Frost Bitten (BxB)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

(Joseph's POV)

It was disheartening to see Asurah's palace in...well...shambles, really. And I knew it hurt him to see his home in such disarray, hell; hell, I could literally see the pain in his eyes when he finally saw just how much damage Vextian caused. But it would be fixed. It didn't matter how much time it took, I was going to make sure every inch of this pace got back to its pristine beauty. Days, weeks, moths...hell, years...as long as I got this place back to its original design, I didn't care how long the process was.

And as long as Asurah was happy, I was happy.

"Gods, this is going to take a good chunk of Glacida's funds to fix this," Asurah sighed, picking up a chunk of pearlescent wall, before tossing it to the side. "And it isn't just my palace that needs fixed, either. On our way here, I saw at least two towns that need to be reconstructed as well. Not to mention, we need to relocate some animals because the freaking forest is practically destroyed." My husband groaned and dropped his head in his hands, my heart clenching for him as I made my way over to him and pressed a kiss against his temple.

"Like I told you Ash, I got this. You don't need to worry until you've had a full day of rest, ok?" Asurah leaned onto me when I pulled hum against my chest, his skin silky smooth as he pressed his nose against my neck.

"I know, I know. I-I'm just worried for my people, you know?"

I smiled warmly and pressed a kiss against the side of his head. "And that's what makes you a wonderful king, baby. Now, go on and rest up while I get things kick started."

Asurah scrunched up his nose and pouted, moving from my neck to look me in the eyes. "All I've one today is sit and relax. I want to move around and do something."

I smirked and leaned in closely, lowering my voice so that only Asurah could hear me. "Then take a long, nice bath. Maybe I'll see if Jox can help me get things started, and I can join you later on."

Asurah's brows rose mischievously, his white eyes piercing into mine before he began nibbling at his bottom lip. "I might just do that. But do make sure you hire some construction crews, and try to get a...a death count. I-I want to know how many innocents we lost because of that Tronian bastard."

"Of course." I kissed him once again and took a step back, my pinkies curled around his. "Now go rest up. I should only be about an hour, or two."

Asurah nodded with a sigh and began making his way over to our room, my gaze briefly dropping down to that luscious backside of his before I began to search for Jox. It didn't take me long to find him, either. Luckily for me, he was already in the conference room waiting for me, alongside Teiken, Temour and Delkele.

"Wonderful, you're here. How is Asurah fairing?" Temour asked, the look of parental concern plastered across his dark face.

I stepped into the room and close the door behind me, before walking up to the table with a sigh. "He's worried about his people, and how many perished during Vextian's attack. I had to assure him over and over that I could handle things in order for him to agree to rest for tonight."

Temour's bright orange gaze grew soft, a small frown forming on his lips as he rubbed his jaw.

Meanwhile, Jox grabbed a holographic tablet off of the long table in the middle of the room and began tapping on the screen, his face serious. "From what I've been told, we managed to evacuate everyone in the palace with minimal injuries. However, we weren't so lucky with the towns of Crysalis and Tenmar, Between the both of them...we lost about five hundred, with just under a thousand injured."

I exhaled sharply and leaned against the table, taken aback by the extravagant number. I had believed initially that Vextian only attacked the palace, since that was where his so called quarry had been. I had no idea he had attacked two other towns as well, that night. God, Asurah was going to be heartbroken when I tell him. He was already so worried for his people, and if he learned just how many he lost...gosh, maybe it was better if I didn't tell him. It was probably infinitely better to keep such a sensitive thing between those of us currently in this room, for his sake and his sanity.

"Alright...these numbers stay in this room, between us. Asurah has already had enough crap to deal with, and this information will just devastate him even more."

Teiken nodded, pursing his lips. "I agree. The less Asurah knows about casualties, the better."

Jox frowned, looking displeased with our decision as he sat the tablet down and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't like keeping this from him. I mean, these are his people, the very citizens he's trying to protect. Surely we can't jeep something so massive from him, right?"

"I agree with Jox. I'm not saying we tell him immediately, but as a king, he has a right...no, a duty to know." Delkele spoke up, not surprising me that he was teaming up with the large Glacic man.

I pursed my lips. "So we're at a standstill, then." My gaze flickered to Temour, the only person who hadn't agreed, or disagreed with anything Jox or I said. "What do you say? Asurah has had too much happen to him in such a short amount of time that I'm not sure how much more he can handle before he snaps. You know how sensitive of a person he is, especially when it comes to the people he rules over. He's already blaming himself that he couldn't save me when Vextian tried to kill me, not to mention he thinks it's his fault that Glacida was attacked in the first place. If he learns about what he lost...there's no telling how that would break him."

"And what if he finds out down the road that his own husband, his bonded lied to him?" Jox wondered, blue gaze clashing with mine. "Would that not shatter him, knowing the man he loves had been lying to him about something so detrimental to him?"

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, already feeling a headache coming on. "You're right about one thing, Jox, and that is the fact that I'm his husband. That means I share the responsibilities of a king, and I'm not as softhearted as Asurah is regarding this kind of thing. I've been in wars myself, seen so much death, and I know Asurah wants to be a part of this, but I don't want him to be hurt any more than he already has been. So you should just let me handle this side of things."

"I see what the both of you are trying to say, and both of you do make some good points," Temour spoke, causing Jox and me to quiet down. He then shifted his attention to me. "Yes, Asurah is soft hearted and he has had quite a bit happen to him this past month. He does deserve at least a few days to come to terms with everything he's been through. However, you do need to tell him eventually, lest he finds out on his own and ends up feeling betrayed by the one man he trusts the most. You forget he has dealt with casualties before, when Glacida was first attacked. That war not only had him lose over a hundred thousand of his people, but his mother and father as well. Yet he was able to pull through and deal with it on his own. I know you want to protect him, Joseph, but Asurah is much stronger than you give him credit for, and you need to learn that if you're going to be ruling an entire planet alongside him. So yes, give him some time to himself, but please refrain from keeping this from him, alright? Asurah doesn't deserve to be lied to, especially by the one man he can fully trust."

He was right. Of course he was. These were Asurah's people, people who looked up to him every single day. He cared deeply about the citizens he ruled over, and if I kept this from him and he found out...he would be angry and upset with me, and I didn't want to be on the other end of his wrath. I just thought that I could protect from hurting even more than he already was, or keep him from blaming himself if I just took care of it on my own. I didn't like seeing him so sad, and with everything Vextian put him through...I just wanted to keep him away from even more misery.

So...I was going to tell him, but only after my baby had some recovery time for himself. After all, that was the least I could do for him after such a long, emotional journey.

A/N: Yay! Finally, a chapter that's on time for once lmao. So who do you think was more in the right? Joseph, with his idea to keep the death count away from Asurah for his own good? Or Jox, who wanted to tell Asurah because of the fact that those lost were his own people? I mean, Asurah has dealt with casualties before, as Temour had said...so I'm curious? What do you think?

Anywho, I'm pretty sure there's only one chapter left for Frost Bitten, and after that I may take a small break to figure out what bxb story I want to do next. (Though, I am thinking of maybe doing a story for Jox and Delkele, but it all really depends on if my creative juices are flowing for them lol)

Anyway, with that all said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Lemme know what you think! I love feedback!