Far From Home Two: The Monster's Heir-- a M/M/M fantasy romance

5-- Safe

LLYRIC—

Horror, hatred, disgust, bloodlust— the emotions around me were overwhelming. I wanted to fall back, hide in the darkest corner of my cell where I sometimes felt safe. I wanted them to tie me back up, because it had been so long since my last feeding, and I was so close. I didn't want them to wake me. I had just barely been able to feel my Mama's warm breath on my face as she kissed my cheek.

Then the giant who smelled like sunlight and gentle touches was holding me in his arms, while the foreign man who felt like anger and hatred and smelled like disgust and soft kisses was unlocking my chains.

I wanted to beg them to leave me. I tried to. But they couldn't hear me past the wires in my mouth. They couldn't hear the desperation in my voice as I begged them, and any god within earshot, to just let me die.

Despite my protests, I was engulfed in warmth, staring up into horrified but kind eyes, and I hadn't felt safe and warm like that since my Mama cut her wrists with my body clutched in her arms until long after she had gone cold.

I dug my face into the giant's chest, counting his soothing breaths and the beat of his steady heart.

"What do those piercings mean?" the man who smelled of soft kisses whispered. He had an accent, but it was thin, his voice husky.

"Those aren't piercings," the giant said, his voice deep and growly, sending strange sparks across my skin. I could hear the anger in his voice, but rather than making me afraid, I dug myself deeper into his arms. His anger somehow made me feel... safe. "His jaw is fucking wired shut."

I wanted to explain. To tell them my voice made Father uncomfortable. My screams made his penis hard, but my voice, my begging, made him go soft for weeks. And his anger about his soft penis was taken out on my back, and on the children he kept in the rooms above. I could hear their screams sometimes, late at night, when all else was silent. I prayed for them sometimes— prayed he could find a way to touch me so he would leave them alone. Because I knew what those poor children didn't.

They were substitutes for me. For the one he couldn't touch. The one he couldn't rape and sully and hurt.

Alas, I couldn't explain this to the giant and the other one. The one whose fingers were so gentle on my skin, checking for injuries. I wanted to tell him it had been far too long since Father had me beaten for me to have any life-threatening injuries.

But I couldn't.

The giant rose to his feet, and I mewled pathetically as his movements jostled my torn wrists against him.

"I'm so sorry, sweet boy," he whispered directly into my ear. His hot breath against the sensitive skin was like a caress across my entire body and I melted into him at the strange sensation. "We're gonna get you all cleaned up and get those wires out of your mouth. You're safe now."

I sobbed, terrified. Father was going to be so angry when he found out they had given me a cloak for warmth, and were going to treat my wounds. I tried to protest— I didn't want them hurt for me; they both seemed so kind— but neither paid my grunts any attention. The giant simply held me closer, following closely behind the other man.

I could see a tie between the men, a bright line from the heart of the giant to the chest of the foreign man. I looked at my own chest, frowning when I saw the same line leaving my chest, leading directly into both men. I had never seen it before, but it didn't scare me. There was something about it that felt... good. Safe. Warm. Peaceful.

Strange things, like the sight of the ropes between us, happened to me often. And I had learned to accept them and trust them, and not question them. I understood their meaning, and I accept it. The few times I'd seen or felt something and hadn't accepted it had led to pain and disappointment.

When we exited out into the front courtyard of the castle, where I hadn't been since I was a child nearly as tall as Father's knees, I kept my face pressed against the giant's chest, my fingers digging into his shoulder and chest. I could feel the moonlight tingling on my skin, the stars dancing in excitement at the sight of me after so long.

"Ember!" a voice called, followed by a smattering of words in a language I didn't recognize. The foreign man answered, and I recognized his husky voice.

Ember, I thought with a tingle up my spine. It fit him, somehow. Warm and safe but biting and dangerous.

I wanted to taste the name on my tongue, but all I could taste now was dirt and blood and bile.

"The other children are alright, Sage," Ember's voice spoke from just to the giant's right. So the giant's name was Sage. His name fit him, too. Fit his big, warm, safe arms. "Asleep in a tent in camp. The hedge witch finished looking them over, so she can come see to the kid. See if we can get the wires out."

I moaned and could feel both men freeze, then Ember's cold but oh-so-gentle fingers were pulling my face to meet his eyes.

"Ninya, you're safe. That man can't hurt you anymore. He can't hurt you for taking out the metal. I swear, ninya, you're safe."

I reached up, fingering his chest, on the left side, where the thread left his body and led to mine, and to Sage's. He stiffened, and I could sense his confusion, before he gently gripped my fingers and stared into my eyes.

"You're safe," he repeated. I nodded as much as I could, before pulling my hand back into the warmth of his cloak. He watched me for another moment before glancing up at Sage and then turning away.