Take Flight Part 9
“Feel like a soak? There are some submerged seats in the
pool. The warm water will ease any lingering aches from your healing,” Sayer
asked Birch. “I … um, I have a regular bathroom installed behind those trees.”
“Oh thank god.” Birch’s wings rustled as he hurried away.
His bare ass peeked as they fluttered with his breathing. Sayer groaned. The
skin flashing between the white feathers was tantalizing.
The grotto’s pool was warm. The water lapped at his skin,
swirling against him and then away to the stream that drained down into the
mountain. Sayer sank down into the water up to his neck, but kept his back
turned until he heard Birch enter the pool. He didn’t want to make him
uncomfortable staring at him, though Sayer longed to see and touch every inch
of Birch’s body.
“Sayer? What do I do about the wings?”
Birch was only standing in the water to his waist. The water
dragged at the bottom feathers of his wings and they were flexing and shifting.
Birch shivered. “This feels so weird.”
“I bet. Just wait until you fly though.” He grinned at
Birch. “There’s no better feeling in the world than soaring above the clouds as
the sun rises, turning everything pink.”
It didn’t look like the idea was too appealing to Birch. “I
don’t know, I kind of like my feet on the ground.”
“We’ll figure it out later. I don’t want to you flying until
you’ve learned how to control your wings.” Sayer turned Birch in the waist deep
water so they were both looking at the trees dancing with sprites. “For now you
just imagine them away. Picture your body without wings, see your back muscles smooth
and bare.”
Birch’s wings shimmered as they faded. Sayer slid their
bodies together and hugged Birch from behind. “Mmm.” He adored the feeling of
their bare skin together. Birch’s skin was soft over his defined chest. A thin
layer of soft hair fascinated him. Fae, even dwarves, did not have chest hair.
Sayer’s chest was smooth.
“Sayer!” Birch jerked forward when Sayer slid his thumbs
over his nipples. “What are you doing?”
“What I wanted to do all those times we went skinny dipping
as teens before school ended. Touch every inch of my body to yours.” He dropped
a kiss on Birch’s shoulder, allowing him to keep the space between them though
he missed the way his cock had nestled briefly against the small of Birch’s
back. “I’m sorry. I know this is a lot to take in, and I’ve always known you
were mine.”
“Let’s just … sit for a bit? Is that okay? And you can
explain the ‘I’m a fae and you’re mine’ to me before I need to take an ink blot
test for insanity.”
A bit of dread coiled in Sayer. He reminded himself they
were already bonded; his amulet adorned Birch’s chest and would never come off.
“So?” Birch raised an eyebrow at him when they were seated
on the mossy rocks, the water swirling around their armpits. He slid his hands
through the water, cupping it and letting it trickle out. “I’m probably as
relaxed as you’ll ever get me.”
He was. Birch had always liked hot tubs, and Sayer wasn’t
above using that.
“The fae are both what the stories say and not. Elves and
Dwarves are different races, in the eyes of men, but really they are simply
fae. There are four cardinal fae characteristics that—”
Birch interrupted him, “Let me guess, they mimic the elements.
Earth, air, fire and water.”
Sayer nodded. “Yes. There are dominant races, lesser races,
and mixes. Dwarves are of the Earth, Sylphs are of the Air. Fire belongs to the
Jinn, and Water belongs to the Nymphs. Pure-bloods are exceptionally rare, though.
The races have intermixed since the beginning.”
“Like the sprites.” Birch tilted his head, staring at the
lights. “They fly, so they have to be part sylph and the lightning means
they’re part jinn. Right?”
“Exactly.”
“So, all the mythos are real?”
Sayer leaned back into the slightly scratchy moss. “To some
extent. Dwarves aren’t tiny fat men and women with long beards. We do like
fancy rocks though.” He reached over and stroked a finger down Birch’s amulet.
“You’re a Dwarf?” Birch’s eyes were comically big. Sayer had
a hard time not laughing. “And what, a sylph?”
“Yes, Mother was a sylph. My grandparents were a Fire and
Water pairing, so I have powers of all the races. The king must be strong, but
they don’t have to have elemental powers from all four races.” A thought struck
him and he spoke aloud before he thought about how it could sound. “Maybe the
reason I am so strong has to do with the fact that you are human and do not
have fae blood.”
“What? I’m tainted or something because I’m a human? What’s
wrong with that? According to legends you people have been stealing human
children for thousands of years.” Birch crossed his arms over his chest.
“No, I didn’t mean that, I swear.” Sayer hoped Birch
believed him. “I love you how you are.”
Birch stared at him, his arms falling to his sides. “You
love me?”
Sayer’s heart pounded. He’d never thought that was a
question Birch had to ask. “Always. I’ve loved you always. It’s not just
because you were meant for me so I took you as a baby to bring up here, though
that is how it was always done. I didn’t want that for you.
“The human world is so busy, so different from ours with its
silly customs and complicated protocols. It was an eye opener growing up there
alongside you. It made me realize how bad things had gotten here. Then my
parents ….”
Sayer shuddered. Things were different. There were
creatures, wild fae, that had grown too dangerous, even for them.
“I always planned to come back for you. I need you.”
Uh Oh. Sayer's parents were wild fey. Does that mean Sayer had to...erm...take care of them? Poor Sayer. It must have been so hard for him to deal with whatever he had to deal with alone. He was thoughtful leaving Birch in the human world but possibly not wise.
ReplyDeleteWild fey? I have the feeling there is going to be trouble soon...
ReplyDelete