(The Marriage Groups)Elian (9 page)

Elian felt his brows furrow at the statement. What did it mean? Turning at the sound of his name, Elian called down to his husbands before turning back to the wall and the writing—only to find that the words were gone. As well as the color on the wall. The doors were still a blue wood, but the walls were now a gray color; Elian gasped and took a step back. What was going on? What had just happened? He spun in a circle to be sure he wasn’t imagining things when Corbin, Nevin, and Gaige approached him.

“How’d you get up here?” Gaige asked him. Elian turned to look at the taller man before turning to look back at the gray walls. His mind swirled with the strangeness of what had just taken place.

“I-I um, I was going back to the bedroom and I guess I passed the floor,” he said absentmindedly as he stepped back towards the door he’d been standing in front of before.

“I’d say so,” Corbin chuckled, “You’re one floor away from the top.”

Elian turned with a gasp. “Seriously?” he asked. Corbin nodded. Elian shook his head as he turned back to the door, running his hand on the wall beside it, looking for the words he’d seen earlier.

“What’s wrong Elian?” Nevin asked.

“N-nothing. I thought I saw something, but I guess I was wrong.” Elian shook his head again. Turning back to his husbands, he spread his hands outward. “Didn’t you all promise me a tour of my new home? I’d really like to know where everything is so I don’t get lost again.”

They all laughed and Elian took Nevin’s offered arm and walked with them down the stairs, turning his head back only once to look at the door he’d been in front of only moments before.

How strange. Was the palace haunted? It was something he knew he would have to check out later. Much later.

****

E
LIAN
was dazed. So completely dazed and out of his element. They had started his tour of his new home outside, walking him across the great expanse of lawn to the stables in the back. He’d been introduced to all seventy-five horses, which, he’d been told, were just the ones that were within the stables. There were another seventy-five being ridden by the soldiers and guards who protected the palace. They’d continued to the prayer garden that rested just beyond the stables. Elian had found the garden very soothing, which was the very purpose for it. There was a man-made lake at the center, a fountain at the entrance, and cobblestone walkways that wound their way throughout the interior. Flowers and plants filled the inside of the retreat, and benches were placed periodically. Elian had gasped when he’d seen the words of Andalusia imprinted on each section of the cobblestone walkways. Nevin had explained that his parents had been the ones to have the words engraved there.

“In order to make sure that our steps were always following the word of Andalusia,” he’d said, and Elian had nodded. What a brilliant and inspirational idea. The words from the hallway had slid through his mind then and he wracked his brain trying to recall if they were a part of the ancient texts. When he couldn’t remember ever reading them before, he’d felt frustration flood his mind. Where had those words come from? And what did they mean?

They’d gone from the prayer garden to the grotto. Elian had been surprised to see that they had their own personal grotto, and Corbin had admitted they’d only just had it built with him in mind.

“How did you know that I’ve always wanted a grotto of my very own?” he’d asked in amazement. He looked at the large structure, which was created out of stone, filled with flowers, incense, and sculptures of the god Andalusia and other great priests and shamans from Kardalusian history. Etched in the walls were the prayers by the ancients that every coração was made to memorize. Prayers for fertility, intelligence, family prosperity, peace, tranquility, and balance. Elian felt his eyes burn and a lump form in his throat as he saw a large painting of his family against the back of the amazing place of solitude. He walked towards it, taking off his shoes before stepping inside and kneeling on the rug placed within. The rug was made out of the finest of Kartas silk, gold in color, with strands of velveteen copper and browns woven throughout in the pattern of the coração symbol. Elian felt... cherished and had no idea what to do with the emotion.

“You wrote a paper on it in your tranquility class,” Nevin pointed out softly, coming to stand directly behind where Elian knelt.

Elian finished his prayer for guidance and making the symbol of the Andalusian scepter, he stood and turned to face his husband, confusion sweeping through him. He tilted his head to the side as he observed each of his husbands’ faces. How did they know what he’d written in his tranquility class? “How do you know that?” he asked them.

Corbin, Nevin, and Gaige looked uncomfortable, each man’s gaze falling to the ground as they shuffled their feet nervously. Elian would have found their expressions adorable if he wasn’t so confused. When a few minutes passed and none of them had responded or even looked at him, Elian grew frustrated and even more confused.

“Well?” he prodded.

“We, um, had every paper you’d ever written sent to us when we’d decided that you were to be our coração,” Gaige admitted.

Elian’s eyes widened as he stared at them. They really had stalked him before they’d claimed him!

“I don’t know if I should be flattered or frightened,” he laughed nervously.

“We just wanted to know everything we could about you before we came for you. So that you would feel more at home when we brought you here,” Nevin explained.

Elian nodded, feeling disappointed. While he knew their hearts were in the right place, he felt... cheated. They had been denied the opportunity to experience what other marriage groups no doubt took for granted: the opportunity to get to know each other through conversation. Wasn’t that one of the best parts about a relationship? The endless conversations, arguments, disagreements, and experiences where you found out everything about your partners? Elian felt… incomplete somehow, because he’d missed out on that chance.

“What’s wrong? Did we do something wrong?” Corbin asked.

Elian shook his head. He didn’t want to rock the boat. Besides, it was already done, right? And he didn’t want to do anything to make them change their minds about choosing him as the Royal Coração. While they seemed to know everything about him, he knew nothing about them, and until he found out what would cause them to divorce him, he would be the best coração ever born. He shook his head, choosing to keep his mouth closed. “Nothing’s wrong. I was just surprised, that’s all,” he stated, turning away from the grotto completely and smiling at his husbands. “So where to next?”

****

T
HEY
had taken him to the royal gardens then before showing him the servants quarters, a small cluster of homes in a semicircle, and Elian had remarked over how nice they all looked.

“Of course,” Nevin had responded. “They take care of us; we should do the same.”

Elian smiled at the matter of fact way Nevin had made that remark and found his opinion of his husbands raising exponentially. On to the palace they’d gone, and Elian found his mind filling with images of the structure being much more welcoming and inviting. The colors changing from white and gold to warm reds, browns, and golds. He’d never really considered himself a decorator, but as he eyed the different rooms, all formal and sophisticated, he found himself wishing that he could redecorate.

As if he were reading Elian’s mind, Nevin turned to him at one point and smiled. “My breeder father redecorated the palace when I was five. He felt the palace should look more like a palace. I promised myself that when I found my own coração I would give him free reign to do the same. If you want to redecorate or change anything, please don’t hesitate to do so.”

Elian gaped at his husband, surprised he’d said such a thing. Looking over at Corbin and Gaige, Elian found both men smiling and nodding their heads at him.

“Please redecorate.” Corbin chuckled. “I always feel so nervous about making a mess on these fancy carpets. I’ve spent the last few years afraid of leaving a spot on anything.”

Nevin turned to Corbin, shock evident on his face. “Really? I had no idea, Corby. If I had known that I would have let you redecorate a long time ago.”

Corbin shrugged, waving away Nevin’s concerns. “You’d told me that you wanted our coração to redecorate. I just figured I’d bide my time until that time came.”

Elian watched as the two men smiled at each other and then glanced over at Gaige to find the other man’s gaze fixed on him. The intensity of Gaige’s attention should have made Elian uncomfortable, but instead, Elian felt himself wanting to preen, pose… strip himself naked and offer himself to the dangerous blond. He was surprised once again by the brazen direction of his thoughts and smiled tremulously at his husband.

“Shall we continue the tour?” Nevin offered, and Elian nodded, thankful for the distraction.

Elian felt overwhelmed as they continued and the vast amount of rooms settled in his mind. He wanted to redecorate every room they came to and was suddenly very glad that he’d been given permission to do so. While the palace should set itself apart from other homes, it should still be inviting, not only to visitors and leaders, but to the family that lived there as well, especially to the children that would one day be born there.

“Thank you, Nevin,” he said as they reached the floor he’d wandered to earlier.

“For what?” Nevin asked him, looking at him curiously.

“For allowing me to redecorate,” he stated plainly.

Nevin laughed boisterously. “Yeah, I saw your expression,” Nevin admitted. “This place can be slightly overwhelming.”

Elian nodded and turned towards the hallway. He turned right, away from the door that had so held his attention earlier and stopped. Heat filled him as he stood there, causing him to gasp.

“What’s wrong?” Gaige asked from directly behind him, and Elian startled slightly. When had the bigger man gotten so close?

“N-nothing,” Elian stammered. “I just— I got warm all of a sudden.”

“Warm? Do you have a fever?” Corbin asked in concern.

“No. Nothing like that,” Elian shook his head. “Warm in a good way.”

There was no response, and Elian mentally shrugged. He didn’t know how to explain it better than that. He didn’t really understand it himself. It was unlike anything he’d ever felt before, but he wasn’t averse to feeling it again.

“This room was originally the royal bedroom,” Nevin stated, opening the door and leading the way inside. Elian stepped into the massive room and gasped, an image of a large bed and dressers rising to the forefront of his mind’s eye. He blinked and looked around when the image disappeared. The room now stood empty and Elian was almost disappointed.

“What is it now?” he asked, ignoring the concerned glances his husbands threw his way.

“Now it’s nothing,” Corbin answered with a shrug. “People think every room in a palace has a specific purpose, but there’s only so many rooms that a royal family needs.”

Elian nodded and turned to leave the room. His feet moved of their own accord and carried him back to the door in the middle of the hallway where he’d seen the message earlier. Elian looked on the wall, expecting to see the same message he’d seen before, but a new message was there, and Elian found this one to be just as cryptic as the previous one.

One shall give of himself to three. Four shall become one. Destiny fulfilled, change appears, a world forever changed.

Elian shook his head and watched as the words faded from view. He huffed silently. Yep, the palace was definitely haunted. Great.

“This used to be the chapel,” Nevin pointed out, walking up to Elian and opening the door. Elian stepped inside and saw another bed within, though this time he knew that the bed was actually there. However, the altar that the bed sat upon he was pretty sure did not exist.

“Now this room is one of the many guest bedrooms that we have,” Gaige said, walking up beside Elian. Elian nodded and swallowed thickly. His cock hardened in his pants and he took in a quick breath. The warmth of Gaige’s breath on the side of his neck made his head swim. Turning to look up at the other man, Elian found his gaze trapped by Gaige’s. He turned to find Nevin and Corbin standing close to him on the other side. Heat surrounded him and he felt himself grow inexplicably aroused.

“I’ve been in this room many times in my life, but this is the first time I can ever remember being this turned on,” Nevin stated harshly.

Elian closed his eyes as Nevin drifted the backs of his fingers down Elian’s cheek, basking in the attention the older man was showing him. When Gaige kissed his shoulder, Elian shivered and moaned silently. This was it. He was finally going to lose his virginity. He was going to be married in truth. Excitement smothered in fear and nervousness coursed through his frame and he didn’t know whether to moan or whimper, so he did a strange combination of both.

“Ssshhh, Cora, we have you. It will be okay,” Gaige whispered.

“Speak for yourself. It might be okay for you, but it’s going to be fantastic for me,” Corbin teased and Elian found himself smiling in spite of the life-altering experience that was upon him.

“There it is. The smile I was looking for,” Corbin stated again before taking Elian’s lips in a fierce kiss. Elian kissed him back just as passionately and was only distantly aware of Nevin and Gaige undressing him. He was lost in the heady, drugging sensation of kissing Corbin. The man was exceptional at it and Elian knew that he could spend the rest of his life kissing the man.

All thought of kissing Corbin was shoved harshly to the back of his mind, however, when he felt a kiss being placed on his naked bottom while wet heat surrounded his bobbing dick.

“Ohphuq,” he moaned into Corbin’s mouth, trembling at the amazing sensations rushing over his skin. There were hands moving all over his skin. They were in his hair, tangling in the long black strands. Fingers brushed against his cheeks as Corbin released his lips only for them to be replaced by someone else’s. Elian wasn’t sure who was kissing him at that point, his only focus on the tongue pressing insistently at his tightly puckered hole. His brain stuttered to a stop at the wet muscle pressing deep within him, the hands stroking his erection, the three pairs of lips traversing his skin. The tongue at his hole laved the tight ring of muscle, and Elian whimpered and whined, pleading against the lips pressed against his own for someone to do something to make the fire and the pressure inside of him go away. For someone to help him. His skin felt as if it were stretched tightly against his bones and his head swam. His ass clenched against the invasion as the person behind him pressed one thick finger into his relaxed ass.