Luminous

35 - Let Me Hear Your Song ❣️

Even after a long cuddle on the chair, Coris was still groggy, and Meya still lusty. Thus, to the bed they retired, giving no heed to the time of day.

Too exhausted to please his fair maiden, Coris allowed Meya to admire his glorious physique to her heart's fill while he napped. Poor Meya had settled for finger-doodling on Coris's belly when a certain something prodded her loins. A flash of pure bliss rushed up her spine, overwhelming her senses. Strangling back a moan, Meya glared down at Coris, who wiped his face blank in an instant.

"You said you won't be available again 'til tomorrow!"

"Apologies. My middle brother is quite unruly." Coris slurred, eyes still closed. Giggling, Meya patted his cheek affectionately.

"Just rest. I'll take care of wee-Coris. Well, not so wee, actually."

Chuckling, Meya took his hands and leaned down with a kiss which slid its way down his neck, over his heart, past his belly button, to his very core. She awakened him, then sheathed him within. Waves of bliss coursed through him. Meya cried out his name. She tilted her face to the Heights, basking in the light at the pinnacle. She showered him with a stream of warmth so soothing, he finally felt safe to let go.

He laid back as the pulsating river of clouds carried him into Freda's Caldera, then drifted down to earth like an autumn leaf, knowing he'd miss it sorely when his time came.

Meya slumped onto his chest, panting. He raised a feeble arm and caressed her hair. She rubbed her cheek, then her lips against his palm.

"Thank you." She whispered, her voice choked with tears. It was the first time she summited the Heights with him. He finally did it. "D'you like it?"

Meya raised her face to his, then her smile fell. His wide, pale eyes stared through her at demons only he saw.

"Thank you, too. I'm sorry I couldn't satisfy you. I know I shouldn't be, but I'm glad I get to feel the Heights before I drown in the Lake."

"Coris, dun say that! You're not going anytime soon. And not to Fyr's Lake, that's for sure!"

"Still, part of me wished I'd never known how it felt. Now I'm even less ready to die."

"Coris! Oh, Freda."

Tears rolled down his cheeks like stars falling to their deaths. Meya eased him into her arms.

"I'm sorry. Sorry. So sorry." He muttered feverishly as he rubbed his flooding eyes on her shoulder. He jolted and bucked, struggling to staunch the leak, but for years the whirlpool had festered under still waters. The dam was doomed to burst.

"I'm just so scared. Every night I go to sleep, I'm scared I won't wake up again. I'm sorry. I don't want to die. Not this soon. Not like this. But I can't tell anyone. I don't want Zier to blame himself. I don't want Mother to cry. I can't let Father down. Maybe it'd be better if I just drop dead than live on and on like this...Pathetic. Invalid. Useless. Waste of resources. Can't even pleasure a fair maiden. Can't even give her a babe. At best, they'd cry once and move on. What's the point of dragging it out? What could I possibly achieve? But I don't want to die. I don't want to melt away in the Lake. I'm scared. So, so scared. How would it feel to not feel anything?"

Meya smoothed her hand down his bony back, passing her own tears trickling down his spine. How should she comfort him? Back in the forest when she'd faced death, it was a different brand of fear; certain, urgent, stark white and black. Not the drawn-out, murky gray in-between.

She had control, the choice of fight or flight. But how would one deal with death when it was out of one's hands? If one's body was his enemy?

Most folk wouldn't remember death until it was blinking on the horizon. By that time, hopefully they'd already be wise enough to deal with it. But for all his wisdom, Coris was a lad barely a year older than Meya. And he'd been living like this since he was Mistral's age. Alone. Terrified.