Age of Mycea (Book 1 - Chapter 2)
After Sebastian went back to his own bed, Meshia lay awake, replaying the feel of Sebastian’s skin against his. The soft touch of his knuckle on his cheek.
In the last installment of Age of Mycea
In the first installment of Age of Mycea
Meshia found himself out on the inn’s front steps, looking out at the square, wondering what he was doing here. There had been no reason for him to make this trip. His citizens were more than capable of traveling to the capital to have their grievances heard by him if they were not satisfied with the rulings laid down by the commander of his third.
Sebastian had taken to the position with ease. He had not heard any complaints about Sebastian’s decisions. His rulings were fair—his punishments, just and swift.
He trusted him.
Meshia sighed. He trusted Sebastian with more than hearing grievances. They had a secret. A secret that could ruin him.
A secret that could bring down the empire.
He took the steps down to the muddy square. It had stopped raining, but everything was still dripping from the downpour. He looked up into the hills. There was someone he wanted to see tonight. Someone who could take his mind off the intricacies of the situation he had placed himself in with Sebastian. It had been many years. It was time to pay her his respects.
He headed toward a slope that banked away from the square, up into the trees. If she were still in the same place, he should have no trouble finding her. He glanced over his shoulder at the shadow that was following him; Krunk was certainly diligent in his duty.
Meshia exhaled, distracted. Sebastian knew how to command his battalion so that they came to adore him. They would follow him anywhere. It was an incredible skill. One he did not possess himself. True to his nature and his lineage, he tended to rule by fear.
A legacy his depraved father had instilled in him.
The cottage appeared through the trees, smoke billowing from the hearth within. He tapped on the door, expectant of the kind face that would appear.
The sight of her nearly stopped his heart.
Carmella had been his first love. Years of gathering taxes with his father, King Amundar, had placed him in Carmella’s path time and again from the age of eleven. Year after year.
Over time, they had fallen in love, much to his father’s outrage.
One summer, they had arrived at the village in time to see Carmella’s wedding. His father’s design. Typically, they would not have been in the vicinity so early in the summer. His father had arranged the marriage and purposely made sure Meshia was there to witness it.
It was the kindest of cruelties his father had ever exacted upon him.
The last time Meshia had seen Carmella, she had been married with two young children. Now she was a widow. Her husband had given his life in the war on Kronos.
“Carmella …,” he whispered.
She bowed. “Your Majesty.” Stepping back to allow access, Carmella squeezed against the wall of the small cottage. “What brings you to my doorstep?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve been to Sibas. Six years. I couldn’t find myself here without coming to see you.” Meshia looked around the one-room cottage. There were gaps in the walls letting the night air in and broken windows with ripped pieces of cloth guarding against the wind. He scuffed his feet. The floor was dirt, and mud was seeping in along the edges. To either side of him were sleeping platforms, broken and heaving, thin, torn blankets covering moldy nests of hay.
Meshia scowled.
“Have you not been getting your widow’s pension?” This beautiful, caring woman should not be living like this. If he’d had his way, he would have married her in his youth and brought her back to the castle. Treated her like the queen she would have become. But it wasn’t to be.
But this instead? The pension he had set up for widows should have afforded her more comfort than she was currently enduring.
Carmella sat on the edge of one of the sleeping platforms. “A portion of it. The mayor takes most of it as an administration fee.”
She reached for Meshia. “Sit with me.”
“Carmella, that’s not right.” Meshia raised his hand. “Wait.” He reached back and opened the door. As expected, Krunk was standing guard outside. He gave Krunk a brief accounting of what had been happening with the widow’s pension fund. That the mayor had been wiping it out with a fee.
Krunk simply nodded and headed off in the direction of the village square.
Carmella furrowed her brow. “Is he …?”
“He’ll deliver a message for me, that’s all.” Meshia sat beside her and reached for her hand. “Where are your children?”
“They are with my mother tonight.”
“Are they well?”
“Almost fully grown now. Candalee will be fourteen next spring. Arum eleven.”
Meshia simply nodded.
Carmella squeezed Meshia’s hand. “Why now? Why are you here?”
“I wanted to offer my condolences for the loss of your husband. I’m sorry it has taken me so long to find my way to Sibas to do so.”
Carmella dipped her head. “Thank you. It was a great loss. I had come to love Keb. Even though your father arranged the marriage, he chose well. I am certain it was not on purpose, but Keb was a gentle, loving man. Poor as we were, we were happy.”
“I’m glad of that, at least.”
“And you?” Carmella straightened up and smiled. “Your marriage. Is it as wondrous as one would imagine it to be? Surely having a queen such as Lakeda has brought you great joy.”
Meshia stared down at the ground. “You would think, but it is a marriage of convenience—political, truly. I was forced to choose. I chose Lakeda. She was best suited to the task.”
Carmella brushed her hand across Meshia’s. “Surely, you’ve formed a connection between the two of you. A bond of sorts. Something.”
“I respect her.” Meshia rubbed his thumb across Carmella’s wrist. “I respect her ability to rule and her agility and courage on the battlefield.”
“Ah ….” Carmella sighed. “Is there someone else in your life?”
Meshia rotated his head, attempting to relax his shoulders. Even thinking about Sebastian brought on a great deal of stress. “Perhaps, but they are unattainable.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. I can’t bear to think you’re unhappy.”
“I’m content.” He released Carmella’s hand and patted her leg. “I have other matters that are of more imminent importance than my personal life.” Meshia rose to his feet. “It has been wonderful seeing you.” He bent and kissed her cheek. “I won’t stay away as long, I promise. And the problem with your pension will be solved shortly.”
Carmella opened the door and gripped Meshia’s arm as he was about to step through the doorway. “Perhaps the unattainable will become attainable.”
Meshia touched Carmella’s cheek, brushing his fingers along her jaw. “Perhaps.”
The walk back was peaceful; the trees’ stillness was only interrupted occasionally by the wind. He loved Mycea. Every heavily wooded mountain peak and valley, from ocean to ocean, of the temperate rainforest he called home. Seeing Carmella had soothed him somewhat. She had always had a calming effect on him. She would have made him happy.
He decided to enjoy the quiet for a while, heading into the trees along a path that led to more houses. He found a stump to sit on and just pondered life for well over an hour. It had certainly come with some twists and turns.
Sebastian being one of them.
Just let it go.
Meshia dismissed the thoughts rampaging through his mind and made a start toward the inn. The path back was serene; the scent of damp cedar invigorated him.
He took the steps two at a time, feeling somewhat lighter. The pub in the inn was unexpectedly quiet. Only a few of Sebastian’s men were still perched around the table, tankards of ale in hand, barely keeping their heads above the wooden table planks. The stairs to the inn’s rooms were to the rear of the space. Meshia made his way to them, stepping over a few of Sebastian’s troops who had not quite made it up the stairs before passing out.
He would be sharing accommodation tonight with Sebastian and two others. Krunk, who was likely not back yet, and one other. Meshia pushed open the door and ducked inside. Sebastian was still entertaining the two guests he had invited up to their room in his absence.
Meshia sat on the edge of his bed and began unlacing his boots. It was far from the first time he had been in the same space as Sebastian when he had been rutting. There was no other word for it. The emotion and tenderness Sebastian had exhibited when they were together were not there with any of these conquests he picked up along the way.
It was pure animalistic Cardinian nature at its fullest. Sebastian’s ability to fuck his way through a population was regrettably impressive.
He slipped one boot off and looked up. The firelight was reflecting warmly off the smooth surface of Sebastian’s chest and down his chiseled abs. He became mesmerized by the fluid movement of Sebastian’s seemingly perfect body.
His gaze traced the enticing curve of Sebastian’s muscular thigh as Sebastian mounted one of the women. It sent a crushing pain through his chest as he watched them together. When Sebastian looked over at him, Meshia was overcome by a deep sense of longing and shame.
Flustered, he looked away and began working on his other boot. Throwing his second boot under the bed, he stripped back the blankets. He climbed in, pinching his eyes closed, and attempted to block out the sound of Sebastian’s escalating arousal and his ultimate release.
The initial sound didn’t last. Hushed whispers drifted across the room instead. Rustling petticoats. Shoes. The door of the room creaked open, then clicked shut. Silence followed.
“You didn’t have to do that for me,” Meshia ventured.
They were alone in the room. Their fourth was probably one of the men passed out on the table downstairs. Sebastian padded across the floor toward him, a sheet wrapped around his waist, bits dragging, bunching, barely held in place by Sebastian’s fist.
He squatted beside Meshia’s bed.
“You know I did.” His free hand hovered above Meshia’s cheek. After a moment of hesitation, he brushed his knuckle across it. “I’ll never forget.”
After Sebastian went back to his own bed, Meshia lay awake, replaying the feel of Sebastian’s skin against his. The soft touch of his knuckle on his cheek. The emotion that had accompanied that touch. The intention … the promise.
Sleep was impossible after that.
The story continues … soon …
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Great chapter, Gavin. More background story to see how these 2 men had their lives planned and then in just 1 night, turned it into something they knew was unattainable. Will something happen in the night? Will love allow Meshia happiness for 1 night?
Looking forward to chapter 3.