Elf Defence (Adventures in Aguillon #2) - Lisa Henry Page 0,37
remains of the historical fountain!”
“I know,” Calarian said. “We saw the troll running from the monster. That we defeated, by the way.”
“You’re welcome,” Benji muttered.
Calarian raised his eyebrows. “Was anyone hurt?”
Gunther’s lips thinned, and Calarian could feel the passive-aggressiveness rolling off him. “No, but they could have been!”
“But they weren’t,” Benji chipped in, after spitting out the corner of his sleeve. “Because Lars here had that great plan for the lookout to warn everyone to clear the path. So what’s the problem?”
Lars’s head whipped around and his eyes widened at hearing Benji's praise. He straightened up just the slightest bit, and Benji gave him a subtle thumbs up. Lars dipped his chin in acknowledgement and his expression changed from defeated to determined.
“The problem,” Gunther sneered, “is that this so-called ruler ran off and left the town unattended.”
Lars glanced over at Calarian, once again uncertain. Calarian gave him a nod and an encouraging smile, and mouthed remember, you're the duke.
Lars squared his shoulders at that, then inhaled deeply as if preparing himself for a challenge. “Actually,” he said, and his tone was firmer than Calarian expected, “I didn’t. I left you in charge. So if that’s a problem, does that mean you’re not fit to rule? Because that’s what it sounds like to me.”
“Oooh,” Benji said. “Nasty! I love it.”
Lars set his hands on his hips in a stance that made him look particularly heroic, and also made his lederhosen cling in all the right places, reminding Calarian forcibly of the plans that Gunter had interrupted.
“Also,” Lars said, wearing what Calarian could only think of as the Eyebrows of Disappointment, “instead of passing on the message I entrusted you with, you lied about my absence and accused me publicly of being a coward, and as your duke I don’t appreciate it.”
“I thought he was a cowherd?” Benji whispered.
Calarian elbowed him in the ribs. He watched, fascinated, as Lars seemed to find an inner strength, puffed his chest out further, and prodded Gunther in the chest with his index finger, causing the man to stumble slightly. “I think maybe it’s time my royal advisors and I looked into making some changes around here. Starting with what, exactly your role is. Just because my father had a place for you, doesn’t mean I do.”
“It’s happening!” Benji hissed. “The revolution is coming!”
“Is it, though?” Calarian whispered. “I mean, Lars is technically one of the bad guys, since he’s the duke.”
Benji wrinkled his nose and looked disappointed. “I guess so.”
In the doorway of the castle, Gunther was drawing himself up like some sort of scrawny old bird of prey, all his dusty feathers ruffled. He jabbed Lars in the chest again. “Listen here, you little upstart–”
“I am the duke,” Lars shot back. “Me, Gunther, not you.” He stared imperiously. “And you’d better not forget it.”
And then he leaned forward, and flicked Gunther’s stupid feathered hat right off his stupid bald head.
“Wow. Lars is so hot right now,” Benji whispered.
Calarian nodded, a little weak in the knees. Who knew Lars could be so dominating? It certainly opened up a lot of new and interesting possibilities.
Gunther gaped. “H-how dare you!” He bent down and snatched his hat back off the ground. “You’ll regret this, cowherd!”
“Oooooh!” Benji exclaimed as Gunther stalked back inside the castle.
Lars waited until Gunther disappeared before he slumped, the air leaving him in a whoosh. “I can’t believe I just stood up to Gunther!”
“It was very brave and impressive,” Calarian said, wide eyed. “And super sexy.”
“Definitely super sexy,” Benji agreed, and began to unlace his pants.
Calarian slapped him in the stomach. “Benji!”
“What?” Benji asked. “We all agreed it was super sexy, so what are we waiting for?”
“An invitation!” Calarian hissed, elbowing him. “And a bed!”
Benji elbowed him back, glaring, and snapped his suspenders for good measure. Then they both stood there and stared questioningly at Lars. Calarian rubbed his stinging nipple.
Lars stared back at them for one long, frozen moment, and then the corner of his mouth quirked into a mischievous smile. His eyes sparkled, and he nodded at the door. “Come on then,” he said. “Race you to my bedroom.”
All three of them bolted inside.
Chapter Ten
Lars’s bedroom was clearly Duke Klaus’s old room. Benji might have felt a bit bad about accidentally killing the guy and then fucking his replacement on his bed, except he was so looking forward to the part where everyone got naked that the circumstances that had led to this moment