Vaes Tolorro, they had called it. The city of bones. If truth be told, there weren't any bones to see, but Kurt found the name quite fitting for the desolation they were living in. The bones had been burned, together with the bodies they had been attached to, but the city itself was a skeleton, its white and grey walls crumbling like an old corpse. It was unsettling, but he knew they could make it become their home if they wanted. They could collect the seeds of the trees hidden in the secret gardens of the houses, plant them and wait for life to sprout up again from the ground; they could grow old, and Kurt could raise Blaine's children with him and, who knew, maybe having one on his own. He could try with Tina, so their children would be brothers and they would be a real family.

They could, but Kurt knew they never would. Dothraki weren't meant for living behind four walls, sowing, harvesting; they were meant for sacking and killing and travelling without ever, ever stopping. The thought made Kurt think about what would happen in the end, if he really managed to get back his throne. What would Blaine do then? For now, his strategy was not to think about it.

They stayed in Vaes Tolorro for a whole week, so the khalasar – or what remained of it – could regain its strength. The starving put on some weight, the thirsty drank from the wells, the dehydrated sat in the shade, the tired horses and Kurt's dragons ate and drank and slept, and Kurt felt like that was exactly what they were doing. It wasn't living; it was surviving.

Soon enough, he had found out that he wasn't the only one who didn't like the place that much.

"We shouldn't stay here" he heard Mercedes say to Rachel one morning, as they gathered water from a well. "It's full of ghosts."

Everywhere is full of ghosts, he thought. My memories, my nightmares.

His parents' ghost, Sebastian's ghost, even the warrior Zaro's ghost. He haunted him at night sometimes, drenched in his own blood with a long red cut along his throat.

Blaine never spoke again about what he was planning on doing, probably because he didn't know, and Kurt didn't ask. He knew Blaine was mourning; for his pride, for his khalasar, for a battle he had lost without even fighting it, a battle against fire. Whoever had done it – Clarington men, or hired sellswords, most likely – had chosen the easy way, the coward way, because they knew they wouldn't stand a chance in battle against Dothraki. They had chosen darkness, treachery, and fire. Kurt figured that was the reason why Blaine seemed to stay as far away as possible from his dragons – that, and the fact that they had eaten horse meat – but he hoped he would get over it with time.

On the seventh day, Blaine did something that made him hope a little more.

"Don't you think you should name them?" he said while they gathered oranges from their tree, eating one once in a while and licking the juice from each other's mouths. It felt so ordinary and domestic that for a moment Kurt forgot about everything else.

"Who?" he asked, too caught in the movement of Blaine's plush lips to really think about what he was saying with them.

"The dragons" Blaine said pointedly, bouncing an orange on his palm. "You said your people used to ride them, like horses. Horses have names."

Kurt turned to look at him, but Blaine's eyes were looking up among the branches again.

"You're right" he agreed thoughtfully. "I have to think about it carefully, though. Dragons should have beautiful names."

The three creatures were basking in the sun as they spoke, lying on their stomachs on the blackened ground to let the sunlight seep through their hard scales. Sun was fire, after all, and dragons were fire made flesh, the pride of Old Valyria before the Doom came. No one knew what had really happened, but the legends spoke of earthquakes, seaquakes and volcanic eruptions scattered all throughout the peninsula at the same time. Sebastian had told him that the Hummelsmythes of old worshiped the Valyrian gods, but after the Doom, when they had moved to Dragonstone, they had switched to the Seven of Westeros.

All the ancient dragons were named after Valyrian gods: Balerion the Black Dread, Vhagar, Meraxes, Vermithrax. Sebastian remembered their skulls inside the throne room of the Red Keep in King's Landing, where he had lived with their father Burt and their mother Elizabeth before she gave birth to Kurt, and before the Claringtons' betrayal to the crown. He used to tell Kurt about how big and monstrous they were, their jaws so enormous that a knight on a horse could pass between them. Kurt envied him so much every time he spoke about how he used to play hide and seek with the servants inside them, even though Sebastian also said that their father got angry because he didn't want him to.

"Any ideas?" he heard Blaine say as he thought. He came back from his reverie to nod silently and turn around toward his dragons, a sudden resolve flowing in his blood.

"Rhaegal" he said, eyeing the green one. "The Valyrian god of wrath."

Blaine shifted on his feet, surprised by the unexpected decision.

"Viserion" Kurt went on, pointing to the white-and-gold one. "The Valyrian god of war."

As if summoned, Viserion lifted his head to look at Kurt. He was the most beautiful of them under the sun, his scales so pale that they looked like mother-of-pearl. Kurt shifted his gaze on the black one.

"And Drogon, the Valyrian god of vengeance."

"I didn't know there were so many gods" Blaine mumbled, looking back up at the tree. He raised himself up on his toes to catch an orange dangling from a higher branch, then he offered it to Kurt, who took off its peel and put a slice of it in his mouth.

"There are many more still" he answered, licking his lips. "Valryon, Essovius, Archonei-"

"Okay, okay, I get it" Blaine interrupted, lifting his hands in surrender, the bitten orange flying to the ground as he did. "I would never be able to remember them all. Luckily, there is only one God I care to please."

That made Kurt think. How could everyone worship something different, and still have the truth of it? Was there really some truth to find, or were the gods just projections of what men wanted to be?

"I don't know what I believe in" he reflected out loud. "I should worship the Seven, because my father did before me and the majority of Westeros does. I should worship the Stallion, because he blessed our wedding and brought us together. But since dragons are back into the world, maybe I should worship the Valyrian gods, too."

"You should worship the Stallion" Blaine stated simply, lifting his chin. "He stands above them all."

Kurt smiled and shook his head. Sometimes he forgot how stubborn Blaine was about things.

"Maybe I just need some convincing" he put in, lifting an eyebrow at Blaine seductively. The khal turned to look at him with a wicked expression, and before Kurt could blink he was pressed against the trunk of the tree, Blaine's hands under his thighs to lift him up, and Gods – whoever they were –, his strength never failed to turn him on.

Kurt wrapped his legs around Blaine's middle as the other man's lips sucked at his neck, his head thumping against the wood behind him and a sigh leaving his mouth. He carded his fingers through Blaine's curls to keep him there, the other hand pressed against the small of his back.

"Want you" Blaine whispered into his pale skin, mouthing at the hollow of his throat and pressing him harder against the tree, hips bucking up into Kurt's. "Want you so bad."

"Bed" Kurt mumbled, his mind clouding with lust. He didn't even know how long it had been since the last time, what with the fire, their desperate trip toward uncertain safety and the trouble of settling down in the ghost city. It was like a constant hitching under his skin, dulled by starvation and thirst and now come alive again, asking to be scratched away.

But as Blaine grabbed the back of his thighs again to lift him up and turn them around, Kurt saw someone entering the yard, only to stop in his tracks to gasp and look away abruptly.

"Finn is here" Kurt whispered in Blaine's ear, rolling his eyes. Blaine groaned in frustration and eased him to the ground, before turning around toward the embarrassed knight across the little garden.

"What?" he asked sharply. Finn looked at them again and swallowed.

"I'm sorry, khal, khalees" he said, gaze shifting between them as if he didn't know where to look exactly. "But... someone is here. To see you."

Kurt and Blaine turned toward each other, brows furrowed.

"Who?" Kurt asked in a worried voice. On the ground between them and Finn, the dragons stirred, clawing at the earth with their barely-visible claws and looking around as if they were searching for an approaching danger.

"We asked, but they only said they want to talk to you. And..." Finn hesitated and stared at the three creatures for a moment. "They know about them, khalees."

Kurt stared at Finn in shock before his body decided to catch up with what he'd heard, running through the yard to get back inside, Blaine and Finn at his heels. He fetched the wooden cage he had ordered to build for the dragons, a little cubic box made of branches tied together, with a moving side that could be shifted up and down from the outside to open and close it. He knew that as soon as they started to spit fire, the cage would be useless, but for now it served its purpose. He kept them inside it during the night, afraid that they would go flying around, risking to be seen.

After putting them inside the cage and closing it, he ordered Finn to stay there and watch them, ignoring the disappointed look he could see in Finn's eyes as he nodded.

Kurt and Blaine left the house side by side, one rapid step after the other. Kurt felt like running, but he didn't want to look scared or exceedingly worried in front of the Dothraki crowding the streets of the city as they passed. One part of him wanted the whole world to know that the dragons were back, to shout it at the top of his lungs; but the other part, the rational one, knew that people would do terrible things to have one. Even a good man, an honest man, could turn into a murderer for a dragon.

They reached the gate of Vaes Tolorro, where Blaine's bloodriders and other warriors put there as sentinels where guarding the entrance to the city. Dothraki armed with throwing spears had been sent to the two towers at either side of it, to look out on the desert, and the thought made Kurt more at ease. They had restored the gate as best they could, but it looked fragile and ready to crumble at any moment. It was closed, of course, so Wes and David opened it for them from the inside and followed them as they went out into the open, closing it back behind them silently.

There were only two men in front of them, much to Kurt's reassurance, with their horses close behind, grazing at the sand with their hooves. The first man looked more like a boy than a man, with his heart-shaped, trusting face and skin almost as fair as Kurt's. He had sandy blonde hair and wore a beautiful emerald tunic with gems embroidered along the seams and a belt of what looked like rubies and gold around his waist, that shimmered almost too brightly under the sun, creating a blinding reflection in Kurt's eyes.

The second man was the exact opposite of the other's youth and beauty: worryingly thin and bold, with purplish bags under his eyes. His tunic was white and decorated with cloth-of-silver, but it looked almost beige compared to his skin-tone, a sickly pale hue that made him look as if he was see-through. His skin looked thin and wrinkled, as if he was slowly withering away. Even more unsettling, his lips were blue.

"Khalees!" the first man said in the Common Tongue, opening his arms wide and smiling at Kurt as if he was a lost relative or friend he was meeting again after a long time. "My heart swells at the sight of such beauty!"

Kurt stared at him in disbelief. Was he stupid? Couldn't he see Blaine right there next to him? On second thought, Kurt realized that maybe he thought Blaine couldn't understand, but as much as speaking was still a bit of a trial for him, understanding wasn't. For his part, Kurt could feel Blaine seething, as if the air around him was vibrating and shifting to leave space for his sudden rage.

This is not going to end well.

Just as Blaine was taking a step forward – he didn't need to look to know that he was going to unsheathe his arakh – Kurt put a hand on his forearm to stop him. He knew how to deal with empty flattering, and besides, he had to find out if what Finn had said was true.

"I'm sorry if our talk won't be as courteous as yours" he began in a steady voice. "But who exactly are you?"

The sick-looking man remained silent and still, hands stuffed in his tunic's wide pockets. The other chuckled in amusement.

"Oh!" he exclaimed in a melodramatic tone, that made him sound like the member of an acting company. "You are absolutely right, how rude of me to speak without introducing myself! My name is Chandler Choan Dachos, a merchant prince of Qarth."

Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"What is Qarth?" he asked. Chandler smiled again, perfectly white teeth glistening almost as bright as the gems on his tunic. It made Kurt feel even dirtier and poorer, with his torn leather vest and pants.

"Qarth is the greatest city that ever was and ever will be" was his solemn answer, and Kurt found himself wondering how that could be, since he had never heard of it.

Before Kurt could answer to that, the other man spoke up suddenly.

"And I am Pyat Pree, a warlock of the House of the Undying" he said in a grave monotonous tone. "I saw you coming, Father of Dragons."

Kurt stared at him, trying to mask his worry with a neutral expression. He knew he was probably failing.

"What do you mean, you saw me coming?"

For the first time, a small grin seemed to graze Pyat Pree's blue lips, but even that wasn't enough to make him look capable of smiling.

"The Undying see things happened long ago, as well as things yet to come" he said, making Kurt's skin prickle with unease. "We would be most glad to have you in our House, so we could show them to you."

As if he was realizing only then that Blaine was there, the warlock turned his cold gaze on the khal.

"And still, how many things fate keeps hidden from our eyes" he went on, studying Blaine like some kind of wild animal he planned on buying. "We didn't see you coming, great Khal. How... lucky for us to know you are still among the living."

"Lucky is not the word I was think about" Blaine answered in his clumsy accent, but Kurt thought the threat would come across just the same, with his narrowed eyes and clenched fists.

"Let's not bother the khalees with such unsettling matters" Chandler chimed in with his melodious voice, talking as if Blaine wasn't even there. "What he needs to know is that the gates of the great city of Qarth are open for him, and for his dragons, that goes unsaid. I would be honored to give you shelter in my house for as long as you need, blood of the dragon."

Kurt could feel Blaine shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other at the suggestion, and he knew they had to talk about it, so he decided to look further into what they would get themselves into.

"I never said I have dragons" he ventured, raising an eyebrow. Chandler crossed his arms over his jewel-covered chest and laughed.

"You didn't say you didn't when Pyat here called you Father of Dragons" he pointed out, his mocking face softening immediately into something almost reassuring. "Besides, I have spies in the desert. But you need not fear me, khalees! My heart beats to serve you. I am the richest man in Qarth, and in Qarth all men are rich. I can shower you with gold, I can protect you and your people while your dragons grow. I can help you."

The first thing Kurt thought to do was to refuse the offer and send the two men on their way, but then he remembered his situation, and something told him that he wouldn't find another way out of it if he refused this one. How could he hope to reach the Seven Kingdoms if he wasn't ready to take risks? He wouldn't find answers plucking oranges from the trees of Vaes Tolorro.

"We will think about it" he answered stiffly, much to Chandler's disappointment. His face shifted into a mask of complete sadness, and for a moment Kurt thought he was going to burst into tears.

"Oh, you wound me so" he exclaimed, a hand coming up to cover his heart in a desperate gesture. "But as you say. Shall we explain you how to reach Qarth?"

Surprisingly, it was Blaine who answered before Kurt could.

"Explain it to my bloodriders and go" he said, so sharply that Kurt feared they would have some kind of immediate reaction, but they didn't. "My khalees and I have to speak things."

Both men bowed courteously, but Kurt could see outrage masked under the pleasantry, and right before turning around to go back inside the city he caught Chandler looking at him longingly. He didn't know if Blaine caught him, too, but as they walked he felt Blaine's arm circling his waist and squeezing possessively, bringing their hipbones close together.

When they came back inside their house, Finn gave Blaine one brief look, enough to realize that he had best be going, and asked leave to go. After Blaine gave it to him, Kurt went to the cage to free his dragons, who were screeching and climbing on top of each other restlessly, puffs of black smoke drifting up from the gaps between the branches. They didn't like to be inside the cage except for when they slept, and Kurt couldn't blame them; if he had wings, he wouldn't want to stay trapped inside a box either.

As the dragons half-flew, half-crawled back outside into the yard – their wings were still cramped and clumsy, as if they weren't able to support their weight as yet – Kurt turned to look at Blaine, whose hands were pressed against the wall, head bowed.

"Blaine-"

"We shouldn't go" he said abruptly, lifting his head and turning around to face him. "You know we shouldn't."

"What I know is that it's a chance" Kurt answered. "And we are not in the position to turn it down."

"A chance?" Blaine replied, crossing his arms over his chest, where only a faint pink line remained to remind them of what had almost cost him his life. "A chance at what? They could be liars, or thieves. And that Pyat Pree is a warlock. I don't like warlocks. They use black magic to make people sick and then they eat their souls."

Kurt was aware of the Dothraki fear of whatever was related to magic and witchcraft, and even though much of it was born of superstition, he couldn't find it in himself to blame them; that man had scared the Seven Hells out of him too.

"What if they are not liars, or thieves?" he decided to ask. "Let's not think about the warlock. That Chandler said he wants to protect us."

Blaine scoffed at that, looking away briefly.

"He said he wants to protect you" he spat angrily. "I may suck at speaking your tongue, but I'm not deaf, nor blind. I saw the way he looked at you."

"It doesn't matter how he looks at me, what matters is that he can help us. We need gold to buy ships."

"And why exactly would he give you gold, if not for something in return?" Blaine asked in a sharp tone, but Kurt knew how to recognize fear in his eyes when it was there.

He's scared of losing me.

Slowly, he made his way toward his husband and put his arms around his waist.

"Then if he wants something in return, I will say I misunderstood and we'll just go" Kurt reassured Blaine with a kiss on his cheek. The khal put his arms around Kurt's neck and sighed, but he looked unconvinced.

"I don't like this, moon of my life" he said in a serious voice, bringing their foreheads together.

"You need to trust me on this, my sun-and-stars" Kurt said, even though he didn't feel that trustworthy, to be honest. Blaine leaned back to study him.

"Why do you always sound like you know what you're doing?" he asked after a brief moment of silence. His expression turned sad all of a sudden, and he looked older when he spoke again. "With the eggs, for example... Kurt, you could have died in there."

Kurt knew he would bring it up sooner or later; he just didn't think it would happen so casually, and with such calmness. Maybe he just underestimated Blaine.

"I know, I just... I felt like I needed to do it. I didn't know if fire would have an effect on me or not, but I knew I had to find them. I don't know how to explain it, really."

Blaine nodded silently, as if he was surrendering to the truth.

"I guess there are things I'm just not meant to understand" he concluded. "Dragon things."

Kurt chuckled.

"Well, I didn't understand most of the Dothraki things when I married you, and look at me now" he said, stroking Blaine's nose with his. The khal finally smiled, and the tension in the air seemed to melt away.

"So... we're going?" Kurt ventured after a pause. Blaine heaved a long sigh.

"We're going" he agreed, sealing the decision with a peck on Kurt's lips. "But I'm telling you, if that prince says some other bullshit about his heart swelling, I will cut it out of his chest and feed it to your dragons."

Kurt couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"See? Dragon japes!" he said, and for a moment they laughed their worries away.

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Leaving Vaes Tolorro wasn't as hard as Kurt thought it would be. For a moment he had pictured it as their home, but it wasn't, and when they left it behind them he felt like leaving some old friend's house, which had welcomed him in a time of need. He would always feel grateful to it, but he wouldn't miss it.

Their little khalasar was healthier now, so the trip went smoothly; moreover, Wes and David had informed them that it would took them only two days or so. They marched to the south-east in a straight line, until something huge and shimmering eventually stopped them.

Kurt had forgot how beautiful the sea was.

This one looked different from the narrow sea he had always seen from Pentos; it looked so vast, as if it could stretch on forever, and it had shades of deep blue and purple and rich emerald green rather then light blue and bland aqua green. Just by looking at it, Kurt realized it was the Jade Sea.

Along the coast, standing like an enormous golden rock above the surf, was Qarth. It looked immense, with walls so high that the top seemed to disappear in the clouds, and enormous domes peering at the sky from behind the walls with their rounded roofs colored in gold, green, and blue.

He turned to look at Blaine, and they stared into each other's eyes.

Together, they rode toward the greatest city that ever was and ever would be.