Page 124 of Darkness

Some things couldn’t be helped.

He and Morrisey came together in a rush of grunts, groans, thrusts, and grinds. Farren kissed every inch of Morrisey’s skin within reach while Morrisey’s held their cocks together in one large hand.

Nothing existed outside of this moment but the two of them. Their auras wrapped around them and each other, light and dark, two incomplete parts meant to form a whole.

Farren gripped Morrisey’s shoulders, losing himself in the feeling of being with someone he actually wanted instead of a pick-up intended to temporarily scratch an itch.

If only he’d thought to bring condoms and lube. As much as he enjoyed the contact, Farren would enjoy Morrisey filling his body even more.

And then their minds connected, Farren losing track of what was Morrisey and what belonged to him. He caught bits and pieces of what must be Morrisey’s thoughts, a maddening swirl of emotions.

Farren no longer felt his body. Morrisey filled him, surrounded him, covered him.

Completed him. A small part of Farren’s consciousness screamed at him to stop, that Morrisey didn’t know what he was doing, didn’t understand the significance of leaving his mind so totally unguarded. Another part of Farren hoped Morrisey did know, for there was no way to stop, no way to deny the marvelous intimacy Farren craved for much longer than he’d realized.

Farren and Morrisey joined as completely as anyone could—human or traveler. In those moments, nothing remained hidden. Farren saw Morrisey’s captivity, felt the soul-wrenching fear, while Morrisey likely saw the moment Aluxi became Farren Austen.

Nothing hidden.

Pressure built, bringing Farren back to his body, Morrisey’s stubble abrading Farren’s face, muttered near-words spoken in a chant, the way Morrisey sped his thrusts.

They both hovered on the edge. “Let go,” Farren murmured.

Morrisey squeezed his eyes closed. He grunted, thrust one more time, and held. Farren’s body convulsed, his cum mingling with Morrisey’s on his abs.

Darkness descended, clutching Farren in a nearly painful grasp. “Morrisey?” Light burst around them, enveloping them in its glow, driving back the sudden darkness.

Images played in Farren’s mind, bits and pieces of Morrisey’s life, his childhood, and on back to memories Morrisey likely didn’t consciously remember of his time in Domus. Two Princeps held a spawn, their wings outspread in a protective gesture. Tenebris, one hissed.

Slowly, Farren came back to himself, the fully realized bond now pulsing between him and Morrisey. The glow faded, though a low, thrumming energy remained. Farren’s parents had tried to communicate what a bond felt like, but nothing prepared him for this rightness, like he’d found a part he’d been missing.

He rested in Morrisey’s arms on a mattress on the floor, catching his breath, while Morrisey ran gentle fingers along Farren’s spine.

To men, two travelers, a Magestra and a Princeps, joined for all eternity.

Chapter Thirty-nine

A good night’s sleep did Morrisey a world of good, as well as a hearty breakfast provided by someone in the house who sure the hell knew what to do with eggs, cheese, green peppers, onion, and sausage. He couldn’t recall falling asleep, just holding Farren in his arms and something… happening.

He poked a mental finger at a spot in his mind that hadn’t been there before, feeling both the bond and Farren’s somber mood. Instead of poking, he tried a gentle caress of the invisible thing connecting them. Farren’s tension relaxed.

Morrisey paused one more moment to marvel at the bond. The bond. They’d bonded. Never again would he feel alone, misunderstood, and not fitting in. He took two cups of coffee upstairs to the war room.

Farren gave Morrisey a tired but welcoming smile Morrisey felt as much as saw. Doubly so when he handed over one of the cups.

“We need to see Leary.” He sipped his cup of coffee, projecting a calm resolve he didn’t truly feel.

Farren frowned. Oh, right. No hiding any emotion from him now without effort. “How can we get past security? You can’t take us all in, can you?”

“Probably not, but I’ve done it once with two; maybe I can again.” Of course, the distance had only been a few miles before. The FBI compound was over ten miles away. Still, based on what the Domus elder said, Morrisey’s power could only grow.

Believe in yourself, then you can do anything, Will used to say. If Will was still alive, would he turn away from Morrisey, throwing away years of friendship? No, he judged by a person’s merit.

Hopefully, other humans would, too, and the race was on to ensure humans didn’t equate all travelers with Asher.

Morrisey slipped his latest Agnes into her holster. Agnes. Agnetis. His parent. Fitting to take his parent’s namesake into battle. He wrapped his arm around Farren, picturing Leary’s office, the bare desk, the chairs, the bookcases. Please let him not fail or sneeze and rematerialize in the middle of the ocean.

No disorientation, no wooziness. One minute, Morrisey stared at the attic walls; the next, he stood before Leary’s desk.

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