“Where were you?” Keltyr asked Rath. “I thought you were supposed to be his guardian?”
Rath's face twitched. “His mentor. And I was there, but I couldn't get across the ground. It was shaking too wildly. Xaedren was in wolf form and was able to leap to Ember.”
“Why didn't you use magic? You've got all of them.”
Rath's face twitched more. “I was about to when Xaedren appeared.”
“Ah.” Keltyr glanced at Xaedren. “So, you still hate the Ladrin, Em?”
“Don't call me Em. It sounds like a girl's name.”
Keltyr snickered. “Yeah, it kinda does. I'll just save that for the right time.”
I stuck my tongue out at him. Then I processed what he said. “Why does everyone think I hate the Ladrin?”
“You screamed at me to get the fuck off you,” a low voice said.
I looked up to see Lord Xaedren standing behind Rath, a heaping plate of food in his hand.
Wincing, I said, “I was going to find you after I ate, and apologize for that. I was in a sort of trance and didn't realize you were trying to protect me until it was too late. I'm sorry.”
Lord Xaedren grunted. “I wasn't trying to protect you. I just . . .”
I lifted a brow.
“Fine, I was trying to protect you, but only because you're integral to ending the war.” He stomped off. “Fucking newbies.”
“Whoa,” Lord Keltyr whispered. “Feel that sexual tension.”
“There's no sexual tension,” Rath and I said together.
Keltyr snorted. “Sure. What do I know?” He stared after Xaedren and added, “I'd fuck him if he was a bottom.” Then he saw Rath's glare. “What? He's got a great ass.” He lifted his hands and curved them to mimic the shape of Xaedren's ass, then squeezed. “Plump and yet firm and so fucking pert. I could happily take a bite out of that apple.”
“You would fuck anyone who bent over for you,” Rath said.
Lord Keltyr seemed to think about it, then nodded. “Probably. I'll give everyone a try twice, just to make sure I didn't like them the first time.”
I chuckled, then increased it to laughter when I saw Rath's annoyed expression. But even as I grinned, I suppressed a shiver. Keltyr was right; Lord Xaedren was becoming more and more attractive to me. There was sexual tension, though it was probably one-sided. Was it his heroic attempt at saving my life? Or was it the gruff way Xaedren deflected my apology? I wasn't sure. But I was a little shocked that I could feel such a strong draw to another man right on the heels of wanting Rath. And for a Ladrin of all people. A Ladrin of theWolfClan. No, I couldn't go there. Besides, he wasn't interested. At best, I irritated Xaedren. At worst, I was the dickhead who knocked him on his ass.
Then I looked at Rath and the longing hit again. Fuck, it was just survival instinct. That's all my attraction for Xaedren was. A way to distract myself from what I felt for Rath. And my instinct was right. Maybe not about Xaedren, but about the distraction. I needed to get over Ratharin. I glanced at Keltyr and seriously considered doing something stupid.
Chapter Fourteen
Two weeks passed and still, I didn't do anything stupid, not with Keltyr or anyone else. I decided to stick to my original decision to settle in before I started anything with anyone. I needed to focus on my magic, and sex would distract me from that. But every day, it became harder to resist the offers I was getting. Some were subtle but more were closer to Keltyr—as subtle as an iron poker up the ass.
The Wraith Lords, on the whole, were straightforward, dedicated men who spent most of their days either training or responding to a summons for help. Days and nights, I should say. At any time, a summons could come, filtering through the citadel's main notification crystal to stream out to the individual summons pendants the men wore—milky moonstone cabochons set in silver. The chosen Wraith Lords would stop whatever they were doing to armor up, then fade to the location they'd been summoned to. After a couple of weeks, I got used to the sudden disappearances. And I was grateful that Rath had been taken off the rotation so he could mentor me. Seeing him fade during the middle of a training session would have destroyed my focus, to say the least.
Rath. He was the real reason I didn't take a lover. Yeah, I told him I would, but every time I thought about it, Rath's face would pop into my head. And I didn't see him with anyone either. Which leads me back to what I was about to say about the Wraith Lords. They were, on the whole, dedicated and hardworking. And when it came time to relax, they were just as intent. With the only women in the citadel being Creen servants, the straight lords had to go out to find some sexual release. It would have been unethical to sleep with a citadel staff member. But other Wraith Lords were fair game, and a lot of the men were either gay or bisexual. And they were very . . . open about sex.
Don't get me wrong, there were several couples among the Wraith Lords, men who had gone from casual lovers to committed partners. But most of the men were single and preferred it that way. They saw sex as a bit of fun, a release their bodies required that didn't have to mean anything more than that. And so, the offers came nightly. I was the new guy, and that made me desirable. If for no other reason than I was uncharted territory and a bottom. It would have been great if I were into meaningless sex. Unfortunately, I wasn't. So, if I wanted to have sex anytime soon, I had to try to form a relationship with someone.
Two weeks had given me enough time to get comfortable in the citadel and around many of the Wraith Lords. Rath stayed by my side constantly in the beginning, but now that I knew my way around, he gave me some space. I was going to use that space to get to know someone better. But who?
I looked around the room I had wandered into. There were several like it on the first floor of the citadel—places where the Wraith Lords congregated when they weren't working or training. There were tables full of muscular men, some of them playing games, some cleaning weapons, and some drinking. The couches were also full of lounging Wraith Lords, talking casually with each other. Sern and Quenle, one of the couples I mentioned, were sitting crossways on a chaise lounge so Sern's wings could rest behind them. Seeing them together, Sern's arm around Quenle, gave me hope that I could find something similar with one of the Wraith Lords. They were an interracial couple—Sern was Makhon, obviously, and Quenle was Varraen. And still, they had found common ground. If they could, so could I.
“Care to move out of the doorway?” a voice came from behind me.
“Oh! Sorry.” I stepped aside.
