* * *
“You can’t really mean that,” a deep voice drawled, dragging Aneski out of the darkness. “Him? Of all people?”
“When did this even happen?” another person, equally conflicted sounding.
“It just…happened.” Someone sighed heavily, their exhaustion apparent.
“Naming him as your Onus though—”
“It’s done. Leave it.”
“Do you evenlikehim?”
Curious about what they were talking about, Aneski peeled his eyes open. The room was bright and it instantly burned. Unconsciousness tugged at him again. He caught sight of a blond sitting by his bedside before everything went dark.
* * *
“You can’t keep him here! This is kidnapping!”
Aneski frowned. That sounded like…Gannon?
“What the hell did you do to him?!”
And Rexton. He was sure of it. But what were they upset about? And who were they talking to?
“Get them out of here,” an exhausted voice nearby ordered.
“You don’t have any right!” Gannon exclaimed, only for the exhausted man to chuckle humorlessly.
“I own him,” he stated, a note of something sour in his tone. “I have every right.”
“Bastard!”
Aneski struggled to pull himself out of the heaviness surrounding him, but his eyes refused to open, and he couldn’t move a muscle.
“Shh,” a hand settled on his forehead, warm and somehow comforting, “Relax, baby, it’s not time to wake up yet. Your friends are fine. Go back to sleep.”
He didn’t know why, but Ani believed him.
He stopped resisting and welcomed the comfort of the darkness.
* * *
The next time he woke it was easier. His throat was parched, but his eyes slid open without struggle, and the lights weren’t blindingly bright. When he took stock of his body, he could shift his shoulders and his feet, though there was a bit of pain that came along with it, nothing too bad.
He stared up at the ceiling, sorting through his memories, trying to piece together everything that had transpired to lead him here…
Wherever here was.
Frowning, Aneski tilted his head on the pillow. It wasn’t a hospital room, and the bed he was in was at least three times the size of the standard issue a person would find there. The sheets felt smooth against his skin, temperature controlled probably. Expensive. There was a large window with the blinds open, and outside, a street light caused the current downpour of rain to glitter.
He turned his head in the other direction, freezing when his eyes landed on a figure beside him.
The man was lying on his side, facing him. He was asleep on top of the blankets, as though he’d crawled on and laid down as an afterthought and hadn’t intended to fall asleep in the first place.
Flix.
It all came back to him, and Aneski bit the inside of his cheek. The Brumal member might look peaceful now, but therewas no telling what kind of hell he was going to force Ani to pay once he woke up. He was probably furious.
