The Brotherhood: Awakening Book II - 6. Chapter 6

The Brotherhood: Awakening

Chapter VI

By X

 

 

Try as I might, I could not look away. The feather held me in its trance like a hypnotist swinging his pocket watch. Time seemed to stop, or maybe it just ground to a slow, steady tick. Just like time had done for this whole crazy fucking day.

Yes, one day!

I joined my Skai brothers less than twenty-four hours ago, yet it felt like I’d run a week-long marathon beside them. At this frantic pace, they might be wheeling me into a retirement home by the end of the month! It’s the reason I wanted to return to my routine so badly. I needed an injection of normal back in my life.

But who am I kidding? Returning to KU would be anything but normal. I could be blasted to kingdom come by the first Nave to recognize me. And he’d be well within his rights. I’m Skai, and I’m walking straight into his territory.

Perhaps I’m a foolish Skai.

Yet as I stared into the light of Q’s feather, something told me everything would be fine. I’m not blind to the fact that it sounds like wishful thinking.

The light dulled suddenly, and as I reached for the feather, it disappeared completely. I was stunned for a moment, and if I’m being honest, immediately sad. But hearing the doorknob to my room turn explained its abrupt departure.

I figured Sunny was ready to say his peace. Instead, Zac strolled into my room without looking up from the tablet he was holding. He was barefoot and bare-chested. He wore only pajama pants to cover his lower body and a pendant to adorn his chest. With a pillow tucked under his arm and a blanket swung over his shoulder, Zac looked ready for bed.

I glanced at the alarm clock, not expecting it to read five past ten already, but the blue digits stared me in the face. Damn, how long had Q’s feather captured my gaze?

“Hey,” Zac said, finally looking up from his tablet. He pushed his glasses back and offered the warmest smile imaginable before making himself comfy on the spare bed.

I watched him settle in before finally offering a perplexed, “Hi….”

“Hi,” he said, looking at me with the same boyish smile before returning to his tablet.

He was tapping away on the thing as I looked around, waiting for something more to happen. I even looked over the side of my bed for some reason. Maybe I was hoping to find a note on the floor explaining why Zac was suddenly chilling in my room.

“Can….I….help you with something?” I asked, slowly shaking my head.

“No, I’m good,” he replied without breaking away from his tablet.

Confused, I looked at the door and then back at Zac again. It felt like I was missing a piece of a puzzle I didn’t realize I was putting together.

“Zac, are you okay? Do you need something?”

He laid the tablet on the bed and leaned toward me with genuine concern on his face as if I was an idiot for asking such a question. “No, everything is fine. Why? Are you okay?”

“Zac, I’m fine,” I said. “Look, I don’t mean to sound like a douche, but what are you doing in my room? Don’t you share a room with Sunny?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “You had a big day, and I thought you might not want to be alone.”

What a freaking sweetheart! This kid, who didn’t know me from a hole in the wall, took it upon himself to ensure I was okay and not alone. Are you kidding me?

“But if I’m bothering….”

“Not at all!” I interrupted, not wanting him to feel bad after making such a kind gesture to me. “You’re more than welcome to stay, as long as you’re being honest. Are you okay?”

He nodded and remained silent for a moment. “I’m not going to lie; that thing in the showers was kind of scary, though.”

“I’m sure.” I instantly felt terrible even though I was the victim. Nevertheless, Zac should never have witnessed such brutality from people he considered brothers. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“It’s not your fault,” he smiled.

“I bet our brothers don’t usually go after each other like that.”

“Never,” Zac said, his voice trembling for a moment. “I mean, sure, I witnessed heated arguments and heard some not-so-nice-things said. I even saw a table flipped over once, but nothing like this. I’ve never seen Skai lash out at Skai like that.”

“Yeah….I’m sorry, bud.” I didn’t know what else I could do or say to make it better for him, so I decided to change the subject after an awkward silence. “How do you like your time at The Club?”

“It’s been awesome!” Zac paused to think it over as if he might retract his jubilant statement. “And annoying at the same time.”

“In what way?”

“Well, the guys are great, but I have hundreds of big brothers looking over me constantly. I can’t get away with anything around here.”

I burst out laughing. “That only shows how much these guys care about you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he rolled his eyes. “They don’t need to care 24/7, is all I’m saying.”

“I hear you,” I said. “Growing up, I had this one overprotective cousin who tried to shield me from everything bad in the world. I love him to pieces, but sometimes I wanted to kick him down the stairs so I could have a moment to myself.”

“Really?” He sounded surprised. “What did he want to protect you from in Asevaya?”

“I didn’t grow up in Asevaya.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right,” he mused. “So, the thing about you living with the Nave is also true?”

I looked at him without answering.

“Sorry,” Zac said sheepishly. “Kaylec kind of went around telling the guys your story and claiming you were a Naverian spy.” He snapped his head in my direction. “For the record, I never believed you were a spy.”

“Thanks,” l snickered.

A comfortable silence fell between us. I sat back and stared at the ceiling while Zac returned to his tablet. I wondered if Sunny was in his room and concluded that he probably wasn’t. While Zac claimed to be here for my sake, in reality, he was afraid to be alone after the incident in the showers. I was happy I could be here for him.

“Can I ask you something?” he inquired.

“Shoot.”

Rolling onto his side, Zac rested his head in the palm of his hand but didn’t say anything. He kept looking at me, obviously unsure if he should ask his question or not.

I turned over on my bed to mimic his posture and looked into his eyes. “You can ask me anything you want, bud. It’s okay.”

“I’m just curious what it was like,” he said.

“What?” I asked and waited for him to give me more to go on.

“What was it like to be with the Nave?” He looked away abruptly. “How did they act?”

I smiled.

“Well, that’s easy,” I said simply, and he suddenly locked eyes with me again. “They’re not that different from the brothers we have here.”

“Really?”

I laughed because he couldn’t have sounded more disappointed.

“Yes, really,” I insisted. “What were you expecting me to say?”

“I don’t know,” Zac shrugged. “Something more grandiose than they’re basically the same.”

“Grandiose?” I teased. “Really?”

“It’s a word!”

I lost it, and while laughing my ass off at his reaction, Zac furiously started typing on his tablet.

“See?” Holding up his tablet, he pointed at the word “grandiose,” which was zoomed in on the screen. “It’s a real word.”

“I know it’s a word, Zac; I was just messing with you.”

“Oh….” Dropping the tablet on the bed, he returned to his original position. “You were saying about the Nave?”

“There’s not much else to say, really. They care about each other, look out for one another, and love each other like family. I’m sure if I were to ask you the same question, you’d say the same thing about the Skai, right?”

“Well, yeah….”

“That’s it then.” I shrugged. “There’s nothing ‘grandiose’ about them.”

He rolled his eyes at my teasing him again.

“There has to be something more to them than that,” Zac insisted.

I fell back onto the bed. “I don’t know what else to tell you, kid, but that’s the truth. Why does there have to be something more? Why can’t it be that simple?”

“Because!” he exclaimed. “They’re the freaking Nave!”

“Okay! They’re the freaking Nave! What of it?” I sat up again to look at Zac. “What does that mean to you? You seem to have an idea of them in your head, and you want me to validate it. What were you told about them? They’re this evil group of guys that eat small children, or even worse, puppies? Is that what’s going through your head?”

“No, nothing like that,” Zac insisted with a dismissive wave of his hand. “The Skai warn our human brothers about them, but they usually refer to them with respect as great warriors. They warn us not to engage the Nave - no matter what - because we’ll remain safe if we don’t take up arms against them. I don’t know if I believe it, though.”

“And why is that?” I smiled.

“Really?” he said, cocking his head sarcastically. “If I get caught in the middle of a Nave attack on my brothers, they’d leave me alone as long as I don’t pick up a weapon?”

I wasn’t sure I agreed with his scenario, but I also wasn’t surprised that the Nave would be the aggressor in his mind. I wondered if he was taught that or if his natural biases were showing.

“Let me ask you this, Zac,” I said. “We, as Skai, are bound by the same rules as the Nave regarding human brothers. What would the Skai do if they came across a human member of The Brotherhood during a fight?”

“They’d leave him alone, obviously,” Zac answered quickly and without hesitation.

“Obviously,” I mimicked, then paused, waiting for him to put it together. He didn’t.

“What?”

“Why is it obvious for the Skai but not the Nave?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “My brothers are honorable; if they agreed not to attack, they’d keep their word.”

“So….the Skai are honorable, but the Nave are not?”

“I don’t know,” he replied as he threw his hand up. “I don’t know anything about them, which is why I asked you, but you’re not giving me anything to go on.”

“Fair enough,” I conceded. “Look, I’m not here to change your mind one way or the other. All I can say is that the Nave are a great group of guys…honorable guys…who look out for their own like family.”

“You sound like you miss them.” I wasn’t sure if that was merely a statement or an accusation, but he continued when I chose not to answer. “You’ve awakened, and you’re Skai. Shouldn’t you hate their guts?”

“I am Skai,” I said proudly but then fell silent for a moment. “The Nave were in my life, not twenty-four hours ago. I can’t just flip on the hate switch. It’s not that simple.”

“But it is, isn’t it?” Zac countered; his voice was cautious as if trying to avoid a landmine. “From everything I know, it’s built into your very being. Hell, it’s the reason for your existence, isn’t it?”

I didn’t have an answer for him. Not a real one, anyway.

“Maybe I’m broken,” I finally said. After another lengthy pause, I decided to challenge Zac’s thinking. “What about you? Do you hate them, Zac?”

“You know I’m not Skai yet, right?”

“I know that,” I snickered. “But I’m asking plain old human Zac if he hates the Nave.”

He looked at me for a while before he started to speak. “I do….” Zac trailed off as he turned to look at the door. I followed his gaze and looked at the door with him before he finally turned his attention back to me. “I don’t want to hate them.”

“Really?” I raised my brow curiously.

He nodded. “Honestly,” again, he looked at the door before he continued, “I would love to get to know a Nave.”

“Really?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“Yes!” he assured me. “Why wouldn’t I? I learned a lot about the Skai. Their history, culture, everyday life, and all that good stuff. To get a different perspective from another culture that lived millions of years ago? During the Mesozoic Era? Are you kidding me?”

I smirked.

“What’s that for?”

“What fifteen-year-old uses words like ‘Mesozoic Era’ or ‘grandiose’?”

“Are you ever going to let that go?”

I shook my head defiantly.

“I love dinosaurs!” Zac exclaimed. “Thanks to my brothers, I saw them with my own eyes.”

I was about to ask him how in the world they managed that, but then I remembered how Q was able to share a memory from his past with me. His recreation felt so real that I almost believed I was standing in the Nave nursery. I’m sure they did the same for Zac, and the thought of his face lighting up at the sight of his first Sauropod brought a giant smile to my face.

“Anyway, that’s why I would love to meet a Nave. To hear his stories and to learn about life in….” He cocked his head, trying to think of the name that instantly came to me.

“Aquaiia?”

“Yes, Aquaiia!” Snapping his fingers, Zac pointed at me. “I’ve walked the streets of Asevaya, and it was beautiful. I can only imagine what a floating city in the sky would look like.” Falling back onto the pillows, he placed both hands behind his head. “If you really are broken, then I wish both sides had more broken brothers.”

“Why is that?” I inquired.

“Because this whole war between the two sides is fucking stupid!”

“Hey, language!” I admonished. I admit I was surprised by my ‘big brother’ response, but I was beginning to understand why so many of my fellow brothers were overprotective of Zac. He was special.

“Sorry,” he apologized sheepishly. “But I don’t think I’m wrong. Imagine all the good they could do if both sides put aside their differences and worked together. The power between them would be crazy! War gone.” He snapped his fingers and did it again to emphasize every point.

“Poverty gone.” Snap. “Crime gone.” Snap. “Equality for everyone!” Snap.

I loved his youthful enthusiasm.

“It’s a lovely thought, Zac, but like most things in life, it’s not that simple. You said it yourself, the division between us was built into our genetic makeup from the moment the Gods created us. The hatred and desire to destroy each other are literally in our DNA. I wish it weren’t.”

“Well, they need to get over it!”

Again, I laughed, then said, “Maybe one day, if both sides get more brothers like you, there’s a chance for lasting peace.”

Listening to Zac ignited the spark of hope within me. Sure, he’s just a single human kid, but at the end of the day, in many cases, it only takes one to bring about change. I wondered if he knew either side's vastly different plans for Eiyr. I was tempted to ask him what he thought about it but decided against it. I didn’t want to put it in his head if he wasn't aware. He was, after all, still a kid.

“Can I ask, how did you come to find out about the Skai? I heard the brothers took you in after you kept escaping from the authorities to come back here. But did they flat-out tell you what they were? How did you react?”

A giggle followed Zac’s smile. “Well, I tend to get myself into places I shouldn’t be most of the time.”

“That’s a lot of words to say that you’re nosy.”

“I like to think of myself as having a curious mind.”

“Uh huh….”

“Anyway,” he rolled his eyes, “when Raz decided I could stay, they gave me a bedroom downstairs with the rest of the normies and specifically said I wasn’t allowed upstairs with the older guys. That was a mistake.”

“Obviously,” I said sarcastically.

“I mean, seriously. If you dangle delicious forbidden fruit in front of a guy, then say he can’t have it? He’s going to sneak a bite. They should have known better.”

“Totally. What in the world were they thinking?”

“I know, right?” he agreed, oblivious to my mocking tone. “So, one day, I happened to be by one of the doors that could get me up here, but as you might already know, the doors have a keypad that requires a six-digit code and everyone sets their own passcode.”

I nodded.

“Well, they failed to give me a code.”

“Shocking….”

“Tell me about it. But then I started thinking, it’s a six-digit code. Could it really be that easy?”

“Oh my god,” I laughed and slapped the mattress. “Let me guess. You punched in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and it worked?”

“Bingo!” he snickered. “I honestly didn’t think it would work, but the door opened. On a side note, I heard Razual was pissed when he learned how I got in because more than one knucklehead had that password. He wasn’t mad at me, though, because as he put it, they basically left the door open for me.”

I laughed.

“Anyhoo, I came upstairs and saw a bunch of hot, half-naked guys walking around. It was like heaven for a gay boy like me. Why would anyone want to keep this from me? I was annoyed for a hot second, but all the muscles walking around got me feeling pretty good pretty fast.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the kid and his hormones.

“Then I saw some guys who looked a little different, with dark gray skin, white hair, and long black nails. One dude came around the corner with these big beautiful black wings, and I didn’t see any straps on him, so that was…uh…interesting.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “ No one tried to stop you?”

“No! They figured I must've known their secret if I had permission to be up here. How could a fourteen-year-old crack such an impenetrable password, right?”

He had a point. “So you’re in and seeing winged Skai for the first time. Did you freak out?”

“Freak out?” he shook his head. “I thought it was the coolest thing ever, and at the same time, I was pissed again.”

“Pissed? Why pissed?”

“Stupid me, I thought the guys were doing cosplay and leaving me out of the fun. I love cosplay!”

“Cosplay?” The boy had me in stitches. I fell back into my pillows, crying with laughter. “Are you serious?”

“Yes!” he blushed but laughed along with me. “And I was so determined to figure out how that dude kept his wings on that I started following him around!”

“Oh my god!”

“What was I supposed to think? That I was in the presence of demigods? I don’t think so.”

I can’t with you!” I could barely respond; I was laughing so hard.

“I’m serious!”

I paused to wipe the tears from my eyes and catch my breath. “God, I love this story. How did it all come to a head?”

“Well, Sunny walked out of a room and saw me.”

I twisted back on my side to face Zac. “Oh god. I could only imagine the look on his face.”

“I know! The color drained from his face, and he just froze in disbelief. I have no idea what was running thru his head, but panic filled his eyes. Eventually, he said, ‘You’re not supposed to be up here, Zac.’ And with those words, the room went dead silent, and every brother turned to look at me. Then, to make matters worse, the brothers walking around in all their Skai glory reverted to human form right before my eyes, as if I would believe the whole thing was a hallucination. No Sir! I’m not crazy. The cat was out of the bag at that point.”

“That is crazy,” I said. “I’m surprised they didn’t make you think it was a dream or something. They can do that. Believe me, I know from personal experience.”

“Yeah, I know, and from what I heard, Razual was leaning in that direction, but Sunny fought to let me in on The Club’s not-so-little secret. So here I am. I moved upstairs and became Sunny’s roomie.”

“Okay, so back to my original question. Did you freak out when they told you the truth?”

“No way! I still thought it was the coolest thing ever and way better than cosplay!”

I laughed, thinking back to how I ran from Q in fear when I saw him hurl a vending machine across the room like a paper cup. I know there’s something to be said for being young and dumb, but I was never as fearless as Zac at his age.

Zac opened his mouth to ask me something but was interrupted by a knock at the door. We looked at each other as if the “knocking sound” was alien to us before returning our attention to the door. There was another knock. I don’t know why I hesitated, but it wasn’t until the third knock that I decided to let them in.

“Come in.”

For the record, the invitation didn’t come from me. I glared at Zac, silently emphasizing that this was my room.

“What?” he asked innocently.

Again, I was expecting Sunny, so color me surprised when Liam and Elijah walked into my room. Not only that, but they were only wearing red and pink trunks, respectively. I don’t know when or if I’ll stop being surprised at the handsomeness of my fellow brothers. Liam and Elijah were no exception. Their bodies were perfectly sculpted as if formed in marble by the lustful hands of an artist, who later made a pact with the devil to bring them to life. I already knew they were tall, Elijah beating out Liam by a couple of inches, but laying down on my bed made them appear like giants.

“Hey,” Elijah said shyly with a little wave.

“Hi.” Liam mirrored Elijah perfectly with his mannerisms.

And off to the side, I could hear Zac giggling to himself.

Considering their substantial power, it was cute seeing them act so nervous. Liam even elbowed Elijah in the ribs to get him to move closer. They stopped between the two beds and stared at me. I wasn’t sure why they were acting so coy. From my vantage point, I was getting a perfect look at full bulges and dick prints, so I decided to get up and sit cross-legged on the bed.

“What’s up?” I finally asked.

For the second time, Liam elbowed Elijah, but this time with enough force that he stumbled forward.

Clearing his throat, Elijah swatted at Liam to leave him be, then glared at Zac for giggling at their sideshow. Zac made his face go deadpan and picked up his tablet.

“Sorry if we’re bothering you, Akuzio,” Elijah said.

“He prefers Jacob,” Zac interrupted, not bothering to look up from his tablet.

“Right. Jacob, sorry.”

“It’s fine, guys. What can I do for you?”

“We….” Elijah paused to look at Liam. “We….uh…”

Rolling his eyes, Liam stepped beside Elijah and elbowed him out of the way. “What my mute boyfriend here is trying to say is, we came to apologize.”

“Apologize?” I questioned.

“Yes,” Elijah said, giving Liam a look. “We want to apologize for earlier today.”

“Okay….” I was confused as hell. I looked at them and then swirled my finger between us. “Didn’t we already do this? I mean, unless I’m losing my mind, which is a real possibility, didn’t you guys already apologize in Razual’s office?”

Zac giggled again but kept his eyes on the tablet, skillfully avoiding another admonishing look from Elijah.

“Yeah,” Liam continued, “but we wanted to express how truly sorry we were face-to-face. Our apology was genuine, Jacob. We didn’t just apologize because Raz was there. We were wrong, and we need you to know that we get that.”

“We are truly sorry,” Elijah added.

While tapping away at the screen, Zac said, “Eolaeis really chewed you guys out, huh?”

“Yes,” Liam sighed and turned to look at Zac briefly.

“But that’s not why we’re here!” Elijah maintained. “We planned to talk to you one-on-one when we left the office. Eolaeis just caught us before we got the chance.”

“Guys, it’s fine, really,” I smiled. “I already accepted your apology, so there’s no need to apologize again. We are good.” It was sweet that they were willing to go the extra mile over an issue I considered resolved.

After shaking my hand, they looked at each other, smiled, and sighed in relief. Then we all just stared at each other until it got awkward. Did they expect me to say something more? I couldn’t exactly offer them tea. Were they waiting for an invitation to stay and chill? I had no idea what I was supposed to do or what they expected of me.

“Okay,” Elijah said, looking at Liam for guidance, “I guess we’ll let you get back to what you were doing.”

“Yeah, I suppose that’d be best,” Liam added.

But they didn’t move. At least not at that first. They just stood there, making it even more awkward for me. Zac giggling in the background wasn’t helping the situation.

“Okay, I guess we’ll see you around,” Elijah said, interlocking his hand with Liam’s as he led him away.

As much as I enjoyed watching their sexy asses walk away, I stopped them.

“Hey, you guys can hang out if you want. I’ve got nothing going on, and Zac already made himself at home, so two more wouldn’t hurt.”

“Are you sure?” Elijah asked, unable to hide the joy in his voice.

“Why would he ask us to stay if he wasn’t sure?” Liam questioned, jabbing him in the ribs again.

“Pull up a chair,” I offered, gesturing to the desks in the room.

“Thanks, but we’re good.”

A black mist poured out from Elijah’s fingertips and swirled around to form a dark cloud-looking thing low to the floor. Elijah sat in it, pulled Liam down between his legs, and wrapped his arms around his waist. It was as if they were seated on a pile of black cotton candy. The “chair” shifted and adjusted to their every move. It looked comfortable as fuck, and now I wanted one.

They settled in, and we all smiled, but no one said anything. They seemed like nice guys, and of course, we were brothers, but I didn’t know them and hated starting conversations with total strangers. I could already hear Sunny saying something like, this wouldn’t be an issue if you’d linked because you’d already know them. He’d be correct, and I’d be annoyed.

The prolonged silence caused Zac to look up. He glanced at Liam and Elijah, then at me. “This is better….”

“So, you’re a couple?” I quickly interjected.

They nodded.

“That’s cool,” I said, trying to break the ice. “I know you guys got your wings recently, so you were human at one point. How did you meet?”

“How did we meet?” Liam repeated slowly. He looked at Elijah, and then they both looked at Zac before turning their attention back to me. “We….”

“We met at a frat party,” Elijah jumped in.

“You met at some rich guy’s house for a threesome while working as escorts.”

Their heads immediately snapped in Zac’s direction.

“I’m fifteen, not an idiot,” he proclaimed, never looking away from his tablet. “Plus, I hear things.”

“Hey, if that’s true, no judgment here,” I assured them with a smile.

“I wasn’t afraid of judgment, Jacob, I was trying to protect the little runt’s innocence,” Elijah said.

“Innocence?” Zac scoffed. “I’ve done things that would make both of you blush.”

The childlike giggle that followed made his words even more devastating. My heart broke for him. I didn’t know his whole story, but from the little Sunny told me, it was beyond cruel. How could this world put this sweet kid thru such horror? I wasn’t alone in my heartbreak. I could see it on Liam and Elijah’s faces as well. They looked at Zac as he played on his tablet; the sadness in their eyes spoke more than any words they could muster.

“So….” I was trying to think of anything to bring the room back up. The last thing I wanted was for Zac to feel uncomfortable. “A threesome, was it?” I blurted it out with little thought. “How did that come about?”

They looked at each, trying to decide who would take the lead. I guess Elijah was nominated during their silent exchange because he went first.

“I had a client,” he began, “a very wealthy client. He was one of those hedge fund manager types. Pretty sure he was the CEO of his own company or something, and he was loaded. Once a month or so, he would hit me up for my services, and we’d meet at his mansion, have cocktails, and do whatever.”

I understood what he meant by ‘whatever.’

“He paid my top rate and always added a generous bonus.”

“Work….” Zac added from the peanut gallery.

“You guys have rates?” I felt like an idiot for asking the question, but I was curious. “Sorry, I’m not familiar with how escorting works.”

“It’s cool,” Liam laughed. “As an escort, you can charge anywhere from $500 to $1500 depending on how many hours the client books. Double that if they want you to stay the night or quadruple if they want you for the weekend.”

“Damn!”

“I know,” Liam said shyly.

“Well, this one night, he hits me up,” Elijah continued. “I showed up at his place like normal, and just as I was about to ring the doorbell, this guy walked up.” He playfully swatted Liam on the head. “We looked at each other, both confused as fuck because we knew we were there for the same reason. After doing this for a while, you can tell who’s in the business just by eyeing them up.”

Liam laughed. “We pulled out our phones to see if we got the wrong date.”

Elijah snickered. “I had just asked Liam what he was doing there when my client opened the door with a shit-eating grin on his face.”

“Our client, apparently,” Liam added.

“Exactly. He simply and very unapologetically explained that he wanted a threesome. I had never done a threesome, as an escort or otherwise, and I thought it was pretty shitty of him to set us up like that without asking first.” He grabbed Liam by the chin and gently shook his head. “This guy threw his hands up and was like, I’m out of here, and started walking away. That is until the client offered us 6k a piece for a few hours of ‘fun,’ as he put it.”

“Make that coin!” Zac added.

He was ignored.

“I mean,” Liam shrugged, “6k is 6k.”

“Preach!”

“Zac, cut it out,” I laughed.

“What? I’m on their side and rooting for this timeless romance.”

“Shut up!” They said in unison but with brotherly love.

Zac let out his signature giggle and went back to his tablet.

“So, that made you okay with the threesome?” I asked Liam.

“I mean, I wasn’t expecting it, but I wasn’t going to turn down that kind of money.”

“Have you been in a threesome before?” I threw my hands up reflexively. “If I’m getting too personal or crossing a line, just tell me to shut up.”

They laughed.

“It’s cool,” Liam assured me. “Yeah, I’d been in a threesome before, so it wasn’t new territory for me, unlike….” Trailing off, he jerked his head slightly in Elijah’s direction.

“Wait, you were? How come you never told me that before?”

“Not the time, babe.”

Zac laughed, and I smirked.

“Anyway,” Elijah continued, but with a hint of annoyance, “we went in, consumed the normal cocktails, had some recreational substances to get things going, and did whatever. We had a good time and made a shit ton of money. When it was over, I walked Liam to his car and ended up eating hamburgers at an all-night café.”

“We mainly talked about the work and shared some crazy stories,” Liam said as he absently caressed Elijah’s hand. “We kept in touch, especially since this client continued booking us together. Like, he would reach out to me to set up a time, and out of curiosity, I’d text Lijah to see if he happened to contact him as well.”

“He always did,” Elijah added.

“Yeah, I don’t know if he thought he was being slick, but obviously, we were on to him,” Liam said. “It was whatever, and the money was good. After every session, we got to know each better.”

“And then you guys started dating?” I asked.

“No, we stayed friends at the time,” Elijah said. “The thought of being in a relationship with another escort wasn’t on our radar.”

“Makes sense, I guess,” I nodded.

“It wasn’t until we came here a couple of years ago that we became a couple,” Elijah said.

“How did you end up in that line of work?”

They looked at each other again. This time Liam took the lead.

“Growing up, I jumped from one foster family to another, often leaving one bad situation only to find myself in something worse. A few days before my seventeenth birthday, I decided I’d had enough and took off. I crashed at a few friends’ houses for a while until I got a job at a strip club. I made okay money, but some of the other guys were making a killing with their side hustle. So, I was like, fuck it, and started escorting.”

Liam looked at Elijah as if passing the baton.

“I come from a well-to-do family,” Elijah began.

“They’re fucking loaded,” Liam corrected.

“Whatever,” Elijah rolled his eyes. “My father is a control freak, and his mission in life was to mold me into his clone. For years, I went along with it because what else was I supposed to do? But it was suffocating.”

“That sucks,” I said.

“It is what it is,” he shrugged, and I noticed Liam squeezed his hand. “He used his connections to get me into Yale. About a week before school started, I told my father I wasn’t going and was done being his puppet.”

“He went off on Lijah, as you can imagine,” Liam said.

“I bet,” I nodded, offering Elijah a sympathetic smile.

“I’m not going to get into all the details, but ultimately, my father kicked me out and cut me off completely. He wouldn’t let me take my car and shut off all my credit cards. He even called my friend’s parents to ensure they wouldn’t let me stay at their place.”

“That seems excessive,” I said.

“You don’t know my father,” Elijah said.

In a loving gesture, Liam kissed the back of his hand. I barely knew these guys, but I can honestly say I was happy they managed to find each other in the chaos that was their lives. In that same breath, I can say I envied what they had.

I had it. I missed it. And I wanted it back.

“Luckily, I had a couple of friends he didn’t know about, so I stayed with them for a few weeks. But to be fair to my father….”

“Do you have to, though?” Liam interrupted.

“To be fair to my father,” Elijah repeated, ignoring his boyfriend. “When he kicked me out, it was a scare tactic. He was sure that once he cut off my safety net, I would run home like a good little drone and obey his every order. I’m sure he thought, what does a spoiled rich kid know about surviving in the world? I never went back. I couldn’t. In the end, he gambled and lost.”

“He never attempted to reach out after you left?”

“Oh, he did. My phone started blowing up when he realized I wasn’t playing by his script. It went from angry messages and texts to outright begging me to pick up the phone. I haven’t.”

The room fell silent for a moment. I could tell Elijah was replaying those painful memories from his past. On the other hand, Liam seemed more at peace with the direction he decided to take, or maybe he was better at hiding it than his boyfriend. Either way, he seemed more concerned about Elijah at the moment.

“Well, are you going to tell us how you became an escort or what?” Zac asked, taking that tranquility and throwing it right out the window.

“I thought you already knew everything?” Elijah mocked.

“I hear things, not all things,” Zac said matter-of-factly.

“Okay, Great Mother,” Elijah laughed, and the two of us joined in.

Zac tried very hard to come off like he wasn’t also on the verge of busting out laughing.

“How does a rich kid end up escorting?” I asked.

“Some guy thought he was a whore,” Liam said simply.

“Babe! Seriously?”

“It’s true, though,” Liam proclaimed.

“Okay, now you have to tell me,” I insisted.

“I went to a party with a friend of mine. I didn’t know anyone there, but I did my best to mingle and not stick out too much. A guy started chatting me up, and the next thing you know, we went back to his place to hook up.”

“As one does,” Zac added.

I couldn’t even be mad at the kid. His timing and sarcastic tone were perfect.

“Anyway,” Elijah continued, a bit annoyed at Zac if I had to guess, “the following morning, I woke up to this fucker telling me he was going to jump in the shower and to let myself out.”

“The nerve….”

Even Liam couldn’t help himself from chuckling under his breath at Zac’s little digs.

“I started getting dressed, and on top of my phone was five hundred dollars in cash. The guy thought I was ‘working’ the party.” He paused for a moment. “He seriously thought I was a prostitute!” It was kind of ironic watching him be all offended, considering his future line of work. “That guy was a real piece of shit!”

“Or a fortune teller,” Zac giggled.

Liam and I laughed hysterically. Elijah flipped him off, but it was half-hearted, and he quickly joined us, filling the room with laughter. It was nice.

“So you decided to run with the idea?” I asked as everyone finally settled down.

“Yeah,” he admitted sheepishly. “It was easy money, and I was broke, so why not?”

“Hey, you did what you had to do,” I said. “I can respect that.”

“Tell him how you guys ended up here.” Zac jolted up excitedly, looked at me, and pointed toward Liam and Elijah. “This is the part I heard.”

“Well, that takes us back to the original client,” Elijah said.

“The one we both shared,” Liam added.

“Literally,” Zac said under his breath, then settled back in the bed with a devilish smile. He looked like a kid, eager to hear his favorite bedtime story, but mostly because he liked the explosive ending.

I just shook my head.

“He booked us for a dinner party at his place,” Elijah continued, again choosing to ignore the peanut gallery. “It was common for clients to book escorts for such events. They like to show off the eye candy hanging on their arm.”

“Yeah, it’s a total power move,” Liam clarified. “We arrived to find six guys there, including our client, with three more showing up a little later. It was fun, especially with free-flowing liquor and drugs to keep us going all night. Our client was his usual self, but he liked showing off by kissing and groping us in front of his friends. He got off on it, and since he was paying us a shit ton of money, we played along all night.”

“Eventually, the party moved to a different room,” Elijah picked up where Liam left off. “We were the last to enter, with our client following behind. We saw a couple of things that were concerning.”

“All of the guys were getting undressed for some reason,” Liam said.

“And there were two slings in the room,” Elijah continued. “We looked at each other with an, oh fuck, expression on our faces.”

Liam took over the tale. “We both just froze, and my mind went completely blank. I don’t think our client even noticed. He came up behind us, tapped Elijah on the back, and calmly said to get ready. I’ll never forget the huge grin on his face. It was wider and more devilish than I’d ever seen before. I didn't recognize him at all. Elijah asked him what he meant, and that’s when he informed us that we were the entertainment for the night.”

“I told him we never agreed to anything like this,” Elijah said. “To which he said, through that horrible perma-grin, he was paying a lot of money and ordered us not to embarrass him in front of his friends. He offered an extra 10k each to play nice and get naked, but we refused.”

“That’s when he got scary,” Liam said. “He grabbed both of us by the arm - hard - and pulled us aside to warn that if we didn’t entertain his friends, we wouldn’t be walking out on our own two feet. There was a maliciousness in his voice that was never there before. I remember my heart pounding so loud I couldn’t think over the sound.”

“He locked the door with a key and told us it was our choice as he walked past us,” Elijah said, and I noticed his cheeks had flushed. “Meaning, we didn’t have a choice. I told Liam not to be scared, and we just needed to get thru it.”

“My hands were trembling so bad Lijah had to help me unbuckle my pants.” Elijah kissed his man on the back of the head. “I know working as an escort comes with certain risks, but I never thought I would be put in a situation against my will. I was naïve and terrified.”

“Hey, guys, you don’t have to say another word,” I told them as I waved my hands in the air. “I get the picture of what happened; the details are unimportant.”

“Oh, but they are,” Zac assured me, “because here comes the best part. Tell him.”

“We’re getting there, Mr. Impatient,” Liam teased.

“Okay….” That piqued my interest, and I tossed them a side-eye.

“We were about ready to take off our pants when the door flew open suddenly,” Elijah said. “I nearly jumped out of my skin.”

“Yeah, me too!” Liam added.

“And who happens to walk in?”

Elijah paused and stared at me as if I had any clue who it was.

“Who?” I finally asked while shaking my head.

Elijah’s lips barely parted.

“Razual!” Zac chimed in and stole his thunder. “It was fucking Razual!”

The three of us snapped our heads in his direction and yelled, “Language!”

“Sorry!”

“But he’s right,” Liam said as he looked back at me. “It was Razual. He walked in all chill and smooth as he does and nodded in our direction. He told the group that we were leaving, and if they knew what was good for them, they wouldn’t get in our way.”

“Of course, they didn’t care,” Elijah said. “Our client walked up to Razual demanding to know who the fuck he was. Razual responded with a backhanded slap that knocked him on his ass.”

“And then he did the most epic thing ever,” Liam said. “He leaned forward a little, put his finger to his lips, and was like, shhhh.”

They laughed.

“So awesome!” Zac squealed.

“One of the guys, already in his underwear, lunged for his pants and pulled out a switchblade. He pointed it towards Raz.”

I snickered. “I can only guess it didn’t end well for him.”

“Nope,” Liam smiled. “Long story short, he kicked the ever-living shit out of four of them.”

“The other guys took their shit and ran out of there,” Elijah said with an even bigger smile. “When it was all said and done, Raz walked over, gave us his card, and said if we needed anything, to come to The Urbarra House. And here we are.”

“That’s some crazy superhero shit,” I said, running my hand through my hair in disbelief. “But wait, how did Raz know you were in trouble? Or even know you, for that matter?”

“Ah-ha!” Liam exclaimed. “That’s the most interesting part. It turns out we both had him as a client.”

“What?!” I was taken aback by that revelation.

“Not like that!” They said in unison, sticking out their hands as if trying to stop oncoming traffic.

“It’s not what you think,” Elijah threw his head back, laughing.

Zac leaned forward, eyes wide. I think this was a new ending to the story for him.

“Raz hired me on a couple of occasions and even paid me weekend rates to have dinner with him,” Elijah said. “We talked for hours. He just wanted to get to know me. He asked about my childhood, school, work, my dreams for the future, and all that jazz. Of course, working as an escort, you know better than to give out any real information about yourself. The problem was, it was Raz, so of course, he called bullshit on all my lies. I kept insisting I was being honest until he finally said if I couldn’t be truthful, he’ll find someone else. I didn’t want to lose out on all that money, so I let my walls down a little until I finally spilled my guts to him.”

Liam suddenly busted out laughing. “Tell him what happened later.”

“Oh god, no, it’s so embarrassing!” Elijah protested.

“Well, now you have to tell me,” I insisted.

He paused and shook his head but eventually gave in. “Raz took me back to his hotel room.”

“A penthouse suite, mind you,” Liam added.

“I entered, looked around the place in awe, and walked to the wall of windows over the city. When I turned around, Raz stood behind me with the most handsome smile. He told me to make myself at home.” Again, he paused. “Oh god,” he whispered, shaking his head.

“So, what does this dumbass do?” Liam egged the story on.

“I grabbed Raz’s belt with one hand and his junk with the other and went in for a kiss. He immediately grabbed my hands and gently pushed me away. He said he didn’t bring me there for that.”

“No way!” I said, mouth gaping.

“Yes,” Elijah let out a deep sigh. “At the time, it wasn’t a big deal. The guy didn’t want sex. Okay, fine. His loss, right? But now that I know who Raz is, I die a little every time I think about it. To this day, I still get embarrassed when I’m around him.”

The three of us laughed our asses off at his expense.

“So why did he bring you to the hotel?” I asked through my laughter.

“He was leaving town, and the penthouse was paid up for the week, so he told me I was welcome to stay there if I wanted. At first, I didn’t trust it, you know? But he left and never returned, so I got to stay in a luxury penthouse for a week for free.”

“That’s crazy!” I said.

“I’m such an idiot,” Elijah laughed at himself.

“My experience wasn’t as mortifying as Lijah’s was,” Liam said. “Raz came into the strip club where I worked and paid me a lot for a private dance. Unlike this guy,” he gestured toward Elijah, “I didn’t assume anything when we went to the back room. I usually let the customer lead the experience, and he just asked me to sit and talk to him. Like Lijah, he asked a lot of questions. And like Lijah, he called out all my bullshit lies until I started being honest. The second time I saw him, he booked me for a dinner date and took me to his hotel after dessert. I didn’t try to jump his bones, though.”

“Shut up!”

“So we came to The Club a couple of days after the incident with our client. We needed to know what this Razual guy was all about.”

“Yeah, I get it all too well,” I said. “The mystery of these guys sucks you in right away.”

“Hell yeah,” They said in unison just as the bedroom door opened.

“There you are!”

Everyone turned to face the door.

“Hey,” Zac waved.

“Hey, my ass!” Sunny said as he closed the door and walked in wearing only basketball shorts and no underwear. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Seriously?” Zac sat up on the bed and cocked his head. “You have the power of a God, and you couldn’t find me in The Club of all places?”

“That’s not the point, smartass.”

“Isn’t it, though?” Zac countered, scrunching his face sarcastically.

“Oh hey, it’s the two chuckleheads,” Sunny said and playfully slapped them both upside the head as he walked by to sit on the bed next to Zac. “What’s everyone doing in here?”

He had yet to look in my direction.

“We’re just hanging out,” Liam said.

“Actually, we came to apologize to Jacob,” Elijah elaborated.

“Yeah, I heard Eolaeis went off on you guys after our little meeting in Raz’s office.”

“That’s not why we came!” Liam protested. “And he didn’t go off on us, just so you know.”

“Is that right?” Sunny looked at the pair intensely. “What did he say then?”

“He said he was disappointed,” Elijah confessed.

“That’s a hundred times worse!” Sunny exclaimed as he fell back onto the bed.

Was he actually going to lay there and pretend he didn’t storm out of Raz’s office in a hissy fit? I took one of my pillows and chucked it at him. It hit him on the side of the face, and he took and placed it under his head.

“Thanks,” he said.

“Are we good?” I asked.

He finally looked at me with a cheesy smile on his face. “Of course, we’re good.”

“Really? Because I’m not the one who got all bucky and stormed off.”

Zac instantly sat up. “Wait, what happened?”

Placing his hand over Zac’s face, Sunny pushed him back down. “Nothing happened. I just needed a minute.”

“A minute for what?” Liam asked.

“To get my head around the idea that Jacob is heading back to KU tomorrow.”

All of them except Sunny looked at me and shouted, “Are you nuts?”

“That’s what I thought,” Sunny said, snatching Zac’s tablet from his hand. “But I’m at peace with it now. What are you looking at on here?”

“No, seriously, have you lost your mind?” Liam asked again.

That sneaky little bastard, I thought. Was this his plan? To lay there innocently while the others lectured me on the error of my ways?

“No, no, no,” I said while waving my hands. “We are not going to gang up on Jacob.”

“That’s fair,” Zac nodded thoughtfully. “There’s no telling how much those two will charge you for that.” He then laughed hysterically. “Okay, I’m done! That’s the last one, I promise!”

With a flash of his eyes, Elijah made Zac’s pillow float in the air and hit him in the face.

“We’re not trying to pile on you,” Liam assured me. “But KU? Come on!”

My eyes narrowed at Sunny.

“I know what you’re doing,” I said accusingly.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he insisted while playing on the tablet.

“Sure you don’t.” I rolled my eyes and looked at the couple sitting on the dark cloud. “Look….”

I gave them the same reasoning I gave Razual, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make them understand. I was frustrated but knew they were coming from a good place. If we reversed roles, I’d feel the same way. Eventually, I told them I’d made up my mind, and I got Razual’s permission, so going around like a merry-go-round wasn’t going to change anything.

They reluctantly dropped the subject, and we spent the next hour talking about random shit. I mainly laid back and listened to their conversation. It was nothing too deep. They retold funny stories about all the craziness they got into at The Club. Still, I felt like an outsider looking into a room where everyone knew each other longer. They had linked, giving them a deeper connection to each other. Except for Zac, of course, but he had lived with these guys for a year, so he knew them. To his credit, Sunny tried to pull me into the conversation at every opportunity, and I added my two cents whenever possible. Still, for the most part, I was a silent observer.

There was something on my mind I wanted to ask, something I desperately wanted to know, but I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate. Every time there was an opening, I’d start to open my mouth and then pull back again.

“What is it?” Sunny finally asked.

“What do you mean?” I played dumb, but he wasn’t buying it.

“You look like you have something on your mind,” Sunny said, “Or you need to go take a dump, and that’s not possible anymore, so what is it?”

I thought it over for a moment before taking the plunge.

“You guys have all linked with The Sanctum, right?”

They nodded, and Sunny threw in an “of course,” and I wondered if it was meant to be a dig at me. Maybe I was reading too much into it, to be fair.

“So, you guys have all their memories now?”

“For the most part,” Sunny said. “My memories are still unfolding, but these two should have a more complete picture. Why?”

“It’s….about Kaylec.”

“What about him?” Sunny took on a more serious tone, unsure of where this was going.

“He’s been coming at me because of his grudge against Q. That much is obvious. And I know it has something to do with him losing someone at the hands of Q, or so he says.”

“Amadeus,” Elijah said softly.

“Excuse me?” I said.

“The person he lost was Amadeus,” Liam answered.

Okay, so it wasn’t bullshit, I thought.

“I guess what I want to know is what happened between the three of them?”

Sunny, Elijah, and Liam looked at each other for a moment until Sunny finally made a small gesture with his head.

“Show him,” he said.

Liam looked at me and held out his open palm. At first, I thought he wanted me to take his hand and link. I was about to decline when Liam summoned a ball of fire to his hand. The flames danced in his and his lovers’ eyes as they looked into it, and then he tossed the flaming sphere to the ground. It splashed as if he threw a water balloon, but the flames did not burn. Instead, they began to shape into a perfect circle until only the outer ring remained ablaze. The center was now an image, a memory from the past that included a house.

“What you’re seeing is a Villa in Rome over two thousand years ago,” Liam said. “It’s where we found Kyrios.”

I gasped. “You what?!”