Chapter 6 Breakfast In Bed
Breakfast In Bed
The room remained pitch black, but Declan knew that the Sun had long risen above the horizon and was shining brightly down on Tyrael.
He swore he could feel it on the back of his skull and along his spine despite magic, stone and cloth protecting him.
He burrowed deeper under the covers, instinctively reaching for Aquilan to protect him, too, against the Sun’s rays though the Sun King, obviously, needed no such protection. But Aquilan was not there.
His hand quested for a few frantic moments across that huge mattress.
His fingers slid over silky sheets and beneath the light-as-air comforter, which still kept him deliciously warm.
But the material didn’t even retain the body heat of the Sun King.
Panic had him popping up in bed, eyes open, completely wide awake and ready to battle to save Aquilan. But then memory kicked in.
Aquilan had murmured in his ear some time ago, “My Shadow, I must go downstairs for a meeting, but I will be back soon with breakfast.”
“Mmmmhhhh?” Had been Declan’s intelligent response then, “Leave? No.”
His arm had cinched around Aquilan’s waist, trying to keep the lithe, muscular figure right where he was. The Sun King had chuckled earthily, which had warmth pooling in his stomach.
“Just for a little while. Then I shall be back with ham,” Aquilan promised.
That sounded good. Aquilan and ham? Maybe he was a little bit like Glom. But Aquilan would still have to leave to get said ham so that was a, “No.”
“What about ham and eggs? Buttery eggs? Bright yellow yolks?” Aquilan’s breath puffed against his ear.
He let out a soft moan. That sounded delicious. Ham and buttery eggs? But again, that required Aquilan to leave and that was not going to happen.
“No,” he repeated, but that sounded less certain.
“And a fresh basket of pastry. Still warm from the oven,” Aquilan promised. “Imagine dipping flaky croissants into creamy egg yolk followed by a bite of sweet and salty ham.”
His stomach growled.
“I think that is a yes,” Aquilan chuckled. “I will be back soon, my Shadow. Rest until then.”
Aquilan had kissed his temple. Such a tender kiss.
Declan’s heart had soared, but after a second kiss and a brush of fingers through his hair, Aquilan had left with a whisper of silk and the light scent of citrus and sandalwood drifting in his wake.
The Sun King had made sure that no light snuck into the room as he silently left.
How long had he slept since Aquilan had gone?
Not that long, but longer than he’d hoped.
He thought that the Sun King would have returned before then, but he was still away.
Vesslan must be behind it. Keeping Aquilan from coming back. Knowing he wants to leave, making it so he can’t, Declan thought with a frown. Even though Vesslan has no idea Aquilan wants to come back to me. If he did…
Well, it went without saying that Vesslan would make certain that Aquilan never came back if he knew that.
Maybe the Emissary would insist that they abandon the palace forever to avoid his contamination.
A human in Aquilan’s bed?! Except, of course, it would really be a Kindreth in Aquilan’s bed.
He was certain that would be infinitely worse in Vesslan’s opinion.
His father had called the Emissary an insect.
That wasn’t true. Vesslan potentially posed a far bigger problem than an insect would even without knowing who and what Declan truly was.
Declan didn’t need their relationship to be in full display of the public.
In fact, he would rather not be the object of speculation and gossip.
Private moments with the Sun King under the night sky, cozy meals at the Dawn, and riding horses in the forests to picnic by the lake sounded far better to him than fancy royal dinners or other formal occasions that he was certain Aquilan would have to attend sometimes.
But Vesslan might notice those private moments.
Those times when Declan would come and stay at the palace.
And he highly doubted that Aquilan would want to be near him without touching.
The Sun King was a toucher. He’d noticed that before they were…
together. And they were together though they hadn’t discussed what that meant exactly.
Would Aquilan tell his brother about them?
He was certain Elasha would figure it out.
She’d already sensed something between them before there was.
But she also knew he was the Night Prince.
Would she really keep that from her father for a long time?
No.
That had Declan sweating a bit, but it was something out of his hands. He couldn’t–or wouldn’t–force her to be silent. So if it came out… well, he’d deal with that when it came.
He shook off the blankets and slid his legs off the edge of the bed.
His bare feet touched the cool, stone floor.
He curled his toes against the material before raking a hand through his hair.
He could feel the strands sticking up in every direction.
He should maybe tame that and brush his teeth before the Sun King returned.
So maybe Vesslan did him a little bit of a good turn by giving him time to be, at least, a little presentable.
He rose up from the bed, pulling up the sleep pants that had slid low on his hips, as he walked in complete darkness to the bathroom.
He and Aquilan had slept together, but with clothes on.
At least pants. Though he thought that Aquilan would have been happy to strip everything off and be tangled together naked as the day.
But the Sun King had watched Declan for what to do and Declan wasn’t ready for that.
Or rather, he felt too ready for that. His body burned and ached for things that he knew about in theory, but he had no real idea how to satisfy in practice.
But sleeping together?
Side by side?
Where he could look over and see the Sun King’s profile? Witness the dark lashes laid against that sun-kissed skin? Hear his heart beat? See the rise and fall of his chest? To know he could reach over and touch?
That was more than enough for now.
That was beyond anything he had ever hoped for.
They wouldn’t have gone even this far if Declan hadn’t been recovering. Declan would have chastely kissed Aquilan and said goodnight, returning to his own room at the Bastons’. But that wasn’t possible.
Aquilan had offered to sleep elsewhere. But the thought of the Sun King being kicked out of his own bed was unthinkable to Declan.
Yet only the Sun King’s rooms were safely secured against the Sun and any curious eyes so Declan had to stay.
Declan had offered to sleep on the couch or the floor.
But Aquilan would not hear of that either. So they had agreed to share the bed.
Declan had thought that he would lay rigidly beside the sleeping, elegant Aquilan, making sure not to accidentally brush against him and wake him. But Aquilan was a born cuddler. Or he was, at least, with Declan.
Immediately, Aquilan’s long arms had curled around him and brought him near.
He had been pressed against a matching powerful form with acres of silky skin.
The Sun King’s fragrant hair covered the pillow.
Declan had rubbed his cheek against it and surreptitiously pressed his nose into it.
Though, really, did he have to hide his admiration?
He wasn’t sure. But it still felt forbidden.
He’d also thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep with someone else as he had never done so in his life.
That he remembered anyway. And it was Aquilan!
Surely he would be up all night, both disturbed by another’s presence, but awed by the fact that it was Aquilan.
Yet he had fallen into the deepest sleep he’d ever had.
There were no dreams. Just the deep, dark glide of rest.
He felt incredibly refreshed, ready to face the day even, as he padded into the bathroom.
He needed no light to see himself in the mirror.
For him, the pitch black bedroom and bathroom had the same illumination as a rainy day would for humans.
There were toothbrushes and a homemade paste for him to use.
The Aravae subscribed to excellent dental care.
After relieving himself, he went to work taming his wild white hair and making his breath smell fresh and not of sleep.
As he stared at himself in the mirror, wondering if the glamour had somehow obscured that his hair had a mind of its own evidently, he thought he caught sight of the plaster and wooden beams of the Dawn. He blinked and leaned closer to the mirror.
He was not mistaken!
There were the flickering flames of a low fire that played against the dark beams and whitewashed plaster walls of one of the Dawn’s bedrooms. He blinked and leaned so close that his nose nearly pressed against the mirror’s surface.
What the…
You’re awake so early, my son, Vex said with a yawn. You should go back to that glorious bed and your even more glorious bedmate.
Declan jerked back even as he flushed hotly at his father’s description of Aquilan. You–you–you–
Yes, me, Vex chuckled sleepily.
The image of the ceiling with the flickering firelight dimmed as if Vex’s eyes were shutting.
Tell me that you did not spy on my night with Aquilan! He demanded.
Silence.
Declan’s eyes narrowed. Are you asleep or just avoiding answering my question?
Hmmmm? What?
Declan shook his head. You spied on me!
I did no such thing. Well, for a little while. Just to make sure you didn’t need my advice–
Father?! He sounded strangled. I need no such advice from you! You violated Aquilan’s privacy!
I notice you don’t mention your own, Vex sounded delighted.
I am not so foolish to think you care about mine. But Aquilan–
I promise, my son, that I did not see anything that I have not before–
FATHER! He gripped the edges of the sink.