Page 56 of Stitches
The joy in Levi’s eyes made the violet color sparkle in a way Ashmedai had always hoped to have directed at him but never seen—until now.
Until Levi.
They leaned toward each other in tandem, lips connecting like practiced repetition, like reflex. The simple press and then push for more, with Levi’s tongue being the first to seek a breach, was all Ashmedai had ever wanted.
Levi
The smile remained on Levi’s face, perpetually stretched and beaming, even as he entered the tower. The rain had stopped, and although Ashmedai had offered to walk Levi home, they’d only made it as far as the edge of the residential area before they were cornered by Dreya.
Levi fell back against the tower door. He wasn’t even sure of the time. What he had shared with Ashmedai seemed to fill some great emptiness that had been inside him—as Levi and Leander, much as there were still many missing memories to reignite. He knew love between men wasn’t accepted in Emerald, which seemed so strange, since here love between anyone was celebrated, and those who chose to remain alone were celebrated too.
For that reason, much as a part of Levi ached for what he’d lost—a mother, a brother, even a family cat—he couldn’t imagine being anywhere but where he was as this version of him, fully realized into someone who would no longer be shunned or denied his true passions.
“Are those Ash’s clothes?”
Levi gasped, eyes darting upward from where they had been distant during his musings. Braxton had appeared from his workshop and was already halfway toward Levi.
As Braxton wheeled closer, Levi knew he had to answer, for he had borrowed a pair of trousers, a shirt, and a doublet far more fanciful than his usual clothing, in Ashmedai’s signature red and black.
“I-I… got wet from the storm and—”
“You don’t need to lie to me, Levi.”
The sharp dismissal made Levi snap his mouth shut with a click of his teeth. Much as he had become his own man, Braxton still had the power to make him feel small. “I did get wet.Wedid. We went back to Ash’s castle.”
Braxton stopped in front of Levi, his expression tight but unreadableas he eyed Levi from head to toe and finally settled on his face. “I assume fresh clothing wasn’t your main priority.”
Levi didn’t know how to answer that.
“Don’t look so fearful. Only a fool would not have seen this coming, the way you act around each other, how much time you’ve been spending in each other’s company. You’ve brought him back to the world of the living.” Braxton smiled, though it was a strange, malformed expression, like something else pretending to be a smile.
“You don’t disapprove?” Levi asked.
“Ash has secluded himself for too long. He deserves someone who can be everything he ever wanted.”
Braxton had never spoken of such things before, and Levi still wasn’t certain how to react to it. He shifted on his feet. “Then why do you seem so angry?”
“Levi,” Braxton said, gaze unblinking and words sharp with consonants, “I couldn’t ask you to be anything other than what I made of you.”
The air was as tight as Braxton’s expression, almost impossible to breathe, until the moment Braxton’s eyes shifted focus and he began to wheel away.
“I’m not taking any more draught,” Levi called after him, unsure why he felt the urge to rebel just then. “I don’t need it anymore.”
Braxton answered without looking at him, “On that we can agree.”
Chapter 8
Levi
Thearrowreleasedwithan audible slice through the air. Levi’s muscles ached from how many times he had already loosed one at Yentriss’s instruction. At least this time he didn’t miss the target. Its coloring from the outside in went black, blue, white, and finally red for the center circle.
Levi’s arrow struck the outside of the blue.
“Better,” Yentriss said, though her tone still sounded dissatisfied. Embracing Levi before and being thankful that he saved her husband in no way meant she was going easy on him.
They were in the backyard of Yentriss and Grillo’s home. It was spacious but with each section efficiently utilized—some for farming, some for training like the archery target, and a smaller space clearly set aside for Kenner to play in.
As Leander, Levi had practiced the bow, but he had always been better with his daggers. He would hunt just outside the city, most of which was illegal poaching, but it was the only way to ensure his family had enough to eat, when they otherwise rarely left the house for fear of being caught for what they were.
