Chapter 10

CHAPTER10

Everything else had the good sense to avoid Athan. A giant bird, stretched out across the rock and emitting so much heat as to be uncomfortable, should have been enough warning.

But Athan saw Elric climbing up the short outcropping to cautiously approach.

At least he was alive, even if Athan half wished Elric had taken all the warning signs seriously and kept away.

“Athan?” Elric called, without getting any closer. “Are you all right?”

Athan lifted his head and craned it to look at his wing. The wound had mostly healed. The one on his back had knitted, the arrow long burned away, but he could still feel the itch underneath.

“I should ask you that,” Athan answered. He breathed in and lowered the temperature of his flame as much as he could while still healing. “Did I burn you?”

Elric took a few halting steps closer, clearly testing the ground to find whether he could put his feet on it or not. He seemed to find that he could, and he carefully, slowly, approached Athan. “A little,” he said, self-consciously pulling at the scorched sleeve of the robes he wore. “But you’re the one who was stabbed and shot.”

“I’ve mostly healed already,” Athan answered. He tilted his head so he could take a closer look at Elric.

Burned clothes aside, there were at least a few spots of skin that were blistered. Nothing so bad as to prevent Elric from walking all the way here, and even climbing the short way, apparently, but there were still injuries.

Something inside Elric had cleared up a little too, like the flames had burned off a bit of the darkness.

Athan lowered his head back to the ground and closed his eyes. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”

“You’re beautiful,” Elric said, as though he hadn’t even heard the words. “No wonder your feathers are so prized. Are you… You told me once you’d burn everything around you, but I didn’t understand how potent your fire could be. Is it safe for me to come nearer?”

“It should be all right. I’m holding back enough now. I really am sorry about…” Athan sighed. “Are those other men all right?”

Elric continued his approach, circling around until he could get a good look at Athan. His expression was strange—not regretful, not satisfied, but somewhere in between. “No. They’re dead.”

Of course they were. Athan had hoped they’d still be alive, but he’d been too upset to control himself. “What about the merchants?”

“They were… spooked,” Elric said gingerly. “I told them to continue without us, and they seemed eager to follow that order.”

This would be another story of a phoenix making things worse, rather than better. Athan sighed unhappily. “I wish those men had listened. I didn’t want to kill them.”

“They weren’t going to stop until we were dead,” Elric said. That rust flared, brittle edges flaking off.

“They might have stopped if you’d agreed to return with them,” Athan pointed out. “To pay for your crimes.”

Elric stiffened, looking up at the sky instead of at Athan. “My crimes? I have committed no crimes,” he said. “I told you; they want me only because I tried to claim my own crown.”

“Did you really try to kill your brother by sending him to the dragon? The same dragon he’s now married to?”

If Elric had been tense before, it was nothing compared to the statue-like state he acquired then. “I sent my brother and his men to kill a wyvern,” he stated. “He was separated from his men and went on alone. It turned out that it was… actually a dragon. Thankfully, the dragon spared his life, but he went on to seize the crown.”

Athan was so, so tired of everything. He rested his head against the rock again and drew his wings closer to himself. “Do you believe your own lies? Some people do. But you didn’t seem like the type.”

Elric took a few steps away from Athan, a scowl on his lips. “What do you think I’m lying about?” he demanded.

“Those men were telling the truth, about you asking them to ensure your brother was trapped there.” Athan mulled over it again, remembering their resentment and vitriol. “You must have promised them something great, and now they’re suffering…” He paused, amending, “and then they suffered for it. They wanted to hurt you as much as they wanted to redeem themselves to your brother.”

“I didn’t intend for him to die,” Elric insisted, turning to look back at Athan.

Others might’ve believed him, but they couldn’t see into Elric’s heart the way Athan could. “Elric…”

More rust. More brittle edges.

More lies.

This always happened. Athan got his hopes up about somebody, he’d get so focused about fixing them, but the disappointment would follow. And now he’d killed three people to protect this one person who probably wasn’t worth it.

Athan still didn’t want to give up on Elric, though. This was his own failing, the way his own desires would keep him on a path that everybody could see would lead to disaster, but he couldn’t turn his back on someone like Elric.

No wonder chaos tended to follow in Athan’s wake.

“What do you want to hear?” Elric said, his voice thick with frustration.

“The truth,” Athan said. If he had the truth, that was surely a start toward something, wasn’t it?

Elric was quiet for a long moment. “I sent my brother to be killed by the dragon. Yes. Now I assume you’ll fly away and leave me to this quest alone,” he said, his voice bitter but resigned.

“Why?” Athan asked quietly. “Did you hate your brother that much?”

“No,” Elric said, his voice barely audible. “But my mother…” Something tattered in Elric threatened to come undone even more. “You wouldn’t understand.”

It was impossible to have a good conversation like this, when he was in his true form. Athan lifted his injured wing again to check it, and noted with satisfaction that it was a little stiff at most. He pulled into himself, making himself smaller, until he was in the shape of a man once more.

Elric shivered a little, as if noting the difference in the air temperature.

“Why do you think I wouldn’t understand?” Athan asked, settling himself against one of the rocks that still retained some of his heat. “I’ve lived a very long time. I’ve met so many people. And even if your story is unique… Why do you think I wouldn’t listen?”

Elric went to him, kneeling on the ground beside him. “Let me see your wounds,” he said instead of answering the question. He reached out, smoothing some of Athan’s long hair out of the way. “Your arm and… where else were you injured?”

A little amused, Athan held out his arm for Elric. “Here, and on my back. I’ve burned away most of the injury though. It takes a lot to kill me.”

Elric gently took Athan’s arm in his hands, gazing down at it. “My mother hated me,” he said abruptly as he studied the wound.

Oh. It was one of those stories. Athan wished he had never heard a story like this before, but it was far too common. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “That must have hurt.”

Elric nodded, his gaze distant. He released Athan’s arm and swept his hair from his neck instead so he could look at where the arrow had pierced Athan’s back. “She blamed me for my father’s death. As soon as he was gone…” He shuddered, his fingers trembling as he smoothed his fingers through Athan’s long hair and the fluffy, downy feathers that laced through the strands. “She would’ve made Larkin the heir. Larkin… He isn’t intelligent, Athan. He’s too soft, too oblivious, too easily manipulated. It’s terrible that I have to hope the dragon is doing the ruling instead of him, or there will be nothing left of Kithage when I return to take the throne.”

That was half the truth, but Athan didn’t feel like calling Elric out anymore. He leaned into Elric’s touch, shivering when Elric’s fingers touched his scalp. “There are other ways to handle the hurt, Elric. Lashing out doesn’t make the pain go away.”

“No,” Elric said quietly, still running his fingers through Athan’s loose hair. “It doesn’t. I…” He sighed, pausing again before murmuring, “I was going to let him live. When he returned. I… I regretted it. What I had done. I was glad he was alive. But then he had to try to take the throne—”

The regret was real, and that eased some of the worry inside Athan. If Elric regretted, then he could be fixed. The rust could be halted. The holes could be patched.

“I was afraid for you,” Athan murmured. “When those men appeared. It’s why I lost control. And I’m so sorry about that. But I didn’t want to see you hurt.” He snorted. “In the end, I injured you more than they did.”

“You care that much about me?” Elric asked, traces of disbelief in his voice.

Something ached inside Athan. “Why wouldn’t I? I’ve come with you this far already. And we’ve had at least a little fun together, right?”

“Yes,” Elric said slowly. “I’ve had men swear they’d die for me before, but in the end…” His lips twisted into a bitter look, something so out of place on Elric’s otherwise handsome face. “They, too, betray you if they’re scared enough. Pledges of fidelity mean little when someone’s life is threatened. But you…” He looked at Athan with something like wonder, as though he was seeing him for the first time. “After what they told you, you could’ve left them to take me back, or kill me. You saved me anyway.”

Athan smiled a little sadly. “I haven’t saved you yet. But I’m going to keep trying.” He sat up and shook his still sore arm. “Here, let me see your wounds. I should be able to smooth them out.”

Elric nodded, coming closer and sitting down next to Athan on the warm rocks. It was a strange thing for the prince to do, to simply… plop down near him, but the experience in the forest had obviously shaken him badly. He held out his arm, where flames had licked the flesh, but it seemed his garments had taken most of the damage.

Athan carefully touched the clean skin around the burned area. It looked mostly all right, simply reddened, but there was one spot that had blistered. “I really am sorry,” Athan murmured. He leaned closer and kissed the blistered skin lightly, breathing magic onto it.

Elric’s breath hitched and he covered his mouth with his other hand. His breath came out shakily behind it. “What…” he began, clearly unsure. He bit his lip, and in that moment, he looked so very young.

How could Athan simply fly away from him?

The skin mended, and not even a red bruise remained. Part of Athan lamented it. He liked the idea of Elric wearing his mark. He kissed the spot again, without magic this time, then rested his head against Elric’s chest.

“There. Are there any other spots? I can kiss those better too.”

Elric actually… blushed. Maybe it was the heat Athan’s body cast, but Athan doubted it. The redness on those cheeks had come from his words. “No, nothing else of concern. All minor. I waded into the creek as soon as I could disengage.”

Which explained why Elric was wet from the waist down, something Athan had only just noticed.

Athan wrapped his arms around Elric’s waist and took a deep breath. “I meant it. I’m going to save you. I… I promise.”

He didn’t like to promise things. Long years of experience told him that no matter how hard he tried, some promises couldn’t be kept. But he wanted to keep this one, so badly, even if Elric had done something terrible in his past. People could grow and change. Become new.

“There’s nothing you need to save me from, except the dragon,” Elric said, shaking his head.

But Elric did need to be saved, and from something far more dangerous than a dragon.

Elric needed to be saved from himself.

Athan went to speak, but Elric leaned forward, cutting those words off with a kiss. Athan didn’t know which one of them Elric was trying to distract, but he willingly accepted the feeling of those soft lips against his own.

“I want to see your wings again,” Elric said in a whisper against his mouth. “I rarely see such beautiful things. Even as a prince, it’s beyond fathoming.”

“My… wings?” Athan glanced at his arms. “I… they’ll be hot. I don’t want to hurt you again.”

“I can stand the heat,” Elric said. “The more I’m around you…” He kissed Athan again. “I’m not trying to steal a feather, Athan. It’s simply… Today was so ugly, and my memories… I want to think of beautiful things.”

“I didn’t think you were trying to steal anything.” Athan nodded though and closed his eyes. “Only a little bit. I really don’t want to burn you.”

He let his flame burn a little brighter, until the fiery feathers extended from his arms. He made sure to keep his hands, though, because he wanted to keep touching Elric. There were some advantages to being a bird, but it was near impossible to kiss another human with a beak.

Elric sat back a little, and Athan opened his eyes. He’d expected to see wariness, but there was only wonder on Elric’s face.

“I can see why people covet your feathers, even beyond the magic,” Elric murmured. He gingerly reached out to touch one of them, and while he flinched a little, he didn’t pull away. He was quick to reassure Athan, though. “It’s only a little warm.” He ran his fingers over the feathers, smoothing them out.

Athan shivered at the touch. It had been a very, very long time since anybody had touched his feathers, and he’d forgotten how good it felt. “I should…” Athan started, although he wasn’t sure what he should have been doing.

Taking care of Elric, not putting him in more danger.

“Please,” Elric said, his voice still quiet. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a moment.” He paused, then added—somewhat to Athan’s surprise—“We could have died. Let me luxuriate in the warmth and the feeling of your soft feathers beneath my fingers.”

“I couldn’t have died,” Athan replied, but his voice was hoarse. The sensation of Elric’s fingers running over the feathers, touching where they joined the bone, was threatening to heat Athan up even more. He bit his lip to swallow a moan. “If you keep doing that…”

“If I keep doing that…?” Elric prompted, a small smile on his lips as he kissed Athan again. “You seem to like it. Why should I stop?”

“I’m the one who takes care of people,” Athan mumbled. “Not the other way around.” Of course, Elric chose that moment to get his fingers right into the downy feathers and caress them. Athan moaned while his cock twitched and rose.

“You saved my life,” Elric said, nipping Athan’s bottom lip while his fingers stroked and explored those feathers. “I think you deserve a bit of care.”

It was embarrassing, how good this felt. Athan enjoyed sex in his human form, but it was so, so rare for him to expose his feathers to anyone, let alone like this. It was like Elric knew everywhere to touch, the best places, even though he couldn’t possibly realize just how sensitive his wings were.

Elric’s tongue teased at the seam of Athan’s lips and delved inside as soon as he parted them. Both hands started stroking those feathers, then, as the prince seemed to become more and more aware of just what this was doing to him.

Athan tried to kiss back, but mostly all he could do was cling to Elric while he lost himself in the sensation of his feathers being stroked. He automatically lifted his hips, trying to get his cock to rub against Elric, but Elric noticed and backed off just a little bit.

“One moment,” Elric said, his own face flushed. “Let me just…” He let go of Athan to pull his clothes off. Athan winced when he saw the burnt edges of the cloth. They really would need to stop by a tailor and buy something new for him.

As soon as he was undressed, Elric focused his attention back on Athan. Athan was still bare, his clothing having burned off as he’d shifted, and he studied Elric to make sure he hadn’t tried to hide any injuries. There were a few other burns he noticed, but nothing as severe as the one he’d smoothed over. Little things, mostly, where ash had brushed him. Athan was glad he’d prevented anything worse from happening, too—like getting stabbed or hit with an arrow.

“Do your wings hurt?” Elric murmured, his fingers going to Athan’s spine and burying themselves in his fluffy down again. “From where…”

“It’s only a little sore. Already better.” Athan kissed the crook of Elric’s neck. “It takes a lot to seriously injure me. Even the magic in their weapons was trivial to me.”

Elric closed his eyes, tilting his head as his hands briefly stilled in Athan’s feathers. He shivered, then slowly moved to slide into Athan’s lap. “I brought your bag,” he said, a little… shyly? That was odd, but the words were uncertainly spoken. “And there’s… oil, yes?”

Athan snorted in amusement. “Yes. My bag contains everything I’ll ever need. Would you like to ride me?” He reached out to stroke Elric’s cock, enjoying how it made Elric startle and thrust into his hand.

Elric’s cheeks flushed, and this time, Athan knew for certain it had nothing to do with his heat. “I… can.” He reached over and grabbed the bag, pulling it closer, but his attention was primarily on Athan as he touched Elric’s cock.

“You’ll have to grab the oil to slick yourself up,” Athan said softly. He leaned forward for another quick kiss. “Since you’ve got my arms so languid and useless.”

Elric reached into the bag, looking a little perplexed. “How large is this thing?” he asked after a moment of baffled silence before he finally came out with a stoppered vial of oil.

“As large as I need it to be.” Athan laughed a little and pulled Elric closer. “It’d be inconvenient to travel and not have everything I need on hand. Imagine, us out here, without any oil at all.”

Elric’s smile softened, and he looked so little like the cold prince he almost always seemed to be. There was something there to be saved, Athan was certain of it. He simply needed more touch, more heat… and less exposure to things that made him rust that much more quickly.

Elric unstoppered the oil and poured a little in his hands before reaching for Athan’s cock.

Fuck, that was good. Elric’s hand was cool in comparison to Athan, but he touched with the same single-minded precision as he had Athan’s wings. He was learning the shape of Athan’s cock too, following the twist as he stroked and running his thumb along the divot.

Athan leaned forward to kiss Elric’s chest, then ran his tongue around one of Elric’s nipples.

Elric let out a stifled cry, jerking in Athan’s lap. It made his hand slide down Athan’s cock, too, an unexpected little stroke that had them both moaning. “I can’t wait any longer,” Elric panted after a moment. “Are you…”

“Yes,” Athan said, leaning back. “Come on. I want to feel you tighten around me.”

With a soft chuckle that sounded like it might as well have come from a different person, Elric rose a bit and shifted so that the tip of Athan’s cock was at his hole. It was a little uncomfortable, given the rocks beneath his ass, but Athan ignored them. It would be worth it to feel Elric squeezing around him.

Elric slowly began to lower himself, his lips parting in an ‘o’ even though he didn’t make any sounds as of yet.

That wouldn’t do. Athan kissed the other nipple, nipping it lightly, and he drew another soft, shuddering moan from Elric’s lips.

For a few seconds, Elric only sat there, squeezing around Athan. But when he opened his eyes, Elric gazed at him with a strange smile. Athan smiled back, happy to see the expression, even if he didn’t understand it.

Until Elric raised his arms and placed them along Athan’s, to run his hands across Athan’s feathers once more.

“F-fuck,” Athan cried out, his hips jerking automatically. “Wait.”

Elric’s grin turned wicked. “No. I’m going to make you come before I do.”

The oil on Elric’s hands was a little strange in his feathers, but it wasn’t enough to keep it from feeling astoundingly good. Elric kept touching, brushing his fingers along the downy feathers, then the thicker layers, exploring and focusing on the places that made Athan keen with desire.

Athan tried to keep up by stroking Elric’s cock, but his hands were clumsy and distracted by the intense pleasure of having his feathers touched. He ended up with his mouth against Elric’s neck, mouthing at it uselessly and trying to stave off his orgasm. He didn’t want this to end yet. He wanted to give Elric as much pleasure as possible.

He wanted to keep Elric right here, with him, forever.

“Stop fighting it,” Elric whispered raggedly. “Come, Athan.” It was an order as much as a request, from someone used to being obeyed. His cock twitched in Athan’s hands, threatening to spill, and Athan tried to hold out.

He couldn’t. His cock uncoiled and he spilled inside Elric with a startled cry when the prince’s fingers delved deep into his feathers again and stroked, all while he fucked himself on Athan’s cock. The sensations were too much, and he found his head against Elric’s shoulder as he pumped heat inside of him.

Elric’s breath caught, and his own cum spurted all over Athan’s fingers. Elric kept his hands in Athan’s feathers, shuddering as the force of his own climax swept over him.

If only they really could stay like this, basking in their shared pleasure. Athan would have gladly whisked Elric away, taken him to some remote area where the only thing Elric had to worry about was how they might make each other feel good.

But Athan knew that wouldn’t fix Elric.

Still. He could pretend, for a little while. He rested his head against Elric’s chest and breathed in the scent of him, feeling every little movement of Elric’s chest.

“My knees,” Elric suddenly said. “Why did you think doing this on hard rock was a good idea?”

Athan laughed and kissed Elric’s chest again. “Your knees? What about my ass?”

“I hope you don’t end up with molten pebbles and stones up there,” Elric said dryly, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Reluctantly, Athan separated from Elric, but he stretched out onto the warm rock and pulled Elric into his arms. “Endure the discomfort for just a little bit, please,” Athan said, laying a feathered arm over Elric. “Just until we’ve caught our breath.”

Elric nodded, which was a bit surprising, but Athan was pleased he was willing to deal with the rocks for a little longer so they could spend those moments in the aftermath of pleasure. “All right,” he agreed. “Though I’ll allow you to be the more uncomfortable one.”

“That’s fine. I’m very durable,” Athan murmured. “I’ll save you from everything.”