Far From Home Two: The Monster's Heir-- a M/M/M fantasy romance

15-- Jealousy

SAGE—

I listened to Brin and, through her, Al'iya go on for nearly 20 minutes about the "power" they said they believed Llyric possessed. A hedge witch's healing with herbs and poultices I could believe, because it was real. Tangible. I had seen it, knew a handful of hedge witches who could heal a man near death with a few herbs and a calming touch. A hedge witch used the natural attributes of the earth to heal. Simple.

A man with the magical power to not only feel what those around him felt, but who could also direct those emotions into himself... just wasn't possible.

I listened patiently, but after a while I grew tired of their nonsense and went in search of Llyric. I needed to make sure he ate before we had to travel again. If possible, I thought he was looking even skinnier and more haggard than he had the day before.

When I came upon Ember leaning back against a straggled stump, cut down a few feet off the ground, I froze and stared. He held Llyric in his arms, his face dug into the boy's hair, his arms wrapped protectively, caringly, around him.

I stared dumbly for a moment, wondering why the sight calmed and comforted me, rather than making me want to dive into a jealous rage. The boy was limp in Ember's arms, completely calm and sedate, but I could see the tremors that ran down his spine— as if he was only just coming down from sobbing.

Rather than the sight of the men together bringing me rage, jealousy, I felt only a strange sense of rightness. Somehow, this was how it was supposed to be. Them, together.

With me by their side.

There was something wrong, but it was that I wasn't there with them, not that they were together.

After a moment, Ember sensed my gaze and glanced up, meeting my eyes. Something was shared between us then... I couldn't say what. Understanding? Empathy? But it changed nothing.

He still saw me as his enemy, and I still wanted Llyric, to protect him and learn of him and bring him to do the same for me, so nothing could happen between us. But the way I felt when he shook Llyric so he could stand and help the boy to his feet, pulling away from the both of us with a tip of his head, told me I was lying even to myself.

I wanted Ember as much as I did Llyric. How could my feelings for two opposite men come so strongly after such a short amount of time?

LLYRIC—

By dusk we could see the outlines of the small huts of Ember's tribe hazy on the horizon. Within another hour, we were pulling into the courtyard of a mansion— not quite a castle, but much larger than the huts and cabins around it. Not garish— Akaran simplicity and sturdiness was in every corner and stone of the building— but large and separate enough to show that the leader of the people who lived in the other homes resided there.

A handful of people waited in the courtyard. Most of the procession that we had travelled with had slowly slinked away as we made our way through the tribe, but there were still at least a dozen of us who clattered to a stop in the courtyard.

A man nearly Sage's size stood next to a much smaller man with hair the color of sunlight and eyes that shone with an inner light that had me wanting to look away in shame. This was a man whose blood was pure, unsullied, his soul bright and nearly dripping from his eyes. His joy and excitement rippled from him and, rather than allowing it to touch me, I redirected it at the children at my back. I smiled a bit at their sudden exuberance as they felt the man's light emotions as their own, but kept my eyes away from the knowing, far-too-understanding gaze of the Akaran hedge witch.

The large man was Akaran, but the smaller, younger one was likely El'kahrian. His coloring was similar to mine, although my sickly pale skin and dirty freckles stood pathetic next to his glowing, pure and unblemished ivory.