Chapter Fifteen

Farren strapped himself into the makeshift vertical hammock in the corner of the living room, which he wouldn”t have needed to do in his previous form. No, then he’d have drifted toward the ceiling and tucked himself into gossamer strands. The human body couldn”t endure hanging upside down for an extended period, but his constitution allowed a few hours.

A brief indulgence to imagine himself home, tucked into bed, courting sleep.

In dreams, he’d ventured among the stars and chatted with beings from other realms who were near enough to communicate with but not near enough to cross over. He”d spent months combing through the dreamlands, searching for traces of his loved ones after the collapse of his home sector.

No one Farren encountered knew them or even where spirits went when banished to the unknown. Each encounter left him even more lonely.

The souls Farren met were normally searching for someone, too.

He’d lost touch with other realms while in Terra, increasing the loneliness and making his miserable existence more unbearable than ever. Even his own kind here didn’t trust a Magestra who’d aligned themselves with humans.

Humans.

Morrisey James was human. Or was he? He somehow didn’t fit in either world. Or maybe he fit in both, being neither of one nor the other. Perhaps he came from one of the many other realms in existence. A rare traveler from another plane.

And dark, oh so dark. Farren longed to wrap Morrisey in light, bring him from darkness, for as dark as Morrisey was, Farren burned equally brightly, a fact he’d kept to himself. Though his parents named him Aluxi, a true Lux hadn’t been spawned in generations, back when they’d joined with Tenebris to balance the world. Or so legend claimed.

Dark power eventually drove a Tenebris mad without the balancing effect of light. A being with infinite power and no sanity destroyed everything around them.

They’d all been killed.

Yet, there Morrisey was, as close as anyone could come to being a human Tenebris in an environment without such classifications.

Farren shut his eyes, trying once more to step into the twilight space between worlds, find someone, anyone, to ask about his family and about Morrisey. Could Morrisey really be from a realm other than Terra?

Darkness. Light.

Farren’s consciousness dimmed.

A shape emerged from the void, blotting out the stars, a complete and utter lack of light. The figure grew closer. Morrisey James. He extended a hand, a flicker of hope chasing back his usual scowl.

“I’m lost,” he said. “Help me.”

Farren took Morrisey’s callused fingers, once more feeling the spark that passed between them. The moment of contact chased away Farren’s loneliness, as if he’d waited forever for this man, the other part of himself.

Morrisey enveloped Farren in his arms, pulling him close enough for hot breath to warm Farren”s neck.

They hung in limbo, not in the place where realms touched, but somewhere else entirely. A place all their own. A place where they belonged—together.

Was this wishful thinking? Was Farren somehow directing his dreams?

He sank into the embrace, expanding his consciousness. A barrier resisted momentarily, then dropped. Pain, deep pain. And loss. Lying beneath, long dormant power. More power than Farren ever imagined, barely kept in check.

”Are you aware of what you really are?” Farren asked with a gasp.

“I’m human,” Morrisey replied. “And a poor example, at that.”

”I have my doubts.”

“Then what am I?”

Farren withdrew, considering. The pull to join enveloped him, a barely deniable hunger. He wanted, he longed, he desired the unity of blending with another, knowing a partner’s thoughts and feelings so completely, a connection humans never knew. But he couldn’t have such a connection with a human, could he? After careful thought, he whispered, ”You are my missing piece.”

Farren gasped himself awake, nearly falling from the hammock. What the hell? Sweat dampened his skin. He freed himself from the netting, legs shaky. A rope strand brushed his nipple, making him shiver. His cock stood at attention, the human equivalent of what he’d felt in the dream. A longing so deep, on the brink of being satisfied.

His physical reaction mirrored his emotional one. But Morrisey?

Farren staggered through the apartment to the shower, turning the water as cold as he could stand and stepping beneath the spray. The droplets beat against his back, causing shivers.

Slowly, he increased the warmth, driving back the external chill while doing nothing for the internal cold. Farren needed Morrisey James at that moment like he needed breath. But why?

He took himself in hand, imagining what Morrisey’s body might look like. He was tall, so possibly a long, slender cock. His muscles appeared firm without being bulky. Darkness shadowed his cheeks, indicating a man who’d likely grow a beard in only a few days.

Farren imagined those whiskers brushing his cheeks, his chest… his inner thighs. Those callused hands would cause delicious friction against bare skin.

But while Farren’s body sought release, his mind had nowhere to go, no way to bond in the old, familiar way.

No. This was madness. Farren ignored his needy flesh, extending his consciousness, reaching, reaching...

He shouldn’t do this. If someone ever discovered…

Farren’s mind brushed against warmth in the darkness, a welcoming presence that didn’t even know why it wasn’t afraid.

Farren reveled in the contact, longing to push, blend his essence with Morrisey’s, to find sweet relief he hadn’t known since leaving Domus.

No. He couldn’t do this. Not without Morrisey’s consent.

Once they bonded, there’d be no going back.

A traveler had never bonded with a human before, to Farren’s knowledge, not even those who took human mates.

Something Leary once said came back to him: There”s always a first time for everything.