A Starless Existence {boyxboy}

Chapter 4

Kyree didn't return to the dinner table that night. In fact, he didn't leave his room until a few days had passed. He had to walk Endwin, he had left him to his own devices for days and was subsequently surprised he had chewed through the house. The afternoon was warm, as usual in the underworld, no breeze, just sweltering heat that felt almost suffocating. Kyree used to enjoy walks through the woods, back when he used to enjoy life altogether.

"Endwin, leave it!" Kyree shouted as his dog bent down to sniff some dead animal half buried in decaying leaves. As the dark coloured dog bounded off further into the foliage, Kyree stopped, a carving in a tree catching his eye. It was a heart, a very crudely drawn one with 'K+A' in the middle. Kyree yearned to feel something, anything, even anger at that point would be a privilege. Yet he just felt numb. As if the events of the night a few days ago had sapped any remnants of his soul from his body.

"Who is he?" Kyree flinched at the sound of another voice behind him, glancing over his shoulder at the familiar figure.

"You shouldn't be outside, Ambrose, you're much more vulnerable out here," Kyree grumbled, continuing down the path ahead of him to follow his dog, hoping Ambrose would take his advice and leave him the fuck alone.

"I'm with my knight, I'm sure you'll keep me safe," Ambrose linked his arm into the crook of Kyree's, a soft smile on his face. He was wearing faded blue jeans and a dark green hoodie that looked a few months old. Not the same sense of sophistication radiating from him as the night before.

"Where's your goon squad?" Kyree glanced at Ambrose's arm resting in his, then averted his eyes back to the forest floor.

"You mean Osiris and Anubis? I left them with your father, I told you, I'm with a knight, I expect protection," Kyree didn't bother to respond, honestly not having anything to say to Ambrose. He wasn't in the mood for talking, simply wanting to crawl into a dark hole and sleep for an eternity. The night with Ambrose was the first night in a long time he had a decent sleep, without nightmares scratching at his mind that is.

"So, who is he?" Ambrose repeated, the direction of his gaze impaired by the sunglasses adorning his face.

"Who are you talking about?" Kyree sighed when Ambrose stopped their movement, clasping his hands over Kyree's fists.

"Alexander," he said gingerly, igniting that same anger in Kyree at Tyrell had the other night, "the man that so clearly broke you, who is he?"

"Was," Kyree choked out, taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself.

"What?"

"Who was he, is more accurate. He's dead, has been for years," Kyree's breaths got deeper and faster as the pain of remembering Alexander unearthed the agony within him he had tried so hard to bury. The forest began to spin as Kyree's body swayed softly.

"Kyree? Kyree, sit down, you're gonna pass out," Ambrose became two men, then three as Kyree's legs started to give out from under him, "Kyree, calm down, it's OK. You're safe," as Kyree sat on the floor, Ambrose kept a hold of his hands, rubbing his thumbs over the back of his knuckles. That soothing gesture aided in calming Kyree, as though Ambrose was brushing away the pain.

"His name was Alexander," Kyree whispered minutes into the silence, unable to lift his gaze to catch Ambrose's, "he was my fiance."

"What happened?" Ambrose asked, sat opposite Kyree on the ground, his legs crossed as he waited patiently for Kyree's story. It took several more minutes for Kyree to collect his thoughts, yet Ambrose didn't rush him like so many others did, simply waited in silence.

"We'd been together for decades, known each other for centuries. I had proposed to him about 3 years earlier," Kyree began, "my father had insisted we waited until the humans accepted same-sex couples more openly, it would make it easier when we were up there then. God, it was my fault, if I had just stood up to my father, he wouldn't have-" Ambrose made small shushing sounds as tears rolled down Kyree's cheeks, sitting closer so their knees rubbed together.

"Kyree, it is not your fault, whatever happened was not your fault."

"Yes it was," Kyree sniffled, finally looking Ambrose in the eye with those beautiful hazel iris' of his, "he went up to the human world to pick my favourite flowers to put them in my suit pocket. I thought he'd left me at the altar. I thought it was all too much for him. So I went up there, to our favourite place, and..." Kyree inhaled a shaky breath, more tears spilling out of his eyes, "he was there. Beaten. Broken. Dead. They had hung him. Lynched him like he was some criminal all because he loved me. A man. If we had gotten married the way we wanted, eloping like he asked, he might still be alive. It was my fault," Kyree sobbed, covering his face with his hands, not wanting Ambrose to see him so vulnerable.

"Kyree," Ambrose pulled on his fingers gently, "Kyree, look at me, please," when Kyree finally removed his hands, his eyes were puffy and red, "Kyree, his death is not your fault. He made the choice to go up to the human world that day. His last act was an act of immense care and love, you didn't make him go up there. You didn't kill him, his blood is on the hands of the humans. Not you. You need to let this go, Kyree, you can't live like this," Kyree shook his head weakly, not believing the words spilling out of Ambrose's mouth, so similar to all the therapists over the years. Alexander had died because of him, that fact would not ever change.

"Kyree, I want to take you somewhere, will you let me do that?" Ambrose gripped Kyree's arms, taking his weak shrug as a yes.

Suddenly, it was much lighter, yet the temperature had dropped considerably. Kyree squinted in the light, glancing around the area he and Ambrose had appeared in. All colour drained from Kyree's face, his blood freezing in his veins as he came to realise where Ambrose had brought him.

"W-why - How did you -" Kyree stuttered, jumping to his feet as his entire body trembled.

"There was a photo album in the drawer of the room I'm staying in, the only picture left of you and Alexander was under this tree. I assumed this was the favourite place you told me about," Kyree's gaze flickered over the old oak creaking in the soft breeze, tears stinging his eyes as they landed on the spot forever burned by the rope that had stolen his lover from him.

"I-I can't be here, you shouldn't have brought me here," Kyree could feel the panic rising within him, flashes of that day pounding inside his head as he backed away from the God-awful tree.

"Ky, you need to move on, Alexander would want you to move on," panic seeped into anger which, in turn, grew into rage. Ambrose didn't know Alexander, he barely knew Kyree, and had seemed to think that bringing him to the place where Alexander had died would cure him of his pain.

"You don't know what he would want!" Kyree seethed, subconsciously stepping closer to Ambrose, "you didn't know him! You don't even know me! Just because you're royalty doesn't give you the right to dig all this shit up in my life!"

"Ky-"

"Don't call me that," Kyree growled, his eyes darkening until all of the hazel had been snuffed out by black.

"Kyree, you need to calm down. Alexander wouldn't want you to be acting this way-" everything was a blur then. Movements, sounds, everything. When Kyree's focus returned, he was sat on Ambrose's chest, his fists covered in blood. Ambrose's blood. Ambrose was still under him, his beaten and bloodied face contorted into an expression of pain.

"Ambrose?" Kyree whispered, his hands trembling furiously, "N-No, Ambrose," Kyree shook Ambrose's shoulders, hoping to rouse him from whatever state he was in, "please, Ambrose, I'm sorry, please wake up," more tears dripped from Kyree's eyes as Ambrose remained still. Deathly still. Kyree would be executed if anyone found out what he had done. But he couldn't just leave Ambrose there, he would be easy pickings for the man targeting him if Kyree hadn't already completed the man's job for him first...