He listened a lot, talking and laughing and grateful to be involved. He enjoyed spending time with Molun, Arvus, Livala, Tramon, and Cormal. According to Molun, although Cormal had almost always come to the dining hall, before Livala, he’d often sat there, ate his meal, and left without saying anything. Now, he was sure always to engage her in conversation, to make sure thatshe felt included and supported. No matter what had happened before, he had very obviously taken her under his wing.
They hadn’t even tried to keep her parentage a secret. Any of the Mage Warriors and Warriors who’d been here when Cormal’s father had been alive would apparently recognize him in Tramon.
It wasn’t nearly as obvious with Trill, and Cormal had tugged him aside the second night and offered tonottell anyone if that was what Trill preferred. But Cormal must have seen what Trill thought of that idea.
“It’s not about you,” Cormal assured him. “You might not prefer to be related to me or my father. But if you don’t mind, I’m happy to acknowledge the connection. Truly.”
“My father isn’t a bad father,” Trill told him after a moment. “But he’s not very… parental. I don’t see him very often. I didn’t think I had any other family. The one I did have didn’t like me very much. I’d, uh, really like to be a part of this family.”
Cormal’s eyes went sad, and he squeezed Trill’s shoulder. “I’m sorry that happened to you. I am… not unfamiliar with not being able to live up to a parent’s expectations. You don’t have to worry about that here. I want you to be your own person.”
The fact they’d all shown up at the same time was a weird coincidence, but most people seemed to just accept that the world was a weird place sometimes. (It really was!) Trill felt thrilled to be accepted… as well as aware that the acceptance was conditional on the secret that he was keeping. There was a small part of him that wanted to reveal all, but Yannoma had drummed enough sense into him that he buried that voice.
He remembered what had happened with his grandmother. Not that she had ever thought that much of him, but she was also family. She’d known him for his entire childhood, and she’d still been horrified when she’d learned what he was. She might nothave killed him outright, but if his father hadn’t arrived when he had—
Trill couldn’t forget that; it was the voice of reason that popped up any time he thought that maybe, just maybe, withthesepeople…
They wereMage Warriors. It didn’t matter if they cared about him. He couldn’t forget that. If he couldn’t live the lie, then he could leave or tell the truthafterMolun was healed. He wouldn’t mess with that. It was too important.
He got a letter back from Yannoma. She was, as he’d expected, somewhat horrified by his choices, and she made clear in no uncertain terms that if he thought thatshewould surround herself with Mage Warriors, he was out of his mind.
This had been the answer Trill had thought most likely, but it wasn’t what he’d been hoping for. He’d really wanted Yannoma toseethe Prince.
“Does the Prince go out much?” Trill asked one evening when they were reading by the fire. He hoped this sounded like an innocent question.
“Almost never,” Molun answered, looking up from his book. “We’re not exactly advertising what’s happened to him. He can’t be harmed, of course, but people go right through him. He can’t pick things up, can’t open doors, can’t actually do most of the things that you’d do outside the castle.”
Trill wasn’t sure at all about the couldn’t be harmed part of it, but he couldn’t come up with a reasonable way to share his concerns. There was a chance he was wrong.
Maybe he could ask Yannoma if she would be willing to seejustthe Prince? And then if she said yes, he could ask the Prince to come with him? But no, he couldn’t have the Prince go alone—even if he were willing—not when he suspected that he was a snack just waiting to be devoured by every demon that caught a whiff of all that free energy. They were lucky the castle was so well protected with so many Mage Warriors and so many elements. The moat kept out the wraiths, which were definitely the worst. There was enough dirt around and most people wore talismans, so it wasn’t worth the effort for the nightmares to try to breach it. The carnalions were smart enough to stay away.
Trill sighed. Maybe he could go back to see her? If she was fond of anyone, she was fond of him. If he were there in person, if he couldwheedle, then maybe he could get her to help? But that was assuming he could describe everything well enough.
And all of that was assuming this was something a carnalion might know. Every day that Molun and Arvus and the rest of the Mage Warriors didn’t find anything of use, he could see how much it disappointed them. Trill knew more than them in one respect, but it didn’t helpsolvethe issue at all.
“What was that sigh for?”
Trill blinked, looked up. He hadn’t even realized he’d made a sound. “Nothing.”
“It didn’t sound like nothing.” Molun’s expression turned arch. “Or was it a shameless ploy for attention? Do you need attention?”
Trill couldn’t help but laugh, in large part because Molun seemed so delighted by this prospect, which he took to mean thatMolunwanted attention. Trill was very happy to offer it. Arvus had already shut his book.
“I definitely need attention,” Trill told Molun with a smile. “So much attention. In fact, I’m not perfectly certain that the two of you can offer me as much attention as I need.”
Molun straightened abruptly. “Excuse me?”
Yeah, Trill was playing with fire here—so to speak—and he was absolutely certain that he was going to enjoy every single second of it.
Trill raised an eyebrow. “Did you not hear me?”
“Oh, it ison,” Molun told him.
Trill just looked at him as innocently as he could—which proved to be a mistake, because it meant that he didn’t notice Arvus until he had swooped in and grabbed him. In a few long strides, he’d reached the bedroom and dropped Trill onto the bed. Trill landed on his back and immediately spread out as wide as he could.
“Just what are you going to do about it?” he asked.
They got naked, first of all, which was always awesome, and then they gothimnaked, which was almost as good. They crawled onto the bed and covered him in kisses and bites and licks and touches—everywhere except his cock and ass, because they were torturing him with glorious skill.
