Storyteller for a Sorrowful Beast by Anya Byrne

Author:Anya Byrne [Byrne, Anya]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: anal sex, erotic, erotic romance, explicit adult content, gay sex, MM
Publisher: Anya Byrne
Published: 2015-07-03T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

The original ember letters had not given them too many clues on how the whole process of storytelling would have to go, but the first revelation came after Shay set about to deliver the ending of Prince Phelan's tale.

They sat down in front of the fire together, and Shay cleaned the new cuts on Conor's body, using the story to distract himself from the fact that he was touching Conor's naked back. When he finally finished, the letters and numbers burnt into the floor blazed once again, and the one thousand and one became one thousand.

Conor almost seemed to have forgotten about the ember letters, having relaxed in Shay's hold as Shay spoke. When he saw the flash, something shifted in him. "So... You just have to get to the ending? That is promising. Perhaps you won't be trapped here for too long."

At first, Shay thought that was true, but it soon became clear that there was no shortcut through this. Cutting through the meat of the story to wrap it up sooner didn't make the ember letters change. Shay and Conor tried twice before they both decided there was no point. They were wasting time and stories, and not making any progress.

"I probably have to tell the stories like I would normally, no matter how short or long they are," Shay mused. "And I don't think we can cram them together. It might be... about the experience."

He'd noticed that Conor had relaxed during Shay's tales, but trying to force that process into something it wasn't would just be counter-productive.

"Perhaps," Conor replied, "but it might take a long time if we don't at least have some sort of schedule. I don't want you to be stuck here forever."

Shay would have been hurt again, but after the phrasing in the mysterious words, he'd decided to pay more attention. Handsome, sorrowful beast. That wasn't a random wording. Thinking back at Conor's reaction when he'd arrived to the house earlier that day, Shay realized it wasn't him Conor was rejecting. On the contrary, Conor was rejecting himself, and trying to protect Shay from whatever part of him he thought as inferior.

Shay had to admit he was not overly familiar with everything the shifters' society entailed. He was not naive enough to believe that his limited experience with them gave him any real insight in how their lives truly worked. Nevertheless, he had never seen or heard of a shifter having a shape like Conor's—and perhaps that wasn't just because of his own lack of knowledge. A sorrowful beast, indeed. What had Conor been through to leave him so scarred, so alone?

He didn't ask, because he knew Conor would not answer. "Let's just take things one day at a time," he said. "Perhaps... Three stories per day as a tentative plan?"

It would still take a whole year for them to finish the required number—one year during which the storm would continue to rage. It worried Shay, especially since he did not know how his family would be affected, but he wasn't sure what else to suggest.

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