💎A Collision of Fates💎 (Straight to Gay) (MxM) (18+)

48 - Adam and Chris

"Why do I always let you talk me into shit like this, Landel?" Vinton sighed and turned back to Adam and Chris, giving them an exhausted look. "We got lucky last time. This feels like pushing it."

Landel held his hands out towards the boards of wood that blocked a large, stone doorway.

Adam had to admit, he was feeling the same way. What they were doing was not within the mandate of the Crystal Vein Investigation Force. Like Tew had said, they needed to go through the proper channels to get permission to access the old dungeons below the Academy. But when had Landel ever gotten permission?

Slowly, very slowly, Landel tore the pieces of wood off of the stone walls, ripping them from the nails that held them over the door. The sound was quiet, but loud enough to echo through the empty, dark hallways of the lowest floor.

"Shit," Landel said, sweat beading his brow as he dropped the board into Chris's hand. "Keep watch." He turned back and began to work on the next piece.

Vinton smirked at Adam.

"No."

Vinton chuckled. "You should be good at it by now."

"You do it," Adam said.

He shook his head. "Bad eyes run in my family. I would be unreliable."

"I'm not going to be the lookout." Adam had no idea why he was being so stubborn, but every time the smile on Vinton's face grew wider it only made him want to dig his heels in more.

"For Goddess's sake, you can both be the lookouts," Landel said. Another board came loose and he sent it over to Chris.

Vinton and Adam stared at each other, again. Then, after a few seconds of faux-tension, they smiled and nodded. It was a good compromise. Landel's ability to do that, to bridge divides, to solve conflicts, was one of the millions of reasons he was going to make an amazing king.

Adam couldn't stop his smile as he looked down the dark hallway. Torches flicked up against the side, casting the long, gloomy space in a dim glow. It would have been creepy, it would have been terrifying, but Adam had Landel and Chris and Vinton behind him.

When Landel finally finished, he and Chris shoved open the giant door. It rumbled and roared as they moved it, making the ground shake and some of the nearby torches shiver in their sconces.

Adam's heart leapt into his chest and he spun back around, waiting for the inevitable herd of people that would come racing down the hall to see what was going on. But nobody came. They finished opening the door, and the hallway remained empty. He had to consciously slow his breathing as he followed Landel, Chris, and Vinton through the gap and into the darkness beyond.

When they pulled the door closed, after the same cacophony of sound had passed, the four of them stood in darkness for a few moments, waiting, listening.

"You think we got away with that?" Landel said, voice stark in the musty space. Adam couldn't even see him it was pitch-fucking-black.

"I don't hear anybody," Vinton said.

"I wish someone had fucking fire magic right now," Chris said. "It's fucking dark."

"Scared, man?" Adam said, letting a little laugh out.

"Scared of falling down the stairs and breaking my neck? Fuck, yeah."

"I got something better than fire magic," Landel said. A few moments passed, there was a loud crack, and then green light spilled into the dark room.

"mibigs?" Vinton said, taking the small, green cylinder from Landel's hands and shaking it around. "Why am I not surprised."

Landel shrugged. "It does the job."