Rian smiles. "I am here to court you, General. Not with swords, but with the old ways." Kael found Rian in the training yard at midnight, tracing patterns in the dirt with a single finger.
"I have no interest in games," Kael growled.
Rian stood, close enough that Kael could smell juniper and rain on him. "In my tribe, a warrior is courted through three trials. The Trial of the Blade—proving you can match his strength. The Trial of the Wound—showing you can tend his pain. And the Trial of the Hearth—earning the right to lie beside him without a weapon." The Courtship Of A Warrior -Yaoi-
"Then why is your heart beating like a war drum?" Rian whispered, and lightly pressed his palm to Kael's chestplate.
Kael stilled. No one had ever spoken of his shadow. Rian smiles
"I don't know how to love," Kael whispered—a confession more vulnerable than any wound.
A peace treaty requires a "gift" from the rival, nomadic Solari tribe. Instead of gold, they send Rian , the tribe's banished war-shaman. Rian is a paradox: slender, soft-spoken, and bearing no visible weapons. Yet, he carries a small, worn drum and a gaze that seems to see through Kael's armor. "I have no interest in games," Kael growled
"Your shadow," Rian replied without looking up. "It fights even when you sleep. It mourns even when you conquer."
"What is this?" the general demanded, his hand on his sword.