Rise: A Gay Fairy Tale by Keira Andrews, Leta Blake Page B

tired, and it was growing late in the day. He returned to the kitchen. Rion made no sound from behind the locked door, but Jack knew he must be hungry and thirsty again. Jack couldn’t let him truly suffer in captivity to gain his own freedom.
    And Rion might be helpful in the end, if Jack could persuade him. Perhaps he’d been going about this the wrong way. Rion’s reactions to Jack’s touches could not be denied. He’d seen and felt Rion growing hard in his very hand. The fact that he’d felt similarly aroused was disturbing but not a surprise given his own depravity. He couldn’t deny his desire. Perhaps he could have the best of both worlds—seduce Rion into helping him while also slaking his own hunger.
    No.
    It was wrong to use desire as a weapon. Isn’t that what Adair had done to him? Jack had always yearned to find love and friendship in tandem with lust. He wouldn’t stoop to Adair’s cruel level.
    Inside the cell, Jack put a torch in the bracket and approached the bed. Rion kept his eyes glued to the ceiling. He laid there utterly vulnerable and uncovered, and shame flooded Jack. He could have at least tucked the man’s cock away and given him a modicum of dignity. Not to mention warmth, since the cloak was still bunched at Rion’s knees.
    “I’m sorry.”
    Rion’s eyes snapped to Jack’s face. “Go to the devil.”
    Ignoring him, Jack laced up Rion’s breeches, keeping his touch perfunctory. He pulled up the cloak and tucked it in around Rion’s chest before giving him more water. Then he sat on the side of the mattress again, a tense silence settling in. Finally Jack cleared his throat. There was no point in wasting time on pleasantries. “Why do you pretend to be a giant?”
    “To stop scum like you from stealing my family’s treasure.”
    “Was there ever a giant?”
    “Of course.”
    “Did you ever meet him?”
    Rion was stubbornly silent.
    “I just want to understand. Please. We don’t need to be enemies.” It was the truth, at least. “It seems we are stuck here together for the time being. Help me understand why you live this way.”
    “There is nothing wrong with how I live,” Rion gritted out.
    “No. But why the tale of the giant? Who was he?”
    “What does it matter to you, Outsider?”
    “My whole life I’ve heard tales of the ogre in the sky, greedily guarding his treasure and refusing to share it with even the least fortunate. We grow up dreaming of the climb, and capturing the treasure. Doing what no man has done. The seemingly impossible. I suppose I want to know why . Especially since in truth there is no giant here.”
    After a long silence, Rion said, “He lived centuries ago.”
    “Then how do you know he was real?”
    His eyes flashed. “My parents told me.” He gazed at the ceiling again. “Cease with your questions. You’ll never find the treasure.”
    Jack kept his tone steady. “Because it doesn’t exist?”
    At this, Rion appeared surprised. “Of course it exists, you fool!”
    “Have you seen it?”
    “Many times.”He shook his head, smiling grimly. “So now you lull me into telling you where it is? Is that the plan? You’re wasting your time, Outsider.”
    It was indeed the plan, if it could be called that. Jack forged ahead. “Why do you call me that?”
    “It’s what you are. You come from the land below.”
    “How am I different from you?”
    Rion gave him a withering look. “As if you have to ask. Your people are unclean. Evil. Filthy, thieving dogs.”
    “We are not!” Jack thought of Adair and the people who’d taunted him his whole life. “Well, I’m not.”
    “Oh, so you didn’t climb up the beanstalk in the dead of night to steal my family’s treasure?”
    Jack flushed despite himself. “I told you, I wasn’t going to take it all.”
    Rion snorted. “Of course not.”
    “I was desperate. I… am desperate.” This truth seemed to just trip off his tongue.
    “Because of your debt.”
    “Yes.” He swallowed