Chapter 35 - Bay of Dancing Dolphins

Entering into the portal felt less like falling and more like being sucked through a straw. They tumbled past worlds, a myriad of lapses in time and space rushing before them until they finally fell through and into the material world.

They splashed into murky swamp water. It filled their mouths and soaked their clothes. The familiar heat of the swamp and the buzzing of insects rushed over them as they pulled themselves from the murk.

Lucian wrung the water out of his blonde hair as he looked about warily. No dragon. The portals were silent and inactive. “It seems the dragon has left, for now,” he murmured. “But I don’t think it’s a good idea to linger… who knows when he’ll come-” He cut himself off when Aven touched his shoulder. “What?"

Aven motioned with his head sadly. Marcello had parted from them, splashing through the water as he desperately searched, pushing his hands into the murky water trying to feel about.

Aven and Lucian were quiet. They eyed the man as he tore through the swampy terrain.

Searching. Looking.

He dug until his robes were covered in slime and muck caked under his fingernails. Nothing. There was nothing. Marcello didn’t cry. He was out of tears. A ragged breath pushed from between his lips and with a heavy heart, returned to his friends with a shake of his head.

"Marcello,” Lucian said, softly. “We need to leave… we don’t know when he’ll be back."

"I know.” Marcello absently wiped the grime from his cloak. “She’d hate me right now."

"She wouldn’t.” Lucian grabbed the man’s arm. “She’d hate you if you died while grieving for her. We need to-"

The sound of splashing set their nerves on fire. Two spells ignited in the mages’ hands and the barbarian’s fingers coiled around his axes - before Aven’s eyes brightened. "Jorak!"

Soleil and Jorak timidly ducked through the swamp and cantered towards them.

Aven rushed to Jorak, pushing his hand down the horse’s nose. "They made it,” he said breathlessly. “…we made it.” Aven wheezed in exhausted laughter, bruised, dirty fingers coiling into his horse’s mane. “We just escaped Tartarus."

Tired laughter tumbled too from Aven’s lips as he patted Jorak’s neck. "Hell yes, we did,” he said with a grin, dragging Lucian into a hug with one arm. “I knew we would."

Lucian didn’t part. For but a moment, he gripped on to Aven like he never wanted to let go and surged up to slam his lips to Aven’s. Desperate. Loving.

Marcello was not so quick to celebrate.

He stood to the side, arms folded. "Sticking with the plan, then?"

Lucian flushed. He pulled from Aven, cheeks tinted red and cleared his throat. "Yes,” he said. “We’re behind schedule, but yes. Soon, we should be arriving at the Bay of Dolphins, where we’ll be able to sleep for the night and then continue on to find the entrance into the Underdark.”

“Great. Then let’s get a move on."

Aven glanced at Marcello and nodded. "All right. Here… you can ride Jorak with me. He should be able to handle your weight…if he doesn’t try to kill you."

The horse must have been as exhausted as they were. Jorak put up no fight as Marcello mounted him, save for a weary grunt. With all three mounted, they continued into the swamp.

Marcello spared one more look over his shoulder to the sunken ruins. One last desperate attempt to see his sister…one last time. She didn’t show. His heart twisted in his chest, and Marcello turned his eyes ahead.

Grieving would have to come later.

———————————————

Slowly, the swampy terrain shifted into grasslands. Pockets of sludge and disgusting water were instead replaced with ponds surrounded by tall grasses. Twisted, rotting trees were exchanged for meadows and groves and the muggy heat was traded with the blast of dry heat emanating from a hot sun.

It was oppressively hot, much like Halruaa and Lucian soon found himself shrugging out of his cloaks and draping them over Soleil. The sea of rolling plains stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction, save for the spare ranch or tiny human communities. They avoided it all. The last thing they needed was more trouble.

It was in the afternoon that the horses finally slowed as they looked down a hill into a large field. Below were fifty horses in a great herd, grazing on the grasses with tails flicking the flies off of their flanks.

“You weren’t kidding,” Aven muttered. “This is the second herd of horses we’ve passed so far.”

“Horses are Dambrath’s primary resource,” Marcello said, eyeing the herd below. “Most of the communities have ranches, and every successful Dambrathan breeds their own line of horses. Admittedly, my own horse was Dambrathan..” his face withered. “I imagine she ended up being the dragon’s dinner.”

“Maybe we can steal one while we’re here, then,” Lucian purred as he pulled Soleil forward.

The end of a three hour ride brought them to the base of a hill. Above them, they could see seagulls flying through the clouds, cawing and soaring down to investigate them. Beyond the raise, they could hear the distant roar of waves sloshing against land. “That must be the Bay,” Marcello breathed out in relief.

They climbed. Every second spent drained the strength from them, more and more in their desperation to simply be somewhere safe.

When they at last reached the hill’s crest, all three fell into stunned silence.

The waters were unnaturally calm beneath the sky, akin to a mirror it reflected the colors above, utterly still like glass. It was like someone had painted the horizon in shades of crimson and gold, with the spare streak of blue that drew through the water. The beach’s white sand was tinted red from the glow of the setting sun, stretching out along the bay’s edge as far as the eye could see.

It was utterly breathtaking.

"Beautiful,” Lucian breathed out as he slowly dismounted. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

The horses were quick to pull from their masters to graze in the soft grass that grew beyond the edge of sand. "It is amazing,” Marcello said as he and Aven slipped down. He rubbed his wrists and stared beyond the expanse of water. “They say that at the crest of twilight, hundreds of dolphins leap from the water. Though… that may simply be an urban legend. The truth of Dambrath is very much under lock and key."

Lucian ignored Marcello. For most of the trip - he’d barely even looked at the man as he made his way onto the beach, shoving off his shoes. He pushed his toes into the warm sand and all but melted. “Gods,” he muttered. “That feels good… let me conjure us a cabin.”

“Good,” Marcello murmured. “I’m exhausted… feel like I could sleep all day.”

“You do that.”

Aven held his breath as he looked between the two mages. The tension was so thick he could cleave his axes through it, and he bit on his tongue before he said something that might irritate the spellcasters.

Lucian threw out his hands. His fingertips bloomed with light and a sigil materialized on the sand, growing brighter and brighter until a cabin began to build itself from the ground up, piece by piece, brick by brick. Soon a small cottage sat on the edge of the waves raking up across the sand. “Master bedroom is ours.”

“Of course it is.” Marcello’s face was rigid as he swept past them. “Goodnight.”

The door slammed.

Aven finally let loose the breath he’d been holding. “Lucian, you should-”

“Don’t talk. Not yet.” Lucian walked towards the water and with every step, more of his belongings fell to the sand. Cloak. Sash. Bag. Finally, in simply his shirt and his trousers, he hiked his pant legs up to his knees and sat down beside the bay, bare feet in the water. “Just sit with me.”

“…of course.” Wordlessly, Aven stripped down to his trousers as he cut his way over and he sat beside Lucian, hands only inches from touching. Together, they looked out over the expanse of water, and felt the heat of the setting sun bearing down on them. Combined with the cool breeze that wafted in from the bay… it was perfect. Not too hot. Not too cold. Behind them, the twilight’s glow cast upon the snow of the East Wall’s mountains, making them glitter like diamonds in the distance.

Aven took his hand and drew it softly over the water, brown eyes following the ripples from his fingertips. “I’ve noticed something.”

“And what would that be?”

“You don’t attempt to hide us anymore.”

Lucian’s eyes passed over to him with a frown. “What are you talking about?”

Aven flushed. “…before,” he murmured. “You never… kissed me in public. Not even in front of friends. You’d hide it from everyone, like you were…”

“Ashamed?”

Aven nodded. “But now…” A smile touched his lips. Lucian watched as he pushed up from the sand. Dark fingers unfastened a belt to let linen pants fall away and with nothing but copper skin stepped into the water until it was up to his shins. Lucian eyed his backside while Aven gazed out over the water. “Now you don’t. You don’t seem to care anymore.” Aven turned. He looked… shy. His dark cheeks were flushed red and calloused fingers pushed through chocolate curls. “Do you… still feel..weird about it?”

Lucian didn’t answer for a moment. He appreciated the man before him, eyes running down his figure before his shoulder shrugged. "No. There’s something about being captured several times, dying and being tossed through a couple portals across time and space that makes you realize there’s worse things than being seen with a peasant."

Aven laughed. It was his laugh. One that was real and full, rumbling all the way down to his stomach. "I suppose that’s true,” he smiled.

That laugh.

That smile.

It was enough to make butterflies erupt through the Prince. He seemed to make a decision then. Lucian slowly got to his feet and delicate fingers gracefully went for the belt that kept his trousers secure. They fell around his heels.

Aven’s eyes widened. “…Lucian?"

"There are worse things,” Lucian murmured as he pulled his white tunic up off his pale frame. “Than being seen with a man of your quality and compassion.” His fingers pulled at the band around his hair. A curtain of blonde fell down his back and he stepped into the water. It was warm against his thighs, and the gentle waves rocked against the Prince as he approached.

With every step Lucian took, Aven watched. The porcelain, bare skin that glittered beneath the water. At his eyes. Bluer than the sea itself, touched by ice and stardust.

When Lucian reached Aven, his voice strangled in his throat as his blue gaze swept over him. The kindness in his brown eyes, tinted gold from the twilight. The bronze of his skin, stretched over muscle and scars. Lucian’s fingers drew down claw marks that tore down his bare chest.

Lucian lifted his eyes. They searched Aven’s face and his hand reached to touch his face. “I love you, Aven.”

The words held Aven fast. His breath was caught in a soft breeze that ruffled his curls. Then it was there. An explosion of warmth in his chest as he leaned down to press his lips against the Prince’s, a hand spilling over the lithe curve of a hip. Loving, gentle, adoring. I love you too. The thoughts sparked across his mind. “My king of hearts…"

"King of hearts…” Lucian laughed. Delicate and light, like a song. “So sappy. Nevermind. I revoke my love."

Aven wasn’t expecting the shove. His eyes widened as his balance collapsed and he toppled with a loud splash into the water.

When Aven surfaced, Aven could see the playful gleam in the Prince’s eyes. He’d lowered until his platinum hair fanned out over the water. "Did you not like it?” Aven pouted. He shuffled closer through the water and yanked Lucian into his arms. “I thought it was the most clever thing I’ve thought of.”

“Perhaps,” Lucian purred. Fingers walked up his chest. “If you were a love sick child.” He contemplated that for a moment then smiled. “Nevermind. It’s perfect, from a lovesick-"

Aven suddenly squeaked as he toppled backwards with a splash, inhaling a rush of salty water and sputtering.

He left Lucian staring at him in utter shock. "Are you… all right?”

“Something touched my leg.”

Shapes moved through the water and Aven jumped to Lucian’s side like a frightened puppy, grabbing on to his arm. Lucian laughed. “Relax, love.” He drew an arm around Aven’s hip and kissed his shoulder. “It was a dolphin..they’re here.”

Grey dorsal fins cut through the surface around them as they were all but surrounded. A great pod moved along the shore, riding the gentle waves that brushed the sand before receding. The air was filled with their clicks and cries that echoed out over the water.

Aven settled and swallowed the fleeting embarrassment that twisted in his gut. He sank back into Lucian with a breath of relief and ducked his face to blonde hair. “Look,” he said. “I don’t have the best experience with water. It could have been a shark."

"Oh? Then we’ll just have to give you a good experience, then."

"What do you m-”

Lucian let his body glide through the water as he swung to face Aven, a hand pressing up at his chest over old scarring from the claws of a beast. His ice blue gaze blinked shyly past lashes up at Aven before lips surged to meet. The taste of salt water clung between their mouths.

Aven dipped his hand down to brush at Lucian’s hip and it was quickly smacked away. Playfully, the Prince parted with a grin and sank back into the easy slosh of a wave.

“What was that for?” Aven laughed. His cheeks stained a rosy red.

“I never said you could touch me.”

“But you’re the one who-”

Water surged forth in a massive wave conjured at Lucian’s fingertips. It crashed over top Aven’s head and sent him rolling beneath it. When he broke the surface next, messy curls hung wet at his forehead, water spitting past his lips in a laugh. “Hey."

Lucian grinned ear to ear, his own laugh bubbling upon lips until it smothered beneath his hand.

Nearby some of the dolphins broke from their pod to investigate the two men. A trilling click squealed past a parted beak and with a kick of one’s tail, it darted to curiously circle Lucian. In passing, its fin raised above the surface of the water and smacked down in imitation of the mage, sending water in his direction before speeding off to dodge any retaliation.

Lucian flailed in shock and crashed back into the water, his head sinking beneath the surface briefly. "Hey, you stupid fish!”

“Looks like the dolphins are on my side,” Aven purred. He dove forward, moving to splash Lucian again when another dolphin sailed over his head to join three more waiting at the other side.

It left him stunned. A brown gaze reflected the dwindling light of sunset as he watched the dolphins dance across the water in awe. They had gone from a hellscape of towering spires and skies blotched with bat wings and devils to a paradise untouched with warm waters and harmless sealife.

Lucian knowingly reached out to touch Aven’s shoulder. “Let me show you something.” A spell bloomed upon his fingers as a familiar transmutation sigil glowed across Aven’s warm skin. “Stick your head under now and watch.”

Aven didn’t protest. He sank beneath the surface of the water, straining his eyes against the salty mixture only to find a clear view with no burn. Dolphins chased each other about, one snapping up a small fish, another nuzzling its beak into the sand and kicking it up. An entire ecosystem of marine life flourished. With colorful corals and rippling strands of stringy seaweed. He watched as a small crab scuttled between a concave of small rocks.

When Aven turned to follow a small blue fish with his gaze, the air that magically filled his lungs escaped him. Joined at his side, Lucian effortlessly floated in the water, his blonde hair fanned out in a halo around his delicate features. He watched the dolphins at a distance, the clear waters seeming to dance in his eyes like fractured glass. Aven felt his chest bleed with warmth as his gaze drifted down Lucian’s exposed, slender frame. Feminine curves draped in lean muscle, perfectly groomed like a blank canvas of minimal scarring. He looked soft, the glow of his skin holding Aven’s attention hostage.

It took everything to tear his gaze upwards again, finding Lucian already keenly aware of his stare. Timid. The prince’s cheeks were lit with a shy blush and he drifted closer to Aven. They reached out. Their hands met, fingers twisting with one another and bringing them face to face.

Then chest to chest.

Aven straightened out in the water, his free arm delicately drawing Lucian to him until their faces broke the surface. A cascade of water dripped down skin and caught upon lashes that blinked it away. “Lucian…” he began softly.

Lucian squeezed Aven’s hand knowingly before guiding it down to settle at his hip. The water sloshed at his abdomen where it leaned bare into the stronger man. “Kiss me.”

He could feel the nerves twisting throughout Lucian as Aven drew a rough thumb in circles at his hip bone. Wordlessly, Aven bowed his head and connected their lips. Gentle. Slow. Their mouths worked together with the taste of the ocean clinging to their palettes.

Cold fingers spanned over bronze, sun-kissed skin and wrapped around shoulders before bleeding down biceps. As they kissed, Lucian’s touch felt out every muscle and scar in silent worship.

Aven swallowed a breath and parted his lips to Lucian’s, his tongue sweeping out to graze over a lower lip. There was a give beneath and the prince allowed entry for their tongues to wind together. It deepened, Aven’s fingers curving to drag Lucian flush by his waist and a spark of heat touched between their frames.

A sharp gasp tore from Lucian and he broke their lip lock with a hand solidifying at Aven’s chest to force distance. “Wait. Aven,” his voice choked out in a waver. He sucked in a few uneven breaths and it was only then Aven could feel the way Lucian’s body trembled against his. The way his stomach coiled nervously.

“We don’t have to.” Aven let a hand part from a hip to cup Lucian’s face. He delicately drew a blue gaze up to his.

Lucian stubbornly raised to push his lips at the corner of Aven’s mouth. “No… I want to. I really do.” His breath shuddered against warm skin and he glanced up. “Can we please just… go slow? And maybe if you’d hold me…”

Aven softened his gaze and his arms dropped to hook beneath Lucian’s cheeks, lifting the Prince up with an effortless tug onto his waist. Legs wrapped tightly around and Lucian’s arms fell around his neck. “Of course,” Aven whispered. “Whatever you need.”

NSFW Begins now - skip down to second note if you’d like to bypass!

Their mouths met again and the gentle lull of waves tickled delicately at their waists. Aven slipped a hand along Lucian’s back, the calloused trail of fingers mapping his spine. Lucian shuddered, his warm breath spilling across Aven’s lips.

A careful nip of teeth caught the Prince’s lower lip and with a lingering sting, Aven massaged it away with the warm caress of his tongue. Lucian let his fingers dig up into dark brown curls, twisting as their chests brushed together warmly. His movements were tender. Nervous. The lines of tension that held his muscles suddenly caved as Aven’s lips parted to dive against his jaw.

Warm pillows pressed flush against porcelain skin. Aven kissed down Lucian’s jaw and neck, parting to catch skin between his lips with a gentle suck. A surprised exhale rolled in Lucian’s throat as his head fell back to the side. Fingers gave a tug to Aven’s hair. “Don’t leave anything,” he warned. “Not where they can see.”

Lips detached upon immediate request and replaced themselves at Lucian’s collarbone. Aven dug his fingertips into a plush ass, dragging their hips flush together as he summoned a lovely bruise atop Lucian’s skin. The second their hips met, the Prince went stiff again.

“It’s okay,” Aven whispered faintly, trailing a row of kisses back up to swollen lips. “Slow. I want to make you feel good.”

Lucian’s blue gaze blinked tightly shut and he willed himself to relax against Aven’s larger frame. A hand disconnected from hair to wrap a tight grip around his bicep, squeezing firmly. He responded to Aven with a silent prod into his mind, their unspoken bond easing the tanned man onward.

The gentle roll of Aven’s hips slid their staffs along another beneath the warm surface of the water with a flustered twitch. A gasp from Lucian met his ears and he released his hold on an ass cheek to find hold of his partner’s rod. Feather light. Aven grazed his thumb over Lucian’s tip, kissing away every ounce of tension that surfaced.

He let the thumbpad roll over a slit, trailing down a single vein before pressing it into his palm. The roughness of his hand working to Lucian’s staff had the Prince shuddering against him with a trailing whimper. It almost broke Aven’s heart to see him so vulnerable. So scared. He felt the remnants of emotional scars muddling Lucian’s mind with every touch.

If Lucian had bad experiences too, Aven would give him at least one good one.

Hold on to me.

Aven’s mind was tender against Lucian’s when his hand parted again to hold his lover against him. Powerful legs worked against the heaviness of water as he cut a line for the shore. In seconds, he lowered Lucian down to his back in the sand, blonde hair fanned out beneath him.

Lucian watched Aven lower above him with a rosy flush upon his cheeks. A sense of longing brought his legs back up around strong hips while Aven dipped between, and their mouths surged for another kiss. Deep. Their tongues wound together until they were breathless and clinging to another. Sandy and wet, Aven’s strong arm propped him above Lucian as their gazes met.

Loving.

Aven’s gaze swept over Lucian with blatant adoration, his thumb sliding over the Prince’s swollen lower lip before leaning to kiss at it delicately in passing pecks. All the while, Lucian allowed his fingertips to graze down Aven’s chest, slipping down towards his abdomen and trailing off where strong muscles dipped in a v.

“I want you, Aven,” Lucian murmured. He was so small beneath Aven. His breath heavy with a need, but holding the soft tremors of someone who in every way knew no such love from a partner in bed.

Aven’s arm dipped beneath Lucian to draw him up in the slightest arch of his back. Their hips pushed more firmly together, staffs drawing along stomachs as Aven rolled his weight down between Lucian’s legs. The grinding sent Lucian’s head back into the sand, his chin tilted to the air. Nails dug into Aven’s skin.

“Are you sure?”

Lucian swallowed his breath. “Yes.”

The wait between the radiating warmth of their lust-bound bodies left Aven’s mind buzzing. Unusually patient. His heart thudded within his chest as a hand curled to his own shaft, directing the head between legs and along skin. He connected with a gentle rock of pressure, moving not an inch as he dared gaze down into Lucian’s eyes with his own honey dipped ones.

Lucian’s hands plunged into the sand, clawing at the hardened earth beneath in anxious anticipation. Butterflies clawed at his stomach, yet beneath Aven’s caring touch, he felt perhaps as safe as he ever had. Careful blues swept over Aven’s chiseled and gruff features and with a slow nod of his head, he lifted his hips onto the man.

A slow burn drew a hiss from the Prince. His toes curled as Aven leaned down to him, his length filling him slowly. He stifled any whimper and cry beneath the iron lock of teeth on his own tongue, the slightest waver of his lips in pain drawing Aven attentively forward.

Aven swept Lucian into another kiss, his hand grasped firmly to his hip as he kneaded with every push of his own. His own heavy breaths and the slam of his heart thrummed together against Lucian in wait. He dared not move until the Prince began to gently grind his own hips upward uncertainly.

It took moments for their bodies to respond. As they began to move in sync, more sounds rolled past Lucian’s lips, kissed and swallowed away by Aven’s resonating groans. Eventually, Lucian eased entirely. They forgot themselves, even for a moment.

Fingers and hands rolled and grabbed at skin and hair. Never rough. Never pulling. Aven brushed a palm over Lucian’s cheek. Lucian kissed along Aven’s shoulder. But their gazes always returned. Always found another. In blissful sighs and the low murmurs of appreciation, the remains of the sun faded on the horizon and the squeals of dolphins drowned away.

Cloaked in starlight, Lucian’s resolve finally broke and with skin peppered in a few more delicate bruises from Aven, he tensed. His back raised up off the sand, his fingers plunging into Aven’s hair to draw his face down into a shoulder. Aven’s own hips shuddered with every rock inward.

“Aven.”

Aven knew. He held Lucian as close as possible, the strain of muscles locking them close. His teeth dragged across the Prince’s skin before his face burrowed to the shoulder and when their panted breaths overlapped, their highs peaked.

A spray of white coated between their stomachs as Lucian’s twitching rod gave out. It met with a warm blaze of heat, several more gentle thrusts sending Aven in one last time before following. Aven’s groan vibrated against Lucian’s skin and they fell to another.

Breathless and with lingering affections.

NSFW ends here!

The silence stretched between them even long after Aven disconnected to roll onto his back. He dragged Lucian up to him insistently and as strong, warm arms fell around him, Lucian’s head came to rest upon Aven’s chest.

I love you.

“…I love you too, Aven,” Lucian whispered once their breaths finally settled. The moon sat brightly above them in the sky, a glitter of stars spanning out as far as the eye could see granting more than enough light.

More silence stretched on. Aven mindlessly stroked his fingers through Lucian’s hair. “Is there… any hope for us?”

Lucian turned his gaze upwards. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” Aven winced at the mere thought. His other hand sought out Lucian’s winding their fingers tightly together. “You’re… you’re a prince, Lucian. I know what kind of duty that brings. Princes marry princesses and continue on their lines. And I’m just a-”

“You’re just a former slave with no means to continue my name.”

Aven’s chest twisted.

“I can’t pretend to know what will become of us,” Lucian continued. “I am still just learning what my love for you means, Aven, but I can assure you I never plan to marry a woman. No matter what that means for me or my line.” He squeezed Aven’s hand back. “There has always been something special about you. From our childhood to the day I saw you in that ring.”

Aven eased if only a little bit, his face turning to nuzzle into Lucian’s hair. “Did we… know each other before?”

Lucian paused and sighed out. “A story for another time, my dearest Aven. The point is I never expected to fall in love with a slave, but you have my interest. I want to see it out.”

“…Well I never expected to fall for a noble either. Or to befriend mercenary anthros. Or to blow up a pirate ship and steal a baby. Or to befriend a Princess and a King. Or to be chosen to help you lead this battle against your uncle.” His cheeks fluster a deep red. “…Or even to be mistaken as a lord. I always just figured I’d live and die in that arena.”

“Perhaps you should get used to it, Aven Kheistan. No matter your origin, people call you what they perceive you to be. You have the soul and goodness that commands respect. Perhaps I’ll even make you my Captain.” Lucian’s hand suddenly reached out to brush over the scars winding around Aven’s shoulder and it was as if he’d been struck. He swallowed what felt like glass. “I’m so sorry, Aven. I should have never struck you. I’m so so sorry.”

Aven overlapped his hand atop Lucian’s where he touched at scarring. “Things happen for a reason,” he murmured quietly. “I forgive you, Lucian. And I don’t regret it. I’d take a thousand more lashings if it meant I could know you like I do now.”

A tear slipped down Lucian’s cheek and he curled closer. “I will never again refer to you as a slave. You are so much more to me.”

“It’s okay.” Aven kissed away the tear and laid back. “We should go in and sleep.”

“No. Stay out here with me. I want to sleep beneath the stars together.”

Their bodies drew closer together and Aven gave Lucian a tender squeeze as the prince fought to cuddle half on top of him. “Then we will.”

Lucian let his lips graze Aven’s jaw before he settled in with an exhausted breath. “Don’t leave me.”

“I won’t. Not ever.”