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Chapter One
Emrys sprawled contentedly beside the campfire,
gnawing on a chunk of venison. Demeth’s smaller
appetite was already satisfied, and he’d set
aside his plate. On the other side of the
campfire Sorcha, the tribeswoman they’d rescued
from servitude to the Elves, had already fallen
asleep. They’d accomplished everything they’d
hoped to do. Demeth had gotten the iron, which
had been blocking his magic, off his wrist.
Freeing Sorcha was an unexpected bonus. They’d
successfully eluded the Elven pursuit. Demeth’s
face in the firelight was more relaxed than
Emrys had ever seen it. Emrys hadn’t realized,
until it was gone, how badly the iron blocking
his magic had worn on Demeth.
Emrys found himself watching his lover. The
firelight cast shadows that brought Demeth’s
pointed ears and high cheekbones into sharp
relief. His features were all so unlike those of
Emrys’ tribe, who were mostly brown haired or
blond, and fair skinned. Demeth was very pale,
with black hair, and funny slanted eyes. He said
his father was something called a Tengri, which
Emrys had never heard of. He had very little
hair either – just on the top of his head, and a
little on his lip, like a boy barely ready for
his manhood ritual. Some of the tribe thought
him very ugly. Emrys found his strangeness
exotic and beautiful.
After some time Demeth broke the silence. “I
wouldn’t have made it here without your help. I
realized that when we ran into the bandits in
the pass. Thanking you seems inadequate. I
already owed you my life, even before this trip.
But it’s all I can think of to do. That and get
you safely home, if that’s what you want.”
“If
that’s what I want?” Emrys asked.
“Yes, if,” Demeth repeated. “I can easily take
you back to your village now that I have my
magic back. I could also take you home with me,
if you wanted to come.”
“Are
you saying that because you feel obligated to
me?” Emrys was a little suspicious. Now that
he’d seen how Elves, with all their magic,
treated Humans, he had some doubts. He didn’t
want to be taken in like a stray pet.
“No!” Demeth answered sharply. “I’m asking
because I’d like you to stay with me. I
understand if you want to go home -- it’s not
easy to leave home for a strange place you know
nothing about. But I’ll miss you if you go
home.”
“Do
your people think of Humans as clever animals
who’ve learned not to make messes in the house,
like those Elves did?” Emrys asked.
“I
won’t lie to you. A lot of them do,” Demeth said
soberly. “I told you they call me Demeth the
Half-Breed. That’s not a term of endearment or
respect. But I have enough power to shield you
from those. They may look down at me for being
partly Human, but most of them still fear me.
That will do. It will be enough to make them at
least pretend to respect you, and your lady, if
she wishes to come too.”
Emrys thought about that. The Elves they’d just
left so precipitously had definitely looked down
their noses at the Humans living around the
castle. And all the Humans in the castle had
been servants. Did he want to live among people
who thought of him that way? On the other hand,
if he went home, his people lived in fear of the
Atlanteans and their flying ships. When they
came to the mainland they hunted the tribes like
beasts. Demeth’s people might be an improvement.
What really mattered was how Demeth felt, why he
wanted Emrys to come.
“I
need to know why you’re making this offer. If
you’re just feeling you owe it to me to take
care of me, you can do that by taking us back
across the mountains to my people.” Emrys didn’t
really want that to be the answer, but he’d
rather be honestly disappointed if that was all
it was.
Demeth bit his lip. “I’m good at being cynical
and worldly, not at being honest. I want you to
come home with me because I love you. I’ll do
whatever you think is right for you, but I don’t
want you to go back to your people. I want you
stay with me.” Demeth gazed earnestly at him,
hope and fear in his eyes.
Emrys thought for a long moment. He loved this
man. He’d probably loved him since the day he’d
taken that insane risk to help Demeth hide from
the Atlanteans who were pursing him. And he
believed Demeth. Despite all the good advice
Emrys had been given to the contrary, he knew in
his heart that he could trust Demeth. But the
idea of leaving his home tribe permanently was
hard. It would have to be permanent. Demeth had
explained that his home was far away, on another
world, reached by a magical Gate, whatever that
was. Emrys thought of his mother, and his
brothers and sisters. Could he walk away,
knowing he’d never see them again? But if he
didn’t, he’d never see Demeth again.
He
imagined that. As he did, he realized that it
wasn’t only Demeth he’d miss. The world of his
tribe seemed very small compared to the larger
world he now knew was out here. A world full of
magic and knowledge. If he went home he’d resent
the small boundaries of his village, too. He
sighed. If he stayed in the village, he’d end up
pushing his loved ones away anyway because he
was so full of anger. “It’s hard to leave behind
my family, but I think it would be harder to
watch you leave. I’ll go with you.”
Demeth caught him up in an exuberant embrace.
“Oh Emrys, thank you. I promise you won’t regret
it. I was so afraid that you’d say no.”
“I’m
not very good at that where you’re concerned.”
Emrys smiled fondly. “Do you think we could go
back to the village for a visit first, just to
let them know that we made it over the mountains
safely? And Sorcha might rather stay there than
go with us. I shouldn’t make decisions for her.”
“Of
course. Now that I have my magic back it will be
easy. We can fly most of the way,” Demeth
assured him. “It will only be an extra day or
so, plus whatever time we stay there.”
“Thank you.” Emrys pulled Demeth closer, running
a seductive hand up under his tunic. The skin of
Demeth’s back was smooth as silk under his
fingers.
Demeth relaxed against him, reaching a hand up
under his tunic to play with a nipple.
Continued in
First Section
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