The dark knight swallowed his own fear even though it tasted parched and faintly of copper, bringing a gloved hand to the underside of the Emperor's outstretched hand.
Leon felt that if he stared any longer at Mateus' nails they might elongate into claws. Perhaps they could not grow any sharper- but their sheen would be lost and their appearance far more brittle. And finally they might then dig into Leon's throat for his apparent insolence.
His lips immediately felt the cold shell of the Emperor's hand and he forced himself to draw them into a kissing motion. Leon shuddered inwardly as he did so; human flesh did not naturally smell nor taste of smoke and rot. All of the beauty Mateus maintained did little to curb how stained with destruction he truly was.
Mateus was surely human no longer, of that Leon was certain. He at the very least reminded himself that they were committing atrocities- that they were a horrible and irredeemable sort of people.
Leon reasoned that this line of thinking granted him a scrap of humanity; which is more than the Emperor had.
Mateus likely thought of all this conquest as a stepping stone. A mere moment in a chain of other equally less important moments before he could claim his place on the throne above all of creation.
And this particularly agonizing moment appeared to be ending- until the Emperor suddenly clutched Leon's jaw. Leon hissed softly and tried to ignore the nails now digging into his skin just as he imagined mere seconds ago.
This was not a command... but it was not an option either. Obediently, Leon began creeping his face closer to Mateus. He was prepared to face what humiliation may come; or at least he was certain he was. The Emperor's sinister smile grew to show a hint of teeth as he pulled Leon's chin down.
Forced to bend by Mateus, Leon exhaled slowly. Please, no. He fought the wave of nausea that seemed to settle in his throat and in his spine. Any humiliation but this, any grueling job or petty lip service other than what Leon feared he was meant to perform now.
Leon was almost relieved when Mateus pulled his chin down further than the beltline. He could feel the imprints of the other man's prior grip even as the Emperor moved his hand to rest atop Leon's scalp. Almost. The magus pushed down as roughly as he pulled; Leon felt his neck and shoulders starting to ache a little as they craned to reach where Mateus was leaning forward to lead his knight towards. He got to his knees, nearly level with one of Mateus's boots.
Prove to me your loyalty, the Emperor's voice rumbled low. A purr in the quiet throne room, among all the shuffling and eerily silent unliving patrolling about.
He forced himself not to think of how demeaning this was. How this was inching him a step closer to his resolve of overthrowing the bastard himself. Leon still brought his face closer in any case, pressing his lips to the dull metal of the Emperor's boot.
Soon enough, he'd be the one demanding allegiance from all others.