“Does it bother you that she’s casting with others?” Arlon asked.
“No,” Garrett chuckled. “You know where she worked before here. Now, instead of just imagining what she did with her clients upstairs, I get to watch.”
Arlon swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. Something about that idea embedded in his head—both of them. He was grateful the water hid how his cock twitched.
Garrett didn’t seem to notice as he leaned back before scooping water up to wash the dirt from his chest. “You don’t have to answer this, but why haven’t you cast with anyone else?”
Arlon sank a little further into the water and crossed hisarms over his chest, remembering the awkward moment he’d had with Magda a few weeks ago. “They look at me and see a Wolf. I’m not interested in being that for anyone, even as a fantasy.”
Garrett tsked in sympathy. “No, I get it. A couple months after Bri and I got here, this pretty little noble—I think her name was Sabine? She asked if I wanted to take her as mywar bridefor the night.”
“Fuck. That’s a hell of a way to say hello.”
“That’s what I thought,” Garrett chuckled as he started to unwind his long braid. “Needless to say, Sabine went to bed unconquered that night.” He finished freeing his hair before he sank further into the water, wetting the strands until they hung straight down his back. His tone sobered a little as he said, “It kinda… I don’t know. Messed with my head a bit. Ilikethe idea of making magic with others, but…”
Arlon grabbed a washcloth to help scrub the dirt and blood from the scrapes on his knees. “I get it. Magda said she wanted to see how the Wolf made magic and I just…” He sighed. “If I’m going to fuck around, it’s going to be with people who see me as a person, not just some fantasy.”
Garrett let out a long breath as he sank down, letting his head rest against the lip of the pool. “Here, here.”
He seemed completely at ease in Arlon’s company, and it was a nice surprise to realize that Arlon felt the same way. It didn’t feel weighted or awkward being naked around the other man, and he sank a little more comfortably into the water to just enjoy it. They soaked in a companionable silence until chatter sounded at the top of the stairs. With a shared look, they came to an unspoken agreement before they got out and got dressed.
“See you tomorrow morning?” Garrett asked as he re-braided his wet hair.
It was an easy answer. “Yeah, see you then.”
6
The familiar nightmare always started with the smell of damp earth. It filled his nose, cutting through the fog of liquor that had clouded his head that night. As it always did, the hauntingly familiar weight settled on top of him. He fought it on instinct, but the weight only seemed to grow, bearing down on him, as inescapable and inevitable as nightfall. Hot breath tickled his ear as he was overpowered, before a hand clamped over the back of his neck.
Quiet, boy. Don’t want to wake the camp, do you?
Arlon jolted awake, the echo of Vian’s voice still in his ear. For a moment, he just stared at the moonlight streaming in through his window as he tried to wrestle his racing heart back under control. His modest room felt oppressive in the wake of the dream. Too dark, too quiet.
It was too late for regrets, but a part of him wished he could go back to earlier in the evening and ask Fawn if he could sleep in her quarters with her. Maybe if he had, the old nightmare would have stayed away. Ever since Vian’s death, hehad thought he had finally escaped this particular dream, and it rattled him to be proved so wrong.
He tossed his blankets off and got up, pulling a shirt on over his sleeping shorts. Fawn had assured him that there was no place in the Crux he wasn’t welcome, and he hoped that remained true when he knocked on her door at whatever godsforsaken hour it was. Trying to return to sleep in his own bed felt like tempting Vian’s ghost to visit again.
Instead, he went to his door and threw it open, only to earn a startled gasp from someone just outside.
It was Bridgette, a light globe clasped in her hand. She was backed against the far wall, one hand on her chest, her blue eyes wide with alarm.
“Gods, you scared the shit out of me,” she hissed, keeping her voice to a whisper.
“Sorry,” Arlon said, equally surprised to see someone else up this late. Yet some small part of him found it funny that he’d spent so many days searching for Garrett and Bridgette when at least Bridgette shared a floor with him.
The woman looked him over before she asked, “You alright? You look about how I felt when I thought you were a fucking ghost.”
Arlon swore and rubbed his tired eyes. “I—no, I’m fine. Couldn’t sleep.”
Bridgette frowned as some silent battle played out behind her eyes. Finally, she sighed and said, “I couldn’t sleep, either. I was going to go for a walk if you want to come?”
Frankly, Arlon was shocked she wanted anything to do with him. Especially something that involved being alone with him in the middle of the night.
It was like she could read his thoughts. She pulled a strand of spells out from under her nightgown. “I’m not stupidenough to go walking around in the dark without a little assurance.”
Something about her tone wrung a quiet huff from him. The woman was an uncomfortable reminder of who he used to be, but that wasn’therfault. No doubt he was a reminder of something she’d rather forget, too, so the fact that she had even asked him to join felt significant. A tenuous sort of peace offering.
“You sure you want company?”
