Phil opens his eyes and stares up at the high ceilings of Dan's bedroom, confused and a little bit too tired to be dealing with this right now. A barrage of thoughts and questions rush at him all at once, and his mind decides to pick out the two most important questions.
Is Dan okay? Is my kingdom okay?
He tries to sit up, but his head spins and he falls back to the mattress. Beside him, Dan groans and opens his eyes.
"Phil, you're awake," he mumbles. He blinks a few times and his eyes widen. "You're awake! Phil!"
Before the king of Divum can say a word, Dan presses a kiss to his lips. It's the first proper kiss Phil has gotten since Dan got sick and he happily indulges in it, kissing back with fervour. He traces Dan's jaw with his thumbs, feeling light-headed and giddy.
"I'm so glad to see you," Phil mumbles, pressing kiss after kiss to Dan's lips.
"I'm glad to see you too," Dan replies, his eyes twinkling. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Dan buries his face in Phil's neck and exhales when Phil wraps his arms around him. They're in bed, they're both weak, but they don't care. They're together, and that's all that matters.
"You scared the hell out of me," Dan whispers. "When I saw you on the floor, I thought you were dead."
"I'm sorry. You scared me too, though. You were actually dying and I couldn't let that happen," Phil replies.
Dan observes the faded mark on his wrist for a moment before returning his arm to Phil's waist. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Dan. We're both alive, and we're going to get better together."
The two kings spend the next few days sleeping on and off. Phil makes up for all the affection he missed from Dan by kissing him every chance he gets, and Dan doesn't seem to mind at all. They recover together, and because Phil only needs to recover from exhaustion he heals faster. By the fourth day, the king of Divum feels perfectly normal again.
Just as Phil is nodding off again, a banging on the door startles him and Dan awake. The banging continues and Phil rubs his eyes, grimacing.
"Your majesties, there are attackers outside our gates!" a guard yells from the other side of the door. "From Tenebris. You must come quickly!"
Dan immediately looks at Phil, panic in his eyes as he cups his face in his hands. "Phil, I didn't call them. I don't know why they're here. Phil we have to go we have to stop them—"
The king of Divum shuts him up with a kiss to the lips. Dan relaxes a bit as Phil presses kiss after kiss to his lips, fingers tightening around the king's hips.
"You still need to recover," Phil insists. "Stay here and I'll deal with it."
"I can go—"
"No, Dan. Getting up and running and fighting will only make it take longer for you to recover fully." Phil gets up from the bed and changes quickly, replacing his pyjamas with clothing and tying his cloak around his neck. He shoves a sword into the sheathe on his belt and looks back to Dan, who watches him with nervous eyes. "I'll be back soon."
Phil rushes out of the room, blue magic already starting to swirl around his arms. One of the guards hands over a horse and Phil leaps on, riding down to the city gates. Screams rise to his ears and he goes faster, his horse's hooves pounding against the cobblestone streets.
He reaches the small Tenebrisian army and leaps off his horse, hand hovering over the hilt of his sword. The boy leading the charge, who can't be much older than seventeen, storms towards him and points the tip of his blade at Phil's throat. His chest heaves and his eyes blaze, and Phil slowly lowers his hands away from the hilt of his weapon. Around him, frightened villagers scurry back into their homes or into the shadows, silently watching and waiting. Divian guards arrive and stand behind Phil, their blades drawn.
"Calm down, lower your blade, and we can discuss this like men," Phil states, meeting the dark eyes of the boy in front of him with an unwavering gaze.
"What is there to talk about? You killed my brother!" Adrian spits back, taking a step closer. Phil flinches as the sword gets closer to his throat and his guards brace themselves for a fight.
The king of Divum stares at him, the pieces of the puzzle slowly fitting together; the same dark eyes, the facial resemblance, the black accents in his clothing, the fact that he's Tenebrisian... His eyes widen and he shakes his head, suddenly much, much more frantic. "Dan? Are you referring to Dan? He's alive! He's back at the castle!"
Adrian scowls and takes another few steps forward, turning his blade so the side hovers right below Phil's jaw. "Do not lie to me, king. How could he possibly be alive if the mark of our kingdom started appearing on my arm?"
"He was ill. Deathly ill. I healed him because I was afraid he would die," Phil explains. "However, marks don't come back instantly. His mark will only return fully in a couple of days, and yours is probably fading as well."
Before the prince can reply, a voice stops him.
"Adrian, lower your blade."
Adrian's eyes flit away from Phil as Dan brushes past the group of Divian guards, his cloak billowing out behind him. The prince shoves his sword back into its sheathe and throws himself into Dan's open arms without a moment of hesitation, burying his face in his brother's shoulder.
"You look so much older than the last time I saw you," Dan says quietly, earning a strangled sob from Adrian.
"Oh my God, Dan, I thought you were dead."
"I'm okay, I promise." Dan lets him go and places his hands on Adrian's shoulders, a small smile on his face. "You have always been so reckless, brother. I'm surprised you got this far without anyone stopping you."
"PJ tried," Adrian admits, wiping his eyes. "I was too angry to see reason."
"Ah, I see," Dan replies. "We will continue this conversation later. For now, let me introduce you to King Philip of Divum. I am immensely glad that you didn't kill him because he's also my partner."
Phil steps forward and Adrian shakes his hand, a shameful blush rising on his face. "PJ suggested that you two loved each other and I didn't believe him."
"You need to learn to listen to those older and wiser than you," Dan states, ruffling his little brother's hair. "Maybe, they know things that you don't know."
Adrian frowns at him, but there's no anger in his eyes anymore. Dan smiles and turns to Phil. "Phil, you've probably already guessed that this is my little brother, Prince Adrian."
"A pleasure," Phil replies with a smile of his own.
Dan turns to the small group of Tenebrisian soldiers, who watch him expectantly. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is wonderful to see you all again. Please, lay down your arms and follow the Divian soldiers back to the castle, where food and drink will be provided."
The guards bow and follow the Divians, chattering amongst themselves. Phil watches them go before turning to Adrian. "I need to speak privately with your brother for a moment. Follow the guards and we will meet you once we're finished."
Adrian nods and walks after the guards, his hand resting on his sword's hilt and his boots scuffing against the cobblestone. Dan and Phil follow several steps behind, just out of earshot of the Tenebrisian prince. Phil takes his horse by the reins, the animal trailing slightly behind the two kings.
"I told you to stay in bed," Phil scolds gently, taking his hand.
"My people were attacking your gates. You should have known that I never would have stayed in bed," Dan replies, glancing at him.
"I know." Phil sighs and squeezes Dan's hand. "Are you feeling okay, though? Running down here didn't put you under too much strain?"
"I've got a bit of a headache, but it's fine," Dan says.
"You're still pretty pale."
"I'm less pale than I was yesterday."
Phil exhales and nods. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried."
"I know. I appreciate your concern."
The king of Divum smiles and nudges him with his shoulder. "I'll kiss you when we're out of the public eye."
Dan grins. "Sounds good. For now, let's get to the castle and have a talk with my brother."