Chapter 23: Talamayas (Part 1)

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Tala hadn't slept in days, and now that he was back in the desert with Wren, he wasn't in any better of a mood

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Tala hadn't slept in days, and now that he was back in the desert with Wren, he wasn't in any better of a mood. His despair had faded to anger, confusion, and all out frustration with Wren again. The man wouldn't shut up the entire time Tala had to force him through the numerous transportation spells back to his castle. Each and every word cut Tala deeper that he knew a person was capable of hurting him. Wren thought he was a monster, which shouldn't surprise him, but Tala had thought they'd developed a sort of kinship despite it all.

But it had all been a façade.

The words were clear.

Please don't make me go back there.

Wren thought life among his people was worse than death, and it had Tala seething as he dragged the man through the sands with little care for how he fell more than once into the searing granules. Tala's people had accepted Wren, cared for him as if he were on of their own, and Wren would rather die than see them again.

Kill me, Tala! Please, just kill me. Please. Please.

How many years had Wren begged to die? In the dungeons, it hadn't mattered to Tala if the man begged or not because there had been no way for the man to escape his fate. But now, after how Wren had finally calmed to him, allowed Tala to share his nights and sleep by his side during the day... It was a slap to the face. Death was preferred to his presence to this man, and that hurt the most. Was he that awful? By the time they made it back to the castle, Wren was outright sobbing.

"Burn in hell, you piece of shit!" Wren rasped as they finally made it in the doors, and every eye turned to them.

Wren had at least enough understanding to be embarrassed when he saw his people downright gaping, Shan most of all. They had been eagerly waiting for Wren's return. One of the nomads named Rin quite missed working with him in the kitchens, and several of his men had expressed their desire to spend time with him when he was feeling better. They expected Wren had been weak from fighting and had to stay behind to heal, not that he was refusing to come back. Tala hadn't had the heart to tell them otherwise.

The better part of Wren saw this, and he stopped his sputtering and begging as Tala marched him down the halls to their room. Two days without sleep, frustration with himself for not understanding Wren, and anger at how the man was so quick to throw him away did not make a good combination in Tala. He damn near threw Wren into the cot between the shelves, and it wasn't at all springy as the man hit it like a rock dropped on concrete.

Desire overtook Tala then.               

Days had made him lonely and restless, and hearing from Luna Aurion how he had no claim to Wren drove him to near madness as he focused on the pulse in his neck. A hiss escaped his lips that had not been entirely intentional as his fangs lengthened in hunger for what he had avoided for decades. Wren was already dim of pallor from the whole ordeal, and Tala cared little as he pounced on the man, holding his shoulders to the bed and pushing his chin out of the way to plunge his fangs into his neck.

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