Havermouth, Present TimeDan and Greg performed restless patrols of the apartment, the staircase and the roof above, in between spreading their weaponry on the tables and inspecting each piece minutely, keeping themselves busy to cover for their helplessness with Tom. They loved him very much, she thought watching their frequent checks on the third member of their Triquetra and witnessing the tenderness of their touches, the softness of their murmurs, and the emotion behind their eyes.Tom slid in and out of sleep, as she would expect. He had lost a lot of blood, and his body had undergone an amazing amount of trauma. However, the entry wounds were beginning to close, and the exit wounds, when she felt they could risk moving him again, were less grotesque. There would be scarring, but sensation had returned, and, after her attention to his back, Greg and Dan had discretely supplied a bottle for Tom to urinate in, so she was assured that healing within him was progressing.She fed him
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeIt took time to organize for a royal courtship, Thaelen discovered. Having negotiated the finer points of agreement should Thaelen accept a marriage with Greibron and one of Greibron’s eligible princesses with him, such as trade agreements, borders, dispute resolution, a dowry, and a bride price - which was basically an exchange of gifts between Thaelen and Queen Mariphine - then the courtship itself had to be arranged and orchestrated.A royal artist was sent from Greibron to paint Thaelen’s portrait, and Sigrid sent their own artists back to paint the daughters of Mariphine so that Thaelen could determine which was more to his liking. They would then correspond in writing, sending each other gifts and tokens from their lands to create affection and esteem, before finally travelling to meet one another in person.It was agreed that the meeting would take place in what they had determined would be considered neutral territory, between the base of
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years Before“You have done well,” Thaelen remarked to Sigrid as they descended the mountain. Spread out in the neutral territory between the Concordian mountain range and the newly completed Greibron wall was a sea of tents fluttering brightly colored flags. They had been arranged in a half circle around a central meeting point where much of the entertainment would take place.Towards the Greibron wall, the humans had mirrored Sigrid’s arrangement with their own.The meeting point had been set out like a great hall, with tables and seating to either side of a central aisle leading to a head table. Already the tables were filling as the nobles who had travelled for the festivities gathered to see the meeting between Queen Mariphine and King Thaelen.“Have they arrived?” He wondered. The day was bright, the ocean shimmering, and the air filled with the scents of roasted meat and vegetables. He pulled a face. Over Lord Jermyne’s stay, he had been forced to eat m
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeThaelen threw back his head and laughed as Harithen stole the flag at the top of the pole, winning the challenge for his team to a roar of approval from the onlookers. He leaned back onto the arm of his throne as the game ended. “He is quite the game player,” he observed to Freanya who was keeping him company during the event.“Harry has always enjoyed games,” Freanya replied turning to look at him as the players congratulated each other. “But he does not always play fair.”“Hmm,” Thaelen was not paying attention, his eyes on the beautiful Harithen. He rose to his feet as the players approached the dais and stepped forward to lean against the elaborately carved balustrade that encircled the platform that had been raised to afford the royal onlookers the best view of the field below.Sigrid, hovering in attendance, brought over the chest with the prizes, standing beside him as he greeted them. He could feel her disapproval rolling off her in waves,
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeAt the evening feast, Thaelen sat with Freanya at his side and pushed his food about his plate in an effort to appear to eat more than he did, whilst his eyes lingered on the lower table where Harithen entertained a blended group of Concordian and Greibron nobles with an animated recounting of some humorous event. Hopefully not spreading rumors about seducing Thaelen on the cliff, he thought grimly.The sky was heavy with cloud, and Thaelen saw Sigrid and Meguitte talking intently, Sigrid gesturing at the sky whilst Meguitte shook her head. He imagined that Sigrid was trying to persuade Meguitte to use her magic to turn the clouds away, and Meguitte, terrified of using her magic around the priests of the One God, was refusing.“Mother apologises for her absence,” Freanya told him for the third time. “She had to return.”“I understand,” Thaelen said absently as Harithen threw back his head in laughter, his hair fanning out behind him. It had been l
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeThaelen paused, his hand on the ties of his coat. Things had been going so well with Freanya and he’d felt hopeful about the union with Greibron for the first time since meeting the princesses. He was entirely certain that if she found out that he had f-ked her brother, there would be trouble down the line. He’d seen the mess that indiscreetly taking lovers left behind too frequently and did his utmost to avoid the situation.And yet… He wanted the man as he could not remember wanting anyone, ever, and that had to mean something.“Were you discrete?” He asked as he undid the ties and shrugged off his jacket, hanging it over the back of a chair so that it would dry overnight.“Of course. It’s not the first time I’ve bribed my way into a lover’s bed,” Harithen rose smoothly to his bare feet. Even his feet were beautiful, long and lean, with neatly maintained nails, Thaelen observed as he watched him walk across the bed and step down.They were reall
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeHarithen lay between Thaelen’s thighs, his cheek on his chest, their wet c-cks trapped between them. They had f-ked themselves empty, f-ked themselves to the point of contented somnolence, and they lay listening to the rain striking the canvas in the peaceful lull left behind the satiated lust.“I should go,” Harithen sighed eventually. “But it’s miserable out there.”“Stay,” Thaelen invited immediately. “I would like for you to stay.”“Hmm, and risk me being seen leaving your tent in the morning? My sisters would love that,” Harithen laughed into Thaelen’s chest.“I will ensure you return to your tent unseen,” Thaelen told him. It was nice to lie skin to skin, warmed by another body, with the damp cold seeping in through the canvas, and he was still fascinated by the man, not yet prepared to let him slip from his bed potentially forever.“How will you do that?” Harithen wondered, amused.“I will wake you before dawn. No one will be around in this
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years Before“This was your doing,” Thaelen said under his breath to Sigrid as they waited for the horses to be brought by the squires. Quite a crowd had gathered, and what Thaelen had originally intended to be a private horse-ride had become a spectacle, with many nobles and guards preparing to ride with the royals of both Concordia and Greibron.“Of course,” Sigrid replied complacently without looking at him, smiling politely and inclining her head to those who entered her field of vision. “Nothing happens in your life, Thaelen, without my hand in it somewhere, surely you know this.”“Believe me, I do,” he replied resentfully. “I will remind you, however, that I am a man grown, and capable of making my own decisions on occasion.”“And what decisions would you have made today, precisely, Thaelen?” She arched a brow at him. “You made a decision many weeks ago and charged me to ensure the success of your endeavour. Everything you see before you, every event tha