The lake rippled with the fading sunset, glittering gem bright where the rays touched its surface. He lounged in his throne of black bone, incongruous with the rustic and homely surroundings. The armrests were worn with smooth grooves from the action of his fingers over the centuries, witness to world-shaping plots and plans. His cheek rested lazily against his fist, one long leg crossed over the knee of the other, a pose of resplendent boredom that was a relic of his former life.

  Mir’s brooding was interrupted at Lei’s appearance, the former Dark Lord shifting and stretching out a hand to help steady the side table for the other to set wine and cheese on. Arms opened, welcoming his husband joining him, sighing in contentment as they fit together. Arms went around the dragon’s waist as he rested his chin briefly atop the other’s skull, then relaxed back to take the pressure off.

  They were silent for a long moment, watching the last light of the day slip away and the first reflection of the moon as it rose. When the dragon did speak, his voice was soft. “Copper for your thoughts, darling?”

  “Reminiscing about the day you proposed. For all my long and blighted life, I've fought for everything I've had. Luck has never been on my side. Not until you. You are all my luck come at once.” Mir’s voice was soft, a little distant, carrying a genuine warmth that seemed to change the whole quality of it.

  Lei flushed, clicking his tongue against his teeth. “Have I ever told you how irritated I was that day? I’d spent weeks decorating my lair and getting my hoard arranged just so in order to propose to you properly. Instead, there I was, kneeling on a warm corpse in that tacky throne room of yours-”

  “Wait, you thought my throne room was tacky?” There was a surprised note in Mir’s voice, as if he were slightly hurt and a little offended.

  “My dear darling darkness, you are a man of vast power and many talents. Interior design is just a skill that you could still use some improvement on. That’s all I’m saying.” The herbalist shifted a bit, patting his husband’s strong thigh placatingly. “Oh, I wanted to ask about the Old Road. How did the investigation go?”

  For a moment, it seemed like Mir wasn’t going to take the bait offered and would fixate on his stung sense of decor. Then he relaxed again, reaching out to pick up a bit of cheese and chew it thoughtfully. It bought him time to arrange his thoughts and choose his words carefully.

  “It’s going to be a problem, someone is trying to fill my vacancy. We’ll see signs of Evil within the coming month. The Ley corruption will be irreversible within six months. The Church will notice in a year. The rest of the forces of Good will mobilize within eighteen months. Two years." He gave a deeply tired sigh. "Two years maximum, and we have Heroes on our doorstep if we merely observe things, Lei. We should think about moving our demesne now.”

  It was inevitable that someone would try to fill the space he’d left behind. Nature craved balance and abhorred a vacuum. The old apex predator at the top of the evil food chain had abandoned his position to live out the rest of his eternity in peace. For ten years, the status quo had stayed the same, the weight of fear a paralytic that took time to purge. Now they were seeing movement as the young, the bold, and the stupid all reached for that previously unreachable place.

  The corruption in the energy of the Old Road was merely the first sign. The natal fluid of a nascent Dark Lord who was using this rural area as their womb to grow in.

  As the previous Dark Lord, Mir was familiar with the steps, he was the pioneer of them after all. A villain couldn’t expect the world to shelter them. Secrecy was needed until one had the power to fight back, and less populated areas were perfect for that. Fewer eyes to see. Fewer tongues to wag.

  Lei poured himself a goblet of wine and drained it in a single long pull, a ribbon of the red liquid escaping the corner of his mouth. He set the empty vessel down with force, rattling the side table, and let out a disappointed sigh. “That bad?”

  “Afraid so, my heart.” Mir's pale hand reached out, thumb tracing the path of that wine droplet and wiping the moisture away. “They’re talented, getting their talons into the energy so quickly, but inefficient and inelegant. Like a child slapping bare hands in a rain puddle, they’re making a mess with little to show for it so far.”

  He didn’t need to elaborate that the spreading corruption would lure like to like, though. Like laying out an appetizing feast, the things that served darkness would smell it and come to pledge themselves. Eventually, enough signs of Evil would present themselves that the forces of Good would take notice. And then they’d get Heroes. Because that was always how you got Heroes.

  Still, their cozy life would be at an end well before the heroes arrived. As Evil took hold in these valleys and hills, the living conditions for the common folk would become miserable. Hellish even. How things changed would largely depend on the personality of the rising Dark Lord. In Mir’s case, there hadn’t been many smallfolk to oppress. He’d chosen to build his castle in the middle of the Ice Wastes for a reason, and that reason was a natural barrier to entry. Still, the Ley-Scarred were directly his fault, and he’d observed plenty of petty, smaller-scale Evils.

  Lei had more experience with the impact of Evil on average places and people. Before he’d become a Guardian, he’d been tasked with rehabilitating flora in corruption-riddled areas. Were it not for the tireless efforts of beings like him, this world wouldn’t be fit for anything but suffering. It took the land far too long to recover on its own after all. The length of time these clean-ups needed had given the dragon plenty of firsthand observations on what happened to powerless commoners in power struggles.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  “Any chance we could just, maybe, gently shoo them away?” Lei’s hand came up, pressing against the back of Mir’s and trapping that pale palm between his cheek and his own. He nuzzled against it like an affectionate cat, closing his orchid eyes and enjoying the sensation of the firm callouses against his skin.

  “You know the answer to that. Intimidation. Subjugation. Eradication.” Mir watched Lei being affectionate, feeling that soft hair sliding against his wrist. “Were this a minor issue, we could perhaps contain it or relocate the individual. But a predator like this is only going to grow, and only an older, more capable predator is going to convince it to give up its territory.”

  Mir was just such a thing. The older, meaner version of their growing problem. He was still perfectly healthy as well, it wasn't age or infirmity that had caused him to give up his position. It had been boredom and the promise of sweet happiness with the dragon in his arms. That didn't matter, though, even if Mir had been infirm, Lei himself could easily have taken care of this problem child. This wasn't a question of strength, but of the restrictions of power they lived under.

  For a long time, they were both silent. Both watching as the moon rose even higher over the mountains and painted everything in silvers and blues. They drank their wine and ate their charcuterie, each following the path of his own thoughts. Finally, Lei spoke in a level tone. “I love our home. I don’t want to leave, darling.”

  It was a good home. The cabin timbers were firm, and the gardens were only going to become more beautiful. The carefully worked web of magics to give them their eternal early summer. Their friendly neighbors and the cute little festivals they put on. Mir found himself fond of it as well. Even the annoying parts where he had to pretend to like people.

  The ex-Dark Lord huffed a little. “Then I’ll do something about this unwelcome newcomer to the neighborhood.” His fingers caressed the armrest of his throne in that old, familiar pattern. “I might have to kill people.”

  Lei sighed, rubbing his left temple. “Please keep it to a minimum, Mir.”

  A pale chin came to rest on his husband's strong shoulder, murmuring into his ear. “I might have to use the amusing magic, my heart.”

  “No powers beyond mortal ken.” Those orchid eyes closed, Lei’s head relaxed back against Mir's warm bulk.

  Lips stroked the other’s cheek. “And I might be late for dinner once or twice.”

  Ah, that was the breaking point. The dragon stiffened, turning his head just enough to fix one eye on Mir’s face. “I’ll want a full accounting for your missing time. Don’t expect me to keep it warm for you if it becomes a habit.” Lei didn’t tolerate his husband going off schedule. He had good reason to. Havoc usually happened when Mir was left to his own devices.

  “I will try to inform you beforehand. After all, you know I’m not much of one for staying out late these days.” Mir had become quite the homebody in his retirement. He preferred to sit on this throne and watch the lake or putter about in his sunny alchemy lab, continuing his research. He liked warm meals with his husband, sharing little snippets about how each of their days had gone.

  His answer earned him a kiss that tasted faintly of wine and cheese before his husband extracted himself from Mir's arms with a faint smile.

  Lei reached back at hand to help his husband stand. “Shall we go make plans then, darling? If you’re going to interfere with them and their plans, I should make my own efforts, shouldn’t I? Or at least I should scout a secondary location if this proves to be more than you can subtly handle.”

  Those pale brows raised. The dragon should have chosen his words a bit more carefully. There was nothing Vladimir Grimm hated more than it being implied he couldn’t do something. “I will pick out the underpinnings of reality before I allow that shallow existence to run us out of our home.” He silenced Lei’s incoming protest with a quick kiss as he stood, arm going around the dragon’s waist. “The challenge will be to do it so subtly nobody notices. I love taking my powers to new lows.”

  Leifr could only laugh, it was too easy to guide his husband's actions sometimes. “Truly, Mir, you are the most stubborn existence that was ever created. Fine. Fine. Do what you need, just keep me in your heart as you do it.”

  A pale hand stretched out, taking the dragon's own. Hopeless romantic Mir was, he pressed their joined palms to his broad chest, letting the dragon feel the heartbeat there. “Could I do anything else? This pulse exists only because of you.”

  “Sweet as your words are, I’m going to bed now. Plausible deniability and all that.” A last kiss to his husband's chin, and then Lei was extracting himself. “Don’t stay up too late plotting, it’s bad for your skin.”

  Mir let his love go, standing there with his hands on his hips. “I know, I know. I’m just going to read up on a few things. Prepare for the most common types of minions.”

  Because that was all that was going to come their way right now. Maybe those three from last night were the vanguard. Mir’s mind turned to the problem as he watched his husband walk back up into their home, casting his eyes skyward once Lei was out of sight.

  He was excited. He did have to admit that to himself. Retired didn’t mean dead after all. A decade of theoretical research, carefully chosen neutral reagent work, and brewing low-level goods so as not to raise suspicion was hardly satisfying.

  “Well then, back to business.”