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above, and Rylis dimly realized daylight would soon
be upon them. The magic of this night would be gone,
and once again they would be enemies. He closed his
eyes, unsure why the thought gave him such a
tightness in his chest.
Tamrin held him close, claws occasionally
stroking through Rylis s hair, such an affectionate,
calming gesture that Rylis actually felt tears rise to his
eyes. He fought them back, annoyed at himself. This
was a moment out of time, no more than that. He had
taken the Eth as the Eth took him, but more gently.
Whether that made him the better person he could
not say. What was clear was that he felt better, more
in control.
This sweetness within him was an anomaly, that
was all.
There was no place for this in his life. He would
be king soon, would find a wife and have heirs as was
expected of him despite his preferences.
This could have no place in that.
The surprise was that he wished it could. Tamrin
was having more of an effect upon him than he
wanted or needed.
His fingers tightened upon Tamrin. The thought
of letting the Eth go was repugnant. Was there a way
he could persuade the Eth to return with him?
The thought held merit; to be able to enjoy this
pleasure on a regular basis& And surely if he treated
him gently enough, the Eth would survive outside the
shelter of Teeathun.
The thought retreated to the recesses of his mind.
He did not want to think of things right now, he just
wanted to lay here forever and never have to face
anything.
He buried his face against Tamrin s neck, and the
Eth murmured softly, wrapping his arms more tightly
around Rylis, perhaps divining his thoughts and
offering comfort.
Rylis wondered bleakly if the Eth would be so
kind if he knew what his lover was thinking.
Chapter Eight
During breakfast, Gharadeen immediately picked
up that something had changed. He eyed the two of
them with narrow-eyed suspicion, his expression
growing blacker by the second.
At last he shot to his feet, shouting something at
Tamrin that had the older Eth s expression closing up
with something that looked close to guilt. His words
to the young male were calm and even, but they only
seemed to enflame Gharadeen, who slammed his fists
down upon the table with considerable force before
he stormed off, slamming the front door in a savage
display of adolescent angst familiar everywhere.
Rylis winced, half expecting the door to come off
the hinges, but it seemed relatively unharmed,
testament no doubt to its construction.
There fell a great silence, and Rylis looked over at
Tamrin, feeling a twinge of emotion as he beheld the
Eth staring at his food, lips tight and face drawn.
Whatever had been said had hurt.
Rylis could not help himself. He laid his arm
upon the table, offering his hand palm up.
Tamrin shot a startled look at him, then gingerly
took the offering. Immediately, Rylis was almost
overwhelmed with impressions. Guilt, joy, grief,
hope they swirled over him, making him a little
dizzy.
Tamrin withdrew his touch, looking concerned,
and patted Rylis s hand in acknowledgement of his
compassion.
Rylis wished the language barrier did not exist,
wished he could communicate truly with Tamrin.
There were so many questions he needed to ask, so
many things he needed explained. Half the issues he
had could probably be solved if they could just
understand each other.
He tried out a few tentative words Gharadeen
had been teaching him, and Tamrin s face broke out
into a small smile.
Rylis cursed, but with a sense of faint humor,
realizing he must have badly mangled what he had
attempted to say.
Tamrin s lips tilted into a grin, the sadness
leaving his eyes for a moment, and Rylis found he
wanted that expression to stay. He began to point to
things, and Tamrin caught on. He would give the Eth
word, and Rylis would indicate the Melanian equal.
In no time, they were laughing at each other s
pronunciation. It was evident Tamrin had a gift of
memory, for he did not forget a single word Rylis
presented. It made Rylis wonder exactly how much
Tamrin had learned during his captivity, and whether
some dim remembrance of Melanian language lurked
within Tamrin s mind, perhaps blocked by an attempt
to forget.
They continued the practice for some time, but
Rylis could see Tamrin s growing exhaustion. He had
been up for most of the night, no doubt, in what now
seemed like a ritual of drawing moon energy into the
plants. He had to be beyond tired.
Rylis made a sudden decision as he rose to stand
beside the great table. He reached out and took
Tamrin s hand, drawing him to his feet. They stared
at each other, then Rylis turned and pulled the Eth
along down the hallways to his room.
Tamrin balked a moment at the doorway, his
expression quizzical and a little worried, but Rylis
persisted, drawing his new lover inside and closing
the door. He did not relinquish his grip upon that
larger hand but simply lay down on the bed and
pulled Tamrin down beside him. The Eth was tense,
but he did not resist.
Rylis gently drew him close, then guided the
Eth s head to lay upon Rylis s chest. Delicate Eth
wings overlaid golden feathers, and somehow the
sight was beautiful in its differences.
Tamrin did not seem to know quite what to do
with this non-sexual moment, but lay as he had been
directed, body rigid, wings twitching restlessly. Rylis
hummed soothingly, petting the white hair with long,
languid strokes, his fingers gently combing the
strands, rubbing ever so softly against the scalp with
each pass. Tamrin s breathing became less jagged, less
forced, and the large body slowly began to relax,
muscle by muscle, until he lay limply against Rylis,
wings slowly fluttering to a stop. When the Eth s
breathing gradually calmed until it was slow and
even in sleep, Rylis smirked to himself. He had no
idea why he had wanted to do this and even less
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