Rising from Dust (Light from Aphelion Book 1)

by Carlsson, Martine

  “Welcome to my castle, if I may present it that way,” a clear, charming voice said.

  A woman in rich, exuberant clothes appeared in the hall. She was tall and blond with a gracious bearing. She was of a certain age but still comely.

  “Lady Hegora Khorkina!” Bertrant exclaimed, aghast. The commander knelt at once, followed by all the captains. “My lady, we didn’t know…” Bertrant stuttered.

  “That I was still alive?” she interrupted him. She gave a faint smile. “I forgive you, Bertrant. I still have a hard time believing it myself after so many years.” She turned to all of them. “My lords and captains, let me thank you deeply for your heroic battle. You saved my city and its people. Millhaven will always be in your debt. I gladly offer you my hospitality. Unfortunately, these creatures have damaged a part of the keep and of the outbuildings. You will have to share the rooms that are left,” she told them. “Is there something more we can do for you?”

  “Yes,” Selen said spontaneously. Louis gazed at him, surprised. “A bath,” his friend added with a blush on his cheeks.

  CHAPTER 36

  With the penury of clean rooms, Selen and Louis got to share one. Maybe the countess had placed them together because of their affinities or because of their appearances. All that mattered to Selen now is that they would have a few days of rest together with the possibility of enjoying a warm bath.

  The room was of a higher standing than the one they had had in Embermire. The furniture was of chestnut and the orange curtains were finely embroidered with gold threads. Red carpets covered the floor, and silver candelabras lighted the chamber. Selen removed his bloodstained armour while housemaids filled two large copper tubs in the center of the room. Blood had clotted in his hair, and his clothes reeked. He removed them and let them fall onto the floor. Once naked, Selen moved towards the nearest tub. He glanced at the housemaids. He was not used to having servants around him, especially women. He could swear that one of the maids gazed with concupiscence at his anatomy. It felt weird and awkward. Selen stepped inside the tub and sat down in the water. Louis sat in the tub on his right and washed the blood off his face. Though the tubs were filled, the maids still stood at their side. One leaned over the rim of his tub. Selen wondered if the girl waited for a coin or if he had orders to say.

  “Louis,” Selen whispered. “Shouldn’t they leave?”

  Selen saw Louis raise his head and watch the three housemaids. The girls gazed at them in a way Selen thought that proper housemaids would never dare to. “You can leave now, thank you,” Louis said evasively.

  The girls did not move. Instead, they undressed. Selen stared at them in utter shock. Was this what the lords meant by a bath? One opened her bodice, revealing her firm, round breasts. When she untied her waist cincher, her dress fell to the floor. The girl was naked and half-shaved. She exposed her tanned skin through lascivious moves. As a guard of the palace, Selen had already seen naked women. Yet, this time, he could not lose himself in thoughts or shift his gaze. They were here for him. The woman behind the naked maid put her fingers on one of the girl’s pink nipples and caressed it sensually. The third girl approached Selen’s tub. She put her bare foot on the edge of the tub and bunched up her skirts to the waist. Selen turned his head away before he could see anything. He squirmed with disgust and backed against the cold metal. He repressed the need to call for help or to make his uneasiness more obvious by covering his eyes. He wondered how an honorable, married man would get himself out of such a situation. Could a polite and firm refusal be enough?

  “What on earth do you think you’re doing?” Louis exclaimed, outraged. “This is the castle of Lady Khorkina, not a brothel.”

  Selen was relieved that Louis disapproved. It meant that all this should not happen. Only then did Selen realize that Louis would not have welcomed such a thing either.

  “We are used to entertaining the guests, and we are very talented,” the first girl said with a smoky voice. She walked towards Louis, pushing her breasts together with one hand. Selen was glad he could not see the other hand. “We can’t wait to start with both of you. Does my lord want a taste?” As she reached his friend, Selen’s eyes narrowed, and his mouth turned dry as he sucked on his teeth.

  Louis’s voice turned to ice. “Make a step closer, and I will have you all executed for depravation in an honorable house.”

  Selen did not know if the crime existed, but it sounded less humiliating than attempted rape. The girls stepped backwards, frightened by the threat. They grabbed their clothes and made for the door.

  “Wait!” Selen shouted. He had a hunch all this was not fortuitous. “Who sent you?”

  “We don’t know the man’s name, my lord, but he had a narrow face, an unkempt beard, and dark hair like a sheep fur.”

  Segar on all points, Selen thought. The housemaids went out and closed the door.

  “Do you think he suspects us?” Selen asked, worried.

  “I don’t know. The man is a weasel, but I don’t want to think about him right now,” Louis sighed.

  The water was warm and relaxing. Selen had never bathed in a tub, not in this life at least. At home, he used to bathe in the river during summer, and he kept a wooden basin stored for the winter. Selen washed his hair with soap. It was made with milk and olive oil and was perfumed with lavender. The flecks of blood on his hair and skin were soon gone. He had scrubbed so hard that his arms and hands had turned pink. He wanted to remove that putrid orc smell. He did not know how many he had killed today, but between the run, the mine, and the orcs, he felt as if he had bathed in a sewer. Now, with soap all over, his body felt alive again.

  He noticed Louis get up, go to the door, and move in his direction. His friend knelt at the side of the tub. Delicately, he took Selen’s face in his hands and kissed him. Selen’s heart bloomed like a lotus under the warm rays of the sun. All the nerves in his body quivered. He put his hands on both sides of Louis’s head. His lips parted.

  “I thought I had lost you,” Louis whispered with infinite softness. His words were tinged with dolor. Selen felt the warm breath skim his lips.

  Their foreheads touched. For a second, the world around him stood still and floated in the golden light of the candles. Selen kissed Louis back, burying the words he wanted to say deep inside his heart. Louis let go of him and took a jar. Selen closed his eyes, tilted his head, and let the cold water wash the soap away from his lilac hair. He stood up in the tub. Droplets trickled down his skin. Selen turned to Louis, who gazed at him, his mouth half open, and his hair drying in a disheveled way. Selen’s hands reached for his friend’s shoulders. At the same time, he felt Louis’s arms close around his back.

  “I’m sorry I left. I won’t do it again,” Selen whispered, pressing his chest against Louis’s. As he felt the arms crush his ribs, Selen nuzzled up his face against Louis’s neck. Louis slipped an arm down Selen’s back to his knees and lifted him up in the air. Selen laughed. “Don’t hurt yourself!”

  “I can manage a few seconds,” Louis replied, joining his laughter.

  When Louis carried him to the bed, Selen shivered with expectation. “Wait,” Selen said. “Here.”

  Louis put him down in front of the bed. Grabbing Louis’s hair, Selen gave him a long kiss, twisting his tongue in Louis’s mouth, savoring him. His lecherous eyes looked at Louis as he sat down on the edge of the bed. Selen’s hands clasped firmly on Louis’s bottom and pulled him closer. He kissed Louis’s flat abdomen, trailed down a cheek on it, and breathed in the fragrance of his dark hair. There was no hurry, no threat this time. His pulse hastened. He breathed out. He tilted his shoulders backwards. While his right hand slipped between Louis’s legs and massaged his perineum, his left hand folded tightly around his friend’s length and stroked it. It reacted at once. Selen bent forward, wetted his full lips, and took the head of the aroused member in his mouth. His tongue pressed and swirled around it in eager moves. Considering he had only done it once before, he hoped he wa
s not too clumsy. Selen realized he enjoyed it and sucked as on a juicy fruit. Saliva dribbled on his chin. As he proceeded, ardent fire spread between his legs, and he felt his member come to life. His thoughts wandered.

  Only a few months before, Selen would have blushed just to think about doing such things. Now that he had recovered his memories, he remembered that what he had seen of sex in the palace had put him off. The animalistic orgies, the violence, and the size of the men called stud had scared him. It was not impossible in his world for men with inclinations like his to satisfy their needs, as long as they never bottomed. Most soldiers visited brothels, but Selen did not want it that way. As he was not sure there was another way, he had stayed a virgin, becoming the laughingstock of some fellow soldiers. Yet, now that he had met Louis, he knew roughness and pain were not natural. Louis gave him so much pleasure that his whole body craved the touch of his friend. Selen wanted to taste him, to please him, to feel one with him. His mind had never been so distressed. Sparks of desire had coursed through his body at the most awkward moments. Even during meetings at the headquarters, he had surprised himself looking at Louis’s pulsing throat, his hands, and his fierce eyes with something more than admiration. One time, back in his tent, unable to wait for the night, he had lain down on his bed, both hands in his pants, and had rubbed himself hard where he had learned he was most sensitive. The furs on the bed had caressed his bare lower back as his hips had moved in rhythm until his clothes had turned into a mess. The opportunity of privacy they had now had been a long-awaited moment.

  He felt Louis’s hand against his head, pushing him back abruptly.

  “Stop,” his friend whispered, short of breath.

  “Forgive me,” Selen said. A blush came to his cheeks. “It has been too long.”

  “Exactly,” Louis answered with a light smile.

  Selen understood. He grabbed Louis by the hips and threw him onto the bed. Louis gazed at him, shocked. Selen knelt down and crawled over him. Cold water dropped from his hair, running over the sides of his hot body and down onto the bed. Selen kissed Louis passionately. He nibbled at his ear and bit his throat gently. It tasted of soap. He grazed his mouth over Louis’s defined collarbones and moved down to his nipples, squeezing them between his lips. “I miss you every day…and night,” Selen whispered.

  “Kiss me,” Louis murmured.

  Slowly, Selen moved forward and approached his lips. While they kissed, Louis glided a hand through Selen’s wet hair and slipped his other hand between Selen’s spread legs, cupping his balls in his palm. Selen moaned as Louis’s fingers sank inside him. His kiss became more passionate. Their mouths opened wide. With one hand, Selen reached down for Louis’s erect member.

  “I can’t wait anymore,” Selen whispered.

  He sat astride Louis, grasping his own cheeks, and impaled himself gradually on him. He moaned. It hurt at first, but the pain was soon gone, turning into intense pleasure. His hips rocked, dancing in harmony with his friend’s loud breathing, slowing down sometimes to make the feeling last. He looked at Louis’s slender body, his chest as hairless as his own. His physique was more the one of a rider than of a warrior. With his fingers, Selen traced the shape of his friend’s light muscles, pinching at his brown nipples and circling around his navel, down to the fuzz of hair on his groin. He saw Louis’s hand reach for him and wrap around his stiff shaft. It caressed him, teased him. Heat grew from Selen’s lower parts, taking over his brain.

  “Does it feel good?” Louis whispered.

  Selen nodded and rode faster, wilder in response. His hair floated around his waist. Selen tilted his head backwards and closed his eyes. As he sensed every bit of tingle in his lower back, he bobbed to guide Louis on the spot. His moans turned to squeaks, and his hands grasped Louis’s thighs. Selen could hear by his friend’s moans that Louis was getting close. He raised his head and kept eye contact with Louis, watching his tense face with delight. Louis’s eyes were half opened, and he bit his lower lip while thrusting his hips upwards to meet Selen’s moves, shoving himself as deep as he could.

  “Oh, Selen… I’m going to come,” Louis breathed.

  “Don’t…stop. I’m close.”

  A lock of hair fell over Selen’s face. Louis’s moist, soft hands ran nimbly up and down on him from shaft to tip. The blood in Selen’s member pulsed. He clenched his fingers on Louis. Selen moaned Louis’s name, squeezed his eyes shut, and cried out. His whole body throbbed and contracted around Louis, who screamed. Their climax was intense and simultaneous. Selen slowed down his moves, then sat still. Panting, he looked down. Louis’s palms and fingers were covered with his seed. It dripped along his wrists onto his abdomen.

  “I’m sorry,” Selen breathed, embarrassed.

  Louis smiled and put one hand to his mouth, his blue eyes looking straight at him. It made Selen blush. Exhausted, he lay down on Louis’s chest, his head on the top of his friend’s shoulder.

  They stayed silent for a while, embracing. Selen felt the beating of their hearts. A wave of feelings submerged him. He knew Louis was tormented. He had seen the melancholy in Louis’s eyes when he was not absorbed by his command. If only Louis would confide to him. Selen had felt like a shadow these last weeks. Louis did not even allow him to act as a friend. He had warned him that he would be distant and cold, but this was beyond Selen’s strength. Every day, Selen craved a look, a word, a kind gesture that would show him that he still existed. He knew Louis cared, but he could not live on ideas. Still, considering how unreachable Louis made himself to everyone, and how miserable he himself could be, Selen knew he was blessed. Now that he had seen his ribbon on his friend’s wrist, he would endure the suffering in silence, no matter how many times his heart broke, should he never hear the words. He felt the arm around his back and wished Louis would not stop holding him.

  “Will we stay here a few days?” Selen asked after a while. They gazed through the window. Outside, the blue sky was now streaked with amber clouds.

  “I suppose so. The men need to rest. There are probably many wounded, and we need more materiel. We should stay a few days, three at least,” Louis answered. “It also means a lot of work and preparations.” Louis held his hand. Their fingers played. “But we will have the nights,” Louis added with a sigh of bliss.

  Only four nights, Selen thought, but I will make them count. There was nothing but wilderness after Millhaven. Only a long, tiresome road stretching south. He would be back in his tent or asleep under the stars. With Pembroke’s forces, the army would grow in number. They would come across larger battalions, maybe the dragon. Finally, they may die somewhere on a battlefield.

  “Our lives are absurd,” Selen muttered, on the verge of crying. “These men fight for their land, for their family, for all they have lost. Why do we fight? What is left of us without our ideals? We have nothing. We are nothing.”

  “We can still build our own future. We can create something. If it is a second chance for us, I want to believe in it,” Louis said. “I still can’t remember my past.” Selen noticed that his friend cried. “Should I lose my faith in our cause…? If it’s only about survival in a meaningless world, how can I believe in life? Or in love? I am only dust. Worse, I am but a piece of myself. I need hope to hold on to.”

  “You will remember. It will come back. You are more than dust. So much more.” Selen grazed his lips against Louis’s wet cheek and held him tight. “We will share this hope,” he whispered. His heart ached.

  “Selen,” Louis said. His friend gazed long into his eyes and smiled. “We should get dressed. I don’t want us to be the last arriving at the dinner.”

  The great hall had been cleaned. The damaged furniture had been removed. There were still dark stains where the blood had been poured. At the end of the hall, down the steps leading to the dais, a large table stood. It was set sumptuously. Four candelabras stood prominently in a row. Their light, the only one in the whole hall, was reflected against large bowls, copiously filled w
ith fruits. The glasses, the wine carafes, and the high cake stands shone like crystal. Faremanne and Bertrant had already made themselves comfortable on the red cushioned chairs. Bertrant was dressed in a carmine doublet with long, puffed out sleeves and golden buttons. Faremanne’s doublet was similar but tawny. Selen and Louis had chosen less exuberant outfits. His friend wore a long, dark blue jerkin with a high collar over his white shirt. Selen had opted for a leaf green jacket with metal and leather buckles. It felt pleasant to walk around without his armour. His muscles relaxed from the loss of weight.

  “Here you are. Join us!” Faremanne exclaimed, holding out his hand in a warm, welcoming gesture.

  Selen hesitated to take a seat. Never in this life or the other had he sat at such a table. As a knight of the royal guard, he had assisted with dinners, but he had stood up by the door or on the side of the dais, at best. It was not his world. It felt to him as if he were trespassing. He drew a chair and sat down with his back straight, ready to stand up again. He took a quick glance at Louis. Though his friend looked a bit more comfortable, his confusion in front of the food was obvious. Louis stretched his hand to a bowl.

  “What is this?” Louis asked him in a whisper.

  “It’s a pomegranate,” Selen answered. “It’s a fruit.”

  “All these things are fruits?” Louis inquired, puzzled.

  “Yes, it’s all…” Selen said. He pondered over the words. “How can they have such exotic fruits with a climate like this one?” he asked out loud.

  “It is because our trunks are filled with gold. Or were,” a honeyed voice answered. Lady Khorkina appeared near the table. They all rose in one move.

  “My lady,” Bertrant bowed.

  “Please, please, sit down. Though I have to admit that I am filled with delight to be back in the civilization,” she said with a hint of a smile. The countess approached in front of them. Bertrant drew her the chair next to his. She sat down right in front of Selen. “Well, my dear, maybe you could present your charming captains,” she suggested to Bertrant.