The entire world went bright, every nerve ending electrified as the air was sucked from his body. For a second, he hung there in that blistering, almost painful perfection, and then he was crashing.
He collapsed on top of Caelan, desperately sucking in air. His face was plastered to Caelan’s sweaty shoulder. A heart was pounding loudly in his ear, but he wasn’t sure if it was Cael’s or his own. One of them sounded like they were on the verge of a heart attack.
“Fuck,” Caelan groaned.
Unsure if it was a happy or pained groan, Drayce wrapped an arm across Caelan’s waist, pulling his lover with him as he rolled onto his side so they could remain close. He slipped free of Cael’s body, which sucked, but it was probably for the best considering the whimper that escaped Cael.
“You okay?” Drayce panted.
“No,” Cael complained.
Drayce instantly shoved up on his elbow and hovered over Caelan, trying to see his face. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”
“I’m not going to be able to walk or sit tomorrow.” The crooked smile helped to soften his words and Drayce sighed, lying behind Caelan again.
“You can just say that you were injured in the fight.”
Caelan snorted. “No one is going to believe that.”
“True, but you’re the king. They can’t argue with you.”
“Yeah, right. When have you ever known Rayne or Eno to not argue with me?”
Leaning forward, Drayce pressed a kiss to Caelan’s shoulder. “Every chance they get.”
Caelan shifted, rolling onto his back. His dark hair was sweaty and sticking to his temples. Dark-purple strands were woven among the black ones and it was on the tip of his tongue to ask about them, but he pushed the question away. The purple had appeared after Caelan died. They were linked to the Dead God and right now, Drayce didn’t want to think about any of the gods. Instead, he focused on the beautiful flush that painted Caelan’s cheeks and his pale-blue eyes sparkling with happiness.
“Was this normal enough for you?” Caelan inquired.
Drayce laughed loudly and wrapped his arms tightly around Caelan, trapping the other man against him. “If this was normal sex, we’re both going to die of heart attacks at a very young age.”
Wrinkling his nose at Drayce, Caelan cocked his head as he looked up at him. “You think?”
“Definitely. But a more important question is, why the fuck did we wait so long to do that?”
Caelan gasped, his eyes jumping wide. “Because you didn’t give me any indication that you like boys.”
Drayce smirked at him. “I like boys. I like girls. I even like dragons.” He leaned in close, pressing his nose into the side of Caelan’s head. “Maybe I was waiting for a certain boy to show that he liked me that way.”
“Whatever,” Caelan muttered. “Maybe that boy was scared to ruin a friendship he cherished more than anything in this world.”
His heart melted into a useless puddle of goo. Caelan had grown up with everything he could possibly want, but what he wanted most was their friendship. He wanted someone he could trust, someone who knew him and loved him as Caelan and not as Erya’s only prince. But the truth was, Drayce never stood a chance. How could he not love someone as beautiful or strong as Caelan Talos?
“You were never going to lose me,” Drayce whispered. “Even if I wasn’t attracted to you, I wouldn’t have left.”
“Because you were assigned to me?”
“No, because you’re amazing. I loved you as my best friend first.” He bumped their noses together. “You just had to go and keep getting sexier the older you got.”
“Idiot,” Caelan said, chuckling.
Drayce smiled and snuggled close on the pillow they were sharing. He closed his eyes and listened to Caelan’s steady breathing, letting it lull him closer to sleep. He shouldn’t need it, but his body was utterly sated and he was so damn comfortable cuddled against Caelan, a little nap wouldn’t be a bad idea. They both needed a shower, though. And maybe they could at least pull a blanket over them. But moving seemed like so much work.
“What’s next?” Drayce asked as he yawned.
“Besides a shower and sleep?” Caelan replied. His voice was so low and tired, it sounded like he was already drifting off.
“Yeah, besides that.”
“Well, I got you back, so now we have to meet with the Goddess of Fire.”
It was like a switch had been flipped. Drayce was wide awake as reality slammed into his brain. He’d been so caught up in his own problems with his old clan and his life on the chopping block that he’d forgotten about the gods pulling at Caelan, the Goddess of the Hunt threatening Thia, and New Rosanthe picking fights.
His arms tightened and Caelan made a sleepy noise, turning his head to rest it on Drayce’s shoulder as he drifted off. There was no way he was letting Caelan die in this battle. He’d given up his wings so he could be with Caelan every step of the way, and the price to protect him felt small in comparison to what they still faced.