Chapter Three

I Want to Trust Him

~*~

 

 

The library had its own entrance around the far side of the building. It had mostly escaped damage except for its inner wall, closer to where the bomb had gone off. Everything on that side had suffered from fire, and then also from the water used to extinguish the fire.

The third floor housed the Alchemical works, mostly there for reference in a secular University, but many of them were quite old. Tamyn took some time to look over those that had been damaged, choosing those which seemed important enough to repair and packaging them to be sent over to the castle.

When he had finished, Mister Cardil offered to walk him out, but he excused himself.

“While I'm here, there's something I'd like to check on,” Tamyn told him. “It's only for my own sake, you needn't accompany me. You can go on with your work.”

“Of course,” Mister Cardil said kindly, returning to the rest of his team and leaving Tamyn to himself.

In a far corner of this floor, there had been an alcove. It was almost beyond recognition now, its hardwood shelves burnt to charcoal, and the books it had housed turned to ash.

Tamyn put a hand on one blackened shelf and its edge softly crumbled between his fingers. He closed his eyes.

 

~*~

 

“This is the Alchemy section,” Abrizhen said. Tamyn was perplexed.

“We don't need these for literature,” he said.

“I know, I just thought you might like to take a look.”

“None of these books really have anything...”

“...and that's why no one ever comes over here,” Abrizhen said slyly.

Tamyn looked confused, until Abrizhen backed him into the alcove, against the shelves.

“I want to kiss you,” he said softly. “I haven't gotten to kiss you yet.”

“You've kissed me...”

“Mmm... not properly,” Abrizhen asserted.

This was true. It had been two weeks since Abrizhen had told Tamyn that he liked him, and since then the lack of any privacy on campus had limited them to brief interactions, hasty kisses stolen in fleeting moments when no one was looking.

Abrizhen took Tamyn's stack of books from his arms and put them on the floor with his own, then placed an arm on either side of him, hands on the bookshelves behind him, and leaned close.

“Can I kiss you?” he whispered.

Tamyn's heart began to race madly.

He peered past Abrizhen, listening intently. The alcove was well hidden, almost completely enclosed with shelves full of books, and there was not a sound to be heard on the floor.

Satisfied that they really were alone here, he nodded shyly.

Abrizhen took Tamyn's face in both of his hands, sliding his fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck. His hands were smooth and warm, and Tamyn gasped softly when Abrizhen's thumbs traced lightly around his ears.

Abrizhen leaned in then, and brushed his lips lightly over Tamyn's before pressing them down gently. They stayed still, just like that, for a long moment.

Tamyn's arms went into Abrizhen's open frock coat, encircling him, his hands sliding up his back.

Abrizhen moved his lips away slightly, and when he pressed down again, he drew the tip of his tongue slowly across Tamyn's lips.

Fire seemed to erupt throughout Tamyn's veins and straight down into his pelvis. His body rocked up against Abrizhen of its own volition, and he pushed his own tongue forward into Abrizhen's mouth.

Abrizhen breathed roughly through his nose, the air gusting across Tamyn's cheek, as his eyes opened wide, glinting with delight. But he pulled back then, leaning his forehead against Tamyn's.

“Do you like it?” he whispered breathlessly.

Tamyn, equally breathless, replied, “It's... exciting...”

Abrizhen brushed his lips across Tamyn's cheek to his ear and whispered again.

“You are exciting.”

He licked Tamyn's earlobe, eliciting a violent shiver from him.

Tamyn turned his head and caught his lips again.

Abrizhen pushed Tamyn further back against the bookshelves, tightening his hands around the back of Tamyn's head, and kissed him deeply, slowly, and thoroughly.

Tamyn leaned back into the shelves, all rational thought now dissipating into delirium.

There seemed nothing in the world now but Abrizhen's lips and arms, the smell of fresh soap in Abrizhen's hair, of the cedar in his clothes, of the old wood pulp and leather bindings of the surrounding books and scrolls, and this desperate burning and longing melting every cell of his body.

Suddenly, an intrusion of human voices came from nearby, and they quickly jumped away from each other, each turning to pretend at perusing the shelves, both struggling to calm their breath and still their hearts as they each smoothed their hair and clothes.

“Here!” Abrizhen said loudly. “I think this is the one you were looking for.”

He handed Tamyn a random book from the shelf.

Tamyn looked confused for a moment, then took the book.

“Oh, yes,” he played along. “This is the one.”

Abrizhen laughed lowly.

“Shh... It isn't funny,” Tamyn whispered, placing the book back on the shelf and picking up the stack of books he really had chosen.

Abrizhen picked his books up as well.

“Let's get going,” Tamyn said. “You have class soon. I'm making you late.”

He rushed out of the alcove as Abrizhen followed, keeping a few steps behind him all the way down to the first floor.

As they crossed to the circulation desk Tamyn held a hand back to Abrizhen.

“Give me your books,” he said. “I'll check them out with mine.”

“No need, I'll keep them,” Abrizhen said crisply. His voice sounded strange.

“Don't be silly, it'll be faster if I take them.”

Tamyn looked back to see Abrizhen walking behind him, holding his stack of books low and flat in front of him. His eyes suddenly widened.

“Oh!” he exclaimed, a mischievous smile spreading across his lips.

Abrizhen's face reddened.

“Don't smile at me like that,” he said lowly, “you're making it worse.”

Tamyn caught his lower lip between his teeth.

“Oh, dear Gods!” Abrizhen muttered. “Are you trying to kill me?”

He stormed away to the circulation desk.

After checking out their books, they made their way out of the library and paused at the top of the steps outside the door. Tamyn glanced at Abrizhen who held his books in the same position as before.

“Still?” Tamyn said with some incredulity.

“Well, like I said... you're exciting.”

“I keep telling you that Southern fashions are far more practical.”

Abrizhen looked up and down at Tamyn in his multiple layers of voluminous robes.

“You...?”

“Mmm,” Tamyn said, looking away with an expression of feigned innocence.

Abrizhen stood gazing at him in silence for a long moment. His face seemed unable to settle on one expression, but his eyes became gentle, soft, and began to gleam as his lips trembled slightly.

“Zhen... what's wrong?”

Abrizhen shook his head, smiling lightly.

“I love you,” he said, his voice hoarse and choked.

Then he turned and practically ran across the campus lawn toward his next class.

Tamyn froze to the spot, and stood watching him recede into the distance in dumbstruck amazement.

Was he running away? He had never seen Abrizhen run away from anything.

An uncontrollable smile spread across his lips, as an aching but gentle warmth bloomed across his heart.

“I love you, too,” he whispered.

~~~*~~~

Kazia was in the midst of mentally feeling out an Artifact when she felt a wave of cataclysmic anger approaching rapidly. She looked up to see Tamyn striding in her direction, his face tempestuous. She'd never seen him in such a state and held her breath in alarm, bracing against the onslaught.

“Tamyn?” she said with a hesitant concern.

“I'm meeting with Abrizhen tonight,” he said tersely. “Will you come with me?”

Kazia nodded, confused but willing.

Tamyn looked over his shoulder back at the ruined University building.

“I want to trust him.” He spoke quietly, but his fury only grew. “I don't believe that he would do this.... but I have to be certain.”

 

~~~*~~~