“Take off your shirt,” Aless commanded, reaching around and unbuttoning the top of Corin’s tunic, allowing the younger man a second to pull it off before he began kneading the tense flesh.
Corin leaned back into Aless’s touch, giving a soft moan as the guardian hit an especially tender spot. “Master Selena was upset yesterday,” he murmured.
“I saw that,” Aless replied. “I’m surprised she even let you out this morning.”
“I told her you healed my leg and forced me to spar with you,” he answered. “I’m sorry, it was the only thing I could think of.”
“Understandable,” he replied, enjoying the feeling of Corin’s tough muscles under his hands. “I have something I’ve been meaning to ask you, Corin. Earlier this week you said Selena had never worn any restraints, correct?”
“Yes. She’s never worn any,” Corin responded.
“Interesting enough,” Aless replied. “Do you have any idea why?”
“There aren’t enough to go around,” Corin answered, “and out of everyone, she needs them least.”
“How’s that possible?”
“They’ve all been crumbling to dust,” Corin responded, turning around curiously. “Didn’t you know? It’s what the scribes have been researching.”
Aless frowned, unintentionally kneading Corin’s back a little bit too hard, earning a wince from Corin. This was interesting—and even more interesting that no one had decided it was important for him to know. It would explain why there had been so much commotion lately, but his restraints had been fine! And why did they think this wouldn’t be something critical to know? Especially if they had broken when he was out here. He wouldn’t have wanted to hurt Corin, and Corin wouldn’t have a chance at survival if he had been caught alone, and then there were the nearby villages he probably would’ve sought out….
“Yeah, of course,” Aless replied, spreading his legs and pulling Corin in, pressing his back against his chest. “Has your leg healed up all right?” He didn’t want to let Corin know how little he knew about the restraints, lest he worry himself over Selena’s approval.
Corin turned back to face the river. “It’s fine now, thanks,” he answered. “If I hadn’t been able to cast that fire spell, I would be dead, and if Master Selena hadn’t come in when she did—”
“It’s great you were able to use it, then,” Aless praised.
“I’m sorry I made you spar yesterday,” Corin murmured. “I just… I felt so weak from it. I’m a terrible spell caster, and I’m used to this, but—”
“You aren’t a terrible spell caster,” Aless insisted, propping his head up on Corin’s shoulder.
“No, I am. I have mana I can’t use. That’s the definition of being a terrible spell caster,” Corin argued.
Aless traced the muscles of Corin’s belly. “Untrained, perhaps, but not a terrible spell caster,” he retorted.
“You don’t have to lie to me,” Corin responded, looking down at Aless’s hand, enjoying the contact with his lover. “When you’ve been trained for five years, you begin to realize these things.”
“Perhaps you just don’t have the aptitude for the spells we’ve been teaching you,” he argued.
“No. They’ve tried me on everything, trust me. I’m just useless. I can’t cast spells, I can’t defend myself, and I couldn’t help Kateline.”
Aless frowned but remained silent.
“See what I mean?” Corin asked. “Even you can’t deny it.”
“Because it doesn’t matter what I say, you’re just going to deny it,” Aless explained. “You’re not listening to me.”
Corin pulled away from Aless’s embrace, scowling.
“I obviously think that you’re useful enough to keep around,” Aless said.
“You’re my lover; you’re supposed to want me around,” Corin countered.
Aless rolled his eyes. “Yes, but I didn’t need to pursue you romantically. I did it because I like being around you, Corin.”
Corin pursed his lips. “That still doesn’t mean I should be in the monastery.”
“That is a lie and you know it. Selena helps you,and she doesn’t think I’m worth her time.”
“That’s different.”
“It might be, but Piers and Kateline helped you, and they probably had other things they could have been doing.” Aless paused for a second. “At least Kateline would have. As far as I can tell, Piers doesn’t do anything, and really, besides training you, I’m not entirely sure what Selena does.”
“She helps whenever there are internal or external conflicts. Kateline always used to say Master Selena was like a guard dog,” Corin answered, a small smile gracing his lips.
Aless shrugged. “That would make sense. She acts like a rabid dog.”
“She isn’t that bad,” Corin said.
“You and Piers keep saying that, but I’m judging her based on what I’ve seen,” Aless replied.“Kateline’s right; Selena is a guard dog. All she does is snarl and skulk when she’s near me.”
“I hope she warms up to you,” Corin said. “You two are the most important people to me. I don’t like keeping you a secret.”
Aless smiled. “I don’t like it either, but she’ll get over it.”
“Hopefully before I’m older than Master Cyril,” Corin muttered.
“As if that would ever happen. Cyril is older than dirt.”Aless laughed. “Hmm… I do wonder what he’d think if I told him what you thought about his age.”
Corin paled. “Please don’t.”
“I might not,” Aless replied, “if you give me a kiss.”
Corin grinned, leaning in and giving Aless a small peck on the lips.
“Come on,” Aless teased, “I know you can do better than that.”
Corin wrapped his arms around Aless’s neck. He planted a deep, open-mouthed kiss on the guardian’s mouth. Aless gripped Corin’s rear, pulling him closer and swiping his tongue along Corin’s bottom lip. Corin parted his mouth immediately, deepening the embrace. Only when he was completely out of breath did Aless pull away, Corin settling comfortably between his legs.
“Aless?” Corin began.
“Hmm?”
“Are you worried that your restraints are going to crumble? Like Kateline’s did?” Corin asked.
Aless tensed. “I don’t think I could do more damage than I did ten years ago,” he joked.
“Aless….”
“…Yeah, I guess I am,” Aless replied. “I don’t want to think about it. The other guardians are working on it. I’m sure they’ll come to some sort of solution.”
“If they don’t?”
“Then I’ll be sealed beneath the Water Temple when my restraints break,” Aless answered.
“And you’re not upset about it?” Corin asked.
Aless ran a hand through his hair. “What do you want me to say, Corin? I might have to live out my entire life in a forsaken well. I’m not sure if you know this, but before my exile, they trapped me below the Water Temple. I spent at least a week in that damned hole alone! Piers didn’t bother visiting me. So yes, I amworried that my restraints will break and I’ll live the rest of my life as Serac’s slave.”
Corin sat up. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Aless closed his eyes. “I just don’t like thinking about what could happen. I already spent ten years of my life in solitude. I was single when I was exiled and it was torture; leaving you because of something as stupid as Serac is inconceivable.”Aless heard Serac protest the insult, but he ignored it.
“If it happens, when would it happen?” Corin asked.
Aless shrugged. “I don’t know, but it would probably be during a time of extreme emotion, positive or negative.”
“Being extremely worried won’t do it?” Corin asked.
“It could,” Aless admitted, “but I can’t really stop that, can I?”
Corin stayed silent for what felt like eternity. “If… I had a way to cheer you up?”I could, uh, stay wit
h you tonight,”he stuttered, blushing. “If you want, that is.”
Aless smirked. “I want, but unless you want to be caught by Selena, staying in my room isn’t an option,”he said.“But I think I know somewhere we can go. I had a small cabin to stay in. It really isn’t much, but it’s better than having someone walk in.”
“Can we go right now?” Corin asked.
“Probably not. Breakfast will be soon,” Aless replied. “Meet me at the Water Temple tonight. We’ll sneak off after curfew.”
Corin leaned over and kissed him again, smiling as he did so. He slid forward and straddled Aless’s hips. Aless sighed. He would worry about everything later. For now, all he focused on was enjoying Corin before the breakfast bell rang.
Chapter 19
“SO, ALLof Kateline’s restraints are broken?” Cyril asked. “Did she find out anything before the incident in the library?”
Piers glowered, trying to focus on his breakfast. The futility of the situation had hit him last night, a few hours after he and Selena left the Earth Temple together. Kateline’s restraints had broken and he only had two pieces of his left. It was all going to break, and he’d be sent into a feral state.
Corona had been completely quiet since the incident, and that was the most worrying thing out of it. The demon was usually quite chatty, but right now it was as if he had taken a vow of silence, or had never been there to begin with. He had even made a few efforts to reach out to the spirit, desperately attempting to figure out why Corona had decided to shut up for once.
“Corin had been researching with her,” Selena commented, poking idly at a piece of fruit. “He had been able to read the thing you found in the Forbidden Archive, he said.”
“And did he find anything helpful? Kateline never mentioned this to me.”
“He told me it was a fairytale that wasn’t in Centrallian. The text killed one of the stronger students of Zephyr,” Selena replied. “Do we have any answers?”
Piers reached under the table and entwined his fingers with Selena’s. She had been in a similar state last night, as he recalled, crawling into his bed after the incident with Corin had blown over and curling up against his side, near tears.
She had been so vulnerable. Selena had always been close to Kateline, or at the very least closer to her than any other girls in the monastery, and she had to fight her and trap her all by herself, not knowing if Kateline would ever be herself again. It had to be difficult, Piers thought, running his thumb against Selena’s palm. Selena had told him she felt guilty for not being able to help research. Piers had insisted her ability to trap a feral guardian was more of an asset, particularly since he had been in the library before and seen all the scribes there. What they needed most of all was more guards, lest a guardian go feral while Selena wasn’t nearby.
“Most of Kateline’s notes were destroyed in the crossfire… we’re running out of leads. I think it’s time we tell Aless, Selena,” Cyril said.
Selena tightened her grip. “I don’t want to dishonor Master’s memory.”
“It’s only luck his restraints haven’t crumbled so far,” Piers argued.
“I think the situation is critical at this point. We need to tell him,” Cyril stated.
“Tell me what?” Aless asked, suddenly opening the main door and sauntering in, glaring at the three guardians. “About the restraints crumbling?” The three guardians stared at him.
Selena flushed bright red, opening her mouth as though she were about to snap.
Cyril cleared his throat. “W-where did you hear this?”
“I overheard some scribes talking,” Aless lied, glaring holes into the table. “Now, when did you feel it would be a good idea to tell me that our restraints were crumbling?”
Cyril sighed. “The situation wasn’t critical, yet—”
“Oh, I think it was!” Aless yelled. “What would’ve happened if my restraints had crumbled? Do you think it would’ve been critical then?”
“We didn’t want you to—”
“I could have helped!” Aless yelled, taking a seat across from Piers. “This affects me too, damn you…. My restraints are going to crumble too, aren’t they?”
Piers exchanged a quick look with the rest of the table. “They already did.”
“Piers!” Selena scolded, detaching her hand from his.
“Stop, Lena,” Piers commanded. “It’s all on the table, now. He might as well know it all so he can actually help us.”
Selena turned her eyesfrom the other guardians to stare at the door.
Cyril sighed, turning to Aless. “Yours broke before your exile,” he explained. “The full set crumbled into dust in the middle of the night.”
“You all insisted to me they merely fell off, which would mean they would still be intact,” Aless countered, “but they didn’t. I’ve been wearing the set designed to hold Zephyr. And it also means I should never have been exiled to begin with! I was not even slightly at fault!”
“You allowed your emotions to overwhelm you; the spirits can easily take advantage of situations like that.”
“But if they’ve been shattering anyway, it really was only a matter of time,” Aless argued.
“That may or may not be true…. We’re still looking into it,” Cyril rebutted.
“That’s just an excuse and you know it,” Aless retorted, “and Selena doesn’t wear a set of restraints, does she?”
“Selena doesn’t need the set to contain Zephyr; she never has,” he confirmed, sighing.
“But she would need a set to be able to control Alvah, which is why she sticks with Zephyr,” Aless finished, relishing his triumph.
“That’s correct,” Cyril confirmed.
Selena stayed silent, still staring at the door.
“So, why have they been breaking? And can we fix them?” Aless asked.
“We’re not sure,” Cyril responded. “Kateline was heading the research and now she’s gone. All we have is some forbidden texts in an unknown language.”
“I see,” Aless replied. “Is there anyone who could read it?”
“Corin could,” Selena murmured, still not glancing toward Aless. “It is a folktale and nothing more.” Piers placed a hand on her shoulder.
“He’s all we have to go on right now. We’ve exhausted all our other theories,” Cyril said. “I’ll meet with him after breakfast and see if Kateline told him anything before her restraints crumbled.”
“I’d like to help with the research,” Aless stated. “If I could, at least. It’s late, and I realize this, but I need to know, if it comes to it, I did try to do something.”
“I have no objections,” Cyril agreed, looking between the other guardians. “Selena? Piers?”
“I’m fine with it,” Piers agreed, turning to Selena.
“The situation isn’t going to be fixed no matter what happens. If you want to waste your time looking, then go right ahead,” she answered, standing up. “I’m going to head off. I can’t help you with research, anyway. I’m going to train.”
Piers stood up. “Anyone mind if I follow her? I’m a little worried,”
“Go ahead,” Cyril answered, waving him away with a smile, “but before you go please call Corin in.”
“Will do,” Piers said, rushing off.
PIERS pried the door to the Chaos Temple open, ignoring the slight burn on his hands from the handle.
It was generally frowned upon to enter a guardian’s temple uninvited, particularly if one was a guardian. It was a matter of respect for both their patron element and their fellow guardian, and Piers could understand that. He didn’t let anyone in the Fire Temple except for Selena and Aless, both having earned a special place in his heart over the years. Though in this sort of situation, Piers noted, he was fairly certain no one would mind if he broke the rules.
Selena hadn’t been out training, which Piers had expected. The girl was a terrible liar, at least to people who knew her well, and she had been way too upset to do a
nything besides this, really.
He had checked the Air Temple before, but he had known she would’ve never placed herself in there. Selena had never felt any connection to Zephyr, and even though she had eventually trained herself to harness those abilities, she never was a student of Zephyr, and she’d never bonded with her spirit the way the others had.
Selena had pushed the main podium to the side and sat on the grating, staring idly into the pit. She had pulled her knees against her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs as she stared at the main altar.
Piers cringed at the inside of the Chaos Temple. It was almost pure black, with very little light managing to pour through the stained glass windows. He had never understood how Alvah had been Selena’s patron spirit. Selena herself was so fair, so pale, and so delicate…. And while Piers knew her delicate appearance didn’t even begin to speak to the power she held within her, he was still surprised she was a true child of Alvah.
Piers stepped forward silently, closing the temple door behind him. Selena hadn’t acknowledged him yet, but Piers had a feeling she knew he was here. He slowly sat behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“It’s useless, isn’t it?” Selena asked, voice quivering.
Piers sighed, sliding beside her. “Which part of it?”
“All of it,” she replied. “Kateline’s gone.”
“She’ll come back,” Piers insisted. “We just need to figure out how to create a new set of restraints. Cyril is smart; he’ll figure it out.”
“You don’t get it, do you?” she asked. “We have nothing to go off of.”
“We’ll find something,” Piers insisted.
“But when?” Selena snapped. “They’ve been breaking more and more every day. Honestly, how long do you think it can last? I’m sorry for snapping.”
Piers sighed, pulling her onto his lap. He could understand her position. Every day he worried about it too. It was the worst feeling imaginable, having a spirit take him over… being caught as a feral guardian. It was terrifying, especially for those with large amounts of natural mana. Whenever he went feral, he could see the damage Corona inflicted, and the thought of being trapped all alone during that was terrifying to him.
Exile Page 13
