Page 28 of Curse of Ancients

Carleigh didn’t hesitate. She tapped the shaker over Juni’s food and stirred it. The next bite he took, he bobbed his head and ate without fussing.

“Nothing against your cooking, Juniper, but the food in Anjailang is richer than most meals here.”

“You’ll have to share your recipes so we can make what Juni will enjoy,” Juniper said.

Once everyone finished eating, Bayu offered to help with the dishes, but Kat waved him off. “I’ve got this. You focus on you for now.”

Carleigh and her dad went back to working on the drawings and scanning the journal pages. Lilly and the twins left for the evening, promising to return as soon as Nekoma was back from Evyndral. Juniper followed Juni to his room, leaving Bayu untethered. Instead of standing around feeling useless, he joined his brother. Juni pulled several books off the shelf and placed them on the floor. He pointed to each cover. “Whas it say?”

Bayu sat next to Juni and read each title and explained what the books were about. “Would you like for me to read you one?”

“Dis one.” Juni chose one with talking cars, then sat on Bayu’s lap. Juniper left them to it as Bayu wrapped his arms around the cub, placing the book on his lap and opened the cover. As he read, Juni listened intently. They went through six books before Juni yawned.

“Me take baf?”

“You like the water?”

“Uh huh. Spash, spash.”

Oh, boy. Bayu laughed and tickled Juni’s sides. He squirmed and giggled, kicking his feet. “No, Bye- bye.”

“Okay, no more tickling. Let’s get you a bath.” Bayu hadn’t taken a bath since he was a child, but he did remember how much he enjoyed splashing around. He lifted Juni to his feet, then stood and led him to the attached bathroom. It amazed Bayu that all the bedrooms had their own bathroom. He couldn’t imagine how much it cost to build a house as grand as this one. The design he’d wanted to speak with Sebastian about was nowhere near this large, and now he wouldn’t need to build one. He and Juni would live with Carleigh, and Bayu could put his money toward their future. Just because Carleigh was rich didn’t mean he wasn’t going to contribute.

Juni stripped out of his clothes while Bayu filled the tub. There was a basket of tub toys, and instead of choosing one, Juni tossed all of them into the water, one at a time. Before Bayu could help, Juni crawled over the side, slipping onto his back. He didn’t panic. Bayu did. He reached out to help, but Juni waved his arms and kicked his feet. When his head went under, he flipped to his stomach and pushed himself up. He then grabbed two of the toys and began splashing them together. Bayu turned the water off and sat next to the tub. He let Juni play a while before helping bathe the boy. He lathered his hair with kid’s shampoo that smelled fruity, and when it came time to rinse, Bayu stood and removed the shower head and turned the water on.

“Lean your head back so I can rinse it.” Juni closed his eyes and did as Bayu asked. When he was finished, he returned the sprayer to its holder and asked, “Are you ready to get out?”

“No, Bye-bye. Me pway more.” Bayu didn’t see the harm in him playing longer, so he knelt beside the tub and let the boy splash his toys. After another fifteen minutes, Juni held his arms up. “I done.”

Bayu grabbed a fluffy towel and wrapped it around his brother, lifting him from the tub. He dried Juni’s body and his hair, then wrapped the towel around him and carried him to the bedroom. Once he was dressed in cute pajamas, Bayu took him back to the bathroom to brush his teeth and comb his hair. Juni didn’t fuss during either chore. He tried to brush his teeth by himself, but Bayu had to help.

It was going so well. Too well. Until Bayu tried to get Juni to go to sleep in his bed. “Carwee sweep wiv me?”

“Carleigh’s working. I’ll lay down with you. How about another story?”

“No! Carwee!” Juni took off running, screaming for Carleigh.

She met them at the top of the steps. “What’s wrong?” Juni slammed into her legs, and she picked him up.

“He wants you to sleep with him, but I told him you were working. I offered but…”

“Oh, Junebug. It’s okay.” She hugged him tight, her eyes misty. Bayu felt horrible for making his brother and his mate cry. He was trying to lighten her load. His mate was already doing so much while Bayu did nothing. “How about I read you a story and stay in here until you go to sleep? Then Bayu can watch over you while I work?”

“’Kay.”

Carleigh carried him back to his room, and while they chose a book, Bayu went into the bathroom to drain the tub and wipe up the water. He put the toys away after drying them off, then sat down on the closed toilet lid and buried his face in his hands. When nails scraped through his hair, Bayu jerked his gaze up. How long had he sat there feeling sorry for himself?

“Come on, my tiger. Juni’s asleep.”

Bayu dropped his hands between his legs, staring at his feet. “I’m sorry.”

Carleigh tucked her finger under his chin, raising his head. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Think about this from his perspective. We don’t know what’s going through his little mind. He’s been so good today considering he was on the other side of the world this morning, and now his sleep cycle is all screwed up. He’s probably missing Gemi even though he’s surrounded by women. I’m a stranger, but I’m familiar in that way. So cut yourself some slack and give him time.”

Bayu snaked his arms around Carleigh’s back, tugging her closer so he could rest his head on her stomach. She continued playing with his hair, letting him take all the time he needed to get his shit together. He would have sat there much longer, but Juniper padded into the bathroom.

“Your phone was beeping. Since it’s your burner, I thought it might be important.” She held Bayu’s phone out, and he took it.

Gemi: I need your address.