Magic Runs Deep by Alex Whitehall

Author:Alex Whitehall [Whitehall, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Published: 2018-01-19T00:00:00+00:00

Veier woke to pain, which was something he was becoming far too familiar with. This time, it was the bone-deep muscle aches from a hard day’s labor and not the spasming pain of . . . well, everything else. He still groaned as he rolled over.

“Long night?” Amusement laced Elrid’s voice.

“I wish it could be a little longer, actually.”

Elrid’s chuckle floated closer, and Veier forced his eyes open. The barest of morning rays was coloring the windows, casting Elrid in shadows. He was dressed for the day and standing outside the invisible boundary to Veier’s space. “Sore?”

“A bit.” Veier grunted as he pushed himself up, fire flaring up his arms and down his back. “Maybe more than that.”

“Well, you’ve time. I was having trouble sleeping. I hope I didn’t disturb you.”

“Not at all.” He squinted into the darkness, studying Elrid. His lips were turned down at the corners, marring the softness, and a tense line was etched into his brow. “Is something wrong?”

“No. Thinking. It’s a fault of mine.”

Veier snorted in amusement and stood, then immediately wished he hadn’t. By all the stars he was sore.

“And I’m thinking you’re not going to be much good in the fields like this.”

Even grimacing hurt. “Does that mean I’m going to be stuck inside again?”

Elrid came closer, stopping right in front of Veier, holding his gaze. For a moment, Veier was ensnared by those eyes, by the slight twitch of his nose, by the softness of his lips. Then the words Elrid was saying filtered through. “If you permit it, I could heal you, but I would need to use some of your life force to reenergize myself.”

“Of course.” It was foolish how quickly Veier agreed. How easily he trusted him. Although really, Elrid hadn’t needed to ask. If he were anyone else, he wouldn’t have. After all, if Veier wanted to go outside, he was required to hand over his life force. Elrid would have ample opportunity to use it. Would barely need to make an excuse when he returned a partial vessel. But then that wouldn’t have been Elrid, would it?

“Does that mean you agree?”

“I do like seeing the sky.” He paused, and Elrid still didn’t move. Veier rolled his eyes, although he couldn’t help smiling a little. “Yes, Elrid, I agree.”

Elrid cupped Veier’s cheeks, framing his face. Veier didn’t remember this being necessary the last time he was healed, but perhaps this time was different. Perhaps their foreheads needed to touch and their breaths to mingle. The warmth flooded over him like a summer rain, rather than the agony from before. The aches washed away.

He inhaled deeply, chest stretching with it, as he could breathe again—not just so he could catch one last scent of Elrid before they moved apart. It was strange, but although Elrid had used the same floral soap as him yesterday, their scents were different. As if the soothing mint Elrid loved was deeper than his skin and infused his body, lingering long after the oils had been washed away.

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