Henry
Well, that wasn’t entirely honest. He knew what Draco said was true. What he wanted to find out was Andvari’s side of the story.
But first, he desperately needed to get cleaned up. He had some workout gear stored in the gym, and they had a shower down there, too. He’d get the wet and sticky come out of his shorts, change clothes, then face Andvari and demand some answers.
“I want to talk to you. So prepare yourself and finish your routine. Meditate. Whatever you’ve gotta do to sit down and have a conversation without either of us storming away. I’m going to go shower. If you’re not here when I get back, I’m calling my uncle.”
It was the biggest threat he had, and one that usually worked.
Andvari simply frowned and as Henry backed away, he continued his practice as if Henry hadn’t just broken his stride.
Henry spun on his heel and stomped into the attached bathroom.
It was the most utilitarian space in the house, without the bells and whistles Eduard had put into most of the other rooms. Andi was all over the space, because he’d been the one to explain what he most needed.
They’d probably had a thousand conversations about the house in the beginning, when Henry’s visions were starting to take form.
He’d already had basic sketches when Eduard and Andvari arrived, but he’d been making them casually, trying to dissect their meaning without realizing what exactly they were.
Henry snagged a pair of his old shorts and a tank top from the armoire in the corner and carried them into the bathroom. He took his time rinsing away his release, only slightly embarrassed that Draco had made him come in his pants. Learning that extra bit of magic? Well, that had made it worth it.
He cleaned up quickly, then dried off in record time. By the time he’d slipped his clean clothes on, Andvari was sitting on one of the mats against the wall with one leg pulled up and the other stretched out in front of him.
Henry sat down across from him, nudging Andi’s foot aside so he could sit closer. He decided to just dive in and rip the Band-Aid off the wound. “Why are you such a jerk to me?”
Andvari blinked then arched a brow. “I’m not.”
“Oh, don’t give me that bull crap. You’ve been hard on me since day one and you know it, acting like you’re my boss or something. You aren’t, you know.”
Andvari scowled. “I never said I was.”
“Well, you act like it.”
He made a low growling sound but didn’t deny it.
“Okay, now that we’ve got that established, I also know that you aren’t my boss.
But I’m willing to concede that you were just trying to help me the only way you knew how.
And that I probably rushed to judgment because I really hate being treated like I’m some helpless victim.
I haven’t been helpless since I was eleven years old and I refuse to be treated that way now. ”
Andvari nudged his foot against Henry’s leg, almost offering comfort, however awkwardly it was given.
“Why eleven?” Andvari asked.
Henry sighed. “That’s when my dads found me. Before that, I’d been kidnapped, my birth parents murdered, and I was held captive for we don’t know how long while some stranger tried to drain our magic. Good times.”
Andvari leaned forward, scooting away from the wall with a deeper scowl. “When you were so young?”
“Yep. But my dads found us and we’re fine now. They taught us how to be strong and take care of ourselves. So, see, I don’t like it when you act like I can’t.”
“Your brothers and sisters… they were with you.”
Henry nodded. “All of us. That’s how we all live with the pack, even though some of us aren’t wolves.”
“I didn’t know,” Andi said. He reached out and laid his hand across Henry’s knee, lowering his head briefly in the shifter way of apology.
“I know you didn’t. It’s something I need to work on. And when you add my overprotective dads, my overprotective uncle, my overprotective pack, my uncle’s overprotective pack, my overprotective siblings… you see where I’m going with this?”
Andvari nodded. “You aren’t weak, Henry. I never thought you were. Your magic is bright and crystal clear. You are a force to be reckoned with and will be even more so once you learn more about your abilities.”
“Which is what you were trying to help me do by getting me to practice with you.”
He nodded. “But I also wanted you to be physically stronger. Humans are… different from vampires. More fragile. Not weak. I don’t think you’re weak, but your body isn’t like mine.
I can heal most wounds by drawing from the power of the earth.
Blood magic heals the rest. But when you’re hurt…
I mean, look at what just happened to Sawyer.
What if that had been you? Yes, you have magic, but your body is human. ”
“I know. I’ve thought about that a lot, actually. Did you ever wonder why you were sent to me and not straight here? I mean, Draco got here years ago. But you were sent straight to me. Why?”
Andvari shook his head. “So I can protect you until your visions lead us to the Chosen One.”
“No,” Henry said. “Because I’m a guardian just like you are. You were sent to me for a reason, though.”
“What reason?”
Henry sighed and scooted closer. He grabbed Andvari’s hand in his and linked their fingers together.
“You think that maybe we both needed to learn to work together before we can really function as guardians? That the Chosen One will need us to be a team before he or she arrives, and that until we’re all able to work together to keep them safe, they won’t show up? ”
Andvari stared down at their joined hands before shrugging one muscled shoulder in reply. “Possibly.”
“Probably,” Henry said. “I mean, Eduard’s been learning about the money thing forever. And Draco’s all I am Dragon here me roar. But you and me? Well, we’ve got a few issues I think.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you, Henry. I can’t.”
“You better not. But you also better remember that my job is to stand beside you not behind you. The Chosen One is who we protect, okay?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Now what’s this I hear about you wanting to do really naughty things with me?”
Andvari sucked in a startled breath and tried to scramble away. But Henry was ready. He pounced and draped himself over Andvari’s lap, wrapping his arms tight around his neck.
“Henry—”
“I’ve thought about it, you know? Imagined you and me. Doing some of those naughty things. I’ll tell you a little secret. Part of the reason I had to quit lessons with you was because I kept imagining you naked. I mean, the awkward boners were becoming a serious issue.”
Andvari made another surprised noise, but his hands had come to rest on Henry’s hips. He’d count it as progress.
“And then when we were on the bus and Eduard was being all weird about driving because goddess forbid one of us take a turn—”
“You don’t even know how to drive a bus.”
“And you do?”
Andvari’s hands drifted a bit lower.
“You were there in my space and I couldn’t get away. I’d go back to the bedroom and touch myself, hoping you’d walk in on me and maybe offer to help me out.”
Andvari’s eyes had begun to glow, a light green haze forming over them. “I… I could hear you back there,” he whispered. “I knew what you were doing. And… I could smell you. Like I smelled you when you walked in here a few minutes ago.”
Henry blushed and lowered his head to Andi’s shoulder. “Goddess, take me now.”
“No,” Andvari growled and pulled him closer. “You… just no.”
“I’m so embarrassed,” Henry said. His face was probably redder than the fiery sun.
“Hey, where’d that fierce warrior go who walked in here with no fear?”
Henry sucked in a shaky breath and lifted his head. “He’s here. Just… not quite as fearless as you might think.”
“I think he is,” Andvari said. “I think you’re brave and beautiful.
The moment I met you I thought… I couldn’t let anything happen to you.
When you had your first vision and I saw what they did to you, I wanted to find a way to make it stop.
To make it easier. My entire life I trained for this, from the moment the mark appeared I knew I was meant to be a warrior. ”
Henry smiled and leaned in to press a gentle kiss against Andvari’s lips.
“The moment the wind spoke to me through the leaves of the trees, I knew. I didn’t have the training you did, but the promise was there.
And I think… whatever the Goddess has in store for me, she’s given me all I need.
I mean, she brought you to me, right? And the others? ”
“She did.”
“And Sawyer, I mean, I never even knew someone like him existed. She knew the pain was hard on me so she gave me a way to help. And Eduard, he has all that ability with money to keep us in all this luxury. Do you know what my brothers would say if they saw that marble bathroom upstairs with the swimming pool Eduard calls a bathtub? I’d never hear the end of it. Ollie would move in!”
Andvari laughed. “He would. We’d never get him out of here. He’d want Cecil all to himself.”
“And you. You, Andi. You’re my warrior, too. You can teach me to fight with my hands as well as with my magic, but I know you’ll always be there with that giant sword of yours, keeping us all as safe as we can be.”
Andvari sighed and pulled him close. “I’d gut anyone else who called me that ridiculous name.”
“I know.”
The intimacy of the moment helped Henry find his bravery once again. He leaned his head in and nipped at Andvari’s lips, teasing until he parted them and allowed Henry’s tongue to dip inside. He breathed into it, then huffed out a laugh when Andvari flipped him onto his back onto the mat.
“You aren’t starting something here you’re afraid to finish, are you?”
Henry smiled and ran his hands down Andvari’s arms. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“And what if I want to make you smell as good as you did when you walked in here?”
“I’d say go for it.”