Undaunted by Devin Harnois

Author:Devin Harnois [Harnois, Devin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: October Night Publishing
Published: 2017-01-22T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

Roshan woke to find Kelas missing. He first thought he might have gone to the privy, but the door to it and the door to the bathroom were both open. He sat up with a flutter of nervousness in his belly. Maybe Kelas hadn’t been comfortable sleeping with him. Kelas had seemed withdrawn after they had sex.

Did I do something wrong?

Maybe he’d just gone back to his own room. Roshan wanted to check on him, to make sure he was okay. If Kelas didn’t want to talk, then so be it. But he needed to know. He slid out of bed and pulled on his pants.

After crossing the hall, he pressed an ear to Kelas’s door. Silence. If he wasn’t in his room, then where was he? Roshan knocked softly anyway, but of course there was no answer.

What if he was gone—really gone? What if Roshan had done something or said something to drive him away? He tried to guess how long it had been since he’d fallen asleep. It couldn’t be much more than an hour or two. It was possible to catch up to Kelas no matter which way he’d gone.

Roshan took a deep breath, drawing in Kelas’s scent. He tried to ignore the smell that still clung to his skin and focused on what was in the hall. Kelas hadn’t gone back to his room, he’d gone… Roshan turned to follow the trail past a few rooms. Not toward the stairs but toward the other end where a set of glass doors led out to the balcony.

The doors stood open, the early-morning breeze fluttering the sheer curtains on either side. Roshan hurried through the doorway, but no one was there.

Had Kelas jumped?

No, the scent was strong, coming from nearby. Roshan scanned all the way around, then leaned back against the rail and looked up. Kelas sat on the brown-tiled roof, head resting on his knees.

“Kelas.” Roshan sagged with relief.

Kelas met his gaze briefly before looking away.

Roshan hopped lightly onto the polished wooden railing, then turned and jumped onto the roof. “I thought you might’ve left.”

“And you came after me, just as you said you would.” Kelas stared out at the city. The sun was just rising, painting the sky in pink and orange. The light reflected off the ribbon of water that gave the inn its name.

Sunrise meant bedtime now, but Roshan remembered a time when it meant the start of a new day. Hope and fresh possibilities. He held on to that idea. Kelas was still here, so whatever was wrong hadn’t driven him off completely.

Roshan sat beside him, drawing his knees up. Taking a deep breath, he dared to ask, “Did I do something wrong? Do you regret what we did?”

Kelas’s head snapped around. “No! You did nothing wrong. You’ve been nothing but kind to me, even when I didn’t deserve it.” His head dropped. “I still don’t. I don’t deserve any of this.”

Roshan slid closer and took one of Kelas’s hands. He would say anything, do anything, to make Kelas feel better.

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