Dragon’s Fate and Other Stories

by Kris Austen Radcliffe

  “The villages allow the dragon to take their women?” No wonder Papa did not want the brothers near the Dracos.

  Antonius nodded. “The girls go willingly. They compete for the opportunity. It was disgusting. They return to their homes unmarriageable, though the men take pity and many are married anyway.” He sighed. “Some leave the villages altogether and remain in the dragons’ town.”

  He shook his head. “The women there did not understand their place in God’s world. One was the magistrate.” He shook his head again. “Others fight! Can you imagine? Women with axes and arrows.”

  When Daniel and his brothers were young, their mother fought off three men who had come to raid their farm. He remembered hiding behind the table as she stripped one of his sword and slashed the other two through and through.

  Capable women were a blessing. He was alive because of a capable woman.

  “We could do nothing,” Antonius said. “They said they accepted our Savior but I do not think so. The priests blessed them and we moved on.” He grinned. “I knew we would find more godly people here.”

  Antonius squeezed Daniel’s knee again and leaned against his shoulder.

  A sudden awareness of the other man’s body rippled through Daniel’s muscles. Antonius’s scent of incense filled his nose. When he leaned close, the roughness of his stubble tickled Daniel’s neck. Antonius wasn’t the abstract words on the scroll or the political maneuverings of old and new Romans. His breath felt warm and intense—and alive.

  But he was a priest, a man who only looked to God for closeness, so Daniel had long discounted his friend’s attentions. Antonius’s days were filled with shepherding the villagers and overseeing the workers. He lived in the dormitory behind the incomplete church with the cranky older priests and did not mix with the villagers outside of church business.

  Except for Daniel. He spent a great many hours mixing with Daniel.

  They touched. Actually, they touched often. But no matter how handsome Antonius’s eyes, Daniel thought nothing of it beyond the friendly need of another lonely young man.

  Now he wondered.

  Antonius would smile when they touched fingers while they read. Antonius always smiled when he saw Daniel. He laughed at Daniel’s jokes even though at times, Daniel knew his friend did not understand a reference. He also often went out of his way to speak with Daniel when the priests came around their farm.

  Gently, Daniel stroked the back of his friend’s hand. His skin felt smooth and healthy, a rarity among the villagers. He bathed more than the villagers as well, and much more than the older priests, and smelled of salt and leather, not unwashed filth.

  “I believe God sent me to this village. I believe I was meant to meet you and to learn about the past world.” Antonius patted the scroll inside his bag. “I believe it is God’s will that I find these scrolls. I believe they carry messages for us.”

  He leaned his head against Daniel’s shoulder. “I am happy they brought you into my life.”

  Chapter Eight

  Antonius’s arm moved around Daniel’s waist. Slowly and with great care, Antonius placed his lips against the small hollow below Daniel’s ear.

  Daniel did not mean to moan but Antonius’s arms felt real and strong and purposeful, not like Ingund’s clutching. Antonius did not grin as if he’d won a game. Antonius wanted the action of touching and the connection that came with it.

  A new kiss landed on Daniel’s cheek. This time, Daniel turned into the touch. He responded in the way he should—like a deliberate man. He focused. He learned.

  Their first kiss danced gently over Daniel’s lips and felt different from the time Ingund’s friend tried to kiss him behind the blacksmith’s quarters. This, with Antonius, lingered for Daniel. The feel of his friend’s skin, the flexing of his lips, the slightly salty taste of his mouth all blended into a concrete, physical reality that utterly obliterated all of Daniel’s little voices.

  All the questioning. All the thoughts of what-ifs and the what-will-be. All the puzzle pieces created by the lords and the empires stopped taking up space in his mind. The small, still voices that whispered all breathed, all sighed, and all said let this happen.

  This is right.

  Antonius’s kisses didn’t carry a flavor like food nor did he breathe out a scent nor did he prick to Daniel’s tongue. But something traveled from Antonius’s mouth to his. Something that clearly said desire.

  Daniel cupped the back of Antonius’s head and drew him closer.

  But his friend suddenly, completely pulled away. He blinked, his beautiful brown eyes wide with what, to Daniel, looked like terror. “I’m sorry! You come here to teach, not to tempt!” He inhaled sharply. “What have I done? This is my weakness.”

  Quickly, he jumped down from the wall. “We must return to the church.” Clutching the bag with the scroll, he shuffled away, toward the entrance to the ruins.

  “Antonius!” What just happened? “Wait!”

  What if Antonius believed their kiss to be evil? What if he lashed himself to infection because of it? Daniel had heard stories about how the priests sought absolution.

  What if the other priests beat him?

  What if Antonius walked into the river and never returned? Daniel sucked in his breath, suddenly aware of his nose and mouth—his eyes and his ears—as if they filled with water. As if he drowned.

  Daniel gulped. Why would he think such terrible things? Antonius stood no more than an arm’s length away.

  “Stay.” He reached for his friend.

  Antonius would not look at him. “This is why I had to leave my home. I…” He turned away.

  Daniel didn’t need the abilities of a past-seer to know what drove Antonius from his family. Antonius, not knowing or understanding the meaning of his emotions because he’d never been taught, never seen any love beyond his own mother and father, probably kissed a male friend who did not share the same desires.

  But Daniel lived with Father and Papa. Daniel understood.

  “I’m not…” Antonius stiffened as if he wanted to punch something. “I didn’t…” He looked away again. “The church keeps me… good.”

  “You keep you good, Antonius.” Daniel laced his fingers through his friend’s. “God gave you what you need to take good actions.”

  Antonius looked as if he thought Daniel would hit him square across the face.

  “That’s not what I meant! You are good. Not how you follow the church’s rules, but you.” Why didn’t Antonius see the goodness in his own heart? “No one shares the desire to learn with me the way you do.” Daniel touched his cheek. “Not my brothers. Definitely not the girls.”

  Antonius chuckled. “I think about you all the time.” He blinked his big eyes. “How does your family live?”

  He asked about Papa and Father. Could Daniel have the same with Antonius? Would he find a bride who would want his friend as well? Though Daniel doubted Antonius would want a bride.

  Did it matter? Did it—

  Antonius tipped his head to the side as he took both of Daniel’s hands. “Is such a love possible?”

  The part of Daniel’s mind that analyzed every minutiae of a situation, every possibility, fell silent once again. That part that talked all the time, the part that asked question after question stopped chattering and stood stunned silent in front of his sweet, wonderful friend who, Daniel suspected, favored him as more than a reading buddy.

  They were the same height, Daniel only slightly taller, and when their bodies met, Daniel felt Antonius’s hardness press against his belly.

  The final parts of his thinking mind, the parts that looked to the future and wanted to spend all their resources mapping the what-ifs and poking at the what-will-be, suddenly decided that the what-is was considerably more interesting.

  The sun danced fire in Antonius’s hair and little gold and red sparks popped around his deep, soul-stealing eyes. His shoulders wiggled more than Daniel realized, as if he carried a great weig
ht. And his hands vibrated with a slight-but-real need.

  The same need Daniel felt.

  Antonius was the first man he’d ever kissed. The girls in the village favored the brothers for many reasons—for their wealth and their refinement, but also their handsome features. All three knew they were nice to look at. Father and Papa were nice to look at as well, as was Mama. It helped to keep people out of their business.

  But it also masked real connection. It masked moments like this, when the touch came because the friend wanted the full person.

  Antonius wanted to be with him more than Ingund wanted to be with Timothy. Daniel was sure deep in his bones that this moment with his friend meant more than any of the kissing and the rutting his brother did with that girl.

  Antonius curled his arms around Daniel’s neck and held so tightly they both gasped for air. Daniel kissed the slight stubble on his love’s chin. Words abandoned him, now that his analytical mind quieted. He didn’t know what to say. He only wanted to do, to touch.

  Antonius worked at the ties to Daniel’s trousers. “I’ve never touched another man’s cock,” he whispered. “I’ve never touched a girl’s parts.” He frowned. “Is this right? I don’t—”

  Daniel yanked up Antonius’s robe. The coarse fabric bunched in his fists, itchy and raw, and he wanted, more than anything, to get it away from Antonius’s body.

  The muscles of Antonius’s thighs tightened. His skin, now open to the bright sun, glowed with health and life. Daniel pushed the robe higher.

  His friend groaned. His back arched and he looked up at the sky, his face turned to the sun and his lips set with an ecstasy Daniel thought only possible for God himself.

  Antonius worked the knot of the cord around his waist. It dropped away, landing in a whisper on the stones, and Antonius clutched at the rough fabric covering his smooth hips and abdomen.

  Oh, he was beautiful. Lean like Daniel, and strong. Every movement, every twitch played through the muscles of his legs and core and when Daniel stroked his fingers through the soft hairs between his legs, Antonius’s mouth opened wide.

  Daniel wrapped his hand around his friend’s cock.

  “Lord I beg thee for your mercy!” Antonius groaned and fell back against the stone wall, his eyes closed and his face still turned toward the sun. “I think I love you,” he whispered.

  Daniel understood that when arousal took him, his own cock pulsed with his heartbeat, but to feel the same response, the same brilliant beat of Antonius’s heart against Daniel’s palm and fingers, made Daniel so hard he ached.

  Slowly, he slid his hand up Antonius’s shaft, twisting slightly the way he enjoyed on himself, then back down again.

  “Is this how your fathers live? Touching like this?” Antonius moaned again when Daniel slid his hand once more up his shaft.

  “Yes,” Daniel growled. His parents loved. Father and Papa would go out to the barn together and come back calm and happy. Sometimes, they sandwiched Mama between their chests, kissing her and each other, when they thought the boys slept.

  “Every day?” Antonius pleaded.

  “I will do this with you every hour if you wish it.” Daniel kissed Antonius so hard they would both likely have bruised lips tomorrow.

  Could Daniel be lucky enough to find a real love now, before he activated? Before his brothers? But…

  Unlike Ingund, Antonius didn’t know about Daniel’s people or about—

  Antonius clasped Daniel’s lower lip between his teeth. Daniel’s voices silenced once more. The worries receded. Antonius wanted this moment as much as Daniel did.

  In Daniel’s hand, Antonius’s hard cock felt much like his own, yet different. Antonius had a left-leaning curve, a thicker base, and a pointed head where Daniel’s straight, strong shaft held consistent base to tip. Antonius felt hotter. His color appeared pinker.

  Daniel worked him with a tight grip. Antonius moaned again.

  “I need to see,” Antonius whispered. His fingers jerked and faltered as he undid Daniel’s trousers, his excitement overtaking his dexterity. “Please.”

  Daniel leaned into Antonius, his mouth taking his love’s again, their lips melding and their tongues probing. Their teeth hit and Daniel inhaled more deeply than he meant to. Antonius gasped. Laughing, they pulled apart.

  Daniel cupped Antonius’s hands and carefully guided his fingers through the undoing of his lacings.

  Now free of his trousers, Daniel’s cock sprang against his lower belly. His entire body ached with the same tense hardness, the same tensile contractions that made muscles ready to thrust.

  Antonius’s eyes widened again. “Oh…” he whispered. Slowly, he ran the pad of his thumb through the bead of liquid on Daniel’s tip.

  Every fiber in Daniel’s body hummed. Every nerve danced. He saw the warming of Antonius’s skin and the dilation of his eyes. He breathed the desire on his breath. They rocked against each other, cock rubbing against cock, their foreheads touching, their breathing full and alive. Antonius filled Daniel’s senses and his mind with his sweetness and his intense need. He touched and Daniel’s body responded.

  Daniel had never shared with anyone in this way before. Never wanted to be this close, to kiss and to fuck. God, he wanted to fuck Antonius. To feel—and taste—the other man’s cock.

  Daniel dropped his lips to Antonius’s belly. Gently, he kissed along the ridges of his abdomen, his tongue probing and licking.

  “What are you doing?”

  Daniel pumped his hand on his love’s shaft one more time—and licked the tip of Antonius’s cock.

  “Ahhh…” Antonius thrust deep into Daniel’s mouth. The head of his cock pushed into Daniel’s throat but he pulled back as fast as he’d thrust in. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to… It felt so good…”

  This time, Daniel took him into his throat on purpose.

  A stream of babbled Latin prayers fell from Antonius’s lips. Daniel curled his tongue around his cock again, and closed his lips. This time, he sucked hard.

  “Stop!” Antonius pushed him off. “I can’t hold my…” He closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose. “I want to kiss you.”

  Daniel immediately stood and pulled Antonius into a tight embrace. The stubble of their chins rubbed but the heat felt good. Their tongues darted into each other’s mouths.

  Antonius worked Daniel’s shaft with a focus he had not expected from the priest. “What did I taste like?”

  Daniel wanted to thrust against Antonius’s grip. “Sweet salt.”

  Antonius pushed him away. Not far, but enough he could bend forward and kiss the head of Daniel’s cock. He grabbed Daniel’s hips and yanked him forward as he slid his mouth over Daniel’s shaft.

  The prayers surfaced for Daniel. They babbled from between his throat as he thrust again and again between Antonius’s lips.

  How could this be? How could he feel this way? They both wanted the whispers. To be close. He would no longer discount his brother’s intentions toward Ingund. He couldn’t. Not after this.

  Daniel pulled away and kissed Antonius again. “I want to be like this with you every day.” Every morning and every evening.

  Antonius whispered his name. It rolled from his lips in a rushed hush, breathed out on the back of what Daniel hoped was the most intense pleasure his friend had ever felt.

  Antonius came, his juices spurting high into the air, higher than Daniel’s. They watched, both amazed, Antonius laughed like a child who’d just realized he could walk on his own.

  Daniel pulled Antonius close again, holding him tight against his chest as they slid down the stone wall to the uneven stone floor.

  A cloud flitted between them and the sun and for a moment, a chill descended from above.

  Antonius looked toward the sky. His ease tightened, his muscles contracting in small, quick jerks.

  To Daniel, the tension returning to Antonius’s body felt as if his friend’s voices had started again. As if, right now as he embraced Da
niel, he heard in his own head all the same questions Daniel had heard before: Could they be together? What about Antonius’s work at the church? What of Daniel’s fate? Antonius’s body felt as if he condensed. He suddenly felt smaller against Daniel. Harder, but not in the way they just shared.

  “What do we do?” Antonius’s lips thinned and he looked more lost than Daniel liked, but he was correct to ask. What did they do now? Their relationship wasn’t like Timothy and Ingund. Daniel could not marry Antonius. He was a priest and…

  And a boy. What were they going to do? “I don’t know.”

  Antonius bundled his robes. “We must return. Your father will be upset.” When he turned away, Daniel felt as if the sun had moved permanently behind a cloud and the sky would never clear again.

  Daniel took Antonius’s hand as they walked away from the ruins. They could, at least, have this final touch before they returned to the church. Even if this moment never happened again, even if Daniel found himself in a future with a wife and children and no true love, they would have these memories.

  Antonius’s grip felt as if he held on for dear life.

  As if he, too, didn’t believe they would ever know each other’s touch again.

  Chapter Nine

  “I will need to hand the scroll over to Brother Tambor.” Antonius let go of Daniel’s hand and wiggled through a split in the ruin’s outer wall.

  He wasn’t looking at Daniel. He wasn’t looking at the ruins, either. He now looked down, mostly at his feet, though he did lean against Daniel’s side as if he was afraid he’d never again feel the touch of another person.

  Antonius avoided talking about what happened between them, as well. He only frowned, his lower lip pushing out ever so slightly, and held tightly to Daniel’s hand.

  “Come live with us. My parents will take you in.” Daniel wiggled through the wall behind Antonius. “You could apprentice with Fa—”

  He knocked into the rigid Antonius as he popped through. “What…”