CHAPTER 7
C HAPTER 7
SETH KNEW HE SHOULDN’T be happy and relaxed right now. They weren’t out of danger, not by a long shot. But he couldn’t help feeling a deep sense of rightness sitting in the upper levels of the circular amphitheater with Raider and watching a raunchy comedy play out on the stage below. Seth was the only one watching (and only sort of) because Raider was sound asleep against his shoulder.
Seth had one arm around Raider’s waist and his cheek pressed against the top of Raider’s head, and he fucking loved it.
The fact that Raider had fallen asleep in this crowded, noisy public space told Seth how damn tired he was. Raider needed a good night’s sleep. Seth needed it too. They were both going on two days with very little rest, and those two days had included the sand serpent fight, being drugged, being pursued for over a hundred miles, and a whole lot of stress. Plus, though Raider’s body healed at miraculous speed, Seth didn’t know what kind of toll the quicksilver use really took on him.
Seth turned his face to breathe in Raider’s scent. He closed his eyes in pleasure and let himself enjoy the soft waves of Raider’s hair. In unconscious response, Raider sighed. His hand twitched on Seth’s thigh. The contact was making Seth hard. But then, Raider could make him hard even without contact. With his voice, with his grin, with the way he moved.
One row down from them, Julian laughed as the monkey on stage, who was clearly the star of the show, threw a plum at one of the actors. Adavasti, in cat form, was sitting on the bench beside Julian.
Seth didn’t know what to think about the young arcanist. His instincts said that Julian was honest and trying to do the right thing. But what if he thought the right thing was turning Raider in to Empress Zarina?
Seth didn’t know what Kahzir’s book actually said, but it said enough that Malik and Rahim had identified Raider as the assassin. Julian would have realized the same.
As the third act came to an end, Julian twisted on the stone bench to look back at him and Raider. His mouth was open to say something, but he appeared dumbstruck. Seth wasn’t sure how obvious his erection was, but even if Julian somehow missed that, his and Raider’s intimacy was undeniable. Not that they hadn’t already been obvious about the nature of their relationship. It seemed to embarrass Julian, but Seth wasn’t entirely sure why.
Then again, Julian had always seemed uncomfortable around Seth, even at the Arcanum. Julian had always seemed to avoid him, and the one time that Seth had greeted him in a hallway, the young arcanist had frozen as though in terror. And that had been before Seth had chased him across hundreds of miles. (And before Seth had maybe, sort of, theoretically considered the advantages of Julian’s demise.)
Seth knew that was wrong, and he knew he would’ve hated himself for doing such a thing. But he would do whatever he had to do to protect Raider.
Julian nodded to Raider. “He’s really tired. You two should go to bed.”
“What about you?”
“I want to see the rest of the play. No one’s noticed us. Do you think it’s okay? For me to stay?”
Seth couldn’t help but see how that would give Julian a perfect opportunity to disappear. But then, unless Seth was going to stay awake all night and watch him, Julian could vanish at any time.
Seth needed sleep. And he needed time with Raider. Just Raider. There was no way to know what tomorrow would bring, but they had this moment, and Seth didn’t want to waste it.
Besides, Seth had the book. Julian wasn’t going to leave without it.
“Just be careful coming back to the dressing rooms.”
Julian’s lips quirked. “I did make it from Masir all the way to Aqarat, you know. I’m not totally helpless.”
“Yeah, I’ll have to give you that one.”
Julian looked surprised, even … pleased. Because Seth had acknowledged his accomplishment? Why should that matter to him? Whatever the reason, pink spots appeared on Julian’s smooth cheeks, and he turned around to watch the stage with Adavasti.
Seth stroked Raider’s side until he stirred, mumbling incoherently. Seth murmured, “Let’s get someplace more comfortable.”
Raider straightened and scrubbed at his eyes. “Fuck, I fell asleep. At a comedy . I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t be. Let’s go.”
They made their way along the row to the walkway. From there, they exited to the stairway and descended to the ground level outside the theater. A short walk took them to the actors’ entrance.
Despite the public’s love of theater, the actors themselves enjoyed very little status or wealth. Their mudbrick quarters were a shoddy add-on at the back of the theater. They lacked the painted brick and wood trim of the public face.
But that meant they were of no interest to thieves and therefore unguarded. More importantly, Rahim would check the inns and stables and other, more likely sleeping quarters first. Raider’s idea of spending the night here had been a little bit brilliant.
Before the play, Seth, Raider, and Julian had identified two unused dressing rooms. There, they’d hidden their conspicuous weapons and gear.
Now, as Seth and Raider entered the dressing room they had chosen, Seth went straight to the corner. Using the weak light from the hallway, he checked under the stiff-with-paint, moth-eaten “sultan’s gown.” His shoulders sagged with relief at the sight of his sword, chakram, and pack. Paranoid, he opened the flap. The book was still there.
Seth grabbed the arcane lamp from his pack and clicked it on as Raider pulled the doorway curtain shut. The light revealed the small, shabby room full of dusty costumes, fake jewelry, and old instruments.
“I told you it would be fine,” Raider said as he tripped over a sitar. It let out a discordant twang. With his foot, Raider pushed the sitar under a turquoise divan that leaned on its broken leg.
“I know.”
Seth grabbed their bedrolls while Raider cleared more space. As Seth got his woolen bedroll and Raider’s sheepskin laid out on the dusty mudbrick floor, he frowned. He wanted better. He wanted them someplace comfortable and clean and safe.
“What are you scowling about?” Raider asked as he stepped close and started unbuckling Seth’s vest. Raider had already removed his own kaftan and sandals. He was wearing only the rose-colored shalvar pants from Aqarat and his violet sash.
Seth sucked in a breath as Raider parted the halves of his vest and set his mouth to one of Seth’s nipples. He grabbed Raider’s ass and hauled him in until Raider’s erection pressed against his own. Raider shuddered at the contact and moved his mouth to Seth’s other nipple.
“Fuck,” Seth breathed and arched into it. He couldn’t believe how good that felt.
Raider shoved Seth’s vest off his shoulders. Seth let go of Raider’s ass to shrug the garment off. Raider immediately went to work on the laces of Seth’s pants.
“Well?” Raider prompted.
“Well what?”
“What were you scowling about?”
The teasing pressure and movement of Raider’s fingers over Seth’s aching cock made it almost impossible for him to think, but somehow he managed, “I was thinking about all the things I want. With you.”
But where Seth had been thinking about the future, Raider was clearly focused on the present. “The only thing I want is you, inside me,” he said in a raspy voice that sent a pulse into Seth’s dick. “No playing tonight. Let’s just fuck. I need you.”
Raider tore at the laces then plunged his hand inside Seth’s pants. They both let out a ragged sound as Raider’s hand curled around Seth’s cock. Raider’s other arm hooked around his back. Gods, he loved the way Raider touched him, the way Raider demanded his body.
Seth took Raider’s face in both hands. Raider had been staring down at where the crown of Seth’s cock protruded above his waistband, but he lifted his face at Seth’s urging. He parted his lips for Seth’s kiss. It was sweet and hungry and needful.
Seth murmured against Raider’s lips, “Lie down.”
Usually, Raider liked to make him work for dominance. Seth couldn’t deny how much he enjoyed those struggles, but they were both impatient and needy tonight. Raider did as Seth told him, breaking away to lie down on the bedrolls.
When Raider started to take off his sash and pants, Seth said, “No. I’ll do that.”
Raider’s hands fell to his sides and he lay there looking up at Seth. His cock tented the silk so fiercely that the flared head was visible against the material. Seth let himself focus on that delicious sight for a moment, then his gaze roamed over Raider’s athletic body. He was such a perfect balance of strength and litheness. So utterly beautiful.
“ Seth .” Raider’s muscled belly contracted with his heavy breathing.
“Sorry.” Seth bent to unlace his boots. “You distract me. And I haven’t gotten to really look at you in a long time.”
“Two days.”
“Forever.”
Seth got his boots off and shoved down his pants. His cock bobbed heavily as he stepped out of them. Watching, Raider sucked in a breath and arched. His hands fisted at his sides. He wanted to touch and be touched, but he waited for Seth.
Seth knelt and tugged at Raider’s sash. Raider lifted to let him pull it away. Then Seth untied Raider’s drawstring and slid his pants down, taking Raider’s cock in his mouth as he did.
Raider bowed up with a cry. Sucking him deep, Seth pulled his pants down further and managed to strip them away while Raider pumped into his mouth. Seth couldn’t take all of him, so he wrapped his hand around the base of Raider’s cock and used his fingers to massage Raider’s swollen balls. His own cock wept and pulsed with the pleasure of the act.
Over the past twenty-four hours, they had both been desperate for this reconnection, touching at every opportunity, both constantly getting hard even though they’d known there would be no relief. They needed this too much to draw it out. Raider was close and so was Seth.
Seth pulled his mouth free of Raider’s cock and crawled his way up Raider’s body. Lying over top of him, Seth took both their cocks in his hand and started to stroke.
“Oh, fuck, Seth,” Raider moaned, arching into Seth’s grip. “That’s going to make me come.”
“I know. Me too.”
Seth nibbled at Raider’s lip and captured his gasping breaths, his needful sounds, his slight quivering. Seth’s lower back tightened and his cock ached and throbbed at the stroking of his hand, slick with precum. He lost himself in the erotic sound and sensation of Raider’s cock gliding against his own.
“Seth, I—”
Seth swept his thumb over the crown of Raider’s dick. Raider cried out as his hips jacked upward. At the first spurt of Raider’s orgasm, Seth’s body responded, seizing hard as his own release tore through him. They rocked against each other through the heavy, straining pulses. Seth’s slick hand stroked every drop of cum from them both until they were gasping and spent.
When Raider relaxed under him, Seth kissed his lips. Raider murmured against him, “You were s’posed to fuck me.”
“I know, baby. Just sleep.”
Seth could tell that Raider was trying to stay awake, but it wasn’t going to last. Raider was too exhausted. There was no way Seth would have fucked him when he was that tired. The wound in his shoulder from the quicksilver usage hadn’t even healed yet. So Seth stroked his face until he fell asleep.
Seth stayed with him for a minute, pleased to see him resting, then he withdrew to get a towel and some water to clean them both up. After he’d finished that, he meant to lie back down with Raider, but when he was putting the water back, the open pack caught his eye.
The book caught his eye.
He pulled it out and flipped open to its title page, where The Masterwork of Kahzir was inked with such arrogance. Seth’s heart beat heavily. He had wanted the truth from Raider since he’d first seen his quicksilver in the dusty, desert-edge town of Shalaa.
And here it was in his hands. The truth.
Raider, he was sure, wouldn’t tell him. Maybe he couldn’t. But Seth needed to know.
He needed to replace his wrong-headed assumptions with facts. He needed to see just how much of an asshole he’d actually been.
Turning the lamp down to its lowest setting, Seth sat on the floor beside Raider. Seth put his back to him, using his body to block the light and hopefully not wake him. Seth closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he started to read.
Kahzir began with a brief gloss of earlier work. He alluded to other subjects, other … victims of his experiments.
Seth frowned at Kahzir’s references to “neural intrusion” and “induced impressionability.” What the hell did that mean?
Kahzir dismissed his earlier subjects as possessing “insufficient physical and mental fortitude.” But S, he wrote, demonstrated remarkable resilience. S? That must be Raider, but what did the S stand for? Kahzir took this as a sign of divine approval of his task, a perfect alchemical juncture of time, place, and purpose—
“Seth.”
Seth jolted.
Raider’s fingers settled on his bare hip. He didn’t tug. He didn’t ask Seth what he was doing, didn’t get angry. He didn’t even sit up. He just whispered, “Please, Seth. Don’t.”
Seth closed his eyes at those words. So quietly spoken. So fucking vulnerable.
There was no way he was going to argue. There was no way he was going to trample those words like Kahzir must have done so many times. Because even that first page confirmed what Seth had finally figured out last night: Kahzir had implanted the quicksilver against Raider’s will.
But that was just the barest fact. There was so much more to it. Pages and pages of detail. Of abuse. Torture.
But Seth didn’t have a right to it. He shouldn’t have delved into it without asking Raider. Even so, it was really damn hard for him to close that book.
Raider whispered, “Please put it out of sight.”
As Seth got up, Raider’s fingers fell away from his hip. Seth stowed the book in his pack then turned around to face Raider. Seth tried to brace himself, but when he saw Raider’s face, his heart shattered.
He saw every bit of the vulnerability he’d heard in Raider’s whisper. He saw pain and fear. Trauma.
Seth’s throat constricted. His eyes stung. He went to Raider and lay down beside him. He knew Raider wouldn’t talk to him, so he didn’t try. It wasn’t the right time to push for anything. Raider was exhausted, and so was Seth. So he pulled Raider into his arms and held him until the pain faded from his eyes and he fell asleep again.
It was only then that Seth felt he could talk to him. It was only then that he could ask the question he needed to ask. He would get no answer, but at least, asleep, Raider wouldn’t draw away.
So, it was only then as he stroked Raider’s hair away from his beautiful face, that Seth asked quietly, “Baby, what happened to you?”