Ezo had never been good at letting things go. Some considered it a flaw. His uncle had said it was both his blessing and his curse. Ezo just knew it was true. And everything that had been said tonight continued to play over and over again in his brain. He’d come back to his room, determined to read through the book he’d brought. He wanted to get context for what he’d learned, but he couldn’t focus on the words.
Ezo got up, poured another drink of water, and tried to clear his head. He could feel magic spill across the bond from the room next door. Just tiny bits, small enough that he probably wouldn’t have felt it if he had been down the hall. Maybe. Or maybe he’d have felt it all the way in Mason’s Creek at this point. He was past the point of understanding anymore. Because Kammon was right. According to everything Ezo had read, what was happening between them wasn’t possible.
Ezo dropped the mug onto the table and decided if he couldn’t do anything else productive, he’d might as well take out his displeasure on Kammon one last time. That, at least, might allow him to sleep tonight.
He left his room and banged on the next door. It opened after a moment, and Kammon peered out. Ezo pushed past him.
“Yes, Raven, please come in,” he said as he closed the door.
Ezo rolled his eyes. “What are you doing in here?”
“Trying to sleep,” Kammon answered.
Ezo turned to look at him, and it stopped the words in his throat. Kammon had changed out of his customary gray pants and jacket, and was dressed only in a robe. It was tied closed at the waist but hung loose.
“What do you want, Ezo?”
“Why are you playing with magic right now?”
Kammon’s eyes widened slightly. “Could you feel that?” Ezo nodded. “I’m sorry,” Kammon continued. “It’s an old technique from my university days that helps still my mind. One of the few things I actually learned there. I adapted it after I left, and it helps sometimes.”
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“What do you do?”
Kammon sat on a rug on the floor, and Ezo watched as he pulled the smallest amount of the elements towards him. The candle on the table lit, but then Kammon blew it out with a gust of wind. The soil from one of the plants against the window grew into a tower, then fell. Healing water from the spring danced out of the tub and toward Kammon. At the last minute, it spun around Ezo, leaving the tiniest trace of moisture against his cheek. Then it spun back to the spring and fell in.
Ezo wiped at his face, but at least it hadn’t been a full-on attack. He reckoned Kammon was more worried about Cassen’s retaliation than Ezo’s. So was Ezo, which was why he left it alone. Instead, he sat on Kammon’s bed and tried to concentrate. He pulled the elements to him, and recreated the exercise. Ezo did it in reverse order, though, starting with water and working his way back. He didn’t touch Kammon with the flow, but when it came to the flame, he pulled it from the candle and let it circle the other man before snapping it out.
Everything seemed to still around him and when Ezo opened his eyes, Kammon was standing in front of him. “You are so damn infuriating,” Kammon said.
Ezo didn’t know what he’d done to piss Kammon off this time, but the air was suddenly heavy with something he couldn’t name. Ezo’s eyes flickered down to Kammon’s chest, and he noticed marks on his body. He pushed the robe open slightly and ran his fingers over a long scar on his side. It looked like a burn. “What happened?”
Kammon caught his hand, but Ezo didn’t look up. “War happened.”
Ezo leaned his head in and rested his forehead on Kammon’s chest. There was so much in Kammon’s voice. Ezo wanted to wash all the pain and memories away, but there was no magic to make people forget their pasts. “I’m sorry.”
Kammon’s fingers ran through Ezo’s hair and clutched at the back of his head, pulling him away. He looked up, but Kammon followed him, lips crashing into his as Ezo was thoroughly pinned to the bed. He didn’t think about anything else then, war or scars or stupid bonds that filled him with so damn much. He pulled at the tie between them, and Kammon’s robe fell open the rest of the way. It slid easily from his shoulders, and Ezo had an unobstructed path to Kammon’s body.
Kammon sat up, but Ezo chased after him, pressing in for another searing kiss. When they parted, it was only for Kammon to pull Ezo’s shirt over his head before following him back down to the mattress again. After that, it was hands working together to strip each other of their clothes. It was kisses that stole Ezo’s moans and left him breathless and demanding, fingers pressed hard enough to leave bruises. It was his name called sharply into the night, followed by whispered words of contentment and relief.
It was being pulled under the covers and into Kammon’s arms. The bond wrapped closer as he rested his head on Kammon’s shoulder, eyes closed and palm pressed over his heart. Kammon’s hand stroked through his hair until they both drifted off to sleep.