Valerien listened to the rain hitting the window shutters. He tried to concentrate on important things, but his thoughts kept returning to how empty his arms felt without the weight of Kirin's body.
When they had arrived at Owain's house in the pouring rain, a white-haired housekeeper had ushered them into the hall to serve them hot soup and bread. Kirin had looked utterly embarrassed as she clucked over him like a mother hen, drizzling honey over his bread and pinching his cheek.
Afterwards, she had dragged him off to what she said was his old room while another servant had taken Valerien and Elinor to the guest chambers on the opposite side.
The house wasn't half bad for an uncivilised human dwelling, and Valerien had been looking forward to some peace. It turned out he could not find it in this lonely bed.
He turned on his side and closed his arms around a rolled-up blanket, but it wasn't the same. There was no blonde hair tickling his face, no warm breath in his neck, no little sighs and kicks he had always had to suffer when Kirin burrowed into him while asleep.
Feeling put out, he tossed the blanket away, sat up and put his boots back on before he left the room and stepped into the long stone corridor.
He sneaked past the hall and kitchen, making sure the servants didn't see him, passed the rainy atrium to his left and stopped in front of a door with a bird carved upon it. Hoping he had the right room, he knocked quietly.
"Come in," Kirin called out.
Valerien suppressed a sigh of relief and stepped inside. The room was bathed in the warm light and smelled faintly of rosemary from the scented oil burning in the small lamps.
Kirin was sitting in the bed with his back leaning against the wall. He was wearing only his tunic and had covered his legs with a blanket. The rest of his clothes were spread over an open chest to dry.
Valerien had thought up half a dozen excuses why he had come to see him, but Kirin didn't even ask. Instead, he picked up a few things from his lap, put them onto a chair, then moved to the right to make space in the bed.
Taking that as an invitation, Valerien made himself comfortable on the left side and said somewhat grumpily, "You can't just tell people to come in while you are half-naked."
Kirin shot him an amused look. "I knew it was you. If you hadn't come soon, I would have looked for you."
"Oh? And why were you expecting me?" Valerien asked with a grin and pulled at the blanket.
Kirin pulled it back and chastely tucked it around his legs before he announced, "I've decided what to do with the prisoners, and I want your opinion."
Valerien sighed inwardly, but just said, "Tell me then."
"I think it is best if I send them far away from the High Warlock's territory. I'll find them a passage on a ship that will bring them to one of the big ports. Wind and Water Fae would be ideal sailors. Or fishermen. Or maybe seafaring merchants. That way, they wouldn't have to settle in one place, where their neighbours would soon notice that they don't age like them and become suspicious."
Catching the expectant look of the blue eyes, Valerien sneaked an arm around him and said, "It sounds like a good plan."
Kirin perked up and continued, "They could sail all the way to Italy. I am sure they will like it there. It's where the Romans came from, you know."
"I don't know much about those Romans, but judging by everything they left behind, they are a much more civilised people than the tribes on this rainy island," Valerien needled.
To his surprise, Kirin just nodded and cuddled up to him.
"I almost envy them. It must be wonderful to start anew where no one knows who you are," he said wistfully.
Valerien doubted it was either as easy or as wonderful as Kirin imagined. But now that his arms were full and he finally felt at peace, he did not want to disturb the moment by shattering his lover's illusions. Instead, he just kissed the blonde locks and held him closer.
The feeling of contentment and the sound of rain almost lulled him into sleep when he felt a warm mouth gently brush against his cheek and jaw. It felt more like a question than a kiss.
He opened his eyes again and saw that Kirin was looking at him with that unique mix of shyness and lust. It made him smile, and he touched the still healing lips lightly before he captured them with his own.
The thin mattress rustled as Kirin moved to straddle him and deepen the kiss. His tongue tasted of honey. Valerien coaxed it out to play in the open, gently rubbing and swirling around each other. Kirin's hips began to move in an unmistakable rhythm while his impatient hands slid down to tug at Valerien's belt.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Valerien asked with a breathless laugh.
"I want to…", Kirin began, then froze in place at a noise from outside.
The clacking of wooden shoes on the stone floor came closer, followed by a knock.
"Are you awake, dear? Can I come in?" the housekeeper asked from the other side of the door.
Kirin's voice went an octave higher in panic as he called out, "All my clothes are wet. I'm not dressed."
Valerien chuckled and pulled the tunic over the bard's head to make a truth out of the lie.
"Oh. Sir Owain sent me to ask if you'd come to the hall for a nightcap. I'll have one of the boys bring you dry clothes," she suggested.
More laughter bubbled up in Valerien's throat. Kirin pulled his face to his naked chest in a desperate attempt to shut him up while he told the woman, "Please tell him I am too tired now."
"But you asked to talk to him about something important," the unwelcome visitor insisted.
Valerien closed his lips around the small, erect nipple and sucked hard. He heard a whimper before Kirin's fingers dug into his shoulders and pushed him away.
"It can wait until tomorrow. I don't feel well," the bard said in a hoarse voice.
Valerien grasped Kirin's throbbing length that pushed against his abdomen and mouthed, "Liar."
"You must have caught a cold. I'll bring you some hot milk with honey," the housekeeper said.
Tears of frustration filled Kirin's eyes as Valerien's thumb teased his leaking tip, but he managed a strangled, "It's fine, I just need some sleep."
Valerien grinned up at him and shook his head. There would be no sleep tonight.