Page 49 of Fox of Fox Hall

Conall took Fox’s hand and pulled him to thebedroll before sitting with his back to him. Fox followed Conalldown, kneeling behind him and accepting the tiny tub of pungentsalve he was handed.

“Around my shoulders especially, but the wholeback, if you don’t mind.” Conall had not raised his voice sincethey’d entered the tent. “It will make my morning easier.”

The salve was warming to the touch and madeFox’s fingers tingle. He was generous with it, focusing on the workand the heat in front of him.

“No more scolding?” Conall wondered when Fox hadbegun to massage his shoulders again. He tipped his head back tosigh out the words.

Abruptly reminded of why Conall was sore andwhat the next day would bring, Fox stopped. “Do you have somethingfor me to wipe my hands on? This isn’t going anywhere near myclothes.”

“Never,” Conall agreed, and stretched to oneside before tossing a rag to Fox.

Fox took his time ensuring his fingers and palmswere absolutely clean, if still tingling, then set the pot and therag to the side. He was in Conall’s lap in the next second, hisface against Conall’s throat. After a moment, Conall’s arms camearound him once again, a settled, heavy weight. But his handsdidn’t wander, and strangely, neither did Fox’s though his palmswere pressed to Conall’s chest.

Conall inhaled deeply, then exhaled over Fox’scurls.

“Are you tired?” Fox breathed in sweat andwarming salve.

“Exhausted,” Conall admitted.

Fox rubbed his nose back and forth over Conall’sskin. “Sleeping on the ground won’t help.”

“No, but it’s a mock-battle.” Conall brought onehand up to stroke through Fox’s hair. “I’ve wanted to do that allday,” he confessed before carrying calmly on. “Most do not sleep insoft beds the night before battles, so I suspect this isintentional.” It had to be suspicion; there had been no largebattles in their lifetimes. Fox vaguely felt this was somethingthat he could credit to Domvoda or perhaps Domvoda’s parent, butfor the moment he was happy to shove aside any thoughts ofroyals.

Conall, however, must have been consideringthem. “Should you be out here?” He was sliding Fox’s hair throughhis fingers, gently dealing with tangled curls when he encounteredthem. It sent a hundred exquisite shivers down Fox’s spine straightto the tip of his tail. “Being close in Kaladas could be explainedaway by the lack of space. You have no such excuse to visit me inmy tent here and people will have noticed the beautiful Fox walkingthrough the encampment.”

Fox parted his lips, thinking of giving Conall anew bruise. “Plenty of the byr are drinking in the cool night airand will probably have to be carted back. I won’t be missed for awhile.”

“But youwillbe missed,” Conall saidpointedly, and Fox was reminded of what they had and had notdiscussed earlier. Some might even have said they argued, althoughnot Fox, who had done no such thing.

He closed his eyes. “He liked this hair as yousaid he would.” They both knew whohewas. “And he suspects.At least, he suspects I have grown friendlier with you.” He stoppedfor a moment, expecting Conall to scoff or laugh at the word‘friendlier’ but Conall didn’t. Fox went on more slowly. “I can’ttell if he’s angry, or annoyed, or merely bothered, or if hedoesn’t really care and he’s more interested in using me to pokehis three potential consorts, or… to poke you, for whateverreason.” He could have brought Fox to sit next to him to vex Conalland not Fox. But if Domvoda wasn’t jealous, then he had no reasonto bother Conall, unless…. Fox raised his head. “Is he in love withyou?”

“What?” Conall jolted, then peered atFox, eyes still dark and impossible to read. “You don’t understandwhat you do to him.” He slowly drew Fox down so they could rest asthey had before, curled up with each other like sleepy cats.“First, there was the Fox, the oddity brought forth from thestreets to amuse him.” He gave Fox’s ear point a kiss as if tosoften that. “And then there was his pet Fox who bit on command.And now, there isthisFox, who shows his disapproval ofDomvoda’s choices and continues to stun others with his taste andbeauty, and who will not beg as perhaps the king wants him to sothat the king does not have to. And with each version of you thatyou offer, I try to anticipate how he will react and with each I amnever entirely right. He must feel the same way so many of us do,mystified, lost, and awed.” Conall bestowed another kiss. “I don’tthink he enjoys the feeling. Then again, maybe he does, since hecannot look away from you.”

Fox kept his head down. He curled his fingersbut there was nothing to hold to but warm skin and chest hair. “Youkeep saying these things. As if I’ve done something other than tryto belong.”

“That’s not anything bad.” Conall lowered hisvoice even more and ran a hand over Fox’s back. “Except that youhurt yourself in the process. You don’t belong among them andnothing will make that happen. You’re extraordinary. You can’t helpit.”

Fox was not proud of the whine that escaped himbut he didn’t know what else to do. He was all out of words.

He eventually decided to put a bruise wherethere ought to be one, sucking lightly, then harder when Conallslid his hand into Fox’s hair again and hummed so Fox could feel itagainst his tongue. “Some think you won’t have the strength fortomorrow,” Fox murmured when he felt the love mark was perfect, “soI won’t touch you now.”

The hand in his hair tightened, then released.“Thank you.” There was a delicious hum for those words too.“Because I wouldn’t say no and would likely regret it with all ofmy old bones in the morning.”

“As if you are ancient.” He was a decade or soolder than Fox. That was nothing. “If you don’t want me to worry,then that does not help.” Fox wished he could see the love markhe’d just made. He wished he could see it tomorrow from where he’dbe sitting, far, far away from the mock-battle with its realdanger. That would suit him better than a hidden ribbon on a lockof hair. “What if something goes wrong? What if…?”

“Then I lose,” Conall gently cut into Fox’sfretting. “That is always a possibility.”

“And what if you win?” Fox blurted, then shuthis mouth too late. He pressed closer. “What if you win and hegives you the large purse, on top of the smaller prizes for theevents you won today? What then? They gossip about you, yourfamily, your land and estate. Is it for that?”

Conall waited before he spoke again, eithersurprised or considering his words carefully, which Fox did notlike because this was not Domvoda’s court. “That has been my planfor a while. I’ve been thinking of it for years now. Then, thissummer, Domvoda offered that larger purse to impress his threeguests. So I decided that this would be my final tournament, that Iwould leave when it was over. I don’t have to win but I’d like toleave as someone remembered for more than that song. And the extramoney would be useful.”

Money was always useful. Fox didn’t voice thethought. His throat was tight. He must have done something, tensed,because Conall stroked over his shoulders.

“I could stay a knight in the king’s service,”Conall continued, slower and softer. “But I don’t have many moreyears of competition left in me and no heart for it. I’ve beenthinking of home, and my remaining parent, and my sister, and allthe others who have stayed with us despite our misfortune. The hallis all that is left that is livable, though it’s a hall in nameonly, and is in fact much larger than Kaladas or even Saravar. Theland is good and people are fed and comfortable, but the estateneeds some repair, and for that I have saved and won whatever Ican. Including this, if I am lucky. That’s been my plan for years,Fox. And this year… that purse. I thought it a sign that it wastime for me to move on. That it outweighed any reason I mightstay.”

He seemed to expect Fox to say something.

“Oh,” Fox managed, swallowing. “That’s good.That you can go home.”

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