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Chapter Text

The dragon roared, but to Thanatos it sounded anguished.

He shook himself, trying not to dwell on such distracting thoughts. There were other knights and soldiers around him, each fighting with the protection of the kingdom in mind. He had to stay focused to help keep them alive.

He was known for being solitary, the people of the kingdom often whispering with fear “Death Knight,” when he passed through towns. But he took his jobs readily, slaying monsters of claws and teeth and monsters of humankind, keeping peace in his own brutal way.

But he agreed to work with these other knights of renown—he wasn’t a fool. No singular person could take on a dragon alone.

This dragon, however, didn’t actually seem to be fighting back.

It roared once more, and flames jetted from its scaled maw. Its body was lithe and bright ruby red, with a pair of mis-matched eyes; one the red of its scales, one a startling emerald green. Its horns twisted from the back of its skull, pointing forward, colored almost like flames themselves, scarlet at the base and fading to a shining yellow.

The dragon’s flames burned yellow-hot, singeing anyone too close, the smell of burnt hair and clothes filled the cavern.

Some of the knights around him turned and fled, patting out the flames on their cloaks, and he could hardly blame them. This dragon was obviously young, and smaller than one that was full grown. Still, to be caught in that vortex of flame was certain death, and hardly worth the coin promised to fulfill this job.

But this dragon had been seen flying over defenseless villages all over the kingdom, and Thanatos wanted to keep the people safe. He gritted his teeth. Even if it didn't appear to be doing anything other than keeping them from approaching, he would have to find a way to stop it.

The thought of killing the dragon twisted something inside him, but the yells of the knights around him drove him forward.

Thanatos swirled the hilt of his sword in his hands, thinking. He was in a heavy plate armor, and knew he wouldn’t be quick enough to dodge the dragon’s direct attacks. He looked about the cavern, the entrance to its lair, searching for anything he could use. His attention landed on hanging stalactites gripping the ceiling of the cave.

A particularly large one was suspended a few paces in front of the dragon. If he could just lure it there…

He charged forward, ducking around the haphazard swinging of the other knights. He rolled and stood in the corner of the dragon’s view.

“Dragon,” he called. “You deadbeat. Look this way.”

The dragon turned to him, and cocked its head, as though confused. Indignant, it huffed, charging fire in its throat once more. It shook its head at him menacingly, standing its ground, but not moving forward like he’d hoped.

One of the other knights beside him charged forward, and Thanatos realized with a start that they were none other than King Theseus, leader of the kingdom and this mission.

“Die, foul daemon!” he yelled at a volume nearly loud enough to match the dragon’s roaring.

The dragon jolted back as the king swung, missing narrowly. But in leaping back, the dragon struck the wall of the cavern with its body.

"You fiend! You--"

Thanatos’ eyes caught the motion of the precarious stalactite swinging, now poised directly above the King.

He narrowed his eyes, and debated if the king was worth saving. With a reluctant sigh, he decided he had an oath to uphold. “King!” he warned, throwing himself forward.

He pushed Theseus out of the way, who let out a surprised sputter, but wasn’t quick enough to avoid the rock collapse.

The dragon roared, probably laughing at him, as his own plan was used against him. The rock fell, and the weight of it knocked the wind out of him, and he felt, with dazed sort of realization, his armor dent inward, squeezing and crushing at his body. He coughed and tried to scramble away, but was pinned, the heavy boulder too much for him to move.

The pain hadn’t caught up to him yet, but he knew he had precious little time before shock took over his senses.

“King Theseus,” he wheezed. “Go—”

The king didn’t hesitate, nodding. “Thank you, brave Death Knight, your sacrifice will forever live on in—”

“Go!” Thanatos interrupted, and choked, coughed up hot blood.

The dragon bellowed and the vibration shook the walls of the cavern, the ground underneath him trembling. He realized that this was likely how he was going to die and tried not to let the sting of regret sour his final thoughts. He’d saved many people in his life and could only hope that he saved more by keeping Theseus alive.

The warriors turned and fled, a few of the braver ones attempting to shield against the flames and stab at the dragon. The dragon simply swiped a huge clawed paw, knocking them to the ground, where they scrambled to regain their footing and run.

Thanatos watched as the huge beast simply… let them go. His vision swam with dark spots as his consciousness faded, and he wasn’t sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

The last of the knights and the king were gone now, their yells echoing from outside the cave, growing dimmer.

As he slipped under, he almost thought he saw the dragon… change, shrinking down. A humanoid figure approached him, and all he could see were its emerald and ruby eyes looking at him before everything went dark.

***

Zagreus had never seen a human up close before.

After he was sure the other fighters had left, he turned and peered at the one who had been crushed by rocks. If he listened closely, he could hear his ragged breath still coming with horrible rasps. Horribly injured, but still alive.

He shifted down to a small stature, taking on the silhouette of a human. He still left the power in his muscles, but also realized he’d kept his horns, wings, and tail, though he hadn’t meant to.

He could focus on his shoddy abilities later. He had to help this knight.

Zagreus wasn’t sure why he felt this way. Mostly he was curious. This knight hadn't fought blindly like the others.

He also just wanted to be left alone. If there was a human left here, maybe more would return, and he’d have to fight them again. He shuddered. He didn’t want to kill any of them.

Rushing over, he winced. He felt a sting of pain and looked over his shoulder to see a slash in the thin membrane of his right wing. That explained it, then.

Blinking through the pain, he looked down at the knight. He was covered in dark, charcoal gray plated metal armor. His helmet was shaped like a cowl, with a plate covering his face, purple insignias adorning it.

Curiously, Zagreus tipped back the plate with a hooked finger, and scurried back a few feet. When the man didn’t move, he crept back forward, and saw his unconscious face, bright red blood dribbling out around his lips.

He had silvery hair slipping out of the helmet. Zagreus carefully brushed a strand out of his face.

He didn’t have much time. Quickly, he angled himself under the rock, and lifted up from underneath with his shoulders, pushing it off hopefully without injuring the knight further.

A hoarse noise drew out of the knight. Zagreus took in the horrible damage to the armor, and how it crumpled against the man’s body. He looked so frail.

As gently as he could, Zagreus turned the knight so he could reach the clasps that held the armor together. He couldn’t really figure how it went on, so he simply searched for the weakest parts and seams, hooking clawed fingers inside, and ripped the armor from him, taking care not to jostle him.

After what felt like hours, the knight was free of the armor. Again, Zagreus was struck by how small this human looked.

He pulled him up, supporting the most injured parts of him in his strong arms. He carried him inside the cave to his home, where he would be able to heal him.

As any respectable dragon should, Zagreus had a wonderfully soft bed set up nearby his hoard. In particular, he didn’t care much for gold or silver—metals smelled bad to him, all tang and bitterness. No, he enjoyed colorful, varied, wonderful gemstones, and they comprised his hoard stacked in a beautiful pile in his chamber. The bed beside it was made up of colorful cushions of reds and blues and violets that he thought complemented his gems nicely.

While laying the man onto the bed—nearly swallowing him, it was so large for his small frame—Zagreus hoped it would be comforting to the knight.

Now came the time to prepare medicine. He huffed a breath of fire in a thin stream, lighting some of his oil lanterns and candles he kept around as he gathered materials. A thrum of nervousness pulsed through him—he was still fairly inexperienced in healing, and he knew if he made any mistakes this knight wouldn’t survive.

He’d learned only recently that dragon saliva had powerful healing properties. He'd found a book of recipes for medicines that he’d been studying at every opportunity.  

He gathered up the herbs that have been drying in a tidy alcove of his home. With shaking hands, he plucked bay leaves, lavender, garlic, reciting the instructions aloud to himself. His human voice was a bit scratchy from all the fire he’d breathed earlier, and he would probably need to drink some tea later.

Heart racing, he tried to hum to himself as he moved to keep himself calm. He went over to his little cook fire and tossed some logs onto it. With a quick puff of flame, it lit, and he fanned the flames until they were just right. He dug out an old pot and poured a bit from his drinking water into it, drawn just this morning from a natural spring at the back of his cave. He found a cotton rag from his wardrobe, and put it in his mouth, grimacing at the dry feeling.

But holding his mouth open around the rag sufficed, and his saliva soaked into the fabric. He kept it there for a few minutes before taking it out, swiping his tongue over his teeth in disgust as he dropped the rag into the boiling water.

He tossed in the herbs and waited impatiently, frantically tapping his foot and glancing worriedly at the knight. The man’s breathing had gone stilted and wet, and Zagreus felt he was nearly out of time to save him.

Finally, after he hoped was long enough, he tugged out the rag, and set the medicine aside to cool, hoping that he wouldn’t accidentally burn the knight.

He poured it into a little ceramic cup and rushed over to the human. Carefully propping his head up, Zagreus tipped the glass at his lips, helping him swallow it down.

For a few terrifying moments, nothing changed about the knight’s awful breathing, stuttering and halting horridly. He bit his lip, heart in his throat. Zagreus worried that maybe he’d made it wrong, or there wasn’t enough spit, or… something.

But with a great shuddering gasp, the knight coughed, blood spraying from his mouth. His breathing leveled out, his face relaxing from its pained expression. He slumped back into the pillows, and his next few huffs of air appearing to come to him with more ease.

Zagreus sagged with relief. If it worked properly, he wouldn’t need another dose for a few hours yet.

Now that he wasn’t terrified that the knight was going to die on him, he peered close, taking in his features. He had silver hair that draped down his chest, curling just so at the ends. Amongst all the color in his home, this knight stood out with that hair so pale, and clothes dark gray tones. The cut of his jaw was square, with rounded cheekbones that made Zagreus want to touch his face.

He sniffed, curious, and found something about the human smelled—his face flushed, and he couldn’t help breathing in his smell once more. He smelled really nice, a soft, calming scent that reminded him of the flowers outside his cave that butterflies flocked to. Was that weird? Did most humans smell nice?

Exhaustion tugged at him without adrenaline and instinct to keep him moving. His wing throbbed, he was sore all over, and his mouth and throat were dry from all his fire and the cotton rag earlier.

Reluctantly, he moved away from the knight and washed out his pot in the clear pool in the back of his cave, and then got water boiling for tea. While he waited, he took his wing in hand. Another benefit of human-shaped hands was how dexterous they were, and he was thankful as he had to give himself stitches.

Another new skill he read from a book, following the pictures closely. He inhaled sharply as he worked, the bone of his needle piercing the sensitive flesh of his wing. He was thankful that his body ran hot enough he didn’t worry about infection like humans.

He bit his lip and looked back at his sleeping knight, and worried. He paused in his stitching to make some tea, gulping it down while it was at a perfect scalding temperature, the liquid calming him somewhat. He could only hope the man would wake soon.

And then what? He realized suddenly that he had no plan for what he would actually do when that happened.

Well, it was too late to think things through. He had to trust that he’d made the right choice.

***

Thanatos blearily blinked his eyes open and was sure that he was dead.

A figure sat on a cushion nearby, hands working on sewing some sort of fabric. No, wait, that wasn’t fabric, but a large leathery wing, shining crimson, stretched around the figure in his lap. And he was stitching up a wound, not sewing.

The creature winced in pain, and Thanatos felt a sympathetic echo in his body. The realization of his own body made him confused, as he had thought himself to not be living any longer. However, the aches and pains screaming at him in a thousand spots along his body seemed to say otherwise.

What was going on? Who—what—was that person?

The creature looked over his shoulder at him, and Thanatos gasped a broken noise. The figure had an eye with an iris of ruby, and one of emerald, just like the dragon.

Though relatively humanoid, he also had those same horns wrapping about his head curling just at his ears, contrasting colorfully with his rough, black hair. His bare feet were glowing with heat, and he was covered in draped black and red fabrics, pulled in at his slim waist. His bright red tail and wings echoed each motion he made, trailing in the air as he worked, and Thanatos was sure that such a beautiful creature couldn’t exist.

Said creature didn’t seem to notice his surprise. “Knight!” he said, a smile breaking across his features. He quickly cinched a knot in his thread, and with a deft claw, cut it. He tossed it aside and ran over to him in a quick motion that made Thanatos’ head spin. “You’re awake!”

“I am?” he asked, unconvinced.

The dragon looked at him with eyes harboring no anger or fear, only wide with earnest curiosity. “What’s a ‘deadbeat’?”

Thanatos blinked, confused. “Wha…?”

“You called me that earlier. In the fight. You called me a deadbeat.”

“Right. Um, someone who doesn’t make their own living,” Thanatos explained, as though this wasn’t the strangest conversation he’d ever had. But if it was a dream, there wasn’t much of a point of questioning things. “Dragons steal from people.”

The dragon made an indignant noise. “Hey, well, now that is completely untrue, knight. In fact, I healed and tended you with things I’ve managed to gather quite on my own, thank you very much.”

“Apologies,” he wheezed, and tried to look around to see what he meant.

A riot of color met his vision, and he felt dizzy. More gemstones than he’d ever seen in his life were piled on the floor, and he realized they were in a great open cave chamber, stone walls adorned with fabrics and shelves and books and trinkets. He was on a bed made of dozens of pillows, all with rich covers and embroidered designs.

The dragon gave him a proud smile, slightly pointed teeth gleaming in the firelight. “You like it? I think it’s all wonderful if I do say so myself.”

Thanatos knew it was probably best to be polite, as he would to any host, let alone to a dragon about his abode. “It’s stunning,” he said honestly.

“Are you feeling better yet? Are the cushions alright for you?”

“Yes, fine, thank you,” he mumbled, still quite dazed.

The dragon searched his expression, those striking eyes drinking him in. “Can I ask your name, knight?”

“...Thanatos.”

“Thanatos,” he repeated, tasting the name on his tongue. “Thanatos. Than!”

“Um,” Thanatos said. Something about the dragon’s expressions had him relaxing, the tense muscles of his shoulder loosening. The nickname brought a flare of heat to his cheeks. “Sure?”

“Than,” the dragon said, and took up his hands in his. His skin was hot to the touch. “You can call me Zagreus. I’m not going to hurt you, alright? You’re safe.”

The heat of Zagreus’ skin was soothing, and Thanatos found his eyes drifting shut. The idea of being safe was foreign to him, but right now, it sounded so sincere he couldn’t help but believe him. Blearily, he tried to answer, but fell asleep before he could get all the words out.

“Thank you… Zag…”

***

His knight—Than—was going to live! Zagreus wasn’t sure why his chest felt so light with happiness and relief. All he knew was that it did, and he was going to keep sucking on nasty rags until Than was completely healthy.

Did he call me Zag? he wondered, a smile tugging at his lips, and he felt his tail swing slightly behind him.

He went to prepare more medicine for Than, pacing while he waited for the rag to soak. Then he also dug out some jerky and vegetables, and got it all ready on one of his favorite platters.

A flutter of nerves filled him, and he realized he was excited. He wanted to know more about his strange human, Than, and what he liked, what had brought him here—well, other than killing him, he supposed.

He got the medicine and food ready, setting it all next to Than. He yawned widely and was forced to acknowledge that all his excitement didn’t make up for the fact that he was still exhausted.

Sleepily, he settled into the space beside Than in his bed. In this form, there was plenty of room for the two of them. He curled on his side to avoid pressing against his injured wing.

And at this angle, he could look at his knight’s sleeping face, and smell that captivating scent waft from him. The steady pulse of his heartbeat was music to Zagreus’ ears, and quickly pulled him under into a deep sleep.

***

Thanatos awoke from a deep, dreamless sleep to find Zagreus right beside him, hot face pressed against his arm. Something instinctual wanted him to leap away at first, though his body was too battered, and he could hardly lift his head. His racing heart calmed when he realized Zagreus wasn’t about to eat his arm or something, but was instead asleep, snoring, with little jets of smoke drifting from his nose as he breathed.

The dragon had slept beside him while he healed? That was… not what he expected.

Thanatos painstakingly pulled himself upright so he could sit and survey the space. The gemstones were shining a rainbow of colors in the light cast by the various lamps in the chamber. He’d never seen so much color in all of his years adventuring.

A plate was propped on a little table beside him, piled with dried meats and roasted vegetables, and a cup filled with some sort of drink next to it. His throat was parched, and he had to trust that if the dragon wanted him dead, he would’ve killed him already, and that it wasn’t poisoned.

He clutched the cup in weak hands and drank, and lightly smacked his lips at the sweet flavor. Immediately, strength filled him, spilling from his core outward. His aches quieted, and he had the energy to move more freely. He sighed with relief.

He would have to thank Zagreus for this, which was a concept that he was still reeling from.

He nibbled on the food, and it was perfect, seasoned and flavorful. He couldn’t believe he was at the brink of death mere hours ago, the way his body felt healed. His skin itched, and he looked and saw through the tears in his linen clothes that all the cuts littering his skin were closed, bumpy pink scars raised where he knew, logically, there should still be fresh blood.

His armor was missing, but he remembered its crushed state, and figured it would need extensive repair, or replaced entirely. Mother Nyx would not be pleased that he’d ruined the family heirloom.

But he supposed she’d be even angrier had he perished. Though he didn’t know if this situation he was in was any better, as of yet. What did it mean to be taken care of by a dragon? What sort of debt did he owe?

He stood on shaky feet and stretched, running a hand through his long hair, smoothing the knots that have tangled it. He lost the little ribbon he used to keep it tidy.

The motion of lifting his arms made him suddenly dizzy, and he felt the brief burst of energy he’d gotten leave him, and he gingerly collapsed back into the mound of pillows that made up the bed.

Zagreus stirred, and he froze, looking with wide eyes at him, panic filling him. The dragon blinked awake, and Thanatos was caught once more by those entrancing eyes.

“Than?” he mumbled. “Everything alright?”

He felt his face screw up in confusion. Why did this creature care so much if everything was alright with him? “Yes, thank you, that… drink is wonderful. I… am still confused,” he said, choosing his words carefully. A red flush dusted Zagreus’ face, and Thanatos had no idea what that meant. “Can you tell me what happened?” he asked.

Zagreus nodded, grimacing. “I don’t know how fond you are of those other humans, but… they left. I didn’t kill any of them. But they didn’t… save you.”

Thanatos looked at him curiously. “Right, I told them to leave me.”

“You’re not, I don’t know, betrayed? That they left you?” he asked, face aghast.                      

“Not particularly, I suppose.”

Zagreus shivered, hugging himself. “Humans are strange.”

No point in arguing that. “And yet you’re in that shape… so you can look somewhat human if you choose?”

He nodded, smirking ruefully. “I’m not very good at it yet, as you can see,” he said, pointing at his fire-colored horns and other draconic features. “Old dragons, like my father, can look totally human after they’ve developed their abilities enough.”

“Right… I always thought that was a myth my mother told us,” Thanatos murmured.

“Your mother? You have a mother?” Zagreus asked, eyes wide as saucers.

“…Yes?”

“What’s she like? Is she kind? Do you think she’s worried about you?”

Each question came so quickly, tripping over the previous one in an excited blur.

“Um, she’s very wise. Sometimes kind. And… I’m not sure. She may think I’m dead, but that was always a possibility for the work we do,” Thanatos said, the words leaving him casually, though he did hope she was at least a little worried for him. Or at least maybe his brothers were.

“Wow,” Zagreus breathed, looking astonished. “A mother.”

“Do you… not know yours?” he asked carefully.

“No, I didn’t know I had one until very recently,” he said. “My father lied to me about her. I didn’t—he won’t tell me anything about her.”

“Is that why people have been reporting a dragon—you—flying about the kingdom? You’ve been trying to find your mother?”

Zagreus flopped down with a long sigh beside his gemstones, and idly picked up a large chunk of amethyst, twirling it over in his hands.

“Yes. I… I can’t blend in as a human yet. I swear, I’m not hurting anyone. But still they… run from me. Is that why you and those warriors were here? And that loud human?”

Thanatos chuckled softly, knowing he spoke of King Theseus. “Yes. The king asked us to, um, to kill you. I’m, uh, sorry about that.”

Zagreus waved a hand dismissively, dropping his gemstone back onto the pile. “I’m not—I’m not angry at you, even if you did try to get that rock to fall on me. And called me a deadbeat. I’m not sure why, but I’m angrier at those other humans that just left you there.”

He swallowed, and felt like some part of him should be upset also, but he wasn’t. It was something he was used to with his work, the threat of death to himself as constant as he dealt it to others. Maybe to a dragon that was strange? He simply nodded, unsure how to accept anger on his behalf.

“Also, I’m young, but not helpless. I wasn’t in any danger,” Zagreus said quickly.

“What about your wing?”

He flushed a bright crimson and ran a hand through his hair shyly. “Um, yes, well…”

Thanatos let out a soft laugh. Zagreus looked at him with wide eyes, a smile tugging at his own lips.

“You laughed,” he said, voice full of wonder.

Thanatos felt his own face heat, and he cleared his throat. Something about the way Zagreus was looking at him felt too familiar, too personal for a near stranger. But it was captivating.

“Why did you save me, Zagreus? If you knew I was there to kill you?” Thanatos asked.

“I… I don’t know,” he admitted slowly, and huffed a little plume of smoke, trailing a clawed finger through where it floated in the air. “It just seemed like the right thing to do. And now, seeing you better from my—” He abruptly stopped, blushing again, “—my medicine, I just feel so happy. You’re very… you’re interesting.”

The admission stunned Thanatos, and he found himself grasping for words. He ran a hand through his hair, tucking the long strands back behind his shoulder. “Thank you, I think? I can certainly say I’ve never seen anyone like you before.”

Zag grinned. “I can only hope that’s a compliment.”

Thanatos laughed, more openly than before, but then sucked in a sharp inhale of breath, and hugged at his ribs. Pain pierced him, and he wondered how injured he really had been before whatever healing Zagreus had done for him.

“Still hurting? You should rest. When you’re better, we’ll talk more. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you, alright?”

“When you’re better, too,” Thanatos said accusingly, pointing at his damaged wing. “Take care of yourself first.”

Zagreus looked back at him and blinked in surprise, and then shyly smiled and nodded. “Okay. Since you’re so worried for me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t pull you out from under a two-ton rock.”

“Pfft. It wasn’t that heavy. Humans are so weak,” Zagreus teased.

“Right, well, I do agree with you there. Though… I’m not fully human, actually,” Thanatos said. Zag looked at him expectantly, and he surprised himself by continuing. “I come from a very old family. We are said to have draconic ancestry. I thought it was just a myth, for our reputation and such. But seeing as you can take a human shape… well. I will have questions for Mother when I return, that’s certain.”

“Is that why you smell so good?” he burst.

Thanatos blinked. “Um. What—”

“I meant,” Zagreus stuttered, face turning the same shade of his wings. “You—you smell sweet. Do all humans smell so nice?”

“I don’t—well, I don’t smell humans very often,” he deflected, unsure of how to respond.

He hummed, running a hand along one of his horns in what Thanatos supposed was an embarrassed gesture. “Me neither. And I don’t know much about other dragons, or dragon legends. I’ve been sort of isolated in my father’s home for nearly all of my life. You’re the first human I’ve ever seen up close."

Something about Zagreus' normally bright tone dimmed, his words falling flat. Thanatos wasn't sure why, but he was almost happy that he could be here for Zagreus to talk to. Maybe he could find a way to help him find his mother.

Another flare of pain, searing in his chest as he took a breath shocked him. He let out a grunt, holding his arms around himself.

"Oh, right, here, let me..." Zagreus said quickly, and hurried about his room. Thanatos saw him light a fire and get water boiling.

Thanatos blinked with confusion as Zagreus held up a little cotton cloth and then stuffed it into his mouth. The dragon paced for a moment, not meeting his eyes. After a confused and silent pause, Zagreus pulled the cloth out and dropped it into the contents boiling on his cookfire, letting it soak—steep?—before taking it out without flinching from the boiling water.

Then he poured the contents into a familiar ceramic cup.

"Wait," Thanatos said.

When Zagreus turned to bring the cup over to him, his cheeks were nearly glowing red with embarrassment. "It's magical," he explained. "Dragon saliva, that is."

"That was--you--"

"I'm sorry it's weird but it's saved your life. Please drink it?"

Thanatos felt his own cheeks heat. So he'd drunk dragon spit? That was--that was almost like--

His thoughts raced around the word "kissing," keeping him locked in place.

Zagreus took his stillness as disgust. "I'm sorry, Than, I only meant to help." He sat on the cushions beside him, averting his gaze as he held the medicine out to him.

"It's alright," he forced himself to say. "I was just, um, surprised is all. And--look, in my line of work, people generally don't ever help me, okay?"

He took the cup and gave Zagreus what he hoped was a polite, grateful smile.

"And for you to do this, well, it... it's quite unlike anything I've experienced," Thanatos continued.

He didn't want to say he'd never shared a kiss with anyone before. That probably sounded pathetic, even if he was talking to a dragon.

So he sipped at the drink once it cooled, and tried not to dwell on its contents.

Zagreus gave him a concerned look. "No one has ever taken care of you before? What is your work?"

"I'm a hired sword, for the most part," he said. "Though some call me a Death Knight."

His eyes widened. "You must be very strong. Why did you need those other guys?"

"I'm not strong enough to take on a dragon."

"I think you could've been, if that king hadn't gotten in your way," Zagreus said seriously. "If that rock had stunned me instead, even for a moment..." He shivered.

"Zagreus."

Gemstone eyes met his. "Yes?"

"You truly... did not want to kill anyone, did you?"

He shook his head rapidly. "No. Not at all."

Thanatos carefully, slowly reached a hand out. He placed it on Zagreus' shoulder, and the dragon looked at him with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could've known, and stopped us before we put you in danger."

"Do all Death Knights feel so remorseful?"

"I only kill what is threatening innocents," Thanatos said firmly. "If you truly aren't interested in harming anyone, then I'm sworn to protect you."

"Me?"

"I owe you a debt for saving me."

He still had his hand on Zagreus' shoulder. To his surprise, the dragon slowly leaned into the touch. Curious, Thanatos reached up with his other hand. He met Zagreus' eyes, asking for permission. After a shy nod, Thanatos curiously brushed one of Zagreus' horns, feeling the ridged texture under his fingertips, then the surprising softness of his unruly hair.

Zagreus' expression was stunned, his mouth parted with surprise. And then he made a satisfied hum, and leaned further into the touch.

Thanatos blinked back to himself, realizing how his curiosity had got the better of him. But he didn't pull away after he noticed how happy the dragon looked.

"I've never seen a dragon up close before, either," he mumbled.

Zagreus smiled at him. "Your touch is very nice, oh fearsome Death Knight."

He huffed a light laugh and finally pulled away. "Thank you for indulging me. I'm sorry, I was curious."

"It's alright." Zagreus bit his lip. "Are all humans so touchy? I've never--the dragons I know, they've never..."

Thanatos felt something in his chest tighten. He didn't know how, but he felt like this was something they had in common. A lack of comfort simply in the touch of another that he'd never really felt often in his life.

"I'm not sure," he said.

Zagreus laughed. "I guess we're both outcasts among our kind, hm?"

"Seems that way."

"I'm happy to have met you, Than, despite the circumstances."

Thanatos smiled, and found the admission made him feel warm. "Same to you, Zag," he said, the nickname falling easily from his lips.

Zagreus grinned brightly, and Thanatos wondered what it meant to owe a life debt to his new dragon friend.

Chapter Text

Zagreus snorted a blast of flame and put his chin on his hand in an impatient huff. He tapped his foot, sending sparks scattering upward.

Humans took forever to heal.

His knight was sleeping once more. It seemed like that was all he did. Than's poor body had been so injured that even with magic it still was taking weeks to recover.

Really, he was most surprised by his own capacity to worry, despite Than steadily getting better. Every hitch in his knight’s breathing, every shudder, strange noise in his sleep--it all made him rush over and look at him closely, worried maybe something was wrong.

With Than sleeping and Zagreus having run out of things to do around the cave, boredom crept in. He tapped his foot some more, idly blowing smoke rings and making exasperated noises.

"What's got you all huffy?" Than asked groggily from the bed behind him, and Zagreus jolted guiltily. "I can hardly sleep with all that noise you're making."

"All you do is sleep," Zagreus countered to hide his embarrassed flush. "I'm just--I'm feeling a little... restless."

"Me too," Than murmured. "I never would’ve thought healing from a mortal wound would be so tiring."

He laughed at that, the little nuggets of Thanatos’ humor just as precious as gemstones to him. Than was very subtle, with dry little quips that almost went unnoticed. But Zagreus listened closely, drinking in every word.

"I've an idea," Zagreus burst suddenly. He gave his knight an excited grin. "How about we go outside?"

Than grimaced. "I can hardly walk more than twenty feet without running out of energy."

"I'll carry you," Zagreus said quickly.

Excitedly, he scooted back a little, and then allowed his magic to flare. Tongues of flame danced along his skin, and he shivered into his dragon form with a relieved sigh. He shook himself and arched his back to stretch.

He realized Thanatos was gaping at him with a stunned expression verging on nauseated. Zagreus tilted his head questioningly.

"Right, um, sorry that was just..." Than seemed to collect himself. "I've never seen anything like that before."

Zagreus was limited in human expression in this form. He shuffled in closer to the bed and pressed himself to the ground, and nodded his head to his back in a way he hoped Than understood.

Than's eyes widened. "Wait, that's what you meant by 'carry me'? You want me to ride you?"

Zagreus breathed a plume of smoke in what he hoped conveyed "Obviously?"

His knight pulled himself up to his feet, and then with effort that had his arms trembling, hauled himself up onto Zagreus' back. Than seemed to find a position that worked just above his shoulder blades. Hands tentatively placed themselves in a few different arrangements around his neck, grasping at scales with uncertainty before deciding on two just beside his spine.

His gentle touch tickled, and Zagreus stifled a full-body shiver. But the weight of him, safe, on his back was soothing and he tolerated it. He’d never carried a human like this, and he felt like some ancient dragon from old stories that had taken on human riders. If only the current kingdom was so kind to dragons.

Than settled in, shaking Zagreus out of his thoughts, and he stood fully and made his way out of the cave. He tread lightly, not having been outside since the attack. He cautiously sniffed the air as he went, detecting traces of the knights’ scents lingering faintly in the caverns.

"Is that my armor?" Than asked, voice tinged with dismay at the sight of the crushed armor still discarded in a pile beside the fallen boulder.

Zagreus looked guiltily over his shoulder and made a little rumble low in his throat.

"I mean, I knew it was probably in a bad state, but seeing it... I really would've died without you, huh?"

He couldn't help the shiver of dread that wracked his frame at Than's words. He really almost had. Zagreus was again thankful for the strange urge to save his knight.

Sunlight brightened the edge of the tunnel, and Zagreus heard birds chirping and wind blowing outside. He couldn't help his legs carrying him faster, excited to go outside.

It was always lovely this time of year, and the view from his home was breathtaking, high on the mountain overlooking rolling hills dotted with ponds, smudges of woodland, and distant plots of vineyards. He'd even started tending a little garden at the foot of the mountain, though he still had a lot to learn about growing his own food.

He eagerly shifted from foot to foot, sparks of flame dancing from his steps. He stretched, wings flaring to their full size.

"Wait, what are you--"

Than's question was cut off as Zagreus leaped over the cliff's edge.

The wind rushed in his ears, the only relief from the fire under his skin that he tolerated. He dove forward, blowing a puff of smoke in front of him to watch it swirl around them as he soared through it.

Before they collided with the ground, Zagreus snapped his wings open. He winced as the wind caught them forcefully. Though he was fully healed, he still hadn't flown since his wing was hurt, and the muscles were stiff.

He wobbled a bit, and the landing was a bit less than graceful. But still, the grass was soft enough under his feet, and he eased the impact so he wouldn't accidentally throw Than from his back.

Speaking of which…

Hands were deathly tight against the scales of his back. He crooked his neck around to see Than buried against him, blood drained from his skin with fear.

Zagreus hurried to shrink his body down, carefully channeling the fire of his magic away from Than so he wouldn't accidentally burn him. He shifted slowly, and Than was still embracing him for a short moment after they were both standing on the ground, unharmed.

"Zagreus," Than said in a weak voice behind him, clutching him tightly. "I can't let go."

"Oh!" He turned around in Than's hold, wings tangling a bit, and he made another apologetic noise. He gently took Than's hands in his, pulling them from around his torso.

Slowly, Than tore his face away, looking slightly green.

"Please warn me next time," he said, the inflection in his words sounded like he was trying his best to be angry, but his voice was stretched thin.

Zagreus had to force down a laugh. "I will, I promise. I'm sorry." He hurried to gesture with wide arms to his garden. “Does this help?”

The garden was second only to his gemstone trove in Zagreus’ heart. It was something new to him, and he still had much to learn. But slowly he was growing his own array of tomatoes, peppers, squash, blueberries--everything he could discreetly gather seed or starters from human villages in the night.

Wait, did that make him a deadbeat? He cleared his throat and turned to Than.

Than’s eyes were wide, taking in the different rows of plants. The sunlight caught his long silvery hair, sending the strands alight.

“We came in on the other side of the mountain… This is your garden?”

Zagreus nodded, running a nervous hand along one of his horns. “Yeah! It’s not much, but I’ve always wanted to learn. It’s--I’m sure you’ve seen human gardens much nicer than this.”

Than smoothed strands of his hair back into place that were in disarray from the flight down here. “I don’t see too many gardens in my line of work. I tend to not stay long in towns. I usually just buy from marketplaces.”

“Well, here then! Let me show you,” Zagreus said excitedly.

He took Than’s hand and guided him through the gardens. He harvested the veggies and berries that were ready, handing them off to Than to carry. The sun warming his face added to his inner fire, stoking the embers in his chest and feet, and he couldn’t keep the smile from his face. They found a spot to relax on a few logs that Zagreus had cut, dropping their food down beside them on the grass.

Zagreus released a focused stream of fire, roasting his portion just the way he preferred. He extended a hand to Than, who politely shook his head, popping a few ripe blueberries into his mouth.

They ate in amicable silence for a moment. The breeze gently rustled their clothes, so soothing after so long in the stillness of the cave. It was lovely.

After another moment, Zagreus slowed his chewing. A heaviness settled around his ears, a feeling he couldn't shake, even as he tried to enjoy the shy curl of a smile tugging at Than's mouth, lips shining with fresh berry juice.

Something… didn’t seem right.

Zagreus carefully set his food down and stood. Unease trickled down his spine. He inhaled deeply, tasting the scents on the wind for anything unusual. The usual hit him at first--tilled earth, fresh produce, flowers blooming nearby, Than’s lovely scent--and he almost relaxed and brushed off his paranoia.

But--wait. On the edge of the scent, something metallic.

Than looked at him carefully, picking up on his nerves, and looked around. A faint high-pitched noise suddenly reached his ears.

“Get down,” Zagreus said sharply before he lost his speech, shaking off his human guise, flames washing over him as he returned to his dragon form.

A knife sunk itself to the hilt in his shoulder. He recoiled and growled, but was lucky. He was much stronger in this form. A wound like that on his human shape could’ve been lethal. He used his body to protect Than, and let out a roar, as deep as he could manage.

Another whistling sound carried through the air, but this time he was ready. With a quick whip strike with his tail, he knocked the second knife to the ground. He turned his attention to the nearby forest bordering his garden, keen eyes scanning for the assailant.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Thanatos pick up the knife from the ground and brandish it, and a deadly seriousness held his features. He didn’t seem afraid, not a whiff of the smell of fear on him. So this was the composure of a Death Knight.

But still, a worry of who their enemy might’ve been set Zagreus’ nerves alight, and he wouldn’t let Than throw himself into danger for his sake.

He looked and--there! A glint of metal caught a snatch of sunlight. He threw himself forward, wings flapping once, twice, propelling him to the treeline. He ignited a jet of flame, engulfing the tree that had hidden the assassin.

She leapt from that tree to another nearby, throwing a knife back with a practiced swing of her arm that would’ve hit Zagreus squarely between the eyes. In a flash, he tilted his head so it clipped his horns instead, and skittered away. But in the motion he lost sight of her.

He let out another searing blaze of flame, a warning roar tearing from deep in his chest. If they were who he suspected, he didn’t actually want to hurt her. But he would if she gave him no other choice.

With a few more flaps of his wings, he soared up above the trees, looking down below from a higher vantage.

He saw Than take off, sprinting straight into harm’s way in the forest. Zagreus let out a worried huff of smoke, and dove back down. He had trouble in the trees, and felt the give and snap of branches and tree limbs as he tore through the woods. He felt a gust of wind at the back of his neck and turned, and caught a glimpse of a black cape with a flash of pink lining underneath.

Than was luring her out. He ran with his knife held defensibly, and turned around in a clearing, as if daring her to strike him. Zagreus looked back up in the opposite direction, searching. The length of her cloak snapped in the air, and he turned to her.

The assassin darted through the trees, and perched on one with a clear vantage to Thanatos. Zagreus lunged as she went to throw another knife.

He tackled her from the trees, and the two crashed down to the ground at the edge of the clearing. Zagreus pinned her arms and legs down with the weight of his body. She panted for a moment, gasping for air, the wind knocked out of her.

Megaera glared at him, catching her breath, and blew a loose strand of hair out of her eyes.

He dipped his head in greeting.

“Zagreus,” she spat at him, her low, husky voice reverberating with a cold anger. “You know why I’m here.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. Blood dripped from the knife wound in his shoulder, and as it dripped against her, she winced, the blood steaming hot.

“Get off me,” she demanded.

He stared at her for a long moment, letting loose a swirling cloud of smoke as he weighed his thoughts.

“I’m not going to kill you. This time."

Slowly, he stepped back, letting her limbs free, but kept his body between her and Thanatos, who stood quietly in the clearing. She glared at him as she stood, and angrily brushed dirt and blood from her cloak.

“I’m here as a warning. Your father has ordered you to return home. You know this.”

He rolled his eyes.

She scoffed at him in return. “You still can’t speak in that form, can you? Tsch. You know if I don’t kill you, his people will," she said, gesturing with a tilt of her head to Thanatos. "And who would stop your father from destroying the country in response?”

Zagreus stilled, and took a deep breath. With another careful glance back at Than, he shifted back to his human guise so he could speak. The knife fell from his shoulder, and he gasped as the pain nearly made him black out.

“He doesn’t care about me enough to do that, Meg,” Zagreus forced out lowly. “You and I both know that.”

“But he does care about all dragons,” she said. “And you getting yourself killed by humans could start a war between the two. This is bigger than you, Zagreus. You’re being an idiot. Just come home.”

“No,” Zagreus snarled. “Not until I find Mother.”

She shrugged. “I’ve delivered my message. You know next time my knives won’t miss.”

She darted forward and Zagreus moved to stop her before she reached Than, but she was too quick. He blinked in surprise as all she did was pluck her knife back from his hands.

Than searched her gaze for a long moment, and some sort of respectful understanding passed between the two of them.

Meg returned to Zagreus, and in a motion nearly invisible even to Zagreus’ careful eye, flicked out the bright pink of her whip at her side to snatch up her other knife, covered in his blood, from where it had fallen in the underbrush.

“See you next time, Zagreus.”

With a swirl of her cloak, she was gone, sprinting deeper into the forest and beyond, back to his father’s lair.

Than groaned weakly and crumpled to the ground.

"Than!" Zagreus yelled, panicked, rushing to his side.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he said quickly, though his voice was shaky. "Just… that was a lot. Who was that?"

Zagreus tried propping Than up before realizing with a searing shock of pain that he’d accidentally used his injured shoulder, and went around to the other side instead.

"Megaera," he answered after he recovered his senses. The two of them hobbled back out of the woods to the garden where it would be open enough for Zagreus to fly them back to safety. "She's one of my father's assassins."

"Is she… human?"

"I think she and her sisters are like you, possibly. Dragon-kin, with ancient dragon blood? I don't know the specifics, but I’d guess she's a bit more than human," he said.

“So is there anything else you haven’t yet told me about your father that I should know?” Than asked.

“Hm, other than the fact that he’s a very powerful Dragon King,” Zagreus mused, “with hundreds of underlings at his command and a grudge against humankind? Nothing else comes to mind.”

Than let out a weary breath of air. Zagreus rushed to lighten the mood.

“Gods, aren't we a pair?" he joked, motioning to his bleeding shoulder as he helped carry Than along. "That was enough excitement for one day. I promise that usually doesn’t happen when I go into the garden. Are you feeling up to flying back to the cave now?”

Than grimaced and nodded.

Zagreus let go of him, and he teetered slightly before supporting himself. He was pale, but this was the longest he’d been up and about since his injury, so Zagreus took it as a mixed success, even if it was fueled by adrenaline in part.

Zagreus shook off his human form to stand as a dragon once more. The wound in his shoulder was much more tolerable in this shape, and he let out a relieved sigh. He crouched beside his knight and let him clamber up on his back once more. When he was sure Than was secured, he pushed off the ground.

Zagreus soared up beyond his cave entrance to the crest of the peak. Something in his gut told him to make sure there were no other signs of assassins about before he got comfortable, and risked Than’s safety. He perched on top of his mountain and looked down over the rocky terrain on the other side of the kingdom.

His sharp eyesight caught another flash of metal reflecting the sun, and the air in his throat snagged around a nervous cloud of smoke. He peered closer. It wasn’t an assassin with her blades out, but he couldn’t decide which was worse.

Instead, about a half-day’s travel away, a battalion of King Theseus’ knights were riding on horseback toward his home. Fear gripped him, and he hurried to drop back down into the safety of his cave, as though that would change the fact that they had undoubtedly seen him above the trees during the fight with Meg.

As soon as his scorched feet touched the earth, he shifted back to his human shape, ignoring the protest of the wound at his shoulder. He carried Than in his arms, even weakened he was still strong enough to support the weight.

“That didn’t seem good,” Than muttered. “I would’ve thought the King would give up after last time.”

“You need to leave, Than,” Zagreus said, hurrying through the caverns of his home as quickly as two legs could take him, but needing human lips and tongue to warn him. “You’re not safe here. You could be in danger if they find you here.”

“Me? Why would they harm me? What about you?”

“You’ve been living with me for weeks and I’m not dead--isn’t that treason? And I can protect myself,” Zagreus insisted, and the blessed sight of his gemstones filled his vision as they made it to his living space.

He carefully set Than back down in his cushions. He ignored Than’s tired protests as he rushed around his room, trying to find suitable spare clothes that he’d collected over the years, throwing them all into a satchel. His rushed footfalls echoed in the huge, vaulted walls of the space. For luck, he even parted with a few of his amethysts that he thought suited Than.

“Zagreus,” Than called, voice weak but firm.

He ignored him, stubbornly grabbing food rations wrapped in grape leaves, dried herbs, and bandages, shoving it all on top.

“Zag,” Than hissed sharply.

He turned, his heart racing in his ears.

“Come with me,” Than said. “Please. I can’t bear to leave you here in danger, either.”

A lump formed in Zagreus’ throat, and he tried to swallow it down, parsing out Than’s words. “Than, you saw my father’s assassins are after me, and you know those soldiers surely aren’t just returning to thank me for my hospitality--I can’t put you in harm’s way by traveling with you.”

“You know I was traveling and carrying out far more dangerous jobs before I met you, right?” Than deadpanned.

“Taking out the occasional monster and human criminals is very different from entire armies and dragons! And you’re still weak. You need to go somewhere safe.”

Than forced himself up from his pillows, stumbled stubbornly over to Zagreus.

“I’ll not leave my friend behind,” Than said. “Not after everything you’ve done for me. I’m sworn to protect you.”

“Protect me? Look at yourself, Than!”

“You can’t make me leave you, Zag,” he said. “So if you’re concerned, then come with me.”

Zagreus struggled for words for a moment, sputtering and pacing. Than looked almost smug and crossed his arms, and Zagreus could only hold out a few more moments before admitting he didn’t have any way to argue his suggestion.

“I’ll escort you back to your home,” Zagreus said finally. “But then I’m leaving.”

That seemed agreeable to Than, who nodded. “You would be safe there, too. No one would harm you if I explained that you were in my charge.”

Zagreus considered this. “Than, you said your family is from a long, old bloodline… Would your mother know anything about my father and the other Dragon Kings and Queens?

“Possibly,” he said, blinking with surprise. “We have a historical connection to the ancient dragon Chaos, and have tried to keep as much draconic literature as we could find in the Erebus family library over the years.”

“Maybe… maybe your family would know something about my mother?” Zagreus asked, trying to keep the hope from his tone.

“It’s possible. And if she doesn’t already know, Mother Nyx may have an idea of where to start a search.”

Zagreus bit his lip, feeling like he could imagine the sounds of the knights drawing closer with each beat of his heart, though he was certain they were too far away to be heard. Time was running out, and he needed to make a decision.

“Okay,” he said, “let’s go to your home.”

Than made a considering hum. “It’s strange, seeing those other people… this has felt so much like a dream. And I’m afraid of letting it end. How are we to move forward, a dragon and a human?” Than asked quietly.

Zag felt heat rise to his cheeks as the words seemed to wrap the two of them together into one item, a pair, inseparable.

The instinct to connect swelled within him. He reached out and clasped Than’s hands. Than let out a surprised yelp and yanked his hand away.

“Oh, sorry!” Zagreus apologized immediately. His blood had dribbled down his arm, still scalding hot to sensitive human hands. “I almost forgot.”

“And you were chastising me about my health,” Than scoffed. He turned and dug around through Zagreus’ things for a clean cloth, bandages, and fresh water from the spring at the back of the cave.

He marched back over to Zagreus and pointed sharply at a nearby cushion.

“Sit down,” he said, and reluctantly, Zagreus obeyed.

He winced at the coolness of the rag as it brushed against his injured skin.

“Sorry,” Than said softly, and Zagreus realized how close they were.

Calloused hands gently pressed the rag to his skin, cleaning up the mess of blood that had sluggishly dripped down his arm. Zagreus hardly dared to breathe as Than moved up to his chest, taking pauses to clean the rag as he went, shocking Zagreus with a chill every time he returned it to his fiery skin. Slowly, Than worked carefully to move Zagreus' clothing out of the way, stripping him bare to the waist to clean up the rest.

"You've done this before?" Zagreus asked quietly, distracting himself from the way his cheeks heated under such attention.

"Once or twice. Dangerous line of work, remember?"

He tried not to show his pain as Than neared his wound, the sensitive skin pulling and making him wince. Than murmured a soothing, “Hang on, now,” and Zagreus blinked through the pain, grounded by the steadying hand on his other shoulder.

Than pressed the bandages to his shoulder, carefully lifting his arm to pass the linen under and around. He secured everything in place with a pin. His touch lingered for a moment.

Zagreus opened his mouth to speak, but was struck silent by the weight of his knight’s gaze catching his. Than’s eyes were an enticing shade of brown, nearly shining gold in the firelight of Zagreus’ home.

Those golden eyes flicked down to his lips, then back up to meet his once more.

An impulse wracked through him to lean forward, to chase more touches from his knight. His fingers clenched at the cushion underneath him.

Zagreus swallowed, and with every pulse of pain in his wound, the thought of the approaching warriors gnawed at the back of his mind, chasing away his fantasies. He busied his hands with pulling his tunic back over his shoulders, trying not to let out a pathetic whine as the motion made Than's touch disappear.

“You know as soon as I change into my dragon form, these bandages will tear, right?”

He seemed to jolt back into himself at Zagreus’ words. Than averted his gaze and stood, going to the spring to rinse the blood from his hands. On the way back, he tugged out a large, dusty cloak from the wardrobe, studying the material in his hands for a moment before looking back to Zagreus with a sly glint in his eyes.

“Well, it’s a good thing you’ll be traveling as a human, then, isn’t it?”

Chapter Text

"Zag," Thanatos hissed under his breath, "remember your pacing. You have a tendency to leap every third step. Humans don't walk like that, we have to plod along one foot at a time."

Zagreus jolted guiltily, and then huffed, crossing his arms.

"If I know anything about humans is that they're full of exceptions," he retorted, sticking his forked tongue out at Thanatos.

"We don't want you to be exceptional. We need you to be average. And please keep your tongue in your mouth."

Zagreus looked like he wanted nothing more than to breathe a cloud of smoke at the words, but settled for a light pout instead. The scattered light filtering through the leaves of old oaks framing the road gave Zagreus' human skin the dappled look of his scales.

"If I was better at my magic, I could just look human enough that any oddness would be ignored," he groused to himself.

Thanatos pursed his lips. He recalled the way Zagreus had focused in his cave for what felt like hours before his feet cooled to a temperature that wouldn't melt off the soles of the boots he wore. His tail he could tuck like a belt underneath his tunic, and his wings collapsed flatly to his back appeared only as a traveling pack hidden by his cloak. Even with all those measures, it was undeniable that something was eerily... off, about him. But it would be enough to go unnoticed.

"We won’t be long in town," Thanatos said. "This is a busy city, we’ll just pass along in the crowds, and no one will look twice.”

“Crowds…” Zagreus echoed softly. He looked at the ground.

“Something wrong?”

“I’ve never been in a crowd of anything,” he admitted. “I’m not sure what it’s like. I’m excited but something in my stomach feels… twisted?”

This was something Thanatos understood immediately. “You’re nervous.”

“I guess.”

He hummed. “Would it help if I told you more about humans?”

Eyes wide and dancing with sunlight met his, full of eagerness, and Thanatos couldn’t help but smile. As they walked together along the dirt road, Thanatos did his best to tell Zagreus what he could about humans and their cities. He told Zagreus of morning markets, of the way a crowd of people speaking could overwhelm the ears, how some buildings towered enough make a person feel small as if they were beside mountains, the way people tend to smile and wave, even to strangers. When it seemed like Zagreus drank in his every word and only thirsted for more, he found himself racking his mind of every detail he could think of.

He told him of his closest brothers, of his memories of he and his twin Hypnos being herded into town by their elder brother Charon, and Zagreus laughed at the trouble they'd gotten into.

Hours and miles passed by them this way, and Thanatos only slowed because his throat was dry from speaking so much. He was surprised at how rapt Zagreus’ attention was on him, and how he’d hardly interrupted except to ask delighted questions.

“I would’ve never imagined the human world was so complex,” he said, eyeing the purpling sky as dusk fell. He gingerly rotated his injured arm, as if to knock loose lingering pain. “From the way my father had spoken of them, it was always about the problems and danger to avoid. Not of their kindness and innovation.”

For as close as the two of them had drawn in the time since Zagreus had saved him, Thanatos had hardly delved into his own past, and hadn’t pried at Zagreus’ either.

“You’d mentioned… looking for your mother,” Thanatos said carefully. “And the way your father is sending forces after you... I take it you’ve never left your home before this?”

Zagreus huffed, and this time Thanatos didn’t chide him for the smoke that trailed out. “No. Never.”

Thanatos tried to imagine it, Zagreus stuck in one place his entire life. He couldn’t reconcile the idea with the vision of curiosity and excitement in front of him. It made something in his chest tighten.

“You don’t have to tell me anything more about it.”

They silently made to stop for the night, delving into an alcove at the side of the road that had the pockmarked divots of other travelers’ horses and tents, and a scorched firepit in the middle. Though there hadn’t been any other people in sight for miles, the evidence that this road was normally well-traveled had Thanatos on edge.

They scrounged for tinder and firewood, and Zagreus got a fire going for them with a discrete jet of flame. Thanatos got to work unpacking their bedding, relieved to be lightened of the heavy packs and rest his weary feet, unbuckling his greatsword from his back and settling it down with care.

“My father had kept me in his home,” Zagreus said abruptly in the quiet. A chilled wind pierced Thanatos’ thin shirt, the last of the sunlight faded fast, and the fire was still small enough that its warmth hadn’t soaked into him yet. “He is King of our region, and has many responsibilities to keep dragonkind safe. Many dragons enjoy intermingling in the human world, including some of my distant family, but he always saw it as a threat to our safety. He thinks if humans were to find out, there would be wars. They would see us as deceptive, a threat to humankind.” He paused. “Even more than you already do.”

Thanatos felt a pang in his chest, but didn’t interrupt. It was rare to see Zagreus this solemn, without the teasing smile that usually ghosted his features. Zagreus rubbed absently at the wound in his shoulder that was a gift from the assassin Megaera—though mostly healed, it still seemed to bother him.

“For a long time, I saw no reason to disagree. I was the obedient Prince, I did as he commanded of me. I worked endlessly to try and make the dragons of our kingdom happy, help them find safe places to shelter and live and eat. When I wandered too close to humans, he forbade me from going outside our cave. I accepted at first, thought it was what I deserved. But I was never good enough at it, no matter what I tried, Father found something wrong with me. And then…”

He trailed off for a moment, and Thanatos was worried he would stop speaking.

“Then I learned… I have a mother. And my father kept her existence from me, my whole life. I have no idea why she left, I don’t even know if she’d ever want to see me, but… I have to try and find her.”

The fire popped, a spark cast up into the air. Zagreus watched it, blowing hot air, making the ember flare white-hot.

“Than,” Zagreus said, “I don’t know what I’ll do after I find her. I just know that I have to do this. Even if there is nowhere for me to go, after.”

“There’s always a place for you to go, with me,” Thanatos blurted. “You can go with me. I don’t know what I’ll do, either, but I know that you won’t be alone anymore.”

A smile melted Zagreus’ features. “What a sweet Death Knight,” he said lightly.

Thanatos scooted back from the fire, feeling too much heat on his cheeks. “I mean it. And thank you for—for telling me all this.”

A yawn stretched his jaw, and exhaustion tugged at his limbs. Zagreus gave him a knowing smile.

“I’ll take watch. Get some sleep?”

Thanatos would’ve protested had he not known by now that Zagreus could read his body’s cues like a book. He nodded and curled up onto his bedding. His mind turned for a bit, mulling over the tales he'd heard growing up of dragons taking human shape that people now believed were just stories, nothing more.

He listened to the crackling of the fire and Zagreus humming softly, almost in time with it, a soothing rhythm that had him asleep in moments.

Zagreus woke him a few hours before dawn. Thanatos' joints were stiff with cold and soreness, but he forced himself to get up and take his shift. Zagreus didn’t need as much sleep as him, and also didn’t sleep nearly as deeply, but the idea that every shadow could be hiding the glint of knives made them both too uneasy to sleep at all without someone watching.

When the soft snores of Zagreus’ sleep sounded in the early morning quiet, Thanatos’ mind went in circles. He’d been alone for much of his own life as well, but by choice. He had a loving family, even if they occasionally had their disagreements, but he’d never been forced to do anything against his will. He’d chosen to be a Knight like his mother, and her parent before her.

Would he have chosen this path if he’d been forced to do it? Would he have been brave enough to run away, to chase something different?

He didn’t have an answer.

***

The scents and sounds of humans jolted Zagreus awake.

Horses stamped the road to dust. The bitter tang of iron swords and human sweat had Zagreus scrunching up his nose. A caravan of humans made its way past them. He unconsciously leaned closer to Than, chasing his sweet smell.

“Zag!” Than hissed sharply, a swift hand yanking his hood back up over his horns.

None of them had even glanced their way. A handful of big, armored guards were the source of the smell of swords, surrounding the caravan with watchful eyes.

“What are they watching for?” Zagreus whispered to Than.

“Different creatures of the woods, or maybe bandits,” Than answered, then hesitated. “...Probably dragons, too.”

“I could take them,” Zagreus huffed smugly.

“Please, don’t.”

Thanatos had already made breakfast for them, and Zagreus tore into the last of their packed fruit and meat, already missing his garden.

They gathered up their things, and got back on the road, careful to wait for the caravan to be long out of earshot. But even as they did their best to avoid people, another group crested the hill the opposite way, laughing and jeering loudly in a way that already had Zagreus’ sensitive ears ringing. A couple made their way past them, gossiping back and forth. A farmer flicked at the reins of his horse, pulling along a cart of produce.

Zagreus found himself shrinking close to Than, heart pounding in his chest that at any moment he would be caught, and the friendly faces would harden, and blades would be aimed at his throat.

Thanatos held out his arm.

Zagreus blinked for a moment, and then looked up at him, confused.

“Take it, if you want,” Than murmured. “You seem… frightened.”

“I’m definitely not,” he said quickly. But after another loud laugh from a human made him jump, he took Than’s outstretched hand.

The stream of people only thickened as they crested the hill, and the sprawl of a city took shape before them, blinking with flickering lights as people stirred before the sun, illuminating an astounding amount of buildings that had Zagreus holding his breath.

Even the fear of being discovered couldn’t dampen all of his excitement. He found himself skipping forward, and didn’t even realize it until Than gently tugged him back to a slower, more human pace.

The sun rose as they made it to the city gates. Lines of people trying to get in to start the day’s business formed, and Thanatos’ words seemed to be ringing true. No one paid the two of them any mind as they passed into the city.

“Alright, remember, we’re just going to resupply. We don’t have a lot of money, but make sure no one picks your pockets,” Than told him sternly. “And keep your hood up, and your head down. Don’t act… dragon-y.”

Zagreus tried to listen closely to the warning, but his senses were flooded. Sounds from a ring of nearby stalls and booths washed over him. The smell of bread baking and sugared treats frying in street food stalls had his mouth watering. Vendors called out to the sleepy people bustling about, people groused and grumbled and laughed and argued. Zagreus was suddenly reminded of his hoard of gemstones back home by the way every person was so unique, all different shapes and sizes, catching the light in unique ways.

It was overwhelmingly beautiful.

Thanatos guided them to a handful of stalls, selecting provisions with a practiced eye.

With the last of their gold, they made their way to a secondhand stall of cloaks and shirts hanging from its awning.

Thanatos had made it this far in only his thin undershirt, patched roughly by Zagreus’ shoddy sewing skills, all of his other clothing too mangled from the armor, and Zagreus was wearing the only cloak he had. He wouldn’t even need it, if only he were better at blending in.

Than made casual small talk with the shopkeep, looking over their wares with a critical eye. He pointed to a dingy blue half cape and a pair of pockmarked gloves. Zagreus frowned.

“Why don’t we go over to that other stall?” he asked under his breath, and gestured to a few booths down where rich fabrics draped over a loaded counter. There was a cloak in a rich purple that would suit Than wonderfully.

“Zag, we can’t afford any of that,” he said.

“Sure we can!” Zagreus said brightly, and dug out a gleaming chunk of sapphire from the pouch at his belt. “People like gems too, right?”

Than’s eyes went wide as saucers. “Zag!” He tried to clamp his hands over the gem before anyone could see, but the shopkeeper’s eyes had caught it eagerly.

“Look, sir, I’ll sell you my own cloak off my back!” they tried, as it was probably the finest piece of fabric in their shop. Their excited voice carried, other shoppers turning their way curiously.

“N-no thanks!” Than said quickly, pushing Zag away from the booth. “We’ll just be—thanks for your time!”

Than dragged him away from prying eyes to an alleyway, and Zagreus pouted.

“What did I do?” he asked.

“Zag,” Than said, “you can’t flash gemstones like that here. Those are really precious, and worth a lot of coin.”

Zagreus puffed his chest. “I know, a dragon’s hoard is always precious!”

A hand suddenly pressed against his mouth, and Than caged his body close to his. Heat flared in Zagreus, and he tried to resist breathing in the intoxicating scent of his companion too deeply, warring for rational thought. It took him an embarrassingly long stretch of time for him to realize that a group of guards was patrolling just outside the alley.

“Keep your voice down, deadbeat,” Than said lowly in his ear, peering at the guards warily. “Did you forget we’re trying to be inconspicuous?”

Zagreus was too busy fighting the urge to lick Than’s palm to answer. Than met his gaze and for a moment, he seemed locked in place, mouth parted slightly, but no more words sounding. The moment stretched, and Zagreus opened his mouth as if to speak, and bottled smoke leaked between Than’s fingertips.

An obnoxious voice rose above the din, startling them both.

“Oh, fear not, loyal subject, these accommodations will suffice. We had not announced our presence was forthcoming, to better surprise our enemy, the foul Fire-stepping Dragon!”

The response from some unfortunate innkeeper was drowned out of Zagreus’ hearing by the blood rushing in his ears.

He and Than exchanged a panicked look, and Than sprinted them both to the other end of the alleyway. They walked with measured steps several streets, before Zagreus tugged Than by the arm into another alcove.

“Than,” he hissed, “what is the king doing here?”

“I suppose when they made it to the mountain and saw you were gone, they continued heading east, maybe they caught our trail.”

Zagreus chewed his lip, mindful of splitting his weak human skin on pointed teeth. He thought about the handful of gemstones he had squirreled away, and regretted not taking more.

“Is there somewhere else we can find you a new cloak? There’s probably extra city guards all over that marketplace now,” Zagreus said.

“It’s fine, I’ll make it, we’re only a few more days away. I can—” A gust of wind nearly flattened the two of them against the wall, funneled into the tight space between buildings. Zagreus didn’t miss it when Thanatos shivered.

“Let’s grab the cloak and leave, before they spot us,” Zagreus insisted.

Than looked like he wanted to protest further, but couldn't come up with anything. He begrudgingly went back with Zagreus to the market square.

There were more guards present, but it looked like King Theseus and his knights were sheltered away in whatever tavern they had bullied their way into. Thanatos let out a relieved sigh.

The shopkeeper that they had flashed the gemstone to waved excitedly at them. Zagreus pointedly took Than over to the polished clothes, and the used-clothes shopkeeper looked crestfallen.

Than pointed at a modest-looking black half-cape, but Zagreus stopped him with an excited point to the rich purple cloak, hanging like a ripe fruit from the awning.

Than grimaced and asked the shopkeep how much. They looked Than up and down with an air of distaste at his current level of undress, his silvery hair tied up in a messy knot at the back of his head, grimy from road travel.

“Hm, for you? Twenty gold,” they sniffed.

“Is that a lot?” Zagreus asked behind a covered hand when Than stiffened.

“If you’re really sure you want to part with that sapphire,” Than muttered. “That’s equivalent, I’d say.”

Zagreus brightened and held out his hunk of sapphire to the shopkeep. Their eyes widened and then narrowed. They accepted the gem, holding it up to the light.

Thanatos winced, but stayed still. A few curious eyes glanced their way. Than covered half his face in his hand.

“An acceptable trade,” they decided, and pulled the cloak down for Than, who eagerly slipped into it. It cut a sharp figure on him, a perfect fit.

Zagreus thanked every god he could think of, and tried not to stare.

They nodded their thanks and fled from the shop as quickly as they could without drawing even more attention to themselves. As they walked, the aroma of something being fried with spices made Zagreus’ mouth water.

“Than,” he begged, “do we have time to grab some of that street food?”

Than gave him an exasperated smile. “It does smell good…” he agreed softly. Then gave a resigned sigh. “Alright, let’s eat--pay with coin this time--but then we have to get out of here.”

“Of course!”

Zagreus waved a hand distractedly as he answered, already following his nose to the stall where different meats were sizzling. The cook’s eyes boggled when Zagreus pointed to a fourth cut of meat, blinking at Zagreus and then back to the meat she was already wrapping for them.

He guessed correctly by the way Than sharply elbowed him that he’d asked for more than a human his size could eat. He grinned as innocently as he could with closed lips as Than hurried to pay.

They ate as they walked, Zagreus discreetly using the paper of the wrapping to cover his mouth. A strange, metallic cry peeled out over the bustle of people, and Zagreus stopped.

“What is it?” Than asked.

“What was that?”

“I didn’t…” The sound called again, a bit louder. Than strained to hear. “Oh, a horn, I think. Maybe there’s a performance? You could really hear that?”

“You mean there’s music?” Zagreus gasped. “Than, please, can we go listen?”

“We really should leave, but…” He took in Zagreus’ excitement. “Alright.”

They made their way several streets over, following Zagreus’ keen hearing to the source of the music even as he was distracted by every curious shop window.

A small ensemble was performing on a rickety stage propped up at the edge of a small courtyard. Zagreus inhaled deeply, the metallic tang of brass in his nostrils, the earthy warmth of wooden string instruments layered in.

The music this close was nearly overwhelming, a jaunty tune that matched Zagreus’ racing heart.

“Wow, I’ve never heard most of these instruments before,” Zagreus breathed. “They’re… it’s beautiful.”

“You’ve said everything about this town is beautiful, Zag,” Thanatos teased. “But you’re right. I can’t remember the last time I listened to musicians…” He leaned in and whispered. “Do dragons not have any music?”

“Oh, we definitely do, but it just tends to be more… percussive?”

They were leaning in to whisper, though no one even could’ve with the music. Gooseflesh raised along Zagreus’ arms as Than spoke again.

“I’d love to hear it someday,” Than murmured. “Do you play?”

“Only a smattering of lyre, and I’m quite awful,” he said back softly. “You?”

A breath of a laugh. “Too busy killing things for music.”

Something in Zagreus stilled. He thought for a moment about what sort of life Thanatos must’ve led until this point. Passing through towns so quickly he could never really savor them, mission after mission, earning coin and reputation but few opportunities for rest.

Zagreus took his hand. Than paused, but then returned the gesture, lacing their fingers together.

“Can you dance with me?” Zagreus breathed.

Than swallowed. He glanced nervously at the other couples giggling and twirling beside the band. He looked back to Zagreus and gave him a weak smile. “I… I can try.”

Carefully, Zagreus took both of Than’s hands in his, giving him a grin. Dragon dances were very different from human ones, and with only a few minutes of careful study, Zagreus still wasn’t sure if he was doing it properly.

He spun with Than, who seemed at first to try to disappear into his cloak, away from the stares of the crowd. But laughter filled the air, loosening their movements, and then the two of them were laughing and twirling with the rest of them.

The rich purple of Than’s new cloak billowed around him like a flower blooming as he spun, and Zagreus was smiling so much his cheeks were beginning to ache. His knight smiled back at him, and a few of his silver hairs had slipped free from their hair tie, framing his face with strands of starlight.

Zagreus’ chest filled with fire that he had to stamp down.

The song continued to play on, and the couples around them twirled. But suddenly Zagreus realized he was staring at Than without moving, and he back at him. Zagreus leaned in closer, placing a tentative hand against Than’s chest, feeling the race of his heartbeat under his palm. His eyes like two topazes were locked on his own before they darted down to Zagreus’ lips.

“...and then he pulled out an entire sapphire, just as you please, without any sort of credentials or anything!” a voice said in a hushed whisper.

Zagreus jolted, his sensitive ears perked. He glanced out of the corner of his eye, and caught the clothes shopkeeper pointing at him and Thanatos, and talking to two guards, who were peering at them sharply.

“What’s the matter?” Thanatos asked, and his breath ghosted across Zagreus’ face, they were so close.

“I think we need to go,” Zagreus muttered back. “Dance with me to that alley?”

He didn’t question the abrupt warning and did as Zagreus suggested. They took up their arms once more, and discretely danced between the figures in the crowd.

Until a yelp rang out as someone misstepped, and a person crashed their back into Zagreus’.

A cool breeze grazed the tips of Zagreus’ exposed ears as he scrambled to catch his balance, and his heart shot up into his throat as he hurried to pull his hood back up over his horns.

But he wasn’t quick enough, and the guards had been staring right at him.

“Hey! Hey, you! Stop!” one of the guards called, putting a hand on his sword and marching toward them.

The music died. People in the crowd stopped dancing, bumping into one another, shouts and whispers and gasps all overlapping in a dizzying song.

"Were those… horns?"

"Like the old stories…?"

“Someone! Go get King Theseus!” the other guard shouted.

“Than,” Zagreus gasped, and Than took his hand and together they sprinted.

Panic clogged Zagreus’ thoughts. His body shivered, adrenaline in his veins urging him to shift his body back into his dragon form, to fly them both away. But he knew it would be easier to lose guards in his human guise than as a dragon.

Than had said they weren’t far from his family’s home, and Zagreus wouldn’t endanger them by flying with a pursuit of guards.

Despite himself, scales raised along his arms and smoke trailed from his lips, and blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth where his sharpened teeth had broken the skin.

Cobblestone streets were a blur under their feet. The stomp of guards and the metallic clang of their armor seemed cacophonous in the narrow alleyways, and Zagreus could hardly make sense of the direction they ran.

Thanatos was steady, composed, the only signs of his fear in the way he turned to check on Zagreus out of the corner of his eye every few seconds, and the way his hand kept returning to the hilt of his sword. Zagreus had to keep calm, to keep Than from getting into more trouble than he already was.

Frustration and guilt tore at him as they sprinted. He was the one that was supposed to be protecting his knight, not the other way around.

This was all his fault.

He stopped running, and let his hood pool on his shoulders.

Thanatos skidded in front of him, turning with wide eyes.

“Thanatos,” Zagreus rasped, voice hissing at the edges and his breath smoke-filled, “I can’t be the reason you get in trouble. You have to go without me.”

“I can make my own choices,” Than snapped back, sharp as his sword, the edge of it gleaming in the golden afternoon light as he drew it from its hilt.

The guard was about to turn the corner, and trap them in. All around Zagreus was the bitter smell of metal, the sound of yelling humans, the smell of their fear and anger. He looked at Thanatos and felt the pained grimace on his face. His hands clenched and unclenched, his claws digging into his human-shaped palms.

“I’m not leaving you,” Thanatos insisted, and he put his back to Zagreus’ as soldiers closed in on them at both sides of the alley.

“Finally! We’ve captured the foul daemon!” came a familiar, triumphant voice.

King Theseus was at the head of the group of guards. Zagreus whirled around, and Thanatos held his sword aloft, his other arm stiff in front of Zagreus.

Something broke inside Zagreus’ chest.

He’d never had anybody stand up for him, let alone a human. Hot shame and guilt pricked at his eyes, and his mind frantically spiraled for a plan.

“Hold on,” King Theseus said, squinting, “who are you? How dare you? Why do you bear the sword of the honorable and tragically fallen Death Knight, Thanatos?”

Than had been willing to die for a king who had never even seen his face before? Zagreus realized with a burst of shock and anger.

“I am him, King,” Thanatos said evenly.

"You? Then surely you've brought this creature here for us to apprehend! We can see its horns—it's employing its sorcery to deceive us!"

"He's not hurting anyone," Thanatos said. "He saved me, King. He's not a danger to the kingdom."

Theseus blinked in disbelief. "You raise your sword against your king? In that daemon's defense?"

"He healed me from the brink of death of his own accord."

"Enthralled, you are!"

Every nerve in Zagreus' body was charged, his muscles trembling. He recoiled at every hissed derogatory remark thrown at him.

But Thanatos didn't falter, and simply raised his chin. "I saved your life, King. I don't have any reason to lie. Zagreus has earned my loyalty in turn."

Theseus made an expression of disgust, and reached for his spear. The large knight at his side held aloft a great battle-ax, and he looked like he knew how to use it.

No one moved, the air pulled taut as they faced each other.

"Don't harm the Death Knight," Theseus finally ordered. A relieved breath left Zagreus' lungs, until: "Kill the daemon!"

The guards and knights lunged. The whistling of arrows loosed from the archers flanking them gave Zagreus just enough warning to drop to the ground.

As he ducked from arrows, Thanatos met the King head on.

"This isn't necessary, King!" he growled. "He's innocent."

"Even as it pretends to be something it isn't?" Theseus retorted over the clang of their steel blades. Zagreus rushed to Thanatos' side. "Its very existence is a strain upon this country!"

"I'm not pretending anything!" he wanted to yell.

But when he opened his mouth, he couldn't control the burst of flame that exploded from him.

It caught the rich fabrics that stretched across the alleyway between balconies. Fire licked its way through the supportive wood beams and shingles, and screams of alarm could be heard over the din. The guards broke their formation, scrambling for cover.

If the town hadn't noticed their king brawling with a dragon in an alley before, the panic and uproar ensured they knew now.

Thanatos rolled himself out of the way as a wooden beam holding smoldering laundry collapsed, separating him from Zagreus.

A hefty swing of a battle-ax nearly ended Zagreus right there as he gaped, if not for the smell of metal igniting his instinct to throw himself to the side.

The king's right-hand knight, with a helmet adorned with a terrifying set of bull's horns, was one of the few that wasn't scurrying to get out of the reach of the searing heat of flame in the alley. Something of respect flickered in Zagreus, though he was too full of adrenaline to pay it any mind.

"You take on the shape of a man, short one," he boomed, his voice low and thunderous. "Why bother?"

"I'm just—" A leap to the right. "I'm just trying to find—" Dodge another overhead swing. "Look, I'd love to explain, but—"

"I, too, have monstrous ancestry," the knight said, without stopping, "and yet I don't terrorize townspeople. I overcome my nature."

"I'm not—" Zagreus tried once more, but this time regret stopped his words.

The clamor of desperate guards and people trying to put out his fires surrounded him. A wooden balcony finally sustained enough damage that it toppled, crumbling with a burst of embers a few feet away. Another scream rang out.

Thanatos still traded blows with the King, who was yelling "TREASON!" louder and louder as the fight went on.

"I didn't want any of this," Zagreus said, voice breaking as his speech disappeared.

Zagreus’ human guise fell away, and in a wave of sparks, he filled the alleyway with his draconic bulk. With one swipe of his front paw, he took the knight by surprise and knocked him to the side. He kicked the large beam out of the way that had been blocking him from Thanatos.

He let out a roar, pouring all of his anguish and regret into the sound.

Thanatos turned toward him, eyes wide with alarm. He abandoned his clash with the king, running to Zagreus’ side. With stunning ease, Thanatos hooked a hand on one of his horns and used his momentum to swing up onto his back.

Zagreus couldn’t open his wings up in the crammed alley. He sprinted forward.

“Stop! Daemon! You—” Theseus began wailing, but Zagreus simply barrelled through him, brushing him in an indignant heap to the side.

When they reached the nearby plaza, the screams at the sight of Zagreus tore his heart in two. The fire he'd caused reflected in the white of their terrified eyes.

He was a monster to them, no matter what he did.

He couldn’t help the cry that spilled from his lips, as though they could somehow hear an apology from a dragon’s roar. He opened his wings, and ash and embers scattered in the air as the updraft lifted them into the sky.

A panicked volley of arrows rained down on him, but Zagreus could hear the clang of Thanatos’ steel, knocking them away from the sensitive skin of his wings. They ricocheted off the hardened scales of his body.

The sun had set, and by the time the archers re-strung their bows, they were cloaked in darkness. Zagreus looked down, and the entire quarter of the city where they had been fighting was ablaze.

Steaming tears stung his eyes. He forced himself to carry them away to safety.

***

Zagreus flew for several hours before he simply couldn’t anymore.

He descended into a clearing tucked into a thick swatch of trees. The forest was ancient, with towering old growth trees that even made him feel small in his dragon stature. Moss and lichen coated every surface, and the air felt hushed with moisture and the slow sound of growing, living things.

Zagreus landed as gently as he could, and barely waited for Thanatos’ weight to slide off of him before he took back on his pathetic human shape, clumsy wings and horns and tail stubbornly clinging to him.

He collapsed onto the soft underbrush on his hands and knees, several ragged breaths tearing at his sore throat as he tried to collect himself.

“Zagreus…” Thanatos said softly, crouching beside him.

“I’m sorry,” he rasped, voice a scratched mess. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“Are you alright?”

Zagreus looked up, and finally took in the concern had Thanatos’ brows furrowed. He stood and clutched Thanatos' face in his palms, checking him over for injury.

He couldn't quite get the air in his lungs to move properly, his heart was racing in his ears, and yet Thanatos was looking at him with something close to awe.

"You're okay," Thanatos murmured, full of relief.

"Me? Of course I'm okay, it's you I'm…"

Amber brown eyes looked almost golden in the beams of moonlight that reached the forest floor. His knight was looking at him as if he were as precious to him as a trove of jewels.

"I'm so glad you're alright," Thanatos said, and slowly put his hands on Zagreus' shoulders.

Zagreus froze, realizing his hands were still cupping Than's face, and how close they were standing.

“You must think I’m a monster now,” he choked out.

Thanatos’ silver hair caught the faint light as he shook his head. “No, Zag, I know you didn’t mean for that to happen. When you roared, I… all I could hear was how you’d sounded in your cave. You didn’t want anybody to get hurt.”

He had to swallow a lump in his throat. “It… it doesn’t matter what I want. I still hurt people, anyway. And now the king accused you of treason, and the fire-–”

“I’ll tell my family what happened, and we’ll get help there to aid in repairs. And I don’t—I don’t care what some king thinks of me. I have always fought to protect people. My loyalty to you…”

He paused, searching for words. Zagreus leaned in close, hanging off the softness of his voice, watching every movement.

His knight dipped his head, leaning his forehead against Zagreus’. He froze for a heartbeat, before he let himself take a deep breath. He closed his eyes, finally allowing his muscles to relax as he drank in the scent of Thanatos. The quiet of the forest wrapped around them like a blanket, and the world felt softer around the edges.

“My loyalty to you is unconditional,” he said finally. “I will do whatever I can to help you.”

Something took flight in Zagreus’ chest.

Before he could think better of it, he brushed Thanatos’ lips with his own. A gentle touch, and Zagreus pulled away before any of the nervous smoke in his mouth could spill out.

Thanatos was looking at him with wide, stunned eyes. Zagreus' lips tingled with a phantom sensation of Thanatos' against his.

The adrenaline was fading, and Zagreus realized with a bolt of panic what he had just done. "Was that alright?" he asked quickly.

Thanatos simply stared for a moment, before blinking and nodding. "Oh! Oh, um, yes, that's—that was alright. I've just never—"

Zagreus gave a shy smile, unable to keep the chuckle from his voice, "Me either. The most I've done was give you my spit to heal."

"Please don't ruin this."

He laughed, putting a hand to his mouth. "Joking about my spit is more offensive to you than, say, burning down an entire town? Interesting priorities, there, Than.”

Thanatos grinned with a slight roll of his eyes. “I’m glad you’re feeling better to joke, but if it actually helps any, most human cities are built with a fire in mind. The interior structures of all those buildings were stone, and the wood is just exterior. They’ll be alright.”

A bit of tension in Zagreus’ chest loosened, and he let out a sigh. “That… that is really nice to hear. Thank you.”

Thanatos looked up, squinting with weak human eyes in the dim forest. “If I’ve got my bearings right from the direction we headed, we’re a bit further west than originally planned, but not too far from the estate.”

“I didn’t want them to follow us, and incriminate your entire family.”

He cast a careful glance his way. “My family has brushed with the law before. We’re not so easily incriminated. But, thank you for being so thoughtful.”

Zagreus gave another shy smile. His legs trembled underneath him as the last dregs of adrenaline left his body. “Could we… can we camp here, and make our way in the morning?”

Thanatos nodded, and gave him another soft kiss to his forehead. They gathered what they could of their supplies, and curled together on the luxury of Thanatos’ new—now slightly singed—purple cloak.

Their hands carefully intertwined, they slept together in the brush as they readied themselves for the last leg of their journey to the Erebus family estate.

Chapter Text

"Okay, one more time," Zagreus said, expression serious.

He was so close, the only aspects of his dragon features remaining in his horns and the slits of his pupils. Early morning sunlight trickled down over him through the trees, casting his draconic features with a golden silhouette.

Thanatos nodded and watched as he took a deep breath, his eyes scrunched shut. He had been focusing all morning, and Thanatos had faith in him.

A flash of embers startled Thanatos into blinking and looking away, and when he looked back…

One of Zagreus' horns was gone from his head. He opened his eyes hopefully, but as soon as he moved his head, he tilted with the imbalance and sighed.

"Symmetry is a problem for me," he muttered. He relaxed his legs out from where they had been crossed underneath him, slouching in defeat on the other side of the campfire.

Thanatos hummed. "Would it help to have more reference?"

"What do you mean?"

"Here," he said, scooting closer. "Feel the back of my head. Give me your hands."

Zagreus quietly approached and extended his arms. Thanatos took up his warm hands and brought them up to cup the smooth back of his own head.

"It probably feels like something is missing, right? Maybe that's why it's hard to get rid of them completely because you feel a bit exposed without them," Thanatos suggested.

Zagreus' fingers carefully explored his head, waving gently between his long length of hair. "You might be onto something there," Zagreus breathed. "I do feel like humans are weak and fragile compared to dragons. Maybe my magic is reflecting that."

"Maybe. But I also think now you're finally beginning to understand how strong humans really are."

"Hm, actually, you know I think I remain unconvinced. I’ll need yet another angry mob to attack me again before I'll reconsider."

That brought a little snort from Thanatos. He could feel Zagreus' hands freeze for a moment in his hair, before they resumed their curious roaming.

It was relaxing, oddly enough. Given that last night had brought the destruction of several buildings in a village and an undeniable act of treason on his part against the king, it was odd that Thanatos could feel so content.

The birds sang to each other in the canopy, and the weather was unseasonably warm in one of the last gasps of summer before autumn would fully take hold.

And Thanatos had made his decision, protected his dragon, and had no regrets.

“Okay, I’ll try once more, but then we’re moving. I’ve already put you in enough danger,” Zagreus said. Thanatos let out a little huff of exasperated air at the comment, but turned to watch.

Zagreus breathed in deeply and closed his eyes. This time instead of his expression being tense, he seemed more relaxed, focused. In, out, smoke trailing from his nostrils. Then, a startle of flames flickered over him.

When they cleared, Thanatos grinned.

“Well?” Zagreus asked, and looked at him with eyes with round pupils, his shaggy hair the only thing sharp on his head.

“I think you look extraordinarily average.”

Zagreus laughed and put his hands to his head with awe. His hair was still fairly spiky, but at least now it only looked like particularly unruly human hair rather than anything otherworldly. “I can’t believe I’ve actually managed it. I’m sure I’ll forget something else next time, like my tail or a wing.”

The first thing that Thanatos thought of was not what actually came out of his mouth. He’d meant to congratulate him, but instead what he said was, “Would you ever just stay like that forever?”

He froze, blinking wide eyes. “Stay… like this? Human-shaped?” He brought a hand to his mouth and tapped the side of his finger thoughtfully to his lips. Maybe an unconscious gesture, but it brought a flush to Thanatos’ cheek to remember that they had kissed. “I don’t know. In the old stories, dragons would exist like water, changing shape to fill whatever need they had. Now, though, Father insists that taking on a human shape is undignified. That dragons should be proud to be large and terrible and whatever else he enjoys.”

“What do you think?”

“I think we were a lot happier when we could live alongside humans,” Zagreus said softly. “I don’t want to destroy villages or hurt anyone or their livestock. And I won’t. But… to give up flight and fire and strength…”

He stilled, crossing his arms over his torso.

“Sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” Thanatos said. “We don’t have to discuss it.”

“It’s a good question,” he said with a shrug. “I wonder if that’s what my mother did. Took on her human form and never went back. If that’s the case I’ll never find her.”

“Mother Nyx has many connections, if anyone would know about secret dragons, it would be her.”

Zagreus rubbed the back of his head. “You really admire your mother, hm? Well, let’s hurry, then.”

They gathered up the remnants of their hastily thrown-together campsite. Zagreus stumbled once or twice, and when Thanatos looked at him worriedly he waved him off.

“I hadn’t realized how much I was using my wings for balance,” he admitted, a pink flush to his cheeks.

They had to stagger quite a way through protruding, twisting roots of the ancient trees to get back to anything remotely resembling a road. They wouldn’t have even bothered to find a road, but with the thick canopy above them, they simply weren’t safe in the dark of the forest from assassins that could hide in the shadows. And since Zagreus had blindly carried them miles west of their destination, they needed to reorient themselves without the threat of knives.

Several times, Zagreus’ foot slipped on the mossy bark underfoot and he stumbled. But Thanatos was beside him, steading him each time. They found themselves whispering as they walked, the woods too quiet to be disturbed by raised voices. It didn’t help that they both had the uneasy feeling of being watched.

When they reached the road—if it could be called that—it was a worn strip in the forest that had maybe been paved with rocks ages ago, but now was swallowed by moss and lichen. At least there was enough light trickling in above them that they could breathe a little easier.

As they walked, Thanatos felt that Zagreus was subdued and distant. He worried at his lower lip, trying to decide if Zagreus just needed a moment to himself, or if he should say something. Indecision made him struggle to bring anything up, so he floundered in silence as well.

Zagreus was the first to break the quiet, and he asked a few hesitant questions about Thanatos’ home and family. Thanatos relaxed slightly, answered what he could, and hoped he was able to help put him at ease.

“We won’t tell anyone in the estate what you are,” he assured. “We’ll privately let Mother know and she’ll know how to handle the information.”

“What if I mess it up again?” Zagreus asked, looking nauseous. “What if my magic slips?”

“It won’t,” Thanatos said, and reflexively grabbed Zagreus’ hand and gripped it tightly. “I know what you’re capable of, Zag.”

Zagreus looked at him, struck, his mouth parted in surprise. Then his mouth curled into a shy smile. “Thanks, Than.”

Heat flared at his cheeks once more. “Of course.”

“Have I mentioned that I’m really happy you tried to kill me?”

Thanatos grimaced. “That’s… an odd way to phrase it, but thank you. I’m… also glad you didn’t let me die.”

They continued to hold hands as often as they could as they made their way out of the forest.

***

It was late that evening when they finally arrived, feet sore and clothes ragged with tears from thorns, to the Erebus estate. The dark night was heavy with clouds, but Zagreus’ eyes could still make out the grand outline of the building towering above them. The mansion had several towers, each rivaling the foreboding height of the tall trees surrounding it. The estate was at least as old as the forest itself, and they seemed intertwined in their imposing, ancient aura.

Thanatos had mentioned the family legend that the home was built by their draconic ancestor Chaos, and the main halls were large enough for even the largest of dragons. Zagreus had been skeptical that humans could even understand the scale of size that would require, but seeing the mansion now, he realized maybe this family did have an idea.

His own home with his dragon king father had been within a collapsed volcano caldera, a maze of sprawling giant hollowed caves that had once housed lava. He couldn’t help but idly wonder at what Father would make of this place, and then squashed the idea. Father surely wasn’t wasting his time thinking about Zagreus, so he wouldn’t grant him the luxury of occupying his thoughts.

Thanatos pulled his hair free from its ribbon, and the silver shimmer of it caught the faintest moonlight. He waved a hand up to the guards on the balcony that Zagreus hadn’t noticed, too enchanted with the sheer size of the mansion. They lowered their crossbows and shouted a few orders around. With enough force to make the ground beneath their feet tremble, the gates opened.

Zagreus sucked in a shaky breath, smoke at the tip of his tongue. Thanatos gave his hand another reassuring squeeze before leading him inside.

Warm firelight danced on rich purple tapestries. On these were skulls cupped in two gentle hands underneath a starry sky embroidered in golden thread, and Zagreus realized that must be their House sigil.

They walked through a hallway hidden underneath swooping grand marble staircases. A few different people hurried about, calling out greetings as they entered. He assumed by their matching clothing that they worked in the estate.

Zagreus tucked himself nervously against Thanato’s side, until Than leaned down to murmur softly, “It’s alright. You’re safe here.”

Thanatos was fairly reserved as they walked, save for quietly explaining where in the house they were and which famous Death Knight that was in that painting.

Zagreus was used to many fineries and luxuries as the son of the Dragon King (most of which he acted indifferent to, except his precious gemstones), but there was something about this home that still made his mouth drop open in awe as they went.

He stumbled over the tassled edge of a rug. Thanatos steadied him with a raised eyebrow.

“Than, this place is incredible,” Zagreus blurted. “You grew up in a home like this?”

Thanatos flushed. “I suppose it is nice. I think it’s a bit much, personally.”

Zagreus opened his mouth to point out that he was used to piles of gemstones filling his rooms, but then Thanatos’ shyness made him think better and he closed it. This was a different sort of luxury, a deep running legacy of established reputation.

“Hey, you’re back! Did they let you know that Mom is still away?” a bright voice came from behind them. “You know, she was pretty worried about you!”

Zagreus turned around to see a lanky figure with curling white hair, a wide grin, and heavy bags under his eyes. He was dressed plainly, with long red skirts trailing to the floor, giving the overall impression of a nightgown.

“Hypnos,” Thanatos greeted, his tone a mix of relieved and annoyed all fondly rolled into one.

Spindly fingers waved teasingly in Zagreus’ direction. “And who is this? Mom is going to be sad she wasn’t here to greet your new friend. Or is he your first friend?”

“When will she be back?” Thanatos asked, brushing past the question.

“Oh, a few days maybe? Any minute now?” He shrugged, his tall form slouching into the motion, his shoulders staying in place rather than truly lifting. “Charon is around though. Hey, um, maybe we could have a family dinner? You know, if you and this stranger aren’t too busy…”

“We should probably—” Thanatos started, and then looked at Zagreus, who was doing everything he could with his eyes to convey how badly he wanted to be at a human family dinner. He seemed to think for a moment. Then he sighed. “Alright. A dinner sounds nice.”

Hypnos seemed to shine with happiness. “Oh! Oh, that’s just great, I’ll get the chef right on it. He should make enough for us brothers, as well as…” he trailed off, looking at Zagreus expectantly.

“Zagreus,” he said, and then panicked at the idea he was missing something in human greetings. He moved his hand in a choppy wave.

A giggle bubbled out of Hypnos. “I like him. See you both in a few hours!”

Thanatos let out a sigh after Hypnos had sauntered away. Zagreus bit his lip.

“Sorry, do you not like your brother?” Zagreus asked quietly.

Thanatos looked at him with surprise. “What? Of course I do.”

“You seemed… not too happy to see him.”

“Well, he can be a lot,” he said.

He had seemed nice, actually, to Zagreus, but he just nodded and they continued walking through the manor.

They reached a door that was austere and nondescript. Zagreus nearly kept walking, except Thanatos had stopped.

"This is my room. I can, uh, show you if you'd like? We can at least see if any of my spare clothes will fit you and get cleaned up for dinner,” Thanatos said, and swung open the door.

It was simple—soft but not overly plush, practical but not cold. The purple motif carried through into the style in a way that felt distinctly to Thanatos' taste. His room was made up of a sitting room, a bedroom, and a washroom. Comfortable, but not pretentious.

There was a small niche with books and a soft reading chair. A large, arched window held a breathtaking view of the forest around them, moonlight casting a serene glow beside the lit candles in the room.

A few weapons displayed in the sitting room drew Zagreus' eye. There were some polished armor pieces and even a large, ceremonial scythe.

But the real beauties were the butterflies.

Pinned in small glass boxes, there were dozens of butterflies mounted along the walls. Their spread wings were an array of pearlescent colors—turquoise, amber, sapphire, and amethyst.

Zagreus felt as if he was held aloft in a huge, swirling migration of color.

"Wow, Than," he murmured. "Your hoard is so beautiful."

"My… you mean my collection?"

"These butterflies must be your hoard, aren't they? They're so lovely."

"I thought dragons always looked down on one another's hoards. And in any case, it's not a hoard. Humans don't hoard."

Zagreus knew some dragons to be so prideful of their own taste to snub any other. But he's never been one to resist anything as colorful as this.

"Semantics," he said. "This is clearly something you care about. Thank you for showing me."

He met Thanatos' gaze then, his smile tugging at his cheeks. Thanatos grinned back shyly.

"Well, anyway, it was a hobby of mine growing up…"

Zagreus felt a million questions bubbling up. What was it like having brothers? How do you catch a butterfly? Why isn't your mother here? What will she think of me?

But he forced them down. If he had learned anything from traveling with Thanatos, it was that his volume of questions quickly exceeded Thanatos' comfort in answering them.

Just one, start with one.

"So, about cleaned up before dinner? I think I smell like an entire burnt town fell on me," he said.

Thanatos let out a surprised laugh. "Um…" He hesitated for a moment. "I realized since we didn't send word ahead of us, the staff probably don't have a room ready for you yet. I suppose you're welcome in here until then, if that works?"

"I wouldn't want to impose," he said quickly. "I'm sure there's a stream nearby I could…"

Thanatos raised an eyebrow.

"Really? You mean it?"

He smiled. "Come here. I'll show you."

They stepped into a side room, and Zagreus blinked at the sudden humidity. They were in a tiled bathroom, and inside sat a swooping tub decorated with plants that seemed to infuse their essence into the steam. It seemed freshly filled with scalding water, and Zagreus was impressed at the speed of the staff. Thanatos must always bathe right after arriving home from his travels.

Zagreus could taste a floral scent in the room that reminded him so intensely of the first time he'd smelled Thanatos while nursing him back to health that he had to look back toward him to make sure he wasn't bedridden and weak again.

He winced inwardly, worried his first impression of Than was stained by him nearly dying.

He shook off the thought as he tentatively touched a nearby hand towel that was so finely woven it was like butter under his fingertips. He supposed they haven't been able to relax much since they first met, have they?

"Thanatos, this is so nice," he mumbled, feeling like he had to say something. "Are you sure I can… be here?"

"I invited you, didn't I?" Than said. "What's wrong?"

Zagreus grimaced. "Nothing. I'll leave you to it first."

He turned to give Thanatos his privacy, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"You smell like an entire burnt town, remember?" Than said with a teasing smile. "You first, before you stink up my rooms."

Zagreus laughed. "I'm not sure you're any better. And my nose is much stronger than yours, I can hardly think. If I go first that water will be so filthy it won't do enough for you."

"Fine then, we'll go together."

"Fine," Zagreus said, smiling. Then his brain caught up to what he meant.

Thanatos held his gaze, a pink tinge to his cheeks.

Zagreus swallowed. "I'll, um, just turn around."

"Right."

Back to back, they undressed. Though flustered, Zagreus was thankful for this outcome. He realized there was a part of him that didn't want to be out of earshot of Thanatos, even for just a bath. It was hard to be away from someone who has become a constant presence.

Zagreus blindly stumbled into the bath, only half looking at where he stepped before settling in. Water rocked and spilled over the edges as Thanatos settled in beside him, their bare backs just grazing one another.

They sat frozen in silence for a long moment. The heat of the bath soothed the many aches and hurts of Zagreus' body.

"At your home, where do you bathe? It must be somewhere big enough for your dragon form, right?" Thanatos asked quietly after a time.

"We had these massive hot springs in the base of the caldera," he said. He smiled wistfully. "It was my favorite place, actually. I could have time to myself there as long as I wished. I had water channeled into a private room just for myself. Perhaps I was a selfish prince, but I enjoyed that particularly."

"It sounds nice."

Thanatos handed him a sweet smelling soap over his shoulder. He gratefully scrubbed himself until his creamy human skin was nearly as red as his dragon scales.

Thanatos worked something floral and enticing through his long, silvery hair. Zagreus couldn't help peek out the corner of his eyes.

Thanatos' scent had been muted by the tang of adrenaline, various forest and city smells, and everything else they'd been through. But as they cleaned, Zagreus had to blink through the way it seemed to push to the forefront of his senses.

"That's—really nice soap," he managed, clearing his throat roughly.

Thanatos chuckled. "Is it too strong? It's my guilty pleasure. You know, the townspeople had a rumor that when they saw me, they smelled their own funeral flowers."

Zagreus burst out with a surprised laugh. "You said you didn't harm humans."

"That doesn't stop rumors," he said. "I remember you asked me about how I smelled when I was first recovering… I suppose it must be potent."

"A bit," Zagreus admitted, "but… it's quite nice. I like it."

Zagreus felt Thanatos stiffen, his back straightening so they were no longer touching. He winced at what was probably another much-too-forward thing that had poured from his mouth.

They finished their bath and clumsily dried off. Zagreus tucked his towel around his waist and shook out his hair. Thanatos drew a delicate comb through his, and patted it dry until it hung in tidy waves.

Zagreus held up his tunic and wrinkled his nose. Soot flaked off into a gritty pile on the ground.

“I may not have been to many human dinners, but I don’t think this is the preferred attire, is it?” he asked.

Thanatos looked at his clothes with a similar distaste. “Let’s see if I have anything that will work for you.”

They rummaged through Thanatos’ austere collection of clothes. Compared to Zagreus’ unending piles, there wasn’t much to choose from. Zagreus managed to cinch a too-long black tunic with a belt, feeling even more in costume than in his human guise alone.

He gave Than his privacy as he dressed, fidgeting restlessly with the hem of his borrowed shirt.

"If you're ready, I think we're going to be just in time for dinner," Thanatos said.

Zagreus turned and then found it hard to breathe. Thanatos was so brilliantly put together that his chest tightened.

A long robe spilled over Thanatos' tall frame. It was a deep gray, with a layer of material overtop which seemed to shimmer and catch the light as if it were gossamer.

Zagreus had seen wealth of course, in a myriad of displays in different dragon hoards and stories. But something like this, a piece of clothing no doubt generations old, kept pristine and fine, took him aback.

He also had donned a few chains of golden jewelry. They dangled from his ears and around his neck, complementing the silver of his hair.

"Than…" he said aloud.

Thanatos tossed his hair back with a swipe of his hand. "Hm?"

"You look stunning!" he burst out, cheeks heating.

"Maybe it is a bit nicer than my traveling clothes that I nearly died in..." he said quietly, running a hand through his loose hair. "Anyway. We should go."

There was an awkward moment where they both moved toward the door at the same time, and Zagreus sucked in a quick breath at their sudden proximity. Thanatos looked at him and stilled.

Zagreus swallowed, trying to think of something to say to break the tension. But Thanatos looked at him so intently that he couldn't manage it.

Thanatos' eyes trailed down to his lips. Their breaths mingled in the air, and Zagreus could taste the mint Thanatos had used to freshen his mouth.

"We… should head to dinner," Than said, but his eyes were still focused downward.

Zagreus self-consciously licked his lips, and Thanatos sucked in a breath. He realized Thanatos had outstretched an arm to the door frame, caging him in.

He let out a startled burst of smoke at the realization, making Thanatos cough and wave his hand in the air between them.

They shared a shy smile and stepped out of the room.

Thanatos led them through the halls of the manor to the dining room. For all the build-up, it was still their family home, and so all the brothers settled in with fairly little ceremony.

Hypnos sat across from Zagreus, and across Thanatos was another brother that he didn't know. He could tell they were family by his similarly platinum hair, curling about his thin shoulders. And something about his bearing also gave it away. They all held themselves in a sort of anticipatory state that seemed unusual for most humans.

Hypnos waved idly and grinned. "Nice to see you again, Zagreus. You sure cleaned up nice. This is our brother, Charon, but be careful—give him the chance and he'll talk your ears right off!"

"Hypnos," Thanatos sighed with a roll of his eyes.

Charon looked nonplussed at the introduction. He merely tilted his head in a slight nod of greeting, the wide rim of his hat casting shadows across his stoic face.

Zagreus grinned and waved.

Food was carried out by a few of the manor staff, and Zagreus nearly passed out at the smell of it, hunger suddenly overwhelming him. He'd been ignoring the fact that they'd only been living off a few scant vegetables from his garden and whatever they could forage, the street food from the city a distant memory. Not to mention his magic at work to keep his shape changed, which took no small effort to keep it going.

As soon as the bowl of steaming soup was placed in front of him, Zagreus immediately began to slurp it down at a ravenous pace. It was only once he was halfway through did he realize he was being stared at by Hypnos and Charon.

"You know, maybe you guys should've been eating more while you were traveling so you wouldn't burn your mouth so bad on soup right away," Hypnos said brightly.

Zagreus blinked and glanced at Thanatos, who was giving him a pointed look as he held up a spoonful and blew on it carefully before sipping at it.

Oh.

Zagreus grimaced. "Ah, I should've slowed down, huh? Sorry. It's been… a rough couple of days." He made sure to hesitate at each mouthful for it to cool.

Charon looked meaningfully at Thanatos in a way that Zagreus couldn't interpret. Thankfully, Thanatos seemed to understand an implied question.

"Zagreus and I met along my travels and I forever owe him a debt for saving my life. We ran into some trouble on the road," he told them.

"He's already saved my life in return as well," Zagreus chimed in quickly. "Just to set that record straight."

"That's our Thanatos for you," Hypnos chirped. "Always one to settle things right away. What brings him here, then? Not that we don't enjoy your company, of course," he said quickly, turning to Zagreus, "but, ah, well, we—some of us anyway—are not the most social?"

"We have a few questions for Mother when she returns," Thanatos said.

"Though it has been nice to talk with you two as well," Zagreus added.

Charon gave him an unimpressed look. Hypnos yawned.

The main course was brought out, and Zagreus’ mouth watered for something solid. There were platters layered with roasted fish, plates of bread toasted and smeared with creamy cheeses, and bowls of cooked saucy vegetables blanketed with crispy pastry topping. It was relatively simple, hearty food, but Zagreus supposed that it was more in line with the practical lives of the brothers. After their journeying, it was everything he could ask for. He tore in eagerly.

Conversation halted as they all focused their attention on the food. Zagreus heard the pop of a cork being plucked from a small glass bottle. He paused at his next bite and listened, but no one else seemed to indicate they'd heard anything odd.

An acrid, sour tang reached his nose then. He froze, and a cold sweat broke out at the back of his neck. He sniffed at the air, and his eyes widened.

“Hypnos!” Zagreus cried out when he realized. “Stop, your food is poisoned!”

For a moment, no one moved.

Then Hypnos let out a bright, breathless laugh.

"Oh, this?" Hypnos asked. He held up a little bottle with a purple liquid inside, and giggled a bit more. "You got me. This is just part of my profession, you know. Keeps me on top of my business. If I need a target to trust me, sometimes I may have to sip at his poisoned tankard. You know how it is."

“Oh… I—” Zagreus sputtered, unsure of what to make of it. He glanced at Thanatos, who simply shrugged.

“You have a sharp nose,” Hypnos said. “That was just a drop, a little microdosing. How’d you catch it?”

Zagreus panicked. He had no way to explain himself, only that the smell wafting from Hypnos’ plate was making his eyes water and his head spin. “Oh, no, I just—I’m only, um, I’ve had some apothecary training.” Reading one book counted, right?

Charon motioned with a slow point of his finger. “Hhh…” he breathed. Something about the tone came across as skeptical.

“Yeah, you must live an interesting life,” Hypnos said, taking another bite of his toxic food, “to have training like that and saving Thanatos. How did you two meet?”

“I, well, I mean, he—”

“I’m sorry, but we’re waiting to talk more about that with Mother,” Thanatos interrupted. “I don’t mean to be cryptic. But it may not yet be safe to discuss.”

Hypnos grinned and took another mouthful with a shrug. Charon made his hand into a fist on the table, narrowing his eyes, but didn’t speak.

“Charon doesn’t like risks,” Thanatos said to Zagreus. “Risks aren’t good for the family business. He was once hired out as Hypnos and I are, but now he manages the estate. He’s very careful about his coin.”

“Hhrahh…” he said in agreement.

"Trust me, Charon," Thanatos said evenly. "The risk is not from Zagreus, but other forces outside him. I wouldn't bring harm to our doorstep."

***

The remainder of their meal had been stilted with awkward conversation and silence. Zagreus had the sinking feeling that Hypnos and Charon didn’t think favorably toward a stranger showing up at dinner with no real explanation.

When they all quickly made their excuses to leave, Hypnos and Charon drifting away to their respective rooms in the manor, Zagreus let out a small sigh of relief. Maybe human dinners weren’t anything to get excited about.

In unspoken agreement, Zagreus trailed behind Thanatos back to his room. By now there may have been a space made elsewhere for Zagreus, but they both knew they were more comfortable with one another.

“I’m sorry I didn’t warn you sooner about Hypnos,” Thanatos said as they walked through empty halls. The staff had turned in for the evening, and only guards remained posted at the gates. “I didn’t even think about how it would feel for you.”

“I imagine it’s not something you want to go around telling everyone, either,” Zagreus said. “It’s alright, I’m sorry I didn’t ask you before blurting out like that.”

Thanatos smiled at him. “It was sweet, really. You know, you could probably do very well in Hypnos’ trade. A nose like that is invaluable.”

Zagreus shivered. “No, I don’t think I have the stomach for it. I don’t relish in killing.”

They reached Thanatos’ room, and lingered in the hallway for a moment.

“Have you had to kill before?” Thanatos asked him softly.

“I would fight the lesser monsters that tried to take up residence in our home. Dragons… attract a lot of trouble, you could say. I will do what I have to. But for that to be my only purpose…” He trailed off, looking at Thanatos nervously. “I don’t think I could do what you do.”

He stared at him, looking a bit lost in thought, before nodding. He gave Zagreus a slight smile. “I hope we can get you your answers.”

Their eyes locked on one another, and for a moment, they simply stood together. Thanatos slowly reached a hand out, and Zagreus’ eyes widened when a gentle hand cupped his cheek. He brought his own hand to the back of Than’s, and leaned into the touch, closing his eyes.

“Are you ready to go to b—”

Zagreus cut off Than’s question by bringing their lips together. A startled gasp slipped from him, before he hummed and returned the kiss. Zagreus wrapped his arms around Thanatos’ broad shoulders, and let out a long, relieved sigh into their shared breath.

He faintly heard the sound of a hand blindly smacking the wood of the door before Than found the knob and opened it, the two of them tumbling inside.

Zagreus pressed against him, every thought blazing with the contact of skin, the touch of the gossamer fabric under his fingertips, the taste of Thanatos flooding his senses. He lost himself in the comfort of his touch.

His foot bumped the leg of a nightstand, and he came back to himself in a rush. “Than, is this alright? I’m sorry, I just—”

“It’s alright,” Than said, and tugged him down onto the bed with him. He hadn’t even been paying attention to where they were in the room, and he felt an aroused flush burn on his cheeks at the realization. “Please, can we… can we keep kissing?”

His voice was so raw and soft, Zagreus felt his heart stutter in his chest. In answer, he bent down to kiss him deeply. Experimentally, he drew his tongue across Than’s bottom lip, and Than let out a delicious moan, opening his mouth for him.

A very different sort of fire filled Zagreus then, his heartbeat rushing in his ears, desire clouding his every thought. He drank in the taste of Thanatos, his tongue exploring every inch of him.

“You—that—mph…” Than gasped out incoherently between kisses.

Zagreus hesitated, pulling back with a questioning hum. He focused on leveling out his breath, coming in desperate pants, trying to keep the taste of ash back in his throat.

“It…” Than let out a breathless chuckle. “It feels good, and not just in the obvious way. I hadn’t realized how sore I still was…”

Zagreus flushed. “Oh… I’m glad I could help,” he murmured, and bit his lip, feeling a pang of regret at not noticing sooner that Than was hurting. “My poor knight…” he said, and kissed him gently.

“My kind dragon,” he breathed in return against his lips.

Thanatos shifted his angle underneath him, and Zagreus couldn’t help the startled groan of pleasure as his thigh grazed his arousal. A desperate hunger overtook him, and he dragged his tongue roughly down Than’s neck. Than let out a choked whimper, hands clutching at his tunic.

Zagreus sucked a bruising kiss into the side of Than’s throat, and then heard something tear. He froze, startled, and pulled back.

Where his hand had been gripping the sheets, claws had torn through the linen. His heart hammered in his chest, and he looked at the state of himself.

“What’s wrong?” Than asked, needy hands trailing at Zagreus’ waist, tugging the fabric.

“Than, I’m—I’m sorry, can we stop?” he said, closing his eyes and trying to control himself. “I’m hanging on by a thread, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t—”

“Than, thank you for trusting me, but please. I’m at my limit right now.” He shuddered, fighting down a nervous flutter of smoke in his chest. “I only—this is the first I’ve ever fully taken this form. I can’t push it yet. I’m sorry.”

They reluctantly slid apart from one another, and Zagreus tried taking a steadying breath. The scent of Thanatos beside him continued to ignite his desire, coiling dangerously in his chest. He had to stop himself with a hand over his mouth.

“I’m sorry, do you mind if I open a window?” he asked, feeling foolish.

“Of course. Don’t apologize. Tell me what you need.”

“I just need fresh air for a moment…” he mumbled, and forced himself from the bed.

He moved to the big arched window on the other side of the room and flicked the latch. A large pane swung outward, and he took a ragged breath.

He felt his dragon form acutely beneath the surface of his human skin, roiling restlessly inside him, urging him to do something, take flight, go back to Than, anything. But he calmed himself, letting the chilly evening air still him. The outside air tasted like moss and clay, an autumnal scent that let his heart beat slow.

“Alright, I think I’m alright.” He turned toward Than in bed, watching him carefully. “Sorry, I just needed to—”

As he moved to close the window, the pane erupted into an explosion of glass shards. Zagreus cried out and dropped to the floor, glass embedding itself into his palms and knees. A knife clattered to the ground next to him.

“Zagreus!” Thanatos cried out, and he could hear him run over toward him.

“No, don’t!” he yelled, as he heard a familiar disturbance in the wind.

He held himself in front of Than as a figure leapt in through the broken window, her cloak flaring out around her, blocking out the moonlight.

“You should have listened to me the first time,” Megaera said.

Chapter Text

When the window shattered, something broke inside of Thanatos as well.

Thanatos watched, frozen, as Zagreus lunged for the first weapon to his right, a long spear that had been a gift from Thanatos’ older sister. He held it up just in time to block a blow from Megaera’s dagger swiping at his face.

"Meg, stop! You don't have to do this!"

"Show them what you really are! You think you're welcome here? One slip up and you're dead—they’ll swarm you, clumsy and angry. Nothing like the mercy at my hands."

"Leave them out of this!"

"They're a family of murderers, Zagreus! If you think you're safer with them than your own kind, you're dreaming."

Megaera lashed out with knives in each hand, Zagreus dropped low and lunged forward, spear clattering to the floor as he threw himself at her middle. She moved with his inertia, letting the weight of him draw them both back before she turned and threw him to the ground behind her.

Fire flickered over his form, and when he righted himself, it was a clawed hand against the wood grain that steadied him, and his horns had reappeared, swirling bright crimson to ember yellow at the tips by his ears. A frustrated gasp of smoke and embers spilled from his lips. He reached for the spear once more.

Thanatos collected himself in that moment, forcing himself through his state of shock. He dashed toward the first weapon he could reach, the ornate scythe that was mounted on the wall near his bed. He swirled the scythe in an arc behind his back into his dominant hand and took a deep breath.

Zagreus cried out, “Than, don’t—”

The flash of moonlight on steel was his only warning. By pure reflex and years of training, he knocked aside one of Megaera’s thrown knives with the curve of his blade.

“This isn’t your fight, Death Knight,” she said lowly when he met her intense gaze. “Stay out of this.”

“You don’t get to decide that for me,” he answered, and swung.

Megaera rolled under the blade of the scythe. As she stood, Zagreus moved to pin her under the shaft of the spear, forcing her to focus her attention on pushing him off of her.

Thanatos moved in close, and brought the curve of his scythe to her neck. She stilled.

“We’ve heard your warning,” he said. “Now leave this place or forfeit your life.”

Calculating copper eyes hardened, and she grit her teeth. “If you think that’s enough to stop an assassin of the Dragon King, you weren’t paying attention.”

In one sinuous motion, she twisted herself and kicked upward so that Zagreus toppled over her. He yelped and dropped the spear in an ungraceful clatter to avoid stabbing Thanatos. Thanatos tried to stop her by swinging for her throat, but a jarring swipe of pink knocked the scythe from his hands.

Megaera stood, frustratingly unharmed, with knives between the knuckles of her left hand, and leather whip, dyed the vibrant pink of the underside of her cloak in her right.

She lashed her whip in a menacing arc, and the both of them balked. Thanatos’ heart hammered in his chest.

“Than,” Zagreus gasped. “Than, run—”

“Enough!” she snapped.

Her whip cracked. Thanatos flinched—it flew past his right side. He tried to step forward, to Zagreus, but the tail of it caught his ankles. It seemed to go exactly as Megaera hoped, because in just a heartbeat, he’d gotten himself hopelessly tangled. He struggled upright for a moment, before toppling to his side, knocking his head on something. He blinked back stars and tried to focus on finding the end of the whip to free himself.

Megaera no longer found him a concern, and rounded on Zagreus.

She lunged at him with another handful of knives. He ducked from one, blocked another with his horn, but the third sliced through the fabric on his upper arm, grazing him.

He grunted, but to Thanatos it didn’t seem like it was from pain. Scales peppered his skin, and he trembled.

He was struggling to stay in his human form.

“You only think about yourself,” Megaera snarled. “Word of your actions is spreading to all the dragons. Some even support your foolishness, think that dragons should lower themselves to intermingle with humans once more. Your father has rallied his own forces. You have to return and tell them all to stop this, that humans and dragons are better off leaving one another alone.”

“Father can summon all the forces he wants, that doesn’t make it my fault!”

“Are you even listening to me?” she demanded, voice rising with anger.

She threw all of her weight behind her motion, sending Zagreus careening in a heap on the floor into a bookshelf, a handful of novels fluttering to the ground around him like dead birds. A few trailed smoke as they fell, the heat coming off of him making the pages smolder.

“Centuries of peace—gone! In an instant. How many dragons dead? How many human villages caught in the crossfire? How much death will you need on your hands before you regret your stubbornness?”

“If you’re going to kill me, can you just hurry up?” Zagreus barked, throwing a book that had landed on his shoulder to the floor. “I don’t need a lecture before my last breath. You don’t know anything, this war was in motion when Father cast my mother out! You think he doesn’t deserve his own consequences?” He pounded a hand flat to his chest. “You think I’m not also a victim in this?”

Zagreus trembled up to a stand, and Thanatos held his breath. Never had he felt so useless in a fight. He agonized over strategy, while his heart pounded and fear made his thoughts muddy. In the last few hours he’d been too relaxed, too vulnerable—he was paying for it now. All of his tricks for keeping himself steady failed utterly. Nausea swirled in his gut as his head reeled.

“She left of her own volition,” Megaera said, the fire behind her words sputtering, throwing each word through gritted teeth. “And it doesn’t matter how wronged you feel."

Thanatos could have choked on the weight of the air as they fell silent. Zagreus heaved several breaths, fists clenching and unclenching. Thanatos could see half moon beads of red where his claws had dug into his palms.

Something inside Zagreus seemed to give away. His shoulders sagged, and while he didn’t fall back to the floor, he leaned a weak hand against the wall. All the fight seemed to leave him in a rush. He leveled his gaze at Megaera. She didn't even blink, her coppery eyes almost glowing in the moonlight.

"Well?" Zagreus said finally. He flicked at some glass shards that had been in his forearm.

"I'm not going to kill you, Zagreus."

“Oh, sorry, my mistake, all these new injuries and broken windows must just be your way of saying hello,” he retorted.

“I had to make it look real,” she snapped. “My sisters are in the woods.”

Zagreus paled, and Thanatos sensed that he very much did not want to meet the sisters.

“I’m going to tell them you ran crying to this human family and they summoned their forces and that I had to retreat. I’ve done all I can do, anyway. Even if you were killed, I don’t think it would stop this war that’s brewing.”

“Thank you, Megaera,” he said.

“Don’t thank me,” she bit out. “I’m not doing this for you. If your mother really is out there…” She shook her head. “Nevermind.”

She turned toward Thanatos, who had frozen in his useless struggle to get out of his bind. She untied him, and he held his breath.

“I hope you humans know what you’re doing,” she said to him. This close, he could see the slit of her pupil, feel the distinctly inhuman aura about her. “If anyone dies, it’s on both of your hands.”

Thanatos nodded. “Humans and dragons existed together once before. You and I are both proof of that. It’s possible.”

She scoffed. As she turned away, she said, “You and I are both proof of how deadly that is.”

Zagreus seemed to have regained control of himself. He coughed once, a plume of smoke leaving his lips, but otherwise his other dragon features that had slipped out of his control vanished in a flicker of flame.

“Well, that was exciting!”

Thanatos turned to see his brothers standing in the door. Hypnos must’ve been dragged here by Charon, if his disheveled appearance and pajamas were any indication of how hard he’d been sleeping. He had managed to throw on his belt of poisons, and Thanatos thought he saw him slip one unopened bottle back into its holster.

Charon’s looming figure was imposing even without a weapon in hand. His robe draped over his broad frame, giving him an unearthly appearance. Thanatos wasn’t sure what he would’ve done, but he’s grateful he won’t have to find out.

“Hypnos, Charon,” he said. “Don’t worry, we’ve got it…” he trailed off as he turned back to where Megaera had been, only to find she was gone. “...handled.” He tried to look out the broken window for a trace of her, but didn’t see anything.

“She does that,” Zagreus said. He heaved himself down to the floor with a groan. “It was so nice of her to stop by.” He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

“So he’s a dragon, huh? Wow, Thanatos, you really know how to pick ‘em,” Hypnos said cheerily. “Mom’s gonna love this.”

Thanatos grimaced. “I hope you’re right…”

Charon walked over to where Zagreus was recovering on the ground. He held out his hand.

“Oh, thank you, Charon,” Zagreus said, and reached out to take it.

Charon slapped him away, and then held his own hand back out again, insistent. Zagreus glanced over to Thanatos.

“Ah, he wants you to pay!” Hypnos said with a grin.

Zagreus blinked, looking dumbfounded.

“For the damages?” Hypnos added, pointing with his thumb.

Charon let out an annoyed sound.

“Oh, um…” Zagreus scratched his head. “How do you feel about gemstones?”

***

They all came to an easy agreement not to tell the rest of the estate about Zagreus’ identity until Lady Nyx returned. Hypnos and Charon understood their hesitation to tell them the truth in the first place, but they seemed hurt and disapproving, respectively.

As much as he had to be grateful for, Zagreus couldn’t help but feel deeply bitter. His body ached, not just from getting thrown around by Meg, but also from the warring he’d done with the limits of his abilities to keep his human shape. It felt like every muscle and sinew had been stretched and put back together again.

And all that just for a very convincing warning. As usual, Megaera was efficient, loyal, and hard working. He couldn’t begrudge her that, even if the glass in his arm still stung.

“—for you, Zag?”

He blinked and realized he’d been dozing, his chin propped on his fist where they were sitting at the small table in Than’s room. There was still a mess of books and furniture and glass, but at least they could have a somewhat private family meeting to make their plans.

“I’m sorry, Than, can you say that again?” he asked sheepishly.

“Is there anything else we can do for you, Zag?” he repeated, brows furrowed.

“You all not killing me or throwing me out immediately is enough, please,” he said quickly, waving a hand dismissively. “I just need some sleep. I’m sorry this happened.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Than said, and took the hand he had been waving in both of his own. “I’ve never… I’ve never frozen like that in a fight before. I should’ve done more for you. I let you get hurt.”

“Please, if you’d done more, Meg would’ve had to hurt you and me to keep up her facade. I’m glad you didn’t.” Zagreus felt guilt swirling in his stomach at the anguish on Than’s face. “Let’s get some sleep and then we can take turns feeling sorry for ourselves in the morning, hm?” He tried to laugh but it came out forced.

Hypnos let out a wide yawn, stretching his arms out. Charon gruffly batted one stray arm out of his annoyed face. “I couldn’t agree more,” Hypnos said sleepily. “Except the ‘sorry for ourselves’ part. I’ll leave that for you two.”

“Thanks, Hypnos,” Thanatos deadpanned. “Goodnight, brothers. I’ll speak with you more at breakfast.”

Charon and Hypnos filed out, and Zagreus slumped over onto the table with a pitiful groan.

“If only your magic could heal you as well,” Thanatos said softly.

“Doesn’t work that way, unfortunately,” he mumbled into the wood. He turned to peek one eye at Than. “Do you need any healing?”

“No, I’m—fine, barely a scratch on me. My head got a little knocked around, but I’ll manage,” he said.

Zagreus smiled. He sat up and leaned over, pressing a soft kiss to Than, who accepted with a small noise of surprise. Zagreus carefully opened his mouth, not interested in anything overly arousing as his body currently screamed in protest, but wanting to make Than at least feel better.

They pulled back gently, and Than looked at him with a torn expression. “Thank you,” he murmured. “Do you… are you okay in your human form?”

Zagreus winced. “Holding up a lot better than I would’ve just a few days ago. This has definitely been a real learning experience for me.”

“Would it help if you were a dragon for a bit?”

Zagreus shrugged. “It might? But I can’t risk it, I can’t risk Meg or her sisters seeing me outside. Meg won’t be able to keep me alive again if they see me.”

“There’s actually somewhere you could change in the house,” Than said.

“There is? Can you show me?”

He nodded and when they stood, Than looked remarkably more steady. Zagreus felt like a strong wind would knock him back down.

Than led him down the quiet halls of the estate, their footsteps echoing around them. They avoided any entrances and exits where the night guards were posted, slipping instead down side hallways and hidden staircases. Finally, they reached what Zagreus assumed to be the basement.

It was cavernous and pitch dark. Zagreus couldn’t make out the extent of the size, even with his capable vision. Than grabbed a torch from somewhere.

“Could you?” he asked, holding it toward him.

“Ah, sure,” Zagreus said. He inhaled deeply to his belly, and then let out a stream of flame. The torch took it up quickly, popping a few times from what Zagreus guessed was years of sitting unused in a damp basement.

And then his jaw dropped.

It was a giant room, fit enough for even the most ancient of dragons. In the center piled an enormous hoard. Nothing like the small hill of gemstones Zagreus had been collecting for most of his life. This was something a dragon had obviously spent millennia meticulously hoarding.

It was trinkets. Bobbles, dolls, coins hundreds of years out of circulation, tarnished jewelry, statues—any and all things that might have once been special to one person but undoubtedly would look like junk to the average human.

“Wow…” Zagreus murmured, awestruck. Zagreus’ curiosity outweighed his need for sleep, his exhaustion vanishing as he poked and prodded at the different treasures.

“This is reportedly the hoard our ancient ancestor Chaos had made for themself,” Than said. “Tchotchkes.” He cleared his throat, putting the torch into a sconce on the wall, where the dancing shadows it cast seemed to bring the pile of trinkets to life. “So, um, anyway, you can see it’s large enough in here if you need to…”

“Thank you for showing me, Than,” Zagreus said, the aches in his body not enough to keep the delighted grin from his face. He picked up a dainty wooden box, and let out a delighted gasp when a figurine with wings lifted atop a set of gears. He found the lever of the music box, gave it a handful of twists, and a twinkling melody echoing across the distant walls. “And yes, I will do that.”

He stepped away from Than, and relaxed all the tension in his body. Then, easy as breathing, he let the fire of his magic out from every pore, melting into the change back to his dragon form.

The relief was instant, and he couldn’t help but puddle down to the ground in bliss. He was only dimly aware of Thanatos laying his robe out like a blanket and curling up against him. The music box chimed along its melody for a few more moments, ending on a delicate note that seemed to fill the room long after it faded.

He counted three of Thanatos' breaths before sleep took him.