Page 136 of Wanted: Rogues and Bards

Dead for touching Lirion.

Dead for hurting Lirion.

Dead for taking what was his.

A clawed hand grabbed Fenric’s arm, and he nearly took off Rain’s head, but he caught himself in time. It was enough to jerk Fenric out of his frenzy to find the finfolk was dead, along with its companion. Both were slowly sinking down into the darkness at the bottom of the lake.

Rain pointed up to Lirion, who was struggling to swim to the surface, likely desperate for air.

An anguished cry exploded from Fenric’s lips, and he tried to speed after Lirion only to have crippling pain seize his entire body. Muscles screamed and refused to obey him. He couldn’t move.

Rain groaned and wrapped an arm around his chest, pulling him along as he surged up after Lirion. Muscles churned and strained in the real merman as he pulled Lirion and Fenric back to the surface.

“Fucking moron!” Rain shouted the second they got their heads above water. Rain rolled onto his back and leisurely moved his tail, directing them back toward the spit of dry land where the others rested. Under his left arm, Lirion coughed and gasped for air, while Fenric moaned under his right.

“What?” Fenric whimpered.

“You shifted into a merman for the first time, and you overdid it. Pulled all your muscles. Fucking moron,” Rain ranted. “Not to mention, you are the ugliest merman I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t even fuck you, and you know I don’t have proper standards.”

Fenric tried to roll his eyes, but even that hurt. All he could do was float there. “Lir?” he asked.

“I’m okay,” he gasped. The sodden incubus shoved some pink hair from his eyes and flashed a weak smile between coughs and ragged gulps of air.

Fenric closed his eyes and released the last of the fear lodged in his throat. Lirion was safe. That was all that mattered.

The sun sat low on the horizon when they finally pulled off the road onto a large patch of level ground alongside some thick woods. The villagers had been kind enough to load them up with more than enough food to get them through their travels without having to hunt for their meals. Tents needed to be pitched and a fire made, but for Lirion, all of that had to wait.

The long, slow trek had been spent layering one healing cantrip after another onto Fenric to relieve the pain of countless pulled muscles and strained tendons. Was there a part of his body that hadn’t been injured in his race to reach Lirion?

Fenric had forced a shift. He’d never shared with anyone what he could shift into. They only knew what they’d actually seen, and merperson was very much not on the list, according to the rest of the group. That meant he’d forced his body to do the impossible so he could rescue Lirion.

Why? Why hadn’t he just left the rescuing to Rain? It made the most sense. At the most, he could have gone in as a shark to offer Rain some support and protection. But to nearly kill himself to save Lirion?

There was more to this. More to them. His incubus magic could catch little snatches of feelings from Fen—desperation, terror, relief, joy. Complete, boundless joy. But Lirion’s own rampaging emotions were getting in the way when it came to Fen. He was having trouble sorting out what he was feeling from what he could sense from Fen.

Words needed to be said. Right now.

The second Fenric’s boots touched the ground, Lirion grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the woods.

“We’ll be back in a minute,” he shouted over his shoulder, only to have an answering wolf whistle erupt from Rain.

“Will we?” Fen inquired, his voice full of teasing as he stumbled along behind Lirion, despite being fully healed. “Are you sure you’re not dragging me off into the woods to kill me?”

“Not even a little funny,” Lirion growled. He glared over at Fenric, and the man attempted to look ashamed.

“Sorry.”

“We need to talk.”

“That’s never a good thing,” Fen muttered under his breath as the woods closed in around them, blocking off all sound and sight of the rest of the group. The sun was nearly set, but the thick woods were even darker, letting in only thin shafts of light between the leaves. Despite being only a few yards away from the camp, it felt like they were the only two people in the world.

Lirion stopped and could only wordlessly stare at Fenric, taking in his disheveled hair and crooked grin. The thin scars slashing across his face had become so familiar to Lirion now. And yet, he didn’t know how to say what was in his heart. How to convey everything he felt without making false promises or setting himself on the wrong foot with Fenric. Even if he started off badly, he was determined to try. He had to find the words to reach Fenric.

Fenric seemed to realize he was up to something as he paused, looking at him askance, head canted. “What? You’ve got a very intent look on your face.”

His patience with Lirion was humbling, honestly. So few people had ever treated Lirion with this kind of acceptance and patience. Knowing that gave him enough courage to pry his mouth open.

“Fen. I want…” Deep breath in. All right, say it. “I want to change our relationship.”