Chapter 19 #2
Ryder held up a hand. “He did, Grayson. Most everyone lost something because of me.” He let out a sigh. “He just fears he earned it in some way. But that’s not true.”
“War does things to people. We both know that.” Grayson reached over and stroked his shoulder.
“But we cannot stay in that place with hatred and revenge in our hearts if we are to go forward together. And we must go forward together. Humanity is not going to take Daemon ruling the world lying down.”
“I know. Which is why I’m glad of this. Eyros remembers everything here and he helped us. I remember everything that Kaly did and yet I know when I see Caemorn again I will not hate him. He is my brother,” Ryder said. “Full disclosure. Full forgiveness.”
Grayson looked down at the tattoo of his Bloodline–a spiral made up of three interconnected lines that reminded him almost of a tornado–and thought of what he’d been able to do in the hallway in Lasting.
He’d had the Kaly gift. For a moment anyways.
Maybe always. It wasn’t like he could check it quite yet.
He’d had his own gift, too. Thankfully. Ryder’s blood had taken him over the cliff, but there was still something of Kaly within him, too. Would that be forgiven?
“How long does it take before a fledgling of yours can shift?” Grayson asked suddenly.
Ryder lifted an eyebrow. “Wondering what your spirit animal is already?”
“I’ve always wondered. I dreamed I was a raven,” Grayson said. He stretched out a hand and spread his fingers. “I could feel the wind rustling my feathers.”
Ryder linked their hands together. “I see. Well, that could be an omen. You could be a bird shifter. That would suit you.”
“I don’t know.” Grayson pursed his lips as he reached down and patted the Dire Wolf’s head. “I sort of hoped to be something a little fiercer. Like a Dire Wolf.”
Ryder let out a chuckle. Khos’ tail whapped the bed.
“As my Childe, you may have more than one form,” Ryder said.
Grayson grinned. “Of course, that’s right. Some of your children had multiple forms. And since I am an overachiever–”
“You will be the best of all.” Ryder tilted his head to the side and smiled affectionately.
“I will try to make you proud.”
“It is my honor to have turned you, Ashyr,” Ryder said formally.
“And it is my honor for you to have done so.”
Ryder finished the rest of the blood wine and waggled the glass to make sure it was empty.
He set it and the carafe down by the side of the bed.
When he came back up, he drew his shirt off.
Grayson felt saliva fill his mouth as he gazed at all that naked flesh.
The dark nipples. The muscles covered by acres of silken skin. So beautiful.
Khos–reading the room or the bed–jumped down and went, tail wagging, over to a rug before the fire where it flopped down, head on paws, to sleep.
Grayson straddled Ryder’s body. He felt the hot, hard press of Ryder’s cock beneath his ass even through their pants.
He shucked off his shirt. Ryder’s lips began to open, to object, but Grayson put a finger over his lips.
“I know. I’m still too weak for anything truly fun, but I intend to feel your skin against mine when I feed,” Grayson told him.
Ryder kissed his finger. “Acceptable. Though you are going to test my self-control totally, aren’t you?”
“Ah, you are my Soldier. You know how to follow the orders of your General. And you always do what is best for me,” Grayson told him, his voice going softer and lower.
“Always.”
That was a promise that went beyond this room, beyond this moment, but for all time.
They were together. Linked. Bonded. Always.
Forever. Grayson smiled so broadly that his cheeks almost ached with it.
He could feel the humming of his connection to Ryder and to all of the creatures of the Ever Dark.
How had he ever thought he was alone? The linkage had been there even before Ryder.
All of the Immortals were connected to this place and each other and to, of course, Daemon.
But he’d thought of himself as a singular being, standing apart, standing alone.
He’d been wrong and he’d never been so happy to have been proven so.
“Now, where shall I begin to devour you?” Grayson mused.
“Anywhere you like.”
“Yes, because you are mine. All mine.”
“Yes,” Ryder agreed with a broadening smile.
He pushed Ryder back onto the bed. His fingers lightly ghosted over Ryder’s chest. His fingers rose and fell in the hills and valleys of his muscles.
He circled around the darker areolas. Ryder’s nipples peaked as he did so.
Ryder let out a soft grunt. Grayson grinned.
He leaned down and let his hot breath gush over those tender nubs.
His tongue snaked out and slowly traced that softer flesh. Ryder’s hands fisted in the comforter.
The taste of Ryder had Grayson’s eyes fluttering shut. His stomach clenched. His mouth flooded with saliva. He wanted to tease, but he needed to have a taste. Just a taste. And then he would move on.
His fangs came out for the first time in this Second Life. They felt so right in his mouth. He ran his tongue over them, nearly pricking it with the kitten-sharp tips. Unused. This would be his first time sinking them into flesh and taking in the blood of eternal life.
His mouth closed over that tight nub and he slowly bit down.
His fangs were so sharp that they sank into Ryder’s skin like a knife through butter on a hot day.
Blood welled up almost immediately. He tasted that unique umami flavor of blood that Vampires tasted, but humans could not.
The blood zinged going down his throat. As soon as it hit his stomach, every part of his tingled.
Much better than the blood wine. He needed this. He needed Ryder.
He took a few mouthfuls. His mind was flying again.
He swore he could see wings again. The sound of the wind blowing through them.
The way they lifted his body. The sense of lightness.
He glided. He hovered. He flew. And with him was the warm presence of Ryder.
A cord connecting them. He looked over and saw that there was another bird beside him. A falcon.
Ryder!
His eyelids fluttered open. He broke off from feeding. Ryder’s silver eyes were glowing though they were slitted.
It was real. Somehow. That will happen.
He thought he saw a falcon reflected in them. Grayson kissed along his taut pectorals, heading to the other nipple. His mouth suctioned around the second hard nub. His stomach burned with hunger. As he ran his tongue along the soft flesh, his fangs ached. His veins felt hollow.
Ryder really is feeding for two. Maybe more. My hunger is greater than I thought.
But it made sense. Artemis had drained him far more than was necessary for the turning. The Kaly Vampire had wanted him to be weak and needy. Artemis would have likely kept him starving so that he would need to do whatever Artemis asked of him.
Ryder will never deny me. Which means I must be the one careful with him.
Grayson drew in large mouthfuls of blood. It was like liquid heat flowing down his throat and spreading out to every molecule of his being. The fire in his chest that had been banked coals burst into burning life. In his mind’s eye the amount of fire he could hold was much larger than before.
Big enough for three fires?
He released the tender nub. Ryder groaned.
“Feed, my love. No more teasing. I can feel your hunger,” Ryder insisted.
“Yes, yes, I know, but I need to taste more of you first. I cannot stop,” Grayson said.
“Grayson,” Ryder begged.
“Trust me.”
Grayson kissed up his chest, lingering at the hollow at the base of his throat, licking that space, mapping it with his tongue. Salt. Sweet. Spicy. Musk. Indescribable tastes. His cock was hot and aching. His whole body thrummed. He heard the sound of wings all around them. Or was that the waves?
He was at Ryder’s throat. He swallowed almost convulsively as saliva filled his mouth. The hunger for Ryder was like a beat in his heart. He kissed along Ryder’s neck, up to his jaw, then back down again until he reached the pulse point there. His heartbeat matched Ryder’s.
“Feed, my beloved,” Ryder breathed.
His hands curled around Grayson’s back. They smoothed over his spine. Up and down. Gentle, but firm. Their bare chests were pressed together. His own nipples peaked as he moved against Ryder’s front.
His fangs were sinking into that pulse point.
The throb of that heartbeat. His heartbeat.
Ryder’s heartbeat. They were one and the same.
Their bodies moved together. Ryder’s hands ran down his arms and they linked hands.
Ryder brought one of those clasped hands to his lips and he was kissing it. Kissing and kissing and kissing.
Heat and friction and the sweetness of shared blood.
Crimson like the sun as it set beneath the horizon.
Crimson like the roses that bloomed in the night in the Ever Dark.
Crimson as the connections between them and the land and the creatures and the other Immortals and the Vampires they created. And to Daemon.
He saw black feathers bursting every. Dancing in the wind all around them.
Swirling. He let out a caw! Then he settled on two little feet–claws–on Ryder’s chest. Ryder was staring at him.
Grayson tilted his head to the side to look at him.
It was strangely odd to look straight ahead.
And his vision was almost telescopic and–
“Grayson!” Ryder laughed delightedly as he gently picked Grayson up–how could he do that?--with one hand and let Grayson perch on his forearm. “You really are an overachiever, aren’t you, my beloved?”
What?
“Caw!”
I don’t understand! What’s happening here?
“Caw! Caw! Caw!”
Ryder gently brushed his fingers over Grayson’s–feathery–chest and scratched under his chin–beak–while looking at him so lovingly.
“You shifted, my beloved. Your first drink and your first shift,” Ryder explained.
I–I shifted?
Grayson looked down at his feet. They were bird feet. Little black bird feet. He rustled his feathers. He looked back up at Ryder.
I’m a raven!
“Yes, my beloved, you are!” Ryder kissed the top of his feathery head. “I guess I should be glad that your first form is a bird. You could have turned into something like a stag and that would have been hard on my chest.”
I’m a raven! I did it! Without realizing… Oh, then we could fly together. Ryder, let’s go flying. Just for a little bit!
Ryder nodded. “Yes, Grayson. Of course. We shall fly together.”
He gently set Grayson down on the bed. Grayson flapped his wings and gazed on in wonder. He was not surprised when Ryder shifted into a falcon.
Show me how to fly? Grayson laughed. I’m not quite sure how.
I’ll show you everything, Grayson, Ryder promised. We’ll do it all together.
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