Chapter 11

11

E ben spent an endless, miserable night.

It took far too long to fall asleep, what with his leaking eyes, and the ever-increasing aches running through his weakened, exhausted body. Aches that eventually began to feel more like chills, and it belatedly occurred to his weary, overwhelmed brain that perhaps Gareth — and Tryggr — had been right. Perhaps he’d pushed it too far in the dyflissa . He’d had far too little sleep these past days, and beyond that apple Tryggr had thrown him, he couldn’t recall if he’d eaten the day before, either — and curse him, he hadn’t thought to drink even a bit of fresh seed in the dyflissa , either. Orc healing never worked as well when the orc was fatigued or under-nourished, or — Eben groaned into his fur — or under strain.

So he attempted to lie still, to rest, and eventually pulled over that sack of fruit Tryggr had given him, which he’d somehow carried all the way here. But he suddenly felt too weary to even eat it, and instead ended up sucking out a plum’s juices as well as he could before collapsing again. His body still shivering with wave after wave of cold, though the fur beneath him was soaked with sweat, and his back felt like it was fully aflame, licking and crackling with agonizing heat.

Eventually he fell into a fitful, restless sleep, and when he awoke again, he was parched, the wet fur now frigid against his shivering skin. But he was too weak to get out of bed, and there was no water to be found, so he finally groped for another plum, and again sucked as much liquid from it as he could. And then sank his trembling body back onto the bed, fighting to ignore the distant shouting awareness that he was feverish, and that the whip-strikes had clearly become infected. These are not healing as they should…

Eben didn’t know when he next awoke, but when he did, it was to the sound of a low, cursing voice. A familiar voice. And Eben had to be dreaming, dreaming that Tryggr was in his room, and yes, no, the scent was gone again — until it wasn’t. And with it was another familiar scent, Gareth’s scent, but hanging thick with metal and smoke, suggesting he’d just come from his work in the forge.

“ How long’s he been like this?” demanded Tryggr’s voice. “ An ’ why the fuck did none of you come check on him? Didn’t you scent him, the other night, when you were tearing into him with a fucking lash , after he near got attacked and forced in the fucking Skai arena?!”

The sharp scent of Gareth’s shock filtered through the air, and Eben could hear his low, hoarse exhale. “ Ach , he spoke naught of this,” he replied, his voice sounding odd to Eben’s ears. “ And he oft comes scenting thus, and begging for pain. And if I — or another friend — do not grant him this, he shall hurl himself toward any other who shall offer it. Oft those who shall not pay close heed to him, or his scents.”

Oh . No . Gareth truly didn’t think such things about Eben , he truly hadn’t taken pleasure with Eben out of pity , or a sense of responsibility , all this time?! And it was surely a sign of Eben’s miserable state that his sudden guilt and grief didn’t even filter into his scent, at least not enough to reach Tryggr and Gareth beside him.

“ And I only did not come to see him,” continued Gareth’s voice, still thick and unusually high-pitched, “because I thought — your scents — I thought he had gone with you .”

There was an instant’s silence, taut and heavy in the room, and a sound from Gareth that might have been a sniff. And then the sound of movement, of perhaps Tryggr pacing, his scent swaying unevenly into Eben’s breath. “ Then where are those pricks from the sickroom, those ones he works with!” Tryggr demanded. “ Those Ash - Kai always got their noses poked in everyone else’s business, and that mouthy one Kesst kept launching right into me for even asking about Boss’s woman! Why ain’t he down here gettin’ his magic healer mate to deal with this!”

There was another moment’s silence, broken by Gareth’s heavy-sounding sigh. “ Outside the dyflissa , he is not one to draw eyes to himself,” his quiet voice said. “ He is so meek and soft-spoken, I ken he is mayhap easy to… forget. Most of all in such a busy sickroom, ach?”

His words were followed by more uncomfortable silence, and a harsh, irritated growl from Tryggr . “ So what’s keeping you from running for Efterar now, then!” he snarled. “ When you’re part responsible for putting him in this state!”

There was a flare of bright alarm from Gareth , but then Eben could scent him rushing from the room, leaving only Tryggr’s scent behind. And now something heavy was settling on the bed beside Eben , something warm and familiar touching his shoulder.

“ Ach , you’ll be all right, Ka -esh,” came Tryggr’s low voice. “ You’ll be all right real soon, ach? You’ve been real good to keep resting like this, real good.”

Oh . Eben attempted to turn his head toward Tryggr , to blink his gritty eyes open, perhaps to speak — but nothing would come out. And despite that, Tryggr’s warm hand had begun stroking his shoulder, slow and deeply reassuring, and Eben couldn’t help curling a little closer into him, into his safe solid warmth.

“ That’s it, Ka -esh,” Tryggr’s soft voice continued. “ You just relax and breathe, ach? That Efterar will be here real soon to help you, I ken.”

Eben might have nodded, curling even closer, his head bumping something solid — something that was now shifting, slipping beneath his head, propping it up. And wait, wait, it was Tryggr’s thigh , Eben’s head was in Tryggr’s lap — and Tryggr’s warm hand was now stroking against his hair, against where it felt sticky and scraggly, surely half fallen out of its usual neat braid.

“ Ach , just thus, Ka -esh,” Tryggr said, even softer. “ You get comfortable, and rest.”

Eben somehow nodded, rubbing his hot cheek against the rough fabric of Tryggr’s trousers, but oh, this was the best he’d felt in days, or maybe in weeks, or months. Just lying like this in a Skai’s lap, while the Skai kept petting him, murmuring soft, sweet, wonderful words to him.

Eben didn’t know how long he lay there, and he’d perhaps fallen back asleep — but he was jolted awake by Tryggr’s voice again, now far louder and sharper than before. “ Where the fuck have you been?” he demanded, and when Eben’s scratchy eyes blinked open, he saw Efterar striding into the room, looking just as bleary and exhausted as Eben felt.

“ I’ve been dealing with the fallout from that massive brawl of yours, Skai ,” Efterar snapped back, though Eben couldn’t taste any actual ire in his scent. “ Now help me turn him over, will you? Gently .”

Efterar was referring to Eben , he soon discovered, as careful hands shifted against his body, turning him around so his burning back faced out, toward Efterar . Which meant that Eben’s face was now turned toward Tryggr , his nose nearly in Tryggr’s groin, and he felt himself reflexively inhaling the rich sweet scent of it, as his aching body shuddered all over.

“ Ach , that’s a bad infection,” said Efterar’s voice, clipped and businesslike. “ What did it, do you know?”

Tryggr’s hand was again steadily stroking Eben’s hair, seemingly not caring that it was nudging Eben’s face closer into his groin. “ A lash, he said,” came Tryggr’s flat reply. “ An ’ a half-dozen fool greedy Ka -esh running a rut on him, too. Thought they were s’posed to be the geniuses round here.”

Efterar didn’t make any comment to this, though Eben could feel the unmistakable prickle of his powerful healing magic, shimmering into the aches on his skin. “ He’s badly dehydrated, too,” said Efterar’s matter-of-fact voice. “ Lost a lot of blood. I don’t suppose you thought to bring him any water, beyond this fruit?”

Tryggr’s hand stilled, and Eben could feel his breath hissing out, hard enough to rustle his hair. “ Ach , no, I didn’t,” he breathed. “ Fuck . I shoulda thought of it. Didn’t realize he didn’t have any, the poor little pet.”

Another hard shiver hurtled up Eben’s back, and he could hear Efterar’s low harrumph. “ Well , fresh seed would be even better, if you’d want to give it,” he said flatly. “ No obligation whatsoever, of course, but it scents to me like you’re both already halfway there.”

Wait . Wait , what the hell had Efterar just said, and Eben couldn’t stop shivering now, and somehow — somehow — twisting his head a little, and blinking up at Tryggr’s face. At where Tryggr was blinking back down toward him, a stunned, strange look shifting across his eyes.

“ Would that help, Ka -esh?” he asked, hoarse. “ A bit of fresh seed? Just — for your health? Your healing?”

Right . Right , of course, just for that, and Eben couldn’t deny his low, shaky moan, his tongue brushing his lips. And now he was even inhaling slow and deep, shamefully nuzzling his face into Tryggr’s groin, into where — at some point — it had begun bulging far larger than before.

“ Ach , then, Ka -esh,” Tryggr breathed, and oh, oh , he was shifting his trousers, tugging them downwards, and releasing — that. That fat, scarred Skai prick, hovering huge and heavy over Eben’s face. And this was not happening, this could not be happening, not with Efterar right there behind them — but Eben knew Efterar had witnessed such feedings hundreds of times, and he’d been the one to suggest it, and…

“ Ach , Ka -esh?” Tryggr said, even as he shifted Eben a little on his lap, lowered that thick grey length toward Eben’s mouth. “ You’re sure?”

But Eben’s mouth was still watering, his head furtively nodding, his face seeking closer. His lips parting, opening, welcoming the gentle brush of that slick grey head, its seed brushing lightly across his tongue…

Fuck , it tasted good, different, richer and sweeter than any seed Eben had ever tasted in his life — and he moaned as he lurched closer, sucked it deeper into his mouth. While Tryggr gasped above him, and then huffed a husky laugh, his hand again stroking against Eben’s hair, claws gently dragging against his scalp.

“ Ach , there you are, Ka -esh,” Tryggr murmured, as his cock in Eben’s mouth shuddered and swelled larger, squeezing out a generous pulse of that rich sweetness onto Eben’s tongue. “ That’s better, ain’t it?”

Eben briefly, fervently nodded, earning another low laugh from Tryggr , another stroke of claws through his hair. “ Good ,” he said softly. “ Real good, Ka -esh. Drink as much as you like.”

Oh , hell, and Eben moaned again, sucking harder, deeper — and that was a hiss from Tryggr this time. “ Ach , that’s it,” he breathed, swelling even fuller in Eben’s mouth, stretching it wider around him. “ Ach , you’ve got a tight, hot little mouth, don’t you? You like having it filled with a good Skai prick?”

Eben’s groan was hoarse, shameless, his mouth sucking even harder — and oh, it felt good, it tasted good, and perhaps it really was helping, too. Because Efterar’s familiar healing prickle in his back was moving faster now, darting efficiently from laceration to laceration, and Eben’s thoughts felt clearer, his body steadier. Enough that he remembered his tongue, flicking and teasing it at Tryggr’s leaking slit, while Tryggr spasmed and sputtered into his mouth, thicker and smoother with every desperate gulp.

“ Good , Ka -esh,” Tryggr gasped, his clawed hand now gently curling around Eben’s neck, his breaths heaving loud and harsh. “ Ach , that’s nice. Real nice. So good and tight and sweet, so pretty with a Skai in your mouth, opening you up, about to make you reek of —”

His voice faltered, broke into a hoarse, guttural cry — and yes, yes, there it was, the furious rush of sweet, stunning Skai seed, surging into Eben’s mouth. And he was aware enough now to soften the suction, to open his throat, to just let the seed flow straight down, heating his esophagus, streaming into his empty waiting belly.

“ Oh , fuck ,” Tryggr groaned, his hooded eyes bright and wild on Eben’s face. “ So good , Ka -esh. Ach .”

Eben could have preened beneath the praise, beneath the sheer sweeping pleasure, the wondrous warm rightness of this powerful Skai so generously filling his mouth, flooding his belly. Offering him such great, stunning strength, and Eben held his worshipful eyes on Tryggr’s flushed face as he kept his throat wide open, kept welcoming that sweet Skai seed inside him. Until he could feel the flow finally sputtering, slowing, and only then did he let his throat convulse against that hard invading flesh, even as his tongue stroked up its length. An action that instantly made Tryggr shudder and gasp, squeezing out another sustained spurt of seed — so Eben did it again, and again. Milking out more and more, squeezing again and again, until that slowly softening cock had fed him every last, succulent drop.

“ Ach , Ka -esh,” Tryggr breathed, or perhaps it was more a moan, as he bent over Eben’s head, and inhaled slow and deep. “ Ach , that was good. So tight. So sweet .”

Eben softly drew away and smiled back up at him, his breath slowly shuddering with his exhale, with his heavy, fluttering eyes. The peacefulness now settling quiet and boneless upon him, sinking him down into the warm safety of Tryggr’s lap, his still-stroking hands. Liking him, approving of him, perhaps, perhaps…

“ That better, Ka -esh?” breathed Tryggr’s ragged voice. “ Now mayhap you can sleep for me, ach?”

And yes, yes, Eben would, he would like nothing better than to please his lord, who had blessed him with such good seed, and such great kindness. So he kept smiling as he nodded, slow and grateful, and then closed his eyes, and slept.