Read Online Cloak & Silence by Sherrilyn Kenyon - Free Book Online
Authors: Sherrilyn Kenyon
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still spoke to him—Safir, Darling’s immediate family, the Sentella and Caillen Dagan.
Now Ture stood to inherit that small circle. But not if he broke Maris’s heart. And though he would give anything to let Ture in, he knew better. He’d been down this bloody path too many times. As soon as his lovers realized that they could never supplant Darling in his heart, they turned on him with a justified hatred.
Maris couldn’t help how he felt. Darling owned him. He always had. Even though they could and would never be anything more than best friends, Darling was his heart. He’d been there for Maris when no one else had. When the entire universe had slammed down on him and no one had cared, Darling, alone, had traversed hell itself to save Maris’s life.
He shuttered every time he thought of where he’d be without his noble prince. If he’d even be alive.
Sighing, he lifted himself out of the water to sit on the edge of the pool while Ture continued swimming. Memories surged as he reached for a towel. Even now, he could see Darling the day they’d met as tiny kids on a playground.
Because of his young age, Maris had been cloistered on Phrixus and hadn’t fully learned the Universal language. For that matter, he’d barely known how to walk. One day, he’d been a caudate, learning about his own people and laws, and the next he’d been ripped out of his world and sent to exist among humans and their strange, foreign rules. Rules that had baffled and scared him.
His father’s only dictate for behavior had been harsh. Shame or betray us and I’ll cut out your heart myself and feed it to you before you die. One word that you’ve violated any human code or custom, and you will be put down for it.
The man had not been joking or exaggerating.
Barely five years old, Maris had been terrified of making a single mistake.
And even now, all these years later, he saw Lord Trustan’s beady eyes as he’d given Maris his new code of conduct. You so much as breathe on one of our children, or do any act of violence against any human and you will be sent home to your father in pieces. Understood?
The moment Trustan had said those words, his own sons had known Maris was fair game for their abuse.
And they’d bled him well for no other reason than his people had been at war with theirs for centuries.
By the time school had started, Maris had been a well-used doormat who hadn’t dared to fight back for fear of what his family would do for the “dishonor,” or Trustan either, for that matter.
Trustan’s eldest son, Crispin, had been the one who’d chased him across the schoolyard that fateful day. While Maris hadn’t really understood the insults they’d yelled, he knew the misery of being punched and slapped while being unable to strike back.
Tired of it all, he’d been praying for death when out of nowhere a boy half his size had slammed into Crispin and knocked him away from Maris.
Like some mythical hero, Darling had beat the bastard down and told him that he better never touch Maris again. Then he’d turned around, bleeding and bruised, and extended his hand to Maris. “Hi, I’m Darling Cruel. We should be friends.” In that heartbeat, Maris had fallen head over heels in love with him. And he’d been that way ever since.
He’d never met anyone who came close to Darling’s loyalty, kindness, or generous spirit.
Until Ture.
For Zarya, he’d put his life on the line without hesitation. A woman who wasn’t family, but a friend he’d loved and placed above himself. There weren’t many people who would do such a thing for anyone.
It didn’t hurt that Ture had one of the hottest bodies he’d seen in awhile, too. Best of all, Ture hadn’t freaked out over Maris’s “uniqueness.”
Ture swam over to him and boldly put his hand on the edge of the pool, right between Maris’s slightly parted thighs. “Can I call it a day yet?”
It wasn’t easy to understand those words as a fantasy went
Now Ture stood to inherit that small circle. But not if he broke Maris’s heart. And though he would give anything to let Ture in, he knew better. He’d been down this bloody path too many times. As soon as his lovers realized that they could never supplant Darling in his heart, they turned on him with a justified hatred.
Maris couldn’t help how he felt. Darling owned him. He always had. Even though they could and would never be anything more than best friends, Darling was his heart. He’d been there for Maris when no one else had. When the entire universe had slammed down on him and no one had cared, Darling, alone, had traversed hell itself to save Maris’s life.
He shuttered every time he thought of where he’d be without his noble prince. If he’d even be alive.
Sighing, he lifted himself out of the water to sit on the edge of the pool while Ture continued swimming. Memories surged as he reached for a towel. Even now, he could see Darling the day they’d met as tiny kids on a playground.
Because of his young age, Maris had been cloistered on Phrixus and hadn’t fully learned the Universal language. For that matter, he’d barely known how to walk. One day, he’d been a caudate, learning about his own people and laws, and the next he’d been ripped out of his world and sent to exist among humans and their strange, foreign rules. Rules that had baffled and scared him.
His father’s only dictate for behavior had been harsh. Shame or betray us and I’ll cut out your heart myself and feed it to you before you die. One word that you’ve violated any human code or custom, and you will be put down for it.
The man had not been joking or exaggerating.
Barely five years old, Maris had been terrified of making a single mistake.
And even now, all these years later, he saw Lord Trustan’s beady eyes as he’d given Maris his new code of conduct. You so much as breathe on one of our children, or do any act of violence against any human and you will be sent home to your father in pieces. Understood?
The moment Trustan had said those words, his own sons had known Maris was fair game for their abuse.
And they’d bled him well for no other reason than his people had been at war with theirs for centuries.
By the time school had started, Maris had been a well-used doormat who hadn’t dared to fight back for fear of what his family would do for the “dishonor,” or Trustan either, for that matter.
Trustan’s eldest son, Crispin, had been the one who’d chased him across the schoolyard that fateful day. While Maris hadn’t really understood the insults they’d yelled, he knew the misery of being punched and slapped while being unable to strike back.
Tired of it all, he’d been praying for death when out of nowhere a boy half his size had slammed into Crispin and knocked him away from Maris.
Like some mythical hero, Darling had beat the bastard down and told him that he better never touch Maris again. Then he’d turned around, bleeding and bruised, and extended his hand to Maris. “Hi, I’m Darling Cruel. We should be friends.” In that heartbeat, Maris had fallen head over heels in love with him. And he’d been that way ever since.
He’d never met anyone who came close to Darling’s loyalty, kindness, or generous spirit.
Until Ture.
For Zarya, he’d put his life on the line without hesitation. A woman who wasn’t family, but a friend he’d loved and placed above himself. There weren’t many people who would do such a thing for anyone.
It didn’t hurt that Ture had one of the hottest bodies he’d seen in awhile, too. Best of all, Ture hadn’t freaked out over Maris’s “uniqueness.”
Ture swam over to him and boldly put his hand on the edge of the pool, right between Maris’s slightly parted thighs. “Can I call it a day yet?”
It wasn’t easy to understand those words as a fantasy went
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