Page 71 of Sharpen Your Claws

“Hill Castle will conjure a bed if it wishes. Right now, it does not, so take your rest. Remember, stay together.” He nudged William toward the door.

“I won’t bite,” Evera teased while Charmaine dropped on the bed. The mortal had a peculiar nervousness about her that revealed itself through the twiddling of her thumbs, which grew worse when Evera sat beside her.

“I should stay with Charmaine,” William argued.

His eyes fell on Henry. The mage had his eyes shut, but even Nicholas learned better. Henry was an observer and he no doubt took everything in. His notebook would be filled before the end of the trip. William probably worried about leaving with Nicholas and what that might imply to his brother.

“You must come with me. Hill Castle will be angered otherwise. It clearly wishes to meet you,” he whispered.

“Why?”

Rather than answer, he held a hand toward the door. William looked once more at his brother.

“We’ll check in later,” William muttered.

Henry waved a hand. “Don’t get into trouble.”

“Be careful,” Charmaine said.

He took William’s hand to yank him out of the room. His bedroom door materialized. William stumbled after him through the threshold. The room caught William’s attention. He swerved back and forth, inspecting the vines tangled in the root rafters. A dozen rugs laid atop one another over the floor, each in varying styles because Nicholas frequently changed his mind on the style he liked best.

Hill Castle shifted beneath their feet, creating more of a high-pitched laugh than a groan. Flowers bloomed along the vines and through the window. Shelves lined the walls at odd angles, donning trinkets he wore once to the revels. A large bed constructed of vines and moss grew within a hollowed out tree. Beside that, an extensive wardrobe stood by a walk-in closet, bringing a chuckle from William.

“What?” he asked.

“Leave it to you to have a nearly endless supply of clothes,” William replied.

His arm settled around William’s waist. “You are welcome to them, if you’d like. I would enjoy seeing you in my clothes and feel less terribly about ripping them off.”

Pink dusted William’s cheeks. His attention continued to take in the room Nicholas grew up in. He imagined this happening hundreds of times. Now that William was there in his arms, he could hardly believe it.

“I like that you’re here, even if it isn’t under the circumstances I hoped for,” he admitted.

“Me too.” William settled his hand over Nicholas’. They stood like that for a moment, silent, basking in each other’s presence. Nicholas kissed his nape. A shiver passed through him, then he cleared his throat. “Faerie is more interesting than you described.”

“And you haven’t seen the half of it. There is so much I want you to see.”

“After we find my missing patients.”

Nicholas pouted, but sighed. “Yes, after we find them.”

“We should rest while we have the chance.”

“So long as you stay here with me.”

“You did say we should stick together and I think it’s safe to assume Hill Castle wants me here with you,” William answered.

They fell on the bed in a heap. William held him close where his head laid on William’s chest, listening to the racing of his heart. There they laid in an embrace of warmth, cuddling and kissing until William’s breathing evened out. William fell asleep while he did not. He couldn’t possibly, considering how close Laurent was, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t enjoying himself. He quite liked being in William’s arms without those accursed gloves. They laid somewhere on the floor after Nicholas tore them off, wishing to feel the skin of William’s fingers rubbing his arm. He thought being like this every day until the world ended would be perfect.

Unfortunately, his dreamland was merely that, a dream, and reality found them in the form of steps pacing outside the door. Nicholas heard them even if the trespasser did their best to be quiet. He couldn’t fathom who it was. If Solomon or Percival wanted to cause trouble, they would have broken the door down. If Laurent sought them, he would have sent someone to retrieve them. There had been no signs of Laurent holding a revel, so there shouldn’t be more than a few unlucky attendants at Hill Castle.

After the twelfth pass, Nicholas removed himself from his sanctuary. William didn’t stir thanks to his exhaustion and, no doubt, Hill Castle’s help. He hadn’t missed the flowers blooming along the walls, the same ones that put him to sleep as an infant. They weren’t as potent at his age, though seemingly strong enough to knock out an anxious medic. He approached the door where the pacing continued, then threw it open, shocked to find Henry standing in the hall. Alone.

“Did I not say to go nowhere alone?” Nicholas hissed.

“I hardly went anywhere alone,” Henry countered, flushed from having been caught. “Charmaine rests and Evera has been tearing through my things for the last hour, claiming there was nothing else to placate her boredom.”

“And so you came out to pace?”

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