Sequel

I would have updated like four times today, except I was writing a chapter for Bond Mates. With any luck it will be up on the site in a few weeks. It took all day and burned out my brain.

But this went according to plan, the way I wanted it to go... until the end. It wasn't supposed to end like that and I was hoping to get out a couple more pages at the very least. But silly Rel was... silly.

Read, Review and enjoy.





Following Ashun’s comment there was a moment of silence. Before the young woman opened her mouth and said, “do… males really do that?”

“Some, yes,” Rel responded, “some do it another way. They,” he motioned to Raoh and Osht, “seemed to think this was normal.”

Raoh and Osht looked at each other, then at Rel, puzzlement playing over their features. Until Ashun asked them something in Sidhe. Both looked horrified and responded something quickly before striding off to the bathroom together. Ashun was rooted in spot for only a moment before she stormed after them, shouting in Sidhe. The males shut the door very firmly behind them and there was the loud click of a lock.

Rel hadn’t realised that the door had a lock.

Ashun stood at the door and shouted at them. Nave smiled politely at Rel, motioning to her mouth and pulling her hand away and too her heart. Rel took it as meaning that she meant to speak but understood that Rel might mistake her meaning.

“Raoh ah’ Osht, have … shared an bed?” Nave looked at Rel critically, and Rel nodded that he understood, “as part of uhshwa, three of pair. Ashun brings Raoh ah’ Osht together into uhshwa, but Ashun is young ah’ cannot share bed with Raoh and Osht. Ashun has no knowledge of how shared beds. Raoh ah’ Osht not tell Ashun how to share bed, fearful that she will seek this with no understanding of …” Nave muttered something in Sidhe, “con… consertion? Cons…”

“Consequence?”

“Auh,” Nave gave a small nod of her head, “to be mated when Ashun becomes puberty.”

So Raoh and Osht had had sex together but had only come together because of Ashun. She was their focal point, their main concern and interest, but they would see to each others’ needs as well. Muan huffed out beside Rel and looked about, seemingly annoyed. The Sidhe stood and shuffled back to the plants, laying down in the shade of one of the leaf trees. Nave followed after Muan, inclining her head to him as if saying she had to go, and settled in a sunny patch by Muan, lounging in the sunlight.

Uhwan moved from his place by Raoh and Osht’s nest and to the art cupboard. The Sidhe pulled out paper and charcoal and settled right in front of Rel. A few strokes soon turned into the outlining of a face. Uhwan looked up at the ceiling, as if thinking, then flicked several more lines across the page. Muan’s face emerged from the paper.

Paw had said Uhwan was an artist, but had paused before saying artist, as if there was something about Uhwan that was not artist. Yet there the Sidhe was, drawing better than anyone Rel had witnessed drawing before. It was a perfect duplication of Muan’s face. All the shades and swirls of colours were in the Sidhe’s hair and eyes. Shadow played into the image and some how Uhwan knew just where the spots of light would be, for never did charcoal touch those places at all.

Uhwan signed the corner of the page with what must have been his signature. A dragonfly alighted on what looked like the moon. The Sidhe set the image to the side and immediately started another image. The trace of the hill gave it away. Made Rel’s heart skip a beat. When the waterfall came into view, Rel looked away, desperately wondering how Uhwan could know of the place. The cottage nestled amongst the hills. The driftwood bench outside the door and the mountains in the distance. Even the black path through the forest was there. The signature appeared once more down in the corner and it was set beside the first image.

The third scrawled out the image of a man, that seemingly was closely related to Rel. The jaw was stronger, the eyes conveyed wisdom and kindness even as three fingers reached towards the face, showing off a ring with six stones in it. The ruffled hair framed his face and brought out the edges of the man’s face. This image, as well, Uhwan signed the same as the others.

Rel gave into his curiosity, he picked up the image of Muan and studied it. The image was a perfect rendering of the Sidhe. Yet… something pulled at Rel. He frowned at the image and looked at Uhwan. The Sidhe blinked up at him and motioned as if pulling something open.

Which only made him frown more. Uhwan repeated the motion.

Rel turned his attention to the image and caught a scent, like the bubble in the bathtub. He turned his attentions meaningfully touching the image as if he were using magic in one of his worlds, in his imagination.

And suddenly he wasn’t looking at an image, he was looking at Muan, a slight quirking upward of the lips. Rel could smell the musk on the Sidhe, could feel the soft skin under his cheek and the heartbeat pressing against his chest. Hair light and soft like a puppy’s, grazed over Rel’s cheek and colours swirled in Muan’s eyes as the Sidhe looked down on Rel. Lips moved down to touch Rel’s and…

And the image faded.

Rel was no longer holding the paper, Uhwan had taken it and was very carefully setting it back on the floor, smoothing rumpled edges. Which left Rel blinking at nothing at all. When it clued into him, what he had done, Rel let out a startled sound.

Uhwan wasn’t just an artist. The Sidhe had. Somehow. Imbued the very image itself with Muan’s essence. Uhwan had taken everything Muan was and expressed it on paper as no one else ever could.

Rel, in turn, had opened himself to that feeling on purpose, had used power to…

He had used power.

He. Him. Rel. Had …

The world did an odd sort of tilt.

He had power.

Suddenly the floor was rushing up to meet his face and darkness tinged the edges of his vision. Rel fainted.


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