“Oh, you had missed a spot!” Jace looked down at his hands, cursing them.
What am I doing? I just am making this worse! First, the Osiris makes him stay! We wake up like two twining vines! And now I’m fussing with his hair!
“Has the Osiris… have you spoken to the Osiris yet?” Khoth asked.
It was such a strange thing to ask! When did the Osiris not talk to him?
Oh, yeah, when I really want to know something! If I don’t want to know it then it's mums the word, Jace sighed.
“Yeah, it was a little chatterbox this morning,” Jace told him.
I spoke only what was necessary. The Osiris sounded miffed.
“But you were wondering if it had told me something particular?” Jace guessed.
Khoth nodded sharply. His hands fussed with the material of his synthskin suit. It was a nervous tick and nervousness was not something that Khoth showed easily.
So he must be really upset and uncertain, Jace realized.
Jace scrubbed his hands over his face. “Okay, what’s going on? What happened with your mom that’s got you so het up?”
Khoth looked at him through his lashes. “It seems I am not the master of my Xa and Xi as I thought. Both you and Thammah knew immediately that I am experiencing an emotional disturbance.”
Jace’s eyebrows rose. “Thammah, too? I’m surprised that she didn’t get it all out of you before you came here.”
“She would have, but I insulted her in order to end our friendship,” Khoth stated.
“You did what now?” Jace blinked at him.
“I insulted her--”
“Yeah, I got what you did! But why? Why would you do something like that to Thammah?!” Jace grabbed Khoth’s shoulders and actually shook him.
Khoth did not resist him, but allowed himself to be thoroughly rocked back and forth. Finally, he got out, “T-to p-protect h-her.”
Jace stopped shaking him. “What?!”
“I intend to betray the Alliance. I did not wish to involve her in this. A friendship between us would put her under suspicion,” he said simply. “Furthermore, Thammah is very loyal. It will make it easier for her to rejoin the Alliance after I am exiled if she hates me.”
“You’re going to betray the Alliance?” Jace’s head cocked to the side. “Why… wait… wait… this is about me, isn’t it? You helped me and now--”
“My mother has two plans. Both of which are absurd and will lead to ruin,” he stated.
It was said calmly as if these were not terrible things, which upset Khoth greatly. But the slight twitching of his fingers against the cloth of the suit told Jace all he needed to know. He was certain that Khoth’s vitals--which popped up immediately for him to compare and contrast--were also off the charts.
“What are her plans?” Jace asked. “Or should you not tell me?”
“I absolutely should not tell you, but I am going to do so, which is how I will be betraying the Alliance,” Khoth told him.
“Then maybe don’t tell me?” Jace suggested.
Khoth’s hands stilled. Then he slowly reached over for Jace. He took both of Jace’s hands in his. The touch was so unexpected and tender. Jace’s lips parted and he found himself speechless again. Heat colored his cheeks and his cock ached between his thighs again.
“I need to tell you though the one that is within my control entirely will never take place and the Osiris will ensure that the other is impossible as well,” Khoth stated.
“Well, ah, if neither will occur then you don’t have to tell me.” Khoth holding his hands was making it very hard to think, let alone get out complete sentences. “If you had to tell me about all the things that are not going to happen we’d never leave this bed. Right? Ha? Yeah?”
Oh, my God, I sound like an idiot! Jace thought.
