"Is he okay?" Kyo stole a glance over one thin shoulder at where Willow lay sprawled over Val's lap, hands clutching white-knuckled at the bedspread, a film of sweat covering his livid skin. The Key's face was contorted and they could hear his whimpering from across the room.

"He'll be okay," Ria replied, brows creasing. "This is the sort of working that should be stretched out over a period of weeks, but we don't have that kind of time." He grimaced and finished his juice, then stood.

Val looked up as he approached the bed, one hand smoothing back his Bonded's tangled, colorless braids. The hair was one feature of Willow's appearance they wouldn't be able to change - at least, not right away - but it wouldn't matter too much. Willow's face was flushed, screwed up in pained lines, and Val's face echoed the agony as he met his twin's eyes.

"You should sleep now," Ria told his brother firmly. "Both of you, if you can get him to sleep."

Willow made a sound, halfway between sob and snarl. "And you told me I'd never have to go through that kind of pain again," he gritted, looking up at Val. "It feels like you've been flaying me alive!"

"Willow - I-" Val's face twisted with dismay.

"Do you want to get out of the Palace?" Ria interrupted. "Because if you'd rather stay here, we can stop the working right now."

"Ria!" Val growled.

"Might hurt a bit more if we had to put it back on, of course," Ria continued clinically. "Which we would, if we left you here."

"I get it, okay?" Willow choked, squeezing his eyes shut. He lowered his head to rest on Val's lap again. "I'm not very good with pain."

*And you're HERE?* Ria nearly blurted, but kept his mouth shut. He'd said enough for tonight. He was ready for a good meal and a good long lay...oh, wait, he was supposed to be abstaining. Dammit! Well, that meant they had more time to get to know each other.

"Is there any way to do this without the nerve-searing agony?" Willow croaked, opening a scarlet eye. One hand had released the coverlet and rested on Val's leg. Val's fingers crept over Willow's in the next instant.

"Yes, we could knock you out," Ria said succinctly.

"That's so helpful," Willow said witheringly, shutting his eye again.

Val glowered at him, stroking the boy's pale braids. *What are you doing?*

Ria winked at him. *Giving him something else to focus on.*

*Oh.* Val glanced back down at the strained face that would have been white if his skin weren't currently a livid, raw color all over. When the skin healed, though, he would no longer be branded with the willow-bark pattern of the slave tattoo, a dark claim on his entire body. They'd put extra effort into it so that once he recovered from the working, his skin would actually be a normal color and not the albino's pale hue. If he no longer fit the description of the Willow Key, their escape would be that much easier.

"Kyo," Ria called, turning from Val and his Bonded. It was time to go before they fell into some disgusting display of public affection.

"Yes?" The redhead appeared at his elbow, ears perked.

"I think we've done enough damage here for now," he cocked his head at the half-youko. "We should get back to the Birch room and let these two sleep." They certainly wouldn't have energy for anything else.

"All right," Kyo nodded, sneaking glances at Val and Willow. His expression was indecipherable.

Once they had returned to the room, Ria stretched, yawned widely, and spun around, eyeing the boy who had remained timidly near the door. "Hey, food is included with the price of the room, isn't it?" he asked hopefully.

Kyo bobbed his head. "Of course." He looked at Ria shyly. "Food isn't the primary source of income for the Palace, so they don't bother charging for it."

"Good!" Ria rubbed his hands together. "I'm starved...fleshworking isn't easy by any means, and removing a tattoo like Willow's is more work than I've done in weeks. *That* kind of working, at any rate." He winked at Kyo.

"I'll order some food, then," the boy said. He paused halfway out the door with an apprehensive look.

"And make sure anyone who tries to touch you knows that they risk *my* displeasure," Ria lifted a finger. "After all, you're busy seeing to my needs, not theirs."

Kyo bowed his head. "You did pay for me," he murmured.

"Hey." Ria joined him by the door, brushing thick red hair away from the small, triangular face. "What I paid for was your right not to be forced. Understand?" He tilted up the pert face and golden eyes met his with reluctance.

Kyo bit his lip. "You shouldn't be so nice to me." He twisted free and disappeared out the door.

Ria stared after him before shutting the door. Part of him was transfixed by the way the boy's rear and long slender legs moved in those diaphanous pants. The rest was puzzled by what he'd said - why shouldn't he be nice? Hardly anyone was nice to him; that much was clear. So why shouldn't he... Ria lapsed against the carved wood, trying to think it through. He wanted to make things better for the boy, especially once they were free of Austen.

*At least leave him alone until we're out of here, otouto!*

*I will, I will,* Ria thought back unrepentantly. *But every step of the way it's going to be his choice. Okay? So back off and don't give me anymore grief!*

There was silence for a long moment. *All right, Ria. I trust you.*

*Why, thank-*

*I think,* Val concluded, and laughter swirled in the back of his head as Ria sputtered his indignant curses.

When Kyo returned with a large tray, he would have eaten his meal in a corner of the room, leaving Ria at the table by himself.

"What are you doing?" Ria gestured at the seat opposite him. "Don't be silly, you're eating with me."

The boy dragged himself over to the table, eyes lowered. "All right," he murmured.

"Kyo, what's wrong?" Ria asked outright, concerned. He brought up the words that had been troubling him. "What do you mean by 'I shouldn't be so nice to you?'"

Kyo remained silent, heavy red-gold bangs fringing his eyes.

"Talk to me, kiddo," Ria said. "If you don't tell me, I won't know what's wrong."

"You shouldn't be so nice," Kyo whispered, "because it makes me want more." His head stayed down.

That was it. Ria leaned back, expelling a breath. Kyo hadn't said he knew he couldn't have more; he expressed that in his posture, in his whole attitude. He might not expect more than kindness - he hadn't even had that much - but it didn't mean he wasn't longing for it.

"What if you can have more?" Ria said slowly.

"Don't," Kyo said, the word pinching off in the middle with a sob. "Please don't tease me like that; you've been so nice but I don't expect-"

Ria was flabbergasted. What had brought on such a dramatic shift? Before they had left the Birch room earlier today, Kyo had been shy but smiling, accepting the hope of 'once they were free.' Now, he was close to a nervous wreck, thin shoulders shaking. Had it just been seeing Val and Willow like that? Perhaps... knowing what Willow had been before, and seeing what he was now, to Val.

"I'm not teasing you!" he exclaimed. He was up out of his chair and kneeling by Kyo's side with a flick of his tail. "Kyo, I..." Ria stopped, frustrated. He'd been so confident he could handle this shy, hurt little kitling and now he was making a mess of things. He couldn't even touch the boy.

"You're not," Kyo gulped, turning to look at him. Slender long-fingered hands extended, hesitantly, and Ria wrapped his own around them. Had he said that out loud? "I'm the one who's making a mess of things."

"No, you're not," Ria said firmly. He tilted his head, looking up into the golden eyes very like his but larger, and full of far more hurt than he'd seen in his peaceful life. "Kyo, I'm not teasing. I don't know how to say this, but I think...well, I've been looking all this time but not really seeing...shards, not that...what I *mean* is that I've never reacted this way, not like I have with you...oh, curse it." He broke off, frustrated. The tongue that was usually so glib on so many occasions was coming to a fumbling halt.

Kyo was smiling again, expression a little bewildered but definitely amused. "It's okay."

"No, it's not," Ria argued, resting their joined hands on Kyo's lap. The silk of his diaphanous pants was unbelievably soft. "I want you to understand-" He stopped again, confused now. How was he supposed to explain to a half-youko who'd been locked up all his life that Ria thought *he* was his intended Bondmate?

"You just did," Kyo mumbled, bangs falling in his eyes again.

Ria stared at the kitling. "Now, I know I didn't say it out loud that time."

"No," Kyo agreed, cringing.

"I'm not going to hit you," Ria said, keeping his voice soft. "I'm just surprised! How long have you been able to hear me?"

Kyo's brows drew together. "Um, since you stepped out of the garbage heap."

Ria began to chuckle helplessly. "You call that love at first sight?" He kept laughing while Kyo looked on, expression confused, until tears streamed from his eyes. "I never did think it would happen that way..."

"What's so funny?" Kyo asked him, tugging on one hand.

"Val always told me I'd find love when I stopped looking." Ria told him, perfectly straight-faced. "I certainly wasn't looking for anything but a bath and a hot meal, after lying in that garbage for a few hours!"

It surprised a laugh out of his kitling.

"So, don't you get it?" Ria said earnestly, freeing one hand to brush Kyo's heavy bangs out of his eyes. He wanted to be able to see them; Kyo already had an unfair advantage, seeing his thoughts. "It means we *are* meant to be Bonded. You can't hear anyone else, can you?"

"No," Kyo admitted. He whimpered. "I wouldn't want to hear anyone else. You and Val are the first men who've ever been nice to me."

"You don't have to worry about that anymore," Ria soothed. "We're getting out of here. We'll go to my fathers' estate; it's a province over." That would make three provinces he'd fled in as many weeks...a record, even for him!

Kyo looked at him, a hint of a smile forming. "And the Bond?"

"We'll do that once we get there," Ria assured him.

"Here, you've got to eat."

"Don't touch me. Everything hurts."

"Now you're just being a baby," Val told him, curled up cross-legged beside the boy, who was propped against a mountain of pillows. "You've had all night to heal. When I woke up this morning, I used as much healing magic as I dared. You should *not* be in any pain." He held out a slice of bread.

"All right then, everything itches," Willow told him, glancing down at his reddened skin. Tentatively he ran his hands over the livid flesh, crimson eyes incredulous.

"Don't scratch it," Val warned, mouth twitching. He could feel Willow's amazement that the tattoo was completely gone. "You'd make yourself bleed, and it would be a pity after all that work!"

"Callous," Willow accused, finally accepting the slice of bread. "How long until we leave?"

Val considered it. "A few days," he replied. "We have to wait until your skin heals, and it's not like we're in any rush. You should be feeling better by tomorrow, or the day after at the latest. I'm not sure if we should do your eyes now, or then."

"My eyes?" Willow's hands went involuntarily to his face. "What about them?"

"We can either lighten the color and make them blue, or we can darken them and go to purple," Val told him. "Ria will do the delicate work - I'll have to put you under. But they'll be looking for a boy with pale skin and red eyes."

Willow considered it. "Purple," he decided finally. "My...I think my mother's eyes might have been violet."

Val smiled.

The boy lapsed against the pillows. "I'm really going to be free, aren't I?" In spite of the hopeful words his tone was still suspicious, eyes accusing as he glared at Val.

"I promised you," Val told him, leaning close and pressing a kiss to the boy's cheek.

Willow winced.

"Ahh, sorry," Val rubbed his head sheepishly. "I guess this means we won't be indulging our passions over the next few days?"

"Don't even think it," Willow said dangerously. He snapped his teeth together.

It was Val's turn to wince.

Kyo watched, holding his breath in, as the dark-haired youko leaned over the motionless Key, hands at Willow's temples. They had been like that for a long time. He was worried, and he could sense the strain rippling through Valteria's mind. It was odd to 'feel' someone else like this, but even more odd, it seemed natural and easy..

"There," Ria leaned back, expelling a sigh, half-collapsing on the couch pulled up close to the bed. "Done. Took me long enough."

"You're out of practice," Valirion teased his brother. Valteria made a rude gesture in response.

Willow's eyes stared up sightlessly at the ceiling, a rich, unblinking violet.

"You can bring him back now," Ria told the other youko, and Valirion nodded, breath hissing from between his teeth.

"His skin looks good," Valteria said conversationally.

Valirion nodded. "I've been using some healing, here and there. That's why I had you do his eyes."

Slowly, Willow blinked. His pupils contracted as he focused on the face above him.

"Welcome back, beautiful," Valirion murmured. It was a very private tone.

It felt like *they* shouldn't be here. Kyo moved over to Valteria, not wanting to watch those two for too long. It made him feel strange, his throat tight, body tense with a yearning he was slowly coming to recognize as more than just lust. He touched Ria's elbow. "I'll go get some juice," he offered.

Ria's brilliant smile was reward by itself. "Thank you, Kyo."

He closed the door of the Willow suite behind him and sighed. He was motionless for a moment, then scurried up the hall. He wanted Valteria to look at him like that. He'd never...well, he'd never *wanted* anyone the way he wanted Valteria. He knew Ria would be gentle with him, that he would make it good, but it was more than that...after all, it wasn't sex in Valirion's eyes that made his chest feel tight and achy. It was the tenderness and intensity of emotion that he wanted. Valirion *loved* the Key.

He put an order in with the kitchens for a tray of beverages and snacks. He knew that, like the last time, all three of them would be ravenous - Valirion and Valteria for the magical energy they had been expending, and Willow for the energy his body used up in coping with the sudden alterations.

Willow's skin did look much better - and it wasn't nearly so pale as it had been before the youko had begun their working. It was almost like Kyo's. They would be leaving soon.

He sucked in a breath. Leaving the Palace - he could hardly believe it.

A tremor of fright shook him. The last time, it had cost him his entire family. His mother was dead, and he didn't know what had happened to Kino or his father. He only knew his father had been hurt, but he thought Kino had to be alive, somewhere... Maybe Valteria would help him look!

He couldn't believe they were leaving, just like that...there had to be some catch; something had to go wrong. He felt it.

Rough hands grabbed him from behind and Kyo squirmed, writhing eel-like from the hands of his would-be molester. *Valteria, I'm with Valteria, you can't...* "I'm with Val-" he blurted, chopping off his words when he saw who it was.

It was the big fat man. The one who'd had his soldiers hold Kyo, while he pinched and slapped and threatened to take him on the table and do worse. The one who was looking for youko Valirion.

Kyo shivered and backed up but the big man was quick, his thick fingers biting into Kyo's shoulders as he grabbed him.

"That's exactly what I was hoping," the big man rumbled. "Now take me to the Willow Key."

Kyo squirmed. "I can't," he whimpered. Hot tears welled up in the corners of his eyes and he tried to hold them back, hating his helplessness. *I can't do that to Ria! I won't lead him to Ria and his twin!*

"Oh?" Beady eyes glinted down at him cruelly. "Maybe you need a little persuasion." The hands gripped him with bruising force as Briggs dragged him up the hall.

"No!" Kyo squeaked, terrified. The hall was practically deserted, and he was being pushed towards a table beneath one of the large paintings. There was a *crack* and he saw stars as his cheekbone met the unyielding wooden surface.

"Won't take me to Val, hmm?" Briggs growled, shaking him, pushing him up against the table and pinning him in place with broad thighs. "Want me to give you a taste of what I'm gonna give him? Worthless little half-breed." The man fumbled with his breeches.

Kyo could taste something sour in his mouth. "Help," he whispered, hating himself for the weakness, cringing when Briggs shook with laughter. His pants slid down his thighs and the man pulled his erection free.

"This is what I'm going to give Val when I see him," Briggs grinned, pumping it. "And since you're being so unhelpful, half-breed, you get to go first."

It was huge. Kyo stared at it with the horrified fascination of a rabbit transfixed by the snake. He was going to be forced, again, and no one would do anything about it here. No one cared.

No one...

Ria cared!

*RIA!*

He didn't know if it worked that way. He could hear Valteria; he knew Ria could hear Valirion, but he didn't know if Ria could hear *him*. A heavy slap made his head rock, jerking his neck painfully.

"Ria," Kyo hiccupped. Oh, please...

He was wrenched around by the arms and deposited belly-down on the table. Kyo squirmed and something dripped from his upper lip. It spread scarlet blossoms over the dark wood - his nose was bleeding.

"Shut up and stop squirming," Briggs muttered, punching him in the back.

"Stop hurting me!" Kyo retorted, then clamped his teeth shut. As expected, Briggs cuffed the back of his head. Kyo nearly passed out. He clenched his teeth, vision wavering between gray and the dimly-lit hall.

*Ria, Ria!* Kyo wept almost silently. *I don't want to do this anymore!* He didn't want to do it with anyone but Valteria; he wanted the youko to erase every other hand that had touched him, every hand but Ria's to claim him.

A low growl reverberated through the hallway.

Kyo looked up but saw nothing; the weight that was pressing against his backside vanished abruptly and he lurched against the table, then clung and coughed harshly. He pushed himself upright and checked; his clothing was still intact, although his vest was torn.

A knife to either side of his neck, Briggs was pinned against the wall with a snarling Valteria - Ria? Yes, the hair was longer - with Ria at his throat. Kyo spared a second of bewilderment to wonder where he'd been keeping the knives; Valteria was dressed in very little.

"You!" Valteria hissed, obviously recognizing the big man, whose eyes bulged at the knives so close to his skin. "I should've cut off your balls when I had them at knife-point. So you're going around molesting boys now?"

"Anything to get to *you*," Briggs hissed back, face a mingled compound of loathing and lust.

"You're obsessed," Valteria said, disgusted. He glanced over at Kyo, face grim. "You okay, kitling?" His eyes blazed when he spotted Kyo's bloody nose.

"I'm fine," Kyo answered breathlessly and somewhat nasally as he pinched the brutalized organ to stem the flow of blood. He spoke the words Ria needed to hear. "He didn't...you got here in time."

Valteria's shoulders loosened with relief. "Thank the gods for that." He pulled a knife free of the wall and traced it up Briggs' cheek. "What shall I do with him, kitling? It's up to you."

"No," the denial rang out, the same voice from two throats. "It's up to *me*."

Valirion stalked up the hall, eyes fixed on his would-be rapist. Kyo shivered. There was nothing forgiving in that flat gold-metal gaze.

"Val?" Briggs gasped. "Two Vals..."

"Aren't you lucky, Briggs? Two Val Morgans." Ria laughed mockingly. "Unlucky, I should say. You want him so badly, and you didn't even know he had a twin hanging around, ready to help him out. *I'm* the one who nearly shaved your nut-hairs, Briggs."

Delmar Briggs growled and heaved against Ria's grip. The black youko snarled and shoved him up against the wall again, dagger-point a bare finger's length from the man's eye. Briggs stilled, fixated on his imminent death.

"Valteria Morgan, at your service," Ria grated, in parody of an introduction. "Kyo?"

Kyo hesitated. Both Valteria's and Valirion's anger was beating down around him. He had lost all interest in Briggs at the first sign of fear; the man was ready to wet himself, no danger to him anymore.

"This is mine, Ria," Val said in a hard, cold tone, completely unlike the smiling youko who had been so gentle to him. "He intended on raping me."

"He was *going* to rape Kyo," Ria snarled back, and for an instant Kyo caught a glimpse of two primal foxes in snappish rivalry, all instinct and very little civilization clinging to them. "I claim the right of punishment."

For a moment Val was tense and savage, a grim statue carved out of darkness, then he softened and laughed. There was very little humor in the sound. "Don't you see, little brother, we're arguing about the same thing?"

Ria's eyes flashed over his shoulder, hot gold. It made Kyo's mouth dry up in fright and unexpected desire. Valteria looked so scary, but at the same time he was thrilling. And he was angry because of what Briggs had been doing to him - no one had reacted like that before!

"Yes," Ria nodded slowly. The twins smiled identical, feral smiles. "Yes, that's a perfect punishment."

Kyo was utterly bewildered, not privy to the flash of mental communication between the twin siblings, but he was sure of one thing.

Bad Things were going to happen.

Willow paced tensely back and forth, wincing now and then as his healing skin protested. He was better enough to be up and moving around, but even the lightest of silk vests like he was wearing could feel like it chafed still-raw spots. Now more than ever, he felt like he was in a cage.

Val's twin Ria had erupted from the suite with barely more than a "Kyo! Trouble!" and they had stared after him, bewildered. Then Val's eyes had gone all unfocused and he shot off the bed, leaving Willow behind.

Locked in.

He'd almost made himself forget the sensation, being alone like this and vulnerable to whomever unlocked his door next. If not for the constant reassuring pressure of Val's mind against his, more or less, Willow could have dismissed everything that had gone before as a silly fantasy. True love couldn't happen for someone like *him*.

But the impossible had happened, and he was leaving, and he was in love.

*That's the first time you've admitted it, even in your thoughts,* Val's voice whispered in his head. Even caught up in his anger, racing down the hall, he had heard Willow's silent admission.

*It doesn't mean you can go all mushy on me, you silly youko,* Willow snapped back. There was no edge to it, though, and they both knew it.

Then Val was otherwise occupied.

Through their connection he could feel Val's boiling anger and, echoed through him, the overwhelming rage of Ria. Someone had done something to Kyo...to Val...no, he'd only *intended* on doing something to Val, until the youko had made good his escape but now he was *here*... Willow pressed his hands over his ears as if he could shut out the mental babble with only that.

As if in response, Val's intensity decreased.

Now they were on their way back to the suite. This was the source of Willow's tension. They were so close to escape; they couldn't afford to get caught now.

The door burst open and the twins dragged a man into the suite between them, identical looks of grim satisfaction on their faces. Delmar Briggs, Val's mind supplied for him, and he had come here for Val - in the process, nearly forcing Kyo.

"You're not going to kill him, are you?" Kyo was inquiring anxiously. He was disheveled and bleeding. Willow stared at him for a moment, then he went to fetch a cold washcloth from the bathroom.

"Pity, but no," Ria answered cheerfully.

"Worse," Val said at the same time.

Briggs was struggling between them as they chained him up near the bed. Ria reached around him casually and pinched something that made Briggs swear and go limp. He shouted curses, face turning purple with the effort. Willow smiled maliciously. He could try to scream the house down, if he chose; no one would come for him. At least, not until the Master checked out of the Palace. This he knew from personal experience.

"What's worse than killing him?" Kyo faltered, giving Willow a timid grateful smile as he returned with the washcloth. He began to wipe the blood from his face.

Willow looked up and found Val's eyes riveted on him. He couldn't look away despite rising discomfort. He thought he knew what the youko intended.

"What's worse than killing him?" Val repeated softly, holding Willow's gaze.

He answered promptly as Kyo continued to look puzzled. It made perfect sense, and it was a decisive way for Val to get rid of this enemy and for both youko's sense of vengeance to be appeased.

"Leaving him here, in my place."