Chapter 25
Chapter twenty-five
A Moment of Peace
Using her Ember twice was taking its toll on Elena, and her eyes began to close right in front of me.
That on top of the emotional weight of the day made her practically incoherent.
She could barely walk, so I helped her back to her room.
That left me alone with my thoughts, lying on my bed, staring up at the stone ceiling, absently counting its imperfections.
Our world had changed so completely in the last few hours that my mind felt like a ship in a storm, lost at sea.
Where would we live? Where would we even be safe now that the Royal Guard was hunting us?
Hopefully I could keep myself busy with the Order of Emberlight once I joined their ranks, but what would Elena do?
As hard as things had been, she and I had carved out a life for ourselves, but now that life was gone. It was a lot to take in.
I must have dozed off at some point because I woke up to soft knocks on my door. Before I could respond, the door cracked open, and Darion peeked in.
“Did I wake you?” he asked.
“I just nodded off. Didn’t even mean to.”
“I can come back—”
“No!” I blurted. Then, softer, “No. Please stay.”
Darion smiled—a big smile, like he couldn’t believe his luck.
Or maybe I was projecting. He slipped off his boots and lay on the bed next to me, taking my hand.
It was the smallest expression of intimacy, but that was what was special about it.
Not an overt gesture, just a simple I’m glad to be here with you.
“How are you doing?” Darion said in a gentle voice.
“Our home is gone. It’s surreal. I’m worried about my sister.”
Darion nodded, concern in his eyes.
“But I’m hopeful about the future, about Emberlight.” I paused for a moment, then looked into his eyes. “And hopeful about us.”
Darion smiled, squeezing my hand.
We lay there for a moment, not speaking, and my thoughts drifted to my sister once again. How could I let myself enjoy Darion when her life had completely fallen apart?
“I don’t know what I’m going to do about Elena,” I said. “We can never go back home, and I don’t know where is safe anymore.”
“She’s safe here for now, and we can figure out the rest later. I know that’s not the most comforting thing, but the Order of Emberlight has a lot of experience with Emberborn refugees.”
“What happens to them?”
“They often start here, like Elena. Then we sneak them out of the city to the northern lands, past the Everwinter Mountains, where Tarnasau’s influence is weaker. There are families there who take in displaced Emberborn.”
The idea of Elena leaving the city hit me like a punch to the gut. How would I know she was safe? How could I possibly entrust her to strangers after the promise I’d made to my mother? And on top of everything else, I’d miss her dearly.
“Isn’t there any way she could stay in the city?” I asked.
“She would be in constant danger. Being on the Royal Guard’s watch list means she’d have to stay locked up like a caged animal. That’s not much of a life.”
“I don’t think I could ever be comfortable if she wasn’t near.”
“You don’t have to decide anything now,” Darion said in a calm voice. “Let’s wait until you see the Emberlight Council and hear what they have to say. Speaking of which, several council members are occupied and can’t make it here until tomorrow morning.”
“Will you stay with me tonight?” I asked. A mixture of emotions swirled inside me, but the one thing I knew was that I didn’t want to be alone.
Darion smiled. “I was hoping you’d ask. I didn’t want to press. Of course I’ll stay with you.”
Relief and happiness bloomed in me like a field of wildflowers in summer. Given how much had changed, having this one good thing was more stabilizing than I could imagine.
Darion’s thumb traced circles on my palm, and for the first time since I’d left the clock tower, my body stopped shaking.
“Hang on,” Darion said, hopping off the bed. “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?” A bit of panic tugged at my insides. It annoyed me because it was irrational. This was a new feeling for me, or perhaps just something I’d been good at hiding from myself.
“It’s a surprise,” Darion said with a coy smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll be right back.”
He left me sitting there with my thoughts, but his smile and promise to be back soon settled my nerves enough for me to relax the slightest bit.
In a few minutes, Darion returned, grinning broadly and carrying a glazed ceramic basin with steam rising from it.
“A bath?” I asked. The prospect of hot water on my skin made me shiver in anticipation.
“I didn’t want to say anything,” Darion said in a teasing voice, “but you really stink.”
“Hey!” I protested, laughing because he wasn’t wrong.
Darion pulled up a chair next to the basin. “Sit,” he said.
I sat down and started to pull off my shirt, but Darion stopped me.
“Allow me,” he said.
He slowly unlaced my tunic with such delicacy and tenderness that each time his hand touched my body, it felt like a caress.
He lifted my arms and pulled the tunic off, exposing my upper body.
I had been naked in front of Darion a dozen times before, but this felt different. More exposed. More intimate.
He reached over to the basin, squeezed out a cloth, then gently pressed it against my chest. The scent of lavender teased my nose, and the water was deliciously hot, sending chills rippling through my entire body. Darion smiled at this.
He scrubbed my entire torso, lifting each arm, cleaning every nook.
I tried to hold back giggles as he ran the cloth along my armpits.
Any time I tried to help, he lovingly scolded me.
He was mostly gentle, but he scrubbed harder in a few particularly soiled spots.
The care he took, the loving touches, the occasional glance to see how I was doing, was the most intimate thing I’d ever experienced.
He treated me like a fragile thing that could break if he was too forceful.
I fought back the tears that welled up from sheer emotion.
“Stand,” Darion softly commanded after finishing my upper body.
I did. He unlaced my trousers, even more delicate and caring than before.
Then he pulled them down, along with my undergarments.
Thus far, everything had been so affectionate and chaste that arousal had been the last thing on my mind.
But the moment he pressed the hot cloth against my lower abdomen, that changed.
He continued to scrub, not missing a spot. When he spread my legs and cleaned my inner thighs, I entirely lost the battle, becoming instantly hard. He just smiled with zero judgment as he cleaned around my privates.
He had cleaned me from head to toe with only one exception.
“Bend over,” he said.
I raised my eyebrows at that. His gentle smile didn’t change, but I couldn’t help but notice his cock pushing up against his trousers and the wet spot that had soaked through. My throat bobbed at the sight.
Leaning against the chair, I bent over, exposing my backside.
He nudged my legs farther apart. The hot cloth made me breathe in sharply.
The more he cleaned, pressing against my most delicate parts, the harder I got.
This was quickly turning from a tender, caring moment into something quite different, and I was shocked by just how much I ached for it.
For the first time since I had entered the Citadel Library, I let myself want something purely for me.
The sound of the cloth splashing into the basin signaled the end of the bath and what I hoped was the start of something that would sate the desire building up in me. I was about to stand up when I felt Darion’s hands on my back, holding me down—not forcefully, just enough to keep me where I was.
“This okay?” he asked.
“Gods yes,” was my desperate reply.
What I got was even more than I expected. He spread my legs, and something hot, soft, and wet tickled my backside. The ripples of sudden intense sensation forced a startled gasp out of me.
“Oh dust!” I moaned. I had heard people describe this, but this was the first time I had ever felt it, and…um…wow.
But what startled me the most was sharing such an intimate thing and not feeling my usual instinct to pull away. That I was able to allow this to happen, to fully lose control, rocked me far more than any physical act.
He continued to work his tongue against me, eliciting involuntary moans, while at the same time reaching around to stroke me. The combined effect nearly sent me over the edge.
Darion sensed my nearing climax and slowed down.
“How’d you like that?” he said.
“All the gods in the sky, that was amazing!” I gasped. “I want you inside me. Now!”
“Yes, sir,” he said with passion and a touch of playfulness.
I peeked back to see Darion slip out of his clothes. His naked body was a study in perfection, the beautiful curves in his hips pointing down in a V shape, framing his extremely hard cock.
“Please!” I begged.
He slathered some salve on his cock and stood behind me. Whatever magic he had performed with his tongue had relaxed me to the point that he was able to push his entire length inside me in one motion. We gasped in unison.
With each thrust, my mind exploded with pleasure, and he reached around again and stroked me, matching the rhythm. We both howled and grunted like feral animals as our pleasure neared a crescendo. Suddenly he stopped and pulled out. I didn’t even mean to, but I actually whimpered.
“Why?” I said in desperation.
“I want you to feel it when you’re inside me,” he said.
I smiled, knowing just what he meant: his Chronothene.
He hopped onto the bed, lying on his back. I followed right behind.