Alfdis had named him prince. He turned to the boy, willing him to feel the strength of his support and affection.

"Rise, Halkellsdottir," Kaer said softly. He glanced sideways at Eirik, but addressed Alfdis. "I mean your brother no harm."

Alfdis scrambled to her feet and looked down at him uncertainly. "Where have you been?" she whispered finally. "They killed your sister."

Kaer turned his head, but not before Eirik saw the grief that cut his face open. "The verdict was written," the boy said hoarsely. "She was a traitor. There was nothing I could do. She—" his voice broke. "She should have been Queen."

Eirik took two short steps and dragged Kaer into his arms. He pulled him close, pressing his lips into his wet hair and ignoring Alfdis's shocked expression. Kaer buried his face in Eirik's chest and shook.

Alfdis's voice was just barely audible. "War comes."

Eirik shook his head. "The war is here. They tried to kill him, too," he told Alfdis. "I found him right after I left you, lying unconscious in the snow. I fought a pair of child beasties for him, and carried him here to warm him." He paused, cheeks burning, and went on. "Then you found us."

Alfdis's golden brow rose, but she didn't comment on the obvious gap in his timeline. "You defeated a pair of shape wreakers by yourself?" she asked instead.

Eirik scowled at her and she raised her hands in defensive apology. She eyed Kaer with a resigned laugh. "You always did have a weakness for the things you had to save." She tapped a finger against her chin. "And for beauty," she added innocently. "So what now?"

Eirik squeezed Kaer and released him. "Now, we go home," he said firmly. He caught Kaer's gaze to confirm this was still agreed. The young man's eyes were full of sorrow, but he nodded slightly.

With some reluctance, the boys left their steaming sanctuary and moved swiftly to pull on their clothing. "Later," Eirik continued as they dressed, "we can worry about kings and wars and why Alfdis the Half Hidden will be staying far away from both." He glared meaningfully at his sister.

"Save your decrees, priest's son, for when you are Lawspeaker," Alfdis shot back. "Or did you want to talk about kings and wars, and which one of those is okay to bed with?" She dodged his lobbed handful of snow adroitly.

"This is not over," she informed him solemnly, crossing her arms across her chest. "You keep your king, but I will not run away from the loyalty owed to my huldufolk kin. They might be hidden, but they're as much my family as you are, Eirik." Her gazed flicked to Kaer. "Your Highness understands," she prompted.

Kaer looked at her sadly. "Better than you, Alfdis Halkellsdottir." He spoke for the first time since hearing confirmation of his sister's death. "Tell me, did you understand my sister's crime?"

"She—she betrayed your family," Alfdis faltered. "She plotted with your enemies to defeat your own father's plans."

"She was used, and cleverly, by those enemies," Kaer corrected her grimly. "She was raised as heir to the Hidden Throne, and taught to think of what was best for all huldufolk."

Alfdis hesitated. "Halkell says that as your father aged, he used the throne more and more to the advantage of your family, at the expense of others."

Kaer nodded. "My older sister was idealistic, and impulsive, and too fearless by half. She trusted wrongly, and was betrayed."

Comprehension darkened Alfdis's face. "It was a brilliant blow against your family, wasn't it? Her betrayers brought proof."

Kaer nodded again. "Proof," he said mildly, "that the heir had broken the highest law."

"Loyalty to the family."

Kaer's expression was bleak. "Our father could either deny the truth of their claims, an impossible flouting of our oldest laws that would certainly have turned most families against him, or he could follow our ways and execute his heir."

"You think he chose wrongly." It wasn't quite a question.

"That would be treason, wouldn't it?" Kaer's smile was sharp and self-mocking. "You think you understand, but consider this—it was the law of family loyalty that gave our father the right to kill his daughter. You are young, Alfdis."

Alfdis reddened, not in a graceful blush but with her characteristic temper. Eirik, tugging on his boots, almost lost his balance when she didn't snap a sharp retort at the huldu prince. Somehow, the boy's ability to silence Alfdis was far more intimidating than his royalty.

Kaer considered her as he tucked his billowy white undershirt into his trousers. "I can understand why you would think avoiding this war would mean running away from my family."

Eirik's heart soared, even as Alfdis's jaw unhinged in astonishment. "You're not going back?" She sucked in her breath. "But you—you're the heir now."

Kaer flinched. He fumbled with the laces of his overshirt. "I can ignore the call, with some effort," he said tersely. He didn't look at Eirik. "But not forever. Eventually, like any huldufolk, only my death would keep me from the paths."

Alfdis shifted uncomfortably. "The families are naming you dead, or turned traitor yourself."

"They would know if I were dead, and there will be no treachery." Kaer shook his head. "I won't make my father kill me, too." Anger and anguish warred briefly on his face; anger won. "But I have no wish to fight anyone's war. Least of all that of a King who would sacrifice his own daughter and the huldufolk's best hope for a future ruler, all for the empty promise of a few more years peace."

Eirik wanted to take Kaer into his arms again, but while grief could be lessened by such remedies, bitterness could not. Instead, he bowed his head and fell to one knee, shoving his axes out of the way.

"Prince," he tested the new appellation. "I am your man." He tilted his head back and caught Kaer's searching silver gaze. "In this world or the other, in peace or at war, I am with you, always."

The silence stretched. Eirik couldn't interpret the look on Kaer's handsome face. Was that fear flickering in his eyes? Was it of him, or for him?

Finally, Kaer shrugged despairingly. "Always," he promised. "Only please call me Kaer?"

A smile tugged at Eirik's lips. "As you like, Ljuflingur." Beloved. He rose and took Kaer's hands into his own.

"That was very romantic," Alfdis cut in. "But please don't start kissing again."

Eirik just squeezed Kaer's hands.

"No bedding each other with your eyes, either," Alfdis said sharply. "I'm freezing."

Eirik chuckled despite himself. "We're short a cloak," he realized in dismay. The snow was still light, but the weather of the Ice Island was liable to change drastically between one breath and the next.

Kaer smiled, and there was a cherished hint of his private brightness in it. "Then we'd better hurry. My garments are warmer than they look. Wear your cloak, Eirik, and if a storm catches us, we can share."

"Not likely," Eirik growled. "Take the cloak, or I'll carry you the whole way."

"He's serious," Alfdis advised. "I used to forget my boots a purpose, so that he'd carry me when I pretended to realize my feet were ice cold."

Eirik frowned at her in surprised indignation, but didn't press it when Kaer let him drape the heavy, too-long folds around his slender frame. Alfdis smirked at him and took off towards the mountains.

Eirik planted a quick kiss on Kaer's lips and turned to follow Alfdis. The distant peaks were nothing more than dimly defined shadows in the cloud cover, but Eirik knew the way.

"Coming?" he asked, taking Kaer's hand.

"Did you miss it?" Kaer teased softly.

Eirik coughed, but recovered quickly. "I meant again," he suggested. "Later." He laughed when he saw the hungry gleam lighting the other man's eyes. "Soon."

"I can walk as quickly as you can," Kaer observed.

Together, they followed Alfdis into the swirling snow.