After reaching the third underground floor, the one where the artifact was located, Simon and Thomas stopped to wait for the twins. The Shaman had left Tira and Tari behind and left ahead with the commander, because he couldn’t bear to see them after their talk in the carriage. However, he needed them for the circution, so he had to wait for them to get here.

  Simon studied Thomas’s face, who was leaning against the stone wall of the corridor. He looked as expressionless as usual, but thin drops of cold sweat were rolling down his forehead. The knight made sure that nobody was around, but still whispered in a very low voice that only Thomas, with his hearing enhanced by the power of two gods, could perceive.

  “You don’t look well.”

  The response rang in his head, the Shaman not even moving his lips or turning to him.

  “Cigarettes.”

  Simon bit his lips, trying to hide his anxious face in case there were onlookers.

  “I didn’t think about that… Will you be able to hold on ?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I already feel like I’m dying and there is still the circution and the talk with the king left.”

  “The artifact is in a closed room, won’t you be able to smoke inside ? You can purify the air and erase the scent afterwards, like you did in your room, right ?”

  “If nobody is looking, yes.”

  “It’s thick stone walls everywhere, I think you’ll be alright.”

  At this moment, they heard voices and the twins turned the corner, entering the hallway. Thomas furrowed his brows.

  “I don’t want to do a circution with them. I don’t even want to touch them. Can’t you do it ?”

  Simon gave him a sorry look.

  “If I’m not outside, the risk increases. I have authority over the knights and the servants here, I can prevent any onlookers. If Tari and Tira were to do it, they could get picked on and would be unable to stop them, unless they use their powers against civilians, but that would brand them as traitors, which would extend to you as well since they are your servants.”

  Thomas clenched his jaw, trying his best to keep a neutral facade. But Simon could see his slight trembling, and his ashy skin becoming even paler. It was without a doubt a trauma reaction. He had seen it a few times while working as a knight, when victims of abuse met their aggressors. They didn’t know it at the time, but what the twins did to Thomas on his first day here was sexual abuse. And now, the Shaman needed to sleep with them. It was the worst situation.

  Simon gritted his teeth. He wanted only one thing, it was to spare Thomas the agonizing task to do that circution, but they didn’t have a choice. It was becoming very clear that the king was an enemy, and he would find any and all loopholes to attack them. Simon needed to stay outside to block the blows, since he still was attached to the kingdom.

  When Tari and Tira reached the two men, their gazes were as uncomfortable as them. This situation seemed terrifying to everyone. It was Thomas who broke the silence.

  “Let’s go.”

  He turned one st time and sent a message into Simon’s head.

  “I trust you.”

  The knight blinked while looking at the three figures disappearing behind a huge golden door. What did Thomas mean ? Was it about guarding the pce ? Or was it something else ? He turned the words in his head, but he couldn’t make up a meaning.

  On the other side, the Shaman found himself in a gigantic room with thick stone walls. It was beautifully decorated with marble and golden statues, paintings, fabrics, and in the middle there was a splendidly crafted altar, and the murky glowing ball that was the artifact. It was not only dull and dim, it also had a few cracks. But instead of walking towards it, Thomas stopped with a concerned look.

  “Master ? What is going on ?”

  He seemed to be searching for something with his gaze.

  “Did the first Shaman create objects other than the artifact ?”

  Tira tilted his head with curiosity.

  “Yes, those are called flowicules, he made a few but we collected all of them. Sometimes there is one appearing in the mundane world but we always manage to take hold of it quickly.”

  “Well, you forgot this one.”

  Without moving, he used his flow to rip something out of the wall and make it fly to him. It was small, as big as a fist, square, and seemed mostly smooth except for a circle on one side. The twins were looking at it with curiosity, but Thomas clenched his jaw. Even if the game was set in a fantasy universe, the creator must have been from his world because he recognized immediately what it was.

  “It’s a compact camera.”

  Tari furrowed his brows.

  “What do you mean ?”

  There wasn’t any screen or button to press, but somehow Thomas knew how to operate it. He injected a bit of flow, and immediately a hologram appeared in front of his eyes. It showed them entering the room.

  “That bastard…”

  Tira understood the situation quickly.

  “It is a flowicule that captures moments, right ? Did the prince prepare it to capture the circution ?”

  Tari had his teeth gritted so hard that his neck was tense.

  “How dare he ?! Does he look down on us that much ?”

  “Well, anyway, that’s dealt with.”

  Thomas touched the object and the hologram disappeared.

  “I disabled it. But just in case…”

  He flicked his wrist and the whole room suddenly got surrounded by a thin particle of pink light.

  “It’s a shield that will protect us from prying eyes.”

  The twins squealed in admiration, walking towards the walls to look at the magic.

  “It’s so fascinating !”

  “You are getting stronger each day, master ! You always think of new ways to use the flow.”

  “Yeah, and if I wasn’t as clever, I would have been tricked into having a kid that I would abandon in another dimension.”

  The boys fell silent, their heads lowered. The excitation gone, they suddenly remembered the current situation. While they were giving each other anxious looks, Thomas took out a cigarette box that he had hid in his flow and lit it up, exhaling in a rush, as if he was a starving man eating his first loaf of bread in months. It took a long while, until he had finished his cigarette and took out another, before he was finally back to normal. He then looked at the twins, clenched his jaw, and opened the box again.

  Tira pursed his lips in a worried pout.

  “Is it really that hard for you, master ?”

  By that time, Thomas was starting to feel the effects of the drugs, his posture becoming more rexed as his gaze became hollow.

  “Imagine one day someone beats you up badly. Let’s say he even sshes through your stomach. Obviously you would have trouble living under the same room as that guy, right ? Now imagine you need to come to him and ask him to beat you up, because otherwise the world will end. Would you be happy ?”

  Tari looked angry.

  “It isn’t that bad, we didn’t do anything bad to you !”

  Thomas threw the butt of his cigarette at him.

  “Let’s not mince our words, you raped me. I asked you to stop, I tried to push you, but ultimately I didn’t have the strength, and you forced yourselves on me.”

  “It was to save you !”

  “Was it really ? You rubbed your dick on me and cumed on my belly.”

  “What was I supposed to do ?!”

  “Circution is done via fluids, and that includes sweat even if it is not as effective. You could have simply held my hand under a bnket, it would have given you enough time to expin to me properly what was going on, and wait for me to agree.”

  Thomas walked to the purple haired boy, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

  “You did that for yourself, right ? You were getting frustrated because you didn’t fuck with your master for centuries, so you jumped on me while ignoring my despair.”

  Tari couldn’t respond to that. The Shaman was right. He lowered his head, his face red with shame. Tira, next to him, didn’t know what to say. Eventually, Thomas walked away and sat on the altar, looking at the artifact with a bnk look. Tira gathered his courage and took a step forward.

  “We will listen to you this time, tell us what we should do.”

  Thomas didn’t answer for a while, contempting the fading light. Then he turned to the twins.

  “I can’t do it. Not conscious at least. Just being near you is painful, if you touch me I’ll lose my mind. So here’s what we are going to do : I need to get drugged out of my mind, and when the thing is done, make sure you are both clothed and the pce is clean, then detoxify my body enough to regain consciousness. Deal ?”

  Tira nodded with energy, and Tari followed without conviction.

  “One st thing : If you try anything funny, like stealing my seed to have a child, I swear I’ll end everyone. You, me, this country, I don’t care.”

  He finally jumped off the altar and added :

  “Prepare a stronger drug, I’ll need it after today.”

  AmbreaTaddy