Something More Than Honor, Chapter 32: Where the Trouble Lies
Content warnings for this chapter: past noncon and emotional abuse, self-directed victim blaming
Konstantin begins to talk about what happened at Castle Ausric and is bewildered by how badly it doesn't go.
“And whatever made you run,” Nic said, “was that his choice or hers?”
“If you’re going to talk about him, you can call him Victor.” Konstantin could get used to it. “And Elizabeta....” The name didn’t really feel like hers. “Lilli.” That did; part of him wanted to draw away from the sound like skin flinched from a cold blade. But he’d so rarely said her name, after their initial flirtation, that the sensation of it on his tongue wasn’t much at all. “I suppose it was. Her idea. His…execution. And something I said. And everything before that. And after, what I. Once it happened.” He shook his head. “Fuck. I’m sorry.”
He’d been able to say their names, though, if not full sentences afterward.
If they asked for more details. He couldn’t. Not now.
Nic’s hand settled on the rock beside Konstantin. “I made you run, once. I’m sorry for that.”
“Not like them,” he whispered.
“Well, the thing is, I—we,” Nic said as Cat nodded in agreement, her expression wary, "would want to avoid that. In the future.”
He still thought there would be a future.
Chapter length: 3,000 words
Story summary: The only hope for a dishonored baron’s heir, his undutiful wife, and an unwanted commoner is the courage they find together.
After years as a prisoner of war, Konstantin Eadinford returns to a barony impoverished by raising a ransom he isn’t worth. He’s been dishonored by trying to escape Castle Ausric. Carrying a heart gone rotten with betrayal, he’s certain he can never share it with the two people who have come to care for him. But together, can they create something more than honor?