Flamecaller by Caitlin Ricci

Author:Caitlin Ricci [Ricci, Caitlin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Gay, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: Less Than Three Press, LLC
Published: 2018-03-14T04:00:00+00:00

The sun was rising as Haruo walked behind Kiyoshi and Taka. He led her, his hand on her lower back as they headed toward Shiro's house. He lived in the largest house in the village, with plenty of access to the river that was private only to him. Haruo had once assumed Kiyoshi had been able to play and fish there as a child, though he'd never seen Kiyoshi out. Now he knew that was likely because Kiyoshi had been in training, or simply hidden away, and it made Haruo realize Kiyoshi's childhood must have been a lonely one.

Haruo had grown up with Taka and their father and plenty of friends from the village. He'd known for years that his father was going to try to kill Shiro, and he'd known he was the backup plan if his father failed. The screams had become too much for them. The fish weren't coming around as often, and the fruit trees had nearly stopped producing altogether. Their island was dying, and his father's final act had been one of desperation. Haruo prayed his own attempt at killing the emperor would go better.

Kiyoshi let them in and Haruo was surprised to see only a few guards at the entrance. They looked the three of them over but made no move to stop them.

"Come, my future wife, I want to introduce you to my father," Kiyoshi loudly said.

Taka made a show of smiling at him. Haruo wished the sight of Kiyoshi touching her, even in show, didn't make him jealous. He shouldn't have been thinking about such things, feeling such things, especially when he knew Kiyoshi had a vial of poison in his pocket that he would be using on himself tonight. He wanted to be there with Kiyoshi when he took that poison. There was no reason Kiyoshi should have to die alone. Haruo wasn't like Taka. He didn't blame Kiyoshi for killing their father. He believed Kiyoshi when he said he hadn't had a choice in the matter. If Kiyoshi had really wanted to kill him, if he'd really enjoyed murdering people, he wouldn't have knocked their father out first. Haruo knew that, and he wanted to make sure Kiyoshi's death was just as painless as the one he'd given Haruo's father.

Kiyoshi showed them to a large study where his father was sitting beside the fire. A book lay open over his lap, and a cup of tea sat steaming on a table nearby. He looked up at them as they entered, and Haruo was surprised to see so much annoyance in his gaze. He didn't try to hide it either. Haruo had never seen that kind of disdain on his own father's face. He wondered how often Kiyoshi had seen it on Shiro's.

"What are you doing?" Shiro asked him.

Kiyoshi stepped forward, leaving Taka behind. Haruo went to stand beside her. She wasn't hiding the fact that she was wearing her tanto knife very well, and he hoped that by being closer to her, he could help her hide her knife.

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