Choosing to say out of the Alliance, the Cinders are isolated in their own conflicts, and when Helia Cinder reaches to the void for answers, she inadvertently draws a creature out. Expecting to be eaten alive, she is instead left with a man with no...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"What in the hell is that?" Talamayas asked, clenching his teeth and covering an ear as they headed to the greeting room. Forest had called ahead for a visit, and they found him at the bottom of the thrones patting an infant lightly on his shoulder and soothing its cries to sniffles as it still moved restlessly on his shoulder.
"It's called a baby, Talamayas," Forest called over, dropping his cloak's hood and throwing them a wide smile. His long brown hair trailed freely out of it, and the tan of cloak over his mage robes made him look more like a desert snowman with all the bulk. The bag over his arm for the child also had him leaning as he balanced it with the small life in his hands.
"I know what an infant is, Forest," Talamayas growled, dropping his hand now that the little one had quieted. "I have half a house of nomads living in my castle and they favor the walls when their children are youngest. They usually give me warning though." Talamayas looked into Forest's eyes and tilted his head. "You found a mate?"
Forest huffed a laugh but kept it muted as he rocked the child, so wrapped in little blankets that Wren couldn't see more than the pale hand that Forest was stroking with his as he swayed slowly.
"I'm watching the baby for a friend, Tala. Silvia is all the children I need. She came attached to a very small vampire so my hands are full of crybabies." Forest's jab had Talamayas crinkling his face as he resisted his vampiric urge to growl at him for insulting his best friend, but they both knew he loved Neil Arc to death. "I was hoping to speak to Wren alone. I have some sensitive human matters to deal with, and it would probably bore you."
"I am capable of listening to things not related to vampires," Talamayas bristled until Wren patted his arm. The motion was so heavy of a slap that Tala jumped his focus down to him, those deep crimson eyes seeking out his mate for anything he might need.
"Tala, that's the humans' nice way of saying, 'go away it's none of your 'business'. Forest was not insulting your attention span, even if he's completely right." Wren gave his mate a wide smile that had him crossing those muscled arms over his bare chest.
"You should watch what you say to me, Wren," Talamayas threatened, but it wasn't a promise of violence.
No matter how Wren tried to avoid Talamayas in his grief over Riff's loss, Talamayas continued to smother him with lust and love so that he could not sink into despair. Tala was grieving too, crushed by Wren's unhappiness, so it was more likely that he'd pin him to a bed, lay on top of him, and just stay there until Wren suffocated.
Technically that was a threat, right?
"We can talk in my new study that Talamayas has gifted me," Wren offered, ushering for Forest to follow. "It's lined with Song magic, so no one can hear through the walls, even if Tala presses his ear to the door."
"Sounds good." Forest adjusted the squirming baby against his chest, and the poor little one roved around it for a nipple that wasn't there. It seemed rather young for the child to be away from its mother, but tragedy happened often with young mages when vampires were involved.
