Page 14 of Dance with Me
Lucian sighed and wrapped Theo in a hug, lifting him as though he weighed nothing and carried him toward the front door, which opened to reveal Star standing there.
“Is he okay?”
“He’s fine,” Lucian assured Star. “Tired, cold, and hungry, but fine.”
“Violet dropped off some fruit jam,” Star said. “I made bread…” They didn’t discuss that Star’s bread was hardly palatable most days. None of them cooked that well. Lucian’s minimal campfire cook skills where about all they used these days. It meant a lot of strange stews unless Raphael appeared to offer other solutions, which happened a few times a month.
“I’ve stoked the fire,” Radu offered and held up a blanket. “Come here, little one.”
Theo sighed and released Lucian to slide into Radu’s waiting embrace. Theo admitted he liked the attention. Star fed him the cracker-like bread covered in sweet jam of some dark blue berry. Radu snuggled him in a blanket and Lucian hovered nearby until Theo closed his eyes, too tired to care about anything other than dreams.
Asound startled Theo out of a weary healing sleep. He found himself sandwiched between Radu and Lucian. His heart flipped over with anxiety for a half-second, searching for Star, but Star’s arm was wrapped around Radu’s waist from behind, thick blankets curled around them all. Only Lucian had mostly tossed off the blankets. None of them moved more than to breathe softly, and Theo’s guilt rose over making them all worried when they still sought Yuri every day and the final link to feeling complete.
A huff brought Theo’s gaze to the end of the bed, and the giant purple cat standing there. He gasped, and mouthed, “Barney.” The creature leapt onto the bed with a careful grace that barely moved the mattress at all. Theo heard Star grumble.
Barney stared at them all for a moment before slinking up to curl up beside Lucian, tucking nose to tail and closing his eyes as if they were all too annoying for taking up most of the bed. Theo smiled and let out a long sigh of relief. Yuri wasn’t home yet, but he would be soon. And Theo knew that having Barney back would help fuel their search if only to keep Lucian’s depression at bay.
Lucian’s brows scrunched and Theo gently kissed them to soothe him, praying he didn’t wake him.
“Is there a giant purple cat behind me?” Lucian whispered without opening his eyes.
“Yes,” Theo agreed.
“He’s purring and warm.”
“Yeah? Is it okay?”
“Yes,” Lucian agreed. He tugged Theo a few inches closer and buried his face beside Theo’s, their cheeks sliding together. “Everything is going to be okay.”
“Cause Barney is gonna help us find Yuri?”
“Hmm. We will find Yuri.” Was all Lucian said.
But Theo could sense the tension leak out of Lucian’s exhausted body. Even after months of searching and during sleep, he’d been stiff and filled with anxiety. One more piece of home falling into place.
Part Three
Where the Shadows Lie
“Ican’t find Star, have you seen him?” Radu asked as he appeared in the doorway of the kitchen with a stack of books.
Lucian glanced up from the cookbook he’d been trying to understand and frowned at the stack. More cookbooks. Radu had been trying to recover texts from the library of the fallen castle, much of it buried and unreachable now that Dahna grew like the entire world had been possessed by plant fae. But it hadn’t taken the fae to change their home world, only one mortal with a very complicated past.
“He’s not in his room or the library?” Lucian stared at the pot that was supposed to become some sort of cream and thought it looked more like scrambled eggs. He sighed and turned off the heat. “What about Theo?”
“Theo’s outside in the garden with your pet. Both lounging in the sun more than harvesting food or flowers.” Radu set the stack on the cupboard sideboard and frowned at the overflowing space. The book Lucian had open beside him was Yuri’s cookbook, and Lucian rarely let it out of his sight, though reading it cover to cover did little to help him understand the complexities of cooking.
He frowned at his uncle, the man’s worry clear on his face, and unfamiliar after centuries of seeing the stoic king. “I’m sure he’s fine. He doesn’t much like the daylight,” Lucian added. “It probably feels unfamiliar. Did you check all the dark spots in the house?”
“Yes,” Radu said. “I thought I’d curl up and nap with him for comfort as he hates this time of day and is still a little upset he can’t go out and look for Yuri himself. But he’s not in the house.”
Star had briefly found himself stuck in another world surrounded by sentient shadows who found him very tasty. The shadows themselves rare, as most had been shattered back tothe nothingness of the primordial dark’s making. But, Star had a lot of trauma when dealing with the shadows.
“I’ll look for him,” Lucian said, glancing out at the bright day of their space in-between home.
“He wouldn’t have left, would he?” Radu sounded worried. “Like to search for Yuri on his own?”
“Didn’t you command him not to?”
