-Brom-

Three days.

Three days since Varia fell, and Maddox fell with him. Sabre was certain that they were alive still, and Brom, having nowhere else to go, continued to move with him. The sands were relentless, the sun gave them no quarter, and with their cart and nags still with them, they were slow moving.

Sabre changed their course to a place called Qruedon, and described it as a cesspool of a city, with thieves, murderers, rapists and the best alcohol one could find in the desert. It was also a place that in the event Sabre was separated from Maddox, they would meet there. It was a lawless place, and they would be safe from the soldiers, from any one that may be looking for them. It gave Brom pause, and concerned him a bit. He never decided on a place like that, for him and his commander to reunite if they were separated. Unspoken, but neither of them believed that if they were separated, that they would ever see one another again.

He followed Sabre regardless, and would linger in Qruedon while Sabre waited for his brother. Sabre was unconcerned, and resumed their journey with more zest than Brom had seen him yet. Perhaps it was because Varia was gone. Dead, maybe. He didn’t seem to think so, and would often tell Brom that Varia was hard to kill. He was hard to kill. He was the hardest person to kill in the entire world, besides his brother, maybe. If Varia were to die, he always assumed that it would be Maddox to kill him. A slip up, the one day Brom was off of his game and allowed the sword to swing a little too far, too close.

Yet it never did happen. It came close, but more often than not, Varia was the one who needed to be reined in, to be distracted and forced to leave Maddox alive. It was so clever of Maddox to seek to align himself with Varia. The only person who could kill Varia was certainly Maddox, and Varia was the only person that could kill Maddox. Maddox knew that, he had to know that. Feared it, most likely. The cold and calculating look in his eye, the slip of a knife, the hiss of breath. Brom saw the monster he was, feared that monster and that coldness, and feared for his friend. That Varia did not see… perhaps this was better. Being killed by an oversight by Arcturus and the Council in not teaching any of their breeders to swim would hurt less, if he thought of it. Less than Maddox betraying him, killing him once Varia’s use ran out.

Sabre and Brom continued on, and in the afternoon of the third day, they crossed a band of refugees from the south, who were also moving towards Qruedon, though the group did not plan to stay there. It would be easier to travel in a group, now that he and Sabre had the option to do so. They could not travel in groups when Maddox or Varia was with them, both were too recognizable, and assumed dead. Brom could blend, as he always did, and Sabre also seemed to have a knack for blending and vanishing in crowds, though he was charismatic and spoke too many in the group, especially the women. They camped that night, and though they built their personal camp near their pack nags, Sabre left Brom soon after, alone, with only the beasts and the fire to keep him company. Sabre was pulled away by a woman, one he spoke with throughout their brief travel. She had taken to him, clearly, and he responded to her light advances. Before night fell upon the group, Sabre had the woman wrapped around his finger with promises of a better life, of love.

Seeing her take Sabre to her tent, seeing the look of hope in her gaze and the eagerness to please him stung a bit. It reminded him of the way Varia looked at his brother. It was subtle, more subtle than the way the woman looked, but it was there. That faint hope, that longing. Varia held himself better, did not give too much. How could he? This was new to him, he did not know how to act. But, like that woman, Varia was taken by a liar.

How many lies had Maddox told Varia? What did Varia think Maddox would give him? Freedom? Happiness? No, he was not capable of such a thing. Yet, Varia was not meant to be capable of love. Had Brom known that… he could feel those things, that he could reciprocate them…

He waited too long, and his brother stole yet another thing from him. All that time he spent, watching men approach Varia, and Varia accept their offers… all that time he spent waiting for Varia to be finished laying with another, and the joy he felt when Varia crossed the sands to join him around the fire… He had always returned to Brom. He left those men behind, those men were nothing, a means to an end, a way to scratch that itch, to dull that urge so that his mind was clear and he could fight. Brom was not like them, he was important to Varia. But if he just didn’t wait… if he didn’t just assume that Varia could not feel… if he had just told him, had just come to him in the night… touched flesh molded from marble and snow, tangled his fingers in hair woven from the night sky… looked into those eyes, pure drops of ice…

No. He was not strong enough for Varia. No one was, no one but Maddox. But, where Maddox was strongest, Varia was weak. Varia’s weakness was always his trust. He believed the Council, he believed Brom, and he believed Maddox. He believed he was important to Arcturus, that they would not seek to kill him. He believed Brom, when he said that he too worked for Arcturus, that he was there to assist in killing Maddox. He believed Maddox, whatever lies he told him. Brom waited too long to be truthful. Now that he was willing and able to kill Maddox it was too late. Now that he saw the way his brother twisted Varia, the way Varia relied on him now instead of Brom… He should have done it then. He shouldn’t have stayed Varia’s hand, he should have allowed him to kill Maddox all of those times he stopped him before. Now it would be harder to kill him, if he could even find the stomach to do so.

Brom did not realize how long he was sitting there, staring into the fire. It wasn’t until Sabre returned to their camp, and startled him from his daze that he realized the moon had moved across the sky, and the rest of the camp was quiet. Sabre watched him warily, a look Brom was now used to. It was subtle, but there. Caution in those golden eyes, his eyes squinted barely when he had that look about him, the corners of his eyes creased softly and his brows drew inward. But, as usual, the look vanished quickly and was replaced by a smile that did not quite reach Sabre’s eyes.

“You should sleep.” Sabre said, pulling a blanket from their cart and dropping it in the sand near the fire, sitting on it.

“I will.” A lie. Brom would not sleep, not until he knew Varia was safe, not until exhaustion took him and forced him to. Whichever came first.

They were quiet for a moment again, and Brom took the opportunity to look across at Sabre, studying his features. He was attractive, as many Nihalian men were, though he did stand out a bit. Perhaps he stood out because Brom clocked him as dangerous the first time he saw him, in the company of his brother. His aquiline nose was attractive in a way that was opposite from Varia’s strong, straight nose. Copper skin and dark hair, coupled with those heavy, golden eyes. Eyes that were warm, not cold. He was opposite of Varia in many ways, but Brom could still appreciate that he was attractive. But he was not Varia.

Brom turned his eyes from where they lingered on Sabre’s face and back to the fire. “How much further do we have to go?” He asked, picking a sharp twig up from where it lay beside him, prodding at the logs of the fire.

“A week or so before we reach Qruedon. We are moving slower now that we are in a group, though the protection it will provide is worth it.” Sabre responded, leaning back on his arms.

Brom spared him another glance, noting the way his arms flexed behind him. He was tense, always tense when he spoke with Brom. He was better at hiding it than most. Good, he should fear Brom. He too was loyal to Maddox, and that made him a threat.

“We will remain in Qruedon for two moons. If Maddox does not return, then I will assume he is dead and make for the capital.” Sabre continued once he settled into the sands, stretching his bare feet before him towards the fire.

Brom slid his eyes over Sabre’s form, then returned them to the fire as well. “And if he is alive, but does not return?”

Sabre laughed, a sweet sound, low and deep, rumbling from his chest. Little wonder why every woman they crossed was so taken with him. Brom gave a rueful scoff at the laugh, pulling his knees to his chest and pressing his chin into them.

“I’ll kick his ass then. He will come.”

“He has changed. You know this, I know it. He has changed Varia as well.” Brom said, almost spitefully. Of course Sabre knew, he was wise and observant. He knew a great many things that he had no business knowing.

“Is that such a terrible thing?” Sabre asked, all humor gone from his tone. Instead, he sounded calm, consoling. As if Brom needed consoling. No, he needed to rescue Varia, he did not need sympathy.

“What do you wish Maddox will do with Varia once this is through?” Brom asked, instead of responding to the question Sabre posed. Of course it was a terrible thing. The more blinded Varia became, the more his new master would have control.

Sabre was quiet for a long moment, and when Brom looked to him, Sabre was gazing towards the sky. Brom wondered what sorts of punishment Sabre would wish upon Varia. He wondered if Maddox would listen to him, or if he would simply do with Varia however he pleased. He wondered if Varia would be so consumed by him when that time came, that he would accept whatever fate Maddox decided for him. He wondered… if he would even be able to kill his brother. If he was strong enough, if Varia would attempt to stop him.

“Varia has killed many people… so… so many of my country men. Men, women, children. Nihal remembers, and we will demand justice.” The answer Sabre gave Brom was not a true answer. He wanted to know what sort of justice would be demanded, he wanted to know how they would see Varia punished. Certainly death, but how?

“Do you believe Maddox would hand Varia over to Nihal? To serve their interests, to allow them to seek their justice?” Brom asked. He did not think that Maddox loved Varia and would seek to keep him safe. Varia was useful. He needed Varia… for now.

“Does Maddox ever do anything that serves others?” Sabre asked with a chuckle.

Brom shot a look across to Sabre again, brows pinched together. “You’re right. He is selfish.” He didn’t understand why Sabre laughed, why it was funny. Maddox was powerful, self-serving. He was dangerous. Was he truly the only person who saw that?

“Maddox intentionally trapped the demon inside of Varia to keep him near, to keep him reliant on him. He would trap demons in every one of us, if it meant we were under his control.” Brom said, fists tightening in the cloth of his pants.

“Are you truly convinced that the elves sought to bind the demon, rather than kill it? They tried to kill it, you were there, as was I.” Sabre said, that cocky, amused smirk still on his face. It infuriated Brom. It reminded him of someone who knew something that he did not, that they had information they could dangle before him.

“Maddox spent much of his childhood with the elves. They are likely under his control as well. Elder Zeale knew, that is why she came to kill him.” Brom shot back.

“She came to kill all of us. Mostly Varia. Do you really believe Varia is under Maddox’s control? I do not think he is capable of being controlled by Maddox, and I do not believe that he would allow even a demon to force him to stay near Maddox either. Do you think Varia so weak?” Sabre said, his gaze finally turning to Brom, giving him the courtesy of looking at him. His gaze was sharp, cold, almost demeaning in a way, even though he still wore that smile.

Brom turned his gaze from Sabre then, not wishing to look at him. He did not think Varia was weak… at least, he didn’t believe he thought that. Perhaps he did. Perhaps he always saw Varia as weak. He always saw him used by other men, men he could so easily kill if he chose to. It wasn’t his fault, he was raised that way. Born into a system of oppression that he had no say in. Varia didn’t realize there were better ways, better lives until he was near an adult, and by then, the damage had been done.

Yes, he was weak. He needed Brom. No one needed him, not unless they were truly weak.

“I was young when I met him. I am of my 25th name day now, but when I came into Varia’s service I was of my 15th. It was not by choice, I never had a choice. Maddox was saved, not me, when our village was destroyed. They came for him, took him away from Arcturus, but I stayed behind. I was left behind. I was given to smugglers, who taught me to steal, to remain unseen. I was a child, 10, maybe… then, Maddox returned to me, as the Hero of Er Rai, not as my brother.”

“The brother I knew was dead, long dead. The older boy who came for me now was cold, distant. He was not the same brother as the one who protected me, who pelted me with snowballs and kept me warm on cold nights by sacrificing his own comfort. When Maddox returned, I was not in Arcturus, but in Nihal. He found me, not to save me, but to gain an asset. To find something to throw against the Demon of Arcturus, who already was proving to be too much to handle. Our reunion was Maddox giving me an order, to return to Arcturus, to join Legion and to gain access to Varia. To gain his trust, and to kill him during the night while he slept.”

“And so I did, because I loved my brother. I missed my brother, the memory of him. I wished to have my brother back, so I fought, I bled, I did what I needed to do, and found myself working under Varia within several years. But I did not find a demon, I found a boy who was so destroyed by Arcturus that the council needed a backup plan. They needed someone to be there, to put him down if he were to snap. Breeders were not meant to be great for long, and Varia was nearing the age that many lost what little mind they had left, and became more dangerous than not. I did not see the abuse that Varia was born into, but I saw many things that made me wonder why they… were not saving him, why they weren’t saving all of them.”

“Any battle Varia lost against Maddox when he was young… he was beaten. Beaten and strung up in the center of the war camp, for all to see that he was a failure. That even though he was strong, he was not strong enough. He was strung up, blood seeping into the sands from his wounds, all because he could not kill Maddox. It was my fault that he couldn’t, I made sure that he could not, as I was instructed by my brother.”

“The first night I saw that Varia was just a scared boy, not a monster, or a demon, was one of those nights. I approached him while the camp slept, where he was strung up in the center by his wrists. He was still bleeding, I remember the blood on my boots, how heavy the sand was when it clung to me. It was hot that night, hotter than most nights in Nihal. I tried to bring him water, but when I got close, he told me to leave. I continued to try, I knew he was thirsty. It had been so hot that day, it still was, and he was certainly suffering, but… he told me to leave. He told me that if I was seen giving him water, then I would be punished too. I did as he said, though it felt wrong, leaving him out there. He was just a child, barely of his 18th name day. That was the day I began to work closer with him, to try and help him, and eventually I became the one he kept at his side. My brother sent me back into the maw of the beast, but it was Varia who kept me safe.”

Brom trailed off then, those memories distant, but vivid. That was not the last time Varia had been punished like that, but it did not last much longer. Eventually, he became too popular, grew in the ranks. Even if the Council tried to punish him, his men would have cut him down, they would not have stood to see their commander treated like… how they were.

“Is that when you knew?” Sabre’s voice cut though the memories, however dark, and brought Brom back to the present. He turned his head, raising his eyebrows at Sabre. “Is that when you knew that you loved him?”

Brom was not surprised. Of course Sabre knew. Instead, he laughed, a poignant sound, one that inspired pity, based on the look Sabre wore then. “Of course you know… Likely everyone does except Varia.”

He smiled to himself, pressing his boots into the sand, remembering the weight of it when it was wet with blood. “I did not think Varia was capable of love, of accepting love. I remained at his side the only way he allowed, as a subordinate, not a lover… yet…”

“He is capable of love.” Sabre cut him off, and Brom snapped his jaw closed. He felt that now familiar heaviness beginning to press into his shoulders, seeping into his chest and warming him with his anger.

“I no longer have a chance to find that out for myself. I am fine with it, I’ve always been fine with it.” Brom replied.

“Are you fine with it?” Sabre asked with far too much knowledge in his tone.

Brom turned his gaze to him once more, feeling his expression falling into coldness. He was fine with it, until it was Maddox. It could have been anyone else, but it was Maddox who drew out those feelings. If Maddox was capable, couldn’t Brom be capable? Or was this yet another way Maddox was superior to him?

“Maddox is not what everyone seems to believe he is. He is using all of us. He will use Varia until there is nothing left of him.” Brom hissed.

Sabre cocked an eyebrow, his eyes no longer shifting away from Brom, and his lips no longer stretched back in that cocky smirk. He looked serious, and regarded Brom with a level of coldness that Brom did not think the other capable of until then.

“I am not to stupid to believe that Maddox does not feel for Varia. I do not think you are so stupid to believe that either. I do not believe you know Maddox as well as you say.” Sabre was being careful with his words, Brom knew. He wondered again, for a brief moment, if Sabre could be right. Sabre knew his brother well, knew him for a long time. He likely knew Maddox better than most anyone.

Brom snorted a laugh, which only inspired Sabre to continue. “Maddox sees in Varia what you see, and whatever he has seen has shaken him to his core. Maddox has changed, as you say, but that change is not a terrible change.”

Brom shook his head, snorting once more. “We will see.”

Sabre smiled to Brom, that same smile that didn’t reach his eyes. It was more unsettling now than it was before. That sense of knowing, of superiority. It made him question what he knew, what he truly knew. That Maddox was a monster, and Sabre was protecting him. Sabre was cautious of him, and did not attempt to hide that from him. He was almost afraid of what Sabre may say, what sense he may make, what lies he could weave.

Instead of wait for Sabre, he spoke first. “When did you meet my brother?”

Sabre’s eyes lit up, recalling some past Brom did not know. He barely knew his brother, barely knew his story. Maddox was a stranger, wearing his brothers’ face as his own.

“Ah, the story is not as deep as yours was. I met your brother when he came to Klale to meet my Aunt. She ordered me to go with him once he set out to save the world from Arcturus.” Sabre spoke so casually, so simply, but even if this was true, which Brom doubted, it was missing details that could be important to any story.

Sabre did not trust him, and Brom did not trust Sabre. Sabre did not try to hide the fact he was lying, which Brom found curious. Sabre did not trust him, but he also did not find him so threatening he would cover the lie. But Brom did not need to know all the details. He was certain Sabre met Maddox long before he indicated. Perhaps before Maddox came back for Brom. Maddox was already in Nihal at that time, so it was likely he knew Sabre already.

It mattered little. Sabre was yet another loyal pawn Maddox moved about the board where ever he needed. He would not divulge any of Maddox’s secrets to Brom.

“What is his goal, once the war is finished?” Brom asked. He did not expect a true answer, and was not surprised when Sabre lied once more.

“He has no plan, for he will not be involved. That falls on me, and delegates from Er Rai.” Sabre replied, his expression never shifting, never leaving Broms face. It was unsettling. Sabre was looking at him, through him. As if he was screaming his own secrets and Sabre could hear them.

But another lie. One that was easy to pretend to believe. Though, he knew Sabre would not think he truly did. This was a game they were playing. Sabre would not be swayed from his position as Maddox’s friend and supporter. He would be watched, be fed information that was false. Perhaps eventually he would mix something up, something crucial.

“That is concerning. No one seems to know his plan.” Brom replied, shifting against the sand, spreading his legs before him casually.

“Is it so hard to believe that Maddox, like Varia, just wishes to be free?” Sabre asked, leaning back on one arm in an attempt to appear casual as well, though that intensity remained in his eyes.

“He is free.” Brom said with a roll of his eyes. “He has been free for years, since we were children.”

“Is he? You do not know your brother at all, if you truly believe he is a free man. Perhaps you should attempt to know him before you plot against him.” Sabre said, that smooth charisma in his voice unwavering despite the words he spoke.

Brom was almost stunned by that. It was bold, and he wasn’t truly plotting against Maddox yet. He was simply plotting about plotting against him. But Sabre called him out, and the fact that Sabre felt confident enough to do so meant that Sabre felt he was winning their war of secrets and information. Perhaps he was. He was open with Sabre, told him the story of Varia and him with very little left out. None was a lie, and Sabre knew it.

Brom sat quietly for a long moment, before he rose to his feet. It was insulting, terrifying. Sabre was going to protect Maddox. If Maddox returned, then how soon before Sabre spoke of this night with him? What would Maddox do to him? How long had Sabre thought this about him? Long, most likely. Sabre always looked at him in that strange way, that untrusting manner. Since the Graves, at least. It wasn’t just Sabre, even Varia had been distant to him. He was short with him, cold. Sabre must have spoken to Varia, to both of them. He was suspicious, but why would he tell Varia? He was not plotting against Varia, only Maddox. And even then, it was only to help Varia, to free him from his brothers’ clutches.

No, it was Maddox. If Sabre told Maddox, then Maddox would tell Varia. And Varia was twisted by his brother, and was slowly turning against Brom. He didn’t have much time. He had to act quickly, to get Varia away from Maddox. He had to beg him, to plead with him. He needed to save him.

He realized he was standing still, unmoving, and that Sabre was still watching him. As if Sabre needed any other reason to watch him, to not trust him. He was watching him with a look of knowing, that same cocky confidence. Brom scowled, and turned, leaving their camp and slipping into the darkness.

If he couldn’t convince Varia to leave Maddox willingly, then he would need to rip him away.