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"So if all that is true, the other truth pales in comparison. Who is to say that kind of fear isn't part of the same package? Many people fear to be alone, but they do not make their decisions based on that fear."
"All right. Yes." As Keldwyn's gaze snapped back to his face, Uthe squared with him and gripped his shoulders. "Yes. You win. I agree."
Uthe laughed against Kel's mouth as the Fae crushed him against the wall, possessing his mouth with a kiss that turned heated in a blink. Kel's hands roved over Uthe's neck and shoulders, dropping to his waist and hips with intimate familiarity. Uthe pushed his body against him, letting the yearning take him. God above, it was an indescribable pleasure to surrender to this.
"I think it gave Helga a heart attack the other day, seeing the two of us twined together in the rose arbor," Keldwyn said at last when he drew back.
"Lady Lyssa did say she'd let everyone find out about us on their own." Though Uthe's submission to Keldwyn was something they'd not shared with Lyssa or anyone else. Most vampires would not understand it. The Council might think Uthe was compromised. Not that Uthe had asked to be reinstated on Council. He would wait until Keldwyn's theory about the effect of his blood on Uthe's Ennui was proven.
In the meantime, Lyssa had explained to the Council that Uthe was researching important matters in the Fae world, interspersed with brief trips like this to Savannah. He was still providing counsel when available, but the reduced stress from no longer actively serving on the Council also seemed to help slow the Ennui's progress.
"Helga was shocked, then intrigued. I think she wanted to join us."
Kel curved his fingers in Uthe's belt, latching on firmly. "Unlike vampires, I am very, very monogamous, Lord Uthe. I've only just begun to take all I want from you."
Since they'd returned, Uthe had been in a state of wonder at how he responded to the Fae's desires and demands, now that he had the freedom and time to do so. In some ways, they did the same things they always did. Chess and spirited debates, and sparring with weapons and in hand-to-hand combat. The matches could quickly become far more sexual in nature, after they satisfied themselves that they remained battle ready. Though that readiness was an unfortunate necessity for both worlds, Uthe didn't consider it a burden to be prepared to defend what mattered.
Every day brought deeper feeling and meaning to the most mundane things. For instance, when Keldwyn was brought food from the kitchens and they were eating together alone, Uthe would sample from his plate, a casual intimacy one afforded a lover. He loved the simple contentment he felt when Kel stayed with him at dawn, twined around him in his bed. He might be immersing himself in the abundant sentiment available when indulging a relationship after such a long dry spell, but he gave himself the luxury without guilt, since Kel seemed to be taking an equal pleasure in such things.
The glorious excitations of love knew no age limit. It was a very uplifting thought.
Uthe wanted to be bound to the Fae Lord with the third mark. He wanted to be bound to him in many ways. When he thought of the hungers he saw in the male's eyes, instead of being apathetic or worse, repelled by it, his own Dominant nature capitulated to it, the way he might bend a knee to Lyssa. Both of them leaders, but he deferred to her as the greater power, someone whose commands he could accept and trust.
Keldwyn stepped back, his heavy-lidded look suggesting he wanted to tease Uthe to even greater heights, now that Uthe had agreed to his will. Fae sadist. "First we'll go ride a dragon, as you wish. I will race you to the portal, and I will win, because Fae are faster than vampires."
"Usually, but--" Quick as a flash, Uthe shoved him so Kel tripped over the short stone bench behind him, going ass over end like Jacques on the receiving end of Nexus's mischief. I can't believe you fell for that twice. Literally, this time.
Uthe took the garden wall in one lithe leap, a shortcut to the forest. He didn't expect to make tremendous headway, because even toppling in a backwards somersault, Kel would still land on his feet. But vampires weren't snails.
As he lengthened his stride, he was stronger, running faster. He thought he felt more vibrant, more rejuvenated and alive than he'd felt in a very long time. It gave him hope. Hope that Kel would be right.
He wouldn't ever think of such a gift as God's reward for his faithfulness, for returning the Baptist to the heavens or protecting the world from the demon. Those things were God's will, and he was merely God's instrument. But in one burst of wondrous energy, he knew if God had deemed him worthy of this gift, he'd never take it for granted.
Because of the second marking, he could sense Keldwyn's advance, and laughed out loud at the chase, the two of them flashing through the woods together. They flushed a deer, sent the stag bounding away. Uthe went over a log in a leap as high as the creature's, and then he was descending the slope to the portal.
Keep going. It's open.
Uthe sprang over the creek and he was in the Fae world, startling a family of gnomes. He jumped over them, calling out a laughing apology as he sprinted up the hill. He remembered where the meadow lay, unless Fae magic had changed the topography. He wouldn't put it past Keldwyn to do that, just so he could arrive there first.
I will ignore that you think I would stoop to cheating.
A piercing shriek rent the air, and a shadow passed over him. At a ruffle of wind, he glanced up in time to see Keldwyn leaning down from the dragon's back, offering him a hand. Uthe took it, swinging on behind him. It was the purple dragon again, and he was newly amazed at how it felt, the strength and life of the legendary creature beneath him.
"This is still cheating," he said in Keldwyn's ear, nipping the curve of it and tugging on one of the line of silver rings he was wearing there today. "Though I guess you needed help catching up to me."
"Beware what cockiness with your Master will get you, my lord." Keldwyn put his hand over Uthe's and squeezed. "Relax and enjoy the ride."
He did. This time, with no urgency to their flight, Uthe could experience it better, though he still kept an arm around Keldwyn as he looked around him. He'd been in a plane, but there was no comparison as they soared through the open air among multi-hued wisps of clouds. The dragon skirted the periphery of a flock of swans. Keldwyn dipped his head to several other Fae winging by, carrying what looked like gifts, in natural wrappings of overlapped leaves. They'd tied them with vines whose colorful blooms made a bouquet on top.
"Birthday party?"
"Something like that. The Fae take every opportunity to celebrate with dancing and singing."
"No offense to you and Catriona, but I'm not sure I'd ever leave this world if it was my home. I couldn't imagine any of this ever getting old."
"Why limit yourself, if you can have this world as home and explore other ones?" Kel shrugged. The dragon altered course, dipping his shoulder as he took the turn, and Keldwyn leaned with him, Uthe following
the motion. Looking down upon an island with a small castle, he saw a grove of trees with fruit so bright crimson he could see them from this distance.
"Avalon. The isle of apples. The spirit of King Arthur rests there with the sorceress Morgana."
At first he thought the Fae was jesting with him, but when he realized he wasn't, a smile split Uthe's face. "Definitely couldn't imagine this getting old, my lord."
Keldwyn caressed his fingers. Rather than speaking over the wind, he spoke in Uthe's mind. You feel better these days. It pleases me to see it. I was concerned the loss of your lifelong task and quest would plunge you into a temporary melancholy. It is often that way when large goals are achieved.
Uthe slid both arms around him, his mouth pressing against the side of his throat. "No. I've wanted to see it done for so long, all I feel is relief. Relief I didn't fail, gratitude that I had the friends and resources to pull it off. Someone to watch my back."
Kel brushed the side of his face against him, his hair whispering against Uthe's flesh. "So what will you do now? Loll about and be useless?"
"I understand there's a Fae Lord who needs a boy toy to amuse him..." Uthe laughed at Keldwyn's mock look of offense. "I'm sure there will be plenty in both of our worlds needing our attendance. There's no end to the violent or misguided mischief the Fae or vampires can devise."
"True enough," Kel said in amused resignation. "Catriona wants to go back to Atlanta. She wants me to devise her a node in your world. A place of magical energy so she can stay in the mortal world for longer periods. She could use it as her home base, to prevent the depletion she experienced on her previous explorations."
"Can you do that?"
"Probably. Rhoswen might agree to it for her...in a decade. I was thinking the club Anwyn runs in that city would be a good place, and she could be under Daegan's protection if needed. Hold on. We're landing."
The dragon deposited them on the edge of another thick woodland. When they were both on the ground, Keldwyn offered Uthe his hand. Though Keldwyn was given to more romantic gestures than Uthe, this one was unexpected. But the odd, closed look on the Fae's face had Uthe putting his hand in his without question, their fingers interlacing as Kel tugged him into the forest.
