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

21- Adopting Young

SAGE—

Waking with only one man by my side, in my arms, was strangely disappointing. When I looked down and realized which it was, I was not only disappointed there was only one, but surprised by which it was.

Ember twitched and opened his eyes blearily, glaring up at me before rolling over and snorting in annoyance.

None of us had slept much, if at all. It felt as if every time I managed to fall into unconsciousness, my body sated and exhausted, I was woken by Ember's lips and tongue, or Llyric's hands and clenching ass. We took turns waking each other, sometimes one of us falling to sleep to leave the other two in a desperate bid for release together. It was always just a little less intense with only two, but we made do, and I don't think I had ever come that many times in one night in my entire life.

"Not a morning person?" I asked with amusement. A grunt was Ember's only answer, but suddenly he seemed to realize we were only two as well, for he jerked and sat up, looking around the room. His dark, braided hair stuck out on all sides of his head and I had to fight to keep from laughing at how it almost made him look... cute.

Gods, he would kill me if he knew that thought had crossed my mind.

When we determined Llyric wasn't in Ember's suite of rooms, we dressed quickly. I had to borrow one of Ember's shirts, for mine was inexplicably not where I had thrown it last night. We exchanged not a word as Ember led me from his rooms and through the mansion. It was mid-morning, the sun just heating the courtyard beneath our feet as we made our way out of the mansion. Ember called to people as we passed, and I heard Llyric's name in the jumble of Akari, but we weren't successful until we came across Al'iya and Tristan.

Al'iya worked in her garden, Tristan diligently pulling weeds at her side, looking calmer and, dare I say, happier than I had ever seen him.

I had caught sight of Al'iya telling the boy she was adopting him and taking him on as an apprentice the night before, through Galen as translator of course, and she had been forced to lead him away from the feast when he nearly buckled with sobs. They now worked side-by-side, their silence only interrupted when Al'iya would point to a plant or something nearby and voice the word in Akari. Tristan would then repeat it, badly, a few times until he got it close enough, and silence would again consume them.

I watched for a moment as Tristan's lips continued to move silently, as if repeating the words in his head over and over.

When Ember asked Al'iya where Llyric was, she simply pointed a ways off, past a copse of trees and brush, and muttered not a handful of words.

"There's a small lake that way," Ember explained as he led me where she pointed. "She said he wandered toward it when he heard the water."

Had Llyric slept at all?

Within a few feet from Tristan and Al'iya, I could hear the now-familiar sound of Llyric's angelic voice, lifted in wordless song. When we caught sight of him, he took my breath away.

Wearing Prince Amer's leggings, my missing shirt, and Ember's cloak, he sat cross-legged with his back to a willow that hung over the water. His face was raised to the sun, a little red from exposure, the freckles across his nose and cheeks darkening from the sunlight, his mouth open just enough for his song to slip out and caress my ears.

His voice, though it bore no lyrics, was high, clear, and beautiful. Words couldn't describe the way it pulled me in, made me want to kneel at his feet and worship the very ground he sat upon.

I knew Ember felt the same, for he did drop to his knees at Llyric's feet. Llyric's song abruptly ended when Ember dove forward, taking the younger man's lips with his own. I watched them for a few minutes, my own pleasure ebbing and flowing at the stunning sight of the two men. Llyric's fingers trailed up and tangled in Ember's hair, holding Ember to him tightly, his grip steady but gentle.