Tributes

Chapter Thirty Nine

Luke woke up with cold shivers. His throat ached from screaming and he could hear it echoing faintly in the stone wall. He curled into a ball on his side, hugging his knees and burying his face in the blankets. He didn't remember properly what had happened, only that he now felt scared, his adrenaline going wild. His ports were throbbing too. He ran his fingers over his arms and gently prodded over the ones on his forearms. They were sore.  That couldn't be a good sign. 

He tried to fall back to sleep but the overwhelming feeling of wrong wouldn't leave. He should go and curl up with Tyreol. Only, he wasn't sure where the boundary was anymore. He knew not being the youngest meant not being number one and he was still working out a new dynamic. Jack was now first. 

Slowly he slid out of the bed and out of his room. The spiral towel felt taller than ever. Each tribute had a room there but many of the rooms had never been used. The more members they gained, the further from Tyreol a tribute became. Luke closed his eyes and pressed his head against the stone column.  Soon his room would move as the mages put in a new room for Jack, and likely for Abel too. He didn't want it to move. It was already weird knowing his room was going to have a new soul in it soon enough, he didn't want this to change too. He rubbed tears from his eyes and pushed away, walking down the stairs. 

He paused, looking over at the door to Tyreol room. Their relationship was the coldest it had ever been and Luke was uncertain how to fix it. He had stayed an extra couple of days just to see if Tyerol would care, but he seemed to barely notice. Or possibly wanted him to leave. Both hurt. A flash from the day before, when Tyreol had taken Jack's side in an argument. Jack telling him he needed to grow up. Tyreol had agreed with the sentiment. Adults didn't go crawling into their Master's beds looking for comfort from his a nightmare. Instead, this man was going to go bother his friend instead.

Edmund's door was slightly ajar, and Luke kicked it the rest of the way shut. The younger man was sleeping peacefully, a candle burning in the corner. It was one of the enchanted ones. Edmund didn't like sleeping in the pitch black. He stirred as he heard someone walk in the room.  Groggy eyes looked up at him and he shifted to sit up, looking at him confused. 

"Luke? Are you ok?" Edmund reached towards him, gesturing for him to come closer. "You're eyes are red."

"Nightmares. Can I sleep here for the rest of the night?" Luke asked, surprised by how nervous he sounded. He walked over and sat on the edges of the bed, crossing his arms and making himself small. 

"Course, but shouldn't you go to Master?" Edmund shifted to the side and lifted the blankets to let Luke crawl in next to him. Luke hummed noncommittally before laying down snuggling up to Edmund. He wasn't big like Tyreol, or even like Fiear or Chris, but he was warm and there. Arms threaded around him and hugged tight, lips kissed his forehead. Luke could feel his trembling beginning to fade. 

"I can't."

"You can't keep avoiding him," Edmund scolded but continued to hold him. Luke was his friend and even if he thought Luke was acting as the child Jack kept accusing him of being, he was upset right now. "You need to talk to him, Luke."

"I'll try but I think he's rather made his feelings clear," Luke murmured. Closing his eyes, he turned into Edmund's warm and burying his face into the man's collar bone. He didn't want to think about how his relationship with Tyreol had changed over the week anymore tonight. "I should really leave."