A Bond of Three (37 page)

Sorran froze, bringing Forena to a dead stop. The others were at his sides within minutes.

“What is—”

Sorran brought his finger to his lips and they fell silent. He strained to hear that ghostly sound carried on the wind. Beside him, Tanish and Feyar sat upright on their horses. Sorran listened, all his senses alert. When the emblem on his chest began to burn, his breathing quickened.

“There!” Feyar pointed toward the trees where they knew stood the ruined temple. The sound was faint and plaintive.

Sorran pulled at Forena’s reins and galloped toward the ruins, Tanish and Feyar close behind him. The sound grew louder as they approached, and Sorran’s heart stuttered when he realized what they had heard.

It was the cry of a baby.

He climbed off Forena’s broad back and led him through the trees, the cry growing louder. Sorran yelled for his husbands when he saw a mound of red below the canopy of the trees. He hurriedly secured Forena’s reins and ran through the ruins to fall on his knees beside a young woman wrapped in a
cashor
. Her face was deathly pale, her long hair lying in strands across it, and she was unconscious. From beneath the
cashor
, Sorran glimpsed a downy head of blond hair. Carefully he pulled aside the
cashor
to reveal a baby, its face contorted as it cried, fingers curled into tiny fists, its little body straining with the force of its sobs.

Feyar knelt beside the woman and bent over to listen to her heartbeat. He raised his head and regarded them, brow creased. “She is very weak, and her heart beats erratically.” He slid an arm under her neck to lift her head onto his lap and then brushed the hair from her face. Her lips wore a bluish hue. “We must take her back to the palace at once.”

Tanish stood at his side, staring down at her in dismay. “Can we lay hands on her?”

Feyar looked doubtful. “I fear it would need more power than we possess. I feel as though she clings to life by a thread.” He took a deep breath. “Help me lift her onto my horse. I will hold her in my arms and you shall lead Zenobar.” Tanish nodded. Feyar touched Sorran’s arm. “What of the child?”

Sorran scooped up the baby and held it close. He could feel its heart beating. “Peace, little one,” he whispered. The child fell silent and opened blue eyes to stare at him. Tiny fingers clutched his. And the world came to a shuddering stop as Sorran suddenly became aware of a presence in his mind, a tiny flicker of consciousness.

“By the Maker.” He stared at the child in wonder.

“Sorran.
Sorran
!”

His husbands’ voices broke through. Sorran shook his head in amazement. “It—” He broke off to peer under the swathe of white fabric that surrounded the baby. “—
he
is
Seruan
.” He registered the hitch in his husbands’ breathing before that tiny flicker in his mind drew his focus back to the baby in his arms. He smiled. “Was I not paying enough attention, little one?”

The baby boy gurgled and released Sorran’s finger.

Sorran breathed evenly, trying to process what his senses were telling him. “Let us go home,” he said at last. “I will carry the baby.”

Tanish lifted the young woman into Feyar’s arms, and Feyar held her close, his eyes focused on her. “We must hurry, Tanish.”

Tanish leaped onto Nerita’s back and set off at a slow trot, Zenobar’s reins looped over his hand, while Sorran climbed carefully onto Forena, holding the baby tightly. The three set off for the palace at a sedate pace, Tanish looking back every few minutes to check on their charges.

Sorran gazed at the round cheeks and downy hair of the little boy in his arms. “We are taking you to safety, little one,” he whispered. He could not forget that tiny spark. All the way back to the palace, he prayed silently for the Maker to protect the woman and her child.

The little one who held Sorran in the palm of his tiny hand.

S
ORRAN
PACED
up and down outside the chamber.

“Peace,
dorishan
. Your feet will wear away the stone.” Feyar kept his words light, but he could see they did not register. Sorran’s anxiety poured off him in waves.

“The physician has been in there for so long,” Sorran complained. The young woman had remained unconscious since her arrival in the palace, and the physician had been in daily attendance. That morning she had deteriorated, and when the baby seemed to grow weaker, Sorran had begged Tanish to do something.

Feyar sighed and stopped Sorran with a gentle hand. “Let him work, Sorran. We shall know all in time.”

The door swung open, and the royal physician emerged, Tanish at his side, their faces solemn. Tanish clasped his hand. “My thanks again.” The physician bowed and walked away. Tanish watched his exit and sighed. “The mother is no more.”

Feyar’s breath caught in his throat. “He could not save her?” He swallowed. Since the moment he had seen the
cashor
draped around her still form, Feyar had been willing her to live. It seemed so unjust that as acceptance of the
Seruani
was growing, she should lose her life.

Tanish put his arm around him. “I know, my
terushan
, but believe me, there was nothing he could do. She had caught a fever not long after giving birth, and it proved too virulent. It was a miracle that the baby survived.”

“What was she doing there among the ruins? Why would she have gone there, knowing she was so ill, and with the child too?” The questions had been in his mind since they had found her. Feyar closed his eyes and said a silent prayer for her soul.

Sorran stiffened. “The baby lives?”

Tanish reentered the chamber and returned to them, the baby boy sleeping in his arms, wrapped in a layer of white gauze. He regarded the little boy tenderly. “And what is to become of you, little one?” The child lay peacefully.

Feyar stepped forward to gaze at the baby. He stroked the little boy’s soft cheeks with a finger. Something caught his eye through the fabric, and he pushed it lower to investigate. When he saw the baby’s shoulder, the breath died in his throat. All the hairs on the back of Feyar’s neck stood on end as the answer to Tanish’s question rang in his head, loud and clear. He smiled at his husbands as he covered the child once more. “We will raise him as our son.”

Both Tanish and Sorran stared at him.

“Our son?” Sorran’s face broke into a joyful smile. He edged closer and curved his hand protectively around the baby’s head before bending low to kiss him.

Tanish gazed at Sorran’s lowered head. It was obvious he was already in love with the idea. He met Feyar’s gaze. “You mean this?”

Feyar nodded. “Sorran has clearly made a connection with the boy. That much was evident when we found him. We know naught of his mother, but she has lain here in the palace for three days while you sent out messengers to all parts of the city, seeking her relatives. Since all
Seruani
have been reunited with their families and no one has reported a missing female….” He shrugged. “We should continue to seek for knowledge of her, and if nothing is forthcoming, then we adopt the child as our son and raise him to be a prince of Teruna and heir to the throne.” He kept his tone even, but inside, his heart danced.

Our
dorishan
has not yet realized how right it is that he came to find this child.

Sorran’s eyes gleamed with tears. “Our son,” he said softly.

Tanish smiled. “Your gifts are already telling you he is to be ours, are they not?”

Sorran nodded and gazed at the child in Tanish’s arms. “May I hold him?” Tanish eased the baby carefully into Sorran’s arms. The little one stirred and opened his eyes to look at Sorran. He gurgled and smiled.

Feyar could bear his excitement no longer. “You have not seen it, have you,
dorishan
?”

Sorran looked up at Feyar’s words, a frown creasing his brow. Feyar pulled aside the gauze to show his husbands what had taken his breath away. There on the little boy’s shoulder was a birthmark in the shape of a red heart.

Sorran gaped at it, his eyes widening. “By the Maker.”

Feyar nodded and laid his hand on Sorran’s shoulder, which bore the same mark, one of the designs Sorran had had etched there years before.

Sorran gazed down at the baby in his arms, his expression of wonder giving way to a look of love that told Feyar all he needed to know. He pulled Tanish closer, and the three of them regarded their precious charge. Feyar kissed his lovers and sighed happily.

“My
terushani
, we have a son.”

About the Author

Born and raised in the north-west of England,
K.C. W
ELLS
always loved writing. Words were important. Full stop. However, when childhood gave way to adulthood, the writing ceased, as life got in the way.

K.C. discovered erotic fiction in 2009, where the purchase of a ménage storyline led to the startling discovery that reading about men in love was damn hot. In 2012, arriving at a really low point in life led to the desperate need to do something creative. An even bigger discovery waited in the wings—writing about men in love was even hotter….

K.C. now writes full time and is loving every minute of her new career.

The laptop still has no idea of what hit it… it only knows that it wants a rest, please. And it now has to get used to the idea that where K.C. goes, it goes.

K.C. can be reached via e-mail ([email protected]), on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/KCWellsWorld), or through comments at the K.C. Wells website (http://www.kcwellsworld.com). K.C. loves to hear from readers.

An Unlocked Heart

Collars & Cuffs: Book One

By K.C. Wells

Since the death of his submissive lover two years ago, Leo hasn’t been living—merely existing. He focuses on making Collars & Cuffs, a BDSM club in Manchester’s gay village, successful. That changes the night he and his business partner have their weekly meeting at Severinos. Leo can’t keep his eyes off the new server. The shy man seems determined to avoid Leo’s gaze, but that’s like a red rag to a bull. Leo loves a challenge.

Alex Daniels works at Severinos to scrape together the money to move out on his own. He struggles with coming out, but he’s drawn to Leo, the gorgeous guy with the icy-blue eyes who’s been eating in his area nearly every night.

Leo won’t let Alex’s hesitance get in the way. He even keeps him away from the club so as not to scare him. And as for telling Alex that Leo is a Dom? Not a good idea. One date becomes two, but date two leads to Leo’s bedroom… and Alex discovers things about himself he never realized—and never wanted anyone to see.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Trusting Thomas

Collars & Cuffs: Book Two

By K.C. Wells

Christmas is a time for goodwill to all, but Collars & Cuffs co-owner Thomas Williams receives an unexpected gift that chills him to the bone. A Dom from another Manchester club asks Thomas for his help rescuing an abused submissive, Peter Nicholson. Thomas takes in the young man as a favor to a friend, offering space and time to heal, but he makes it clear he’s never had a sub and doesn’t want one.

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http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com