Page 3 of Up In Flames
“Why do all of you pick on me?” Keltyr asked with a grin. “It's because you love me, right? It's the tail. Gets 'em every time.”
I finally chuckled and with that glimpse of happiness, I remembered that I was fortunate. I had four men I loved and who loved me. We were strong and getting stronger every day. The Corrupter was a bastard and damn frustrating with his tricks, but we would persevere until we triumphed. One day, we'd be drinking to celebrate, not to forget. And the children would be happy too. They would recover, just as Taroc said.
Until then, we had liquor. Lots of liquor.
Chapter Three
I got up early the next day and decided to check on the children. But right outside their door, I ran into my friend Caleb, who was coming out. He held a finger up to his lips and waved me down the hallway. My suite was on the same floor as the guest rooms, so that meant we headed back toward my door.
“They're sleeping,” Caleb said. “They didn't go down till a few hours ago.”
“Have you been up with them all this time?” I asked, laying a hand on his drooping shoulder.
“No. I went to bed when the last one of them did. I just woke up a little bit ago and wanted to check on them.”
“So, you've only had a few hours of rest,” I concluded. “Caleb, you should go back to sleep.”
He rubbed a weary hand over his face. “I can't. I keep seeing them in my dreams.”
“The dead?” I whispered, as if the dead could hear me.
“Yeah.” He glanced at me. “I keep wondering why I got away while all those parents didn't. Why me? I don't have children. I don't have anyone.” He hung his head. “Not anymore.”
Shit. I'd forgotten that the children weren't the only ones who had lost their parents.
“Caleb, I'm so sorry about your dad. But there is no why.” I shrugged. “It's random. Don't feel bad because you lived. Your father certainly wouldn't want that.”
“I can't help it.” He stopped before my door. “Comforting the kids last night drove it deep. If I could trade places—”
“Stop it.” I grabbed his hand and drew him past my suite and into the stairwell. “You are worth just as much as their parents. And I, for one, am glad you lived.”
“Thank you, Ember. That's kind of you to say. But—”
“Caleb, no buts. Now, if you're not going back to bed, let's at least get some breakfast.”
He stared down the stairs. We were on the seventh floor. The dining hall was on the first.
“I think I'll just stay here,” he murmured.
“How about I fade you downstairs?” I offered.
“Oh.” Caleb blinked. “All right.”
“Come here.” I pulled him into a hug.
Caleb sighed and folded around me. He was a little bigger than me but felt slight in comparison to my lovers. Was this what it was like for them to embrace me? I wondered if they felt as if they had to hold back when they were with me. Then I thought of the last time I'd been alone with Xae. Nope, Xaedren never held back. He knew I could take anything he gave me, and he gave me everything he had.
With thoughts of Xae making me smile, I faded Caleb downstairs to the arrival chamber. We hurried out as soon as we appeared. It was never a good idea to tarry in that little room. To our left was the arched entrance of the dining hall. Normally, the sounds of happy children would be coming from it at this hour. Today, it was as quiet as the grave.
I headed into the hall with Caleb and found a few lords scattered about the room in small groups. Most of the groups were mixed racially, with many types of Ladrin, the winged Makhan, Tytra of several clans (differentiated by the color of the scales at their temples), elegant Varraen with their pointed ears, and the Dhon with their curving horns and sleek tails. But there were a few Ladrin clans who tended toward their own kind and some of the Varraen as well. All of them, no matter who they were with, had an air of sorrow hanging about them. They spoke in low voices as the Creen staff members refilled mugs and set fresh platters of food on the buffet. I'd seen the Wraith Lords somber before, but never like this. It both saddened me and warmed my heart. I didn't realize how much the children had come to mean to them. Human children.
“All right, enough of that,” I called out.
My voice sounded overly loud in the quiet room, startling everyone. One of the Creen dropped the carafe of water he'd been carrying.
“Sorry, Alexio,” I said to him with a wince.
“It's all right, Lord Ember,” the man said and pulled a rag out of his back pocket to clean up the puddle.
