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“OWYN!” AVEN GASPED. “What happened to you?”
Owyn turned to Aven, and Aria cried out in shock. Owyn’s jaw dropped. He looked from one of them to the other, then sighed. “I... I’m sorry. I should have warned you. I just.. I got so comfortable with you both that I forgot you don’t know.” He swallowed. “You don’t know me. Really. And if you knew... you might not want to.”
“Owyn,” Aven murmured. “May I look?”
Owyn just shrugged. “Yeah, sure. It doesn’t bother me anymore. It doesn’t hurt, if you’re asking that, oh Water healer.”
Aven nodded, trying not to be stung by the tone of Owyn’s voice. He rested one hand on Owyn’s shoulder, and ran the other hand down the length of Owyn’s spine. The scars ran from his nape to his arse, wrapped around his sides, and varied in age. To Aven’s surprise, it was the cleaner marks that showed signs of being newest — the badly healed scars were much older. And there was a brand, on Owyn’s shoulder, just over the shoulder blade — four vertical lines crossed by a fifth.
“What happened here?” Aven asked. “Some of these are old. You couldn’t have been more than a child—”
“Six or seven, I think,” Owyn interrupted. “The first time I got caught. Do you know it’s warm when you do that? It’s all warm under my skin. It feels nice.”
“Caught doing what?” Aria asked. She moved closer, standing in front of Owyn, and rested her hands on his chest. “What did you do?”
Owyn covered her hands with his. “Told Aven this. I didn’t tell you. Did Mem tell you I was an orphan?” When Aria shook her head, he nodded. “Right. My parents died in the last big uprising, I think. I was little. Two or three, maybe. And no one claimed me, so I ended up on the streets. One of the older boys, he took care of me. Named me Owyn. Garci, that was his name. He taught me to beg, and he taught me to steal.” Owyn gave a weak laugh. “And I’m a lousy thief. In Forge, when a thief gets caught, they’re publicly whipped.”
“They whipped a child?” Aria’s voice spiraled up. “Did no one speak against it?”
“Not a damned one,” Owyn said. “It’s the law. There’s no exceptions to the law.”
“That’s a horrible law,” Aria said. She looked at Aven over Owyn’s shoulder. “First thing we’re changing.”
“I’ll remind you,” Aven said. He moved closer, rested his hands on Owyn’s waist. “There’s more than one set.”
“There’s five, I think. Five old sets, and one new one. I’ll explain the new one last. I was caught stealing five times. The last time, I decided that was it for being a thief. I was older, I could survive another way.” He looked down at the water. “So I became a whore.”
“Oh, Owyn,” Aria breathed. Aven looked at her, at how pale she’d grown, and wondered what he was missing. What in the name of the deepest depths was a whore?
“I couldn’t have been more than fourteen. Too young to get into a brothel, but there were taverns where the men weren’t fussy. And it wasn’t all that bad, really.” Owyn shrugged. “My first one... when he found out he was my first, he paid me four times what I’d asked him. Told me to take care of myself, and asked if he could see me again. Most of them were really nice about it. It was good. Until it wasn’t.” He glanced back at Aven, then frowned. “You look confused.”
“What’s a whore?”
Owyn blinked. “You... you don’t know? You don’t have whores... well, I suppose not. How could you? Out in the middle of the ocean.” He took a deep breath. “It means I sold myself to men for sex. They paid me to have sex with me.”
Aven nodded slowly. “That’s... healers do that. My father told me.”
“That’s Earth tribe. Fire tribe since Mannon took over? Being a whore is illegal.” He reached up and touched the brand on the back of his shoulder. “That’s what this is. You get caught whoring, you get branded. And when they cross the stripes? You’re deemed incorrigible. You’re arrested, and you’re publicly beaten. Then you become the property of the city, and your indentures are sold. Which means you become a slave, because there’s no way to buy your indentures back.” He looked around. “I want to sit.”
Aven took his hand and led him to the bench, sitting on his right. Aria sat on his left. “What happened?” she asked.
Owyn made a face. “I told you about my first one? Fandor, that’s his name. He turned me in that last time. He’d seen I had four stripes. He figured he could buy my indentures, and I’d be his personal slave—” He shook his head. “The chastiser beat the shit out of me, then they put me on the block. Fandor was right there in front. He told me not to worry. That he’d arranged everything. It would all be over soon, and then I’d be his. That was when I knew he’d turned me in.” Owyn’s hand in Aven’s shook. “I screamed at him. Told him that if he bought me, if he ever touched me again, that I’d kill him. So... they gagged me, and they started the sale.” He let out a long breath. “And Memfis bought me. He hired a healer to see to me—”
“Hired a healer?” Aven gasped.
To his surprise, Owyn laughed. “All of this, and that’s what gets you mad?”
“Healers aren’t supposed to ask payment,” Aven grumbled. “Fa said so. He said there was a healing center here.”
“Not for years and years. Here, healers don’t work for free. And they don’t do what you do. They don’t have the Earth touch. They have herbs and potions.” Owyn shrugged. “That’s why the last set of scars are the cleanest. They’re the ones that were actually treated properly. So... that’s me. Mem, he treats me like his son, but I’m not, and I know it. I’m his slave. Orphan, thief, whore, slave.”
“Smith. Smoke Dancer,” Aven said.
“Companion,” Aria added, her voice firm. “In case you were thinking I’d change my mind about that last, once I knew.”
“You’re serious?” Owyn asked. “You really mean that? You still want me? After everything? I mean, I’m a marked criminal, and a slave.”
Aven slid his arm around Owyn and pulled him tight to his side. “Owyn, do you know what the Water tribe says about our past?”
Owyn’s brow furrowed. “No, I don’t think I’ve seen that in any of my books.”
“My mother says that the Mother has a ledger where she makes note of all of the deeds of all of her children. The good we do, the successes, the times we come out ahead, she writes in ink.”
Owyn nodded. “And the failures? The fuck-ups?”
“She writes in water.”
Aria blinked. Then she smiled. “I like that.”
“I don’t understand,” Owyn protested. “If you write them in water, then when the paper dries, the marks... oh.” He stopped. “Oh. Really?”
“Really.” Aven turned, and found himself nose to nose with Owyn once more. “It’s written in water, Owyn.”
Owyn smiled slightly. “And all over the skin of my back.”
“You’re being obtuse,” Aven protested. “What happened in your past is written in water. It happened, we know. It was written in the Mother’s ledger. But knowing it doesn’t mean we want you any less.”
“Besides, doing what you had to do to survive made you the man we are probably going to have long arguments over,” Aria added. When Owyn looked at her, she blushed slightly. “Over who is going to be in bed with you on a given night.”
Owyn laughed. “Why argue? We could have one big bed.”
Aria blinked. “We could?” She looked at Aven. “All of us in one bed?”
“There are only three of us right now, Aria,” Aven reminded her.
“But still. There will be five. We could have all five? I wouldn’t have to choose one—”
“Or two,” Owyn interjected.
“And leave the others feeling like I don’t want them?” Aria finished. For a moment, the only sound was water dripping.
“I suppose...” Owyn said slowly. “I mean, being as I am the expert. If you wanted to have five in one bed, you could do it. If you had a big enough bed. And if that’s what you want, you might want to upholster the floor of a large room.” He looked distant for a moment. “Do you know if the other two are boys or girls?”
Aria shook her head. “I don’t know. I won’t know until I see them. And apparently, you’ll know them, too.”
Owyn nodded. “I can’t say that I’ve done that many at once, but I imagine it could be done. We’ll be heading to the Earth tribal lands when we leave here, I think. They’re the closest. Maybe we’ll be able to stop in a healing center and find out.”
“A healer would know?” Aven asked.
“That’s what I’ve heard. That healing centers have great big books that cover all sorts of sex stuff. I don’t know if it’s true, though,” Owyn said. He relaxed against Aven’s side. “I like this. Aria, come closer.” He held his arm out to her. “Come be with us.”
She glided through the water, then stopped. “Where should I be? You look too comfortable for me to ask you to move. Should I be on your other side? Or on Aven’s other side?”
“Go on his other side,” Aven said. “He needs to have us both holding him right now.”
“Why?” Owyn asked, looking at Aven. “I mean, I don’t object, but why do you say I need it?”
“Because you need to be certain we’re not letting you go,” Aven answered, meeting Owyn’s eyes. “That you’re safe with us.”
Owyn breathed out a long wordless sound that might have been a sigh. Or a moan. “Make me regret saying we’re going to wait, why don’t you?” he said. Then he laughed. “Come here, Aria.”
Aria cuddled up to Owyn, resting her head on his shoulder. “I don’t mind waiting. Even though I know you’re mine. I can wait for you to be sure.”
Aven shifted, turning slightly so that he could pull Owyn closer, and put his arms around both of them. He closed his eyes and took a long breath, trying to relax in silence broken only by dripping water. It was harder than he thought. The quiet left him with nothing to distract him, and his fears were all starting to surface and circle...
“Ven?”
Aven blinked at the sound of the diminutive his parents called him. “Since when do you call me that, Aria?”
“Since I wanted your attention,” she answered. She reached across Owyn and touched Aven’s chest. “We’ll find them, Ven. You heard Memfis — they’re alive.”
“Probably,” Aven said, and hated himself for the correction. “They’re probably alive. Because they’re valuable.” He closed his eyes. “Aria—”
The water sloshed around him, and someone covered him, straddling his legs and pressing their body against his. He opened his eyes to see Owyn, who studied him a moment, then took Aven’s face in his hands and kissed him. Aven gasped, then wrapped his arms around Owyn and clung to him, pulling him closer as the dam burst and the tears started. He heard Aria’s soft words of comfort, felt her touch on his shoulders, on the back of his neck, in his hair. But it was Owyn’s solid weight that helped, his strength providing Aven an anchor in a storm of grief and loss, bringing him into a safe harbor where he could finally think again. He rested his forehead on Owyn’s shoulder, feeling himself shaking.
“Better?” Owyn asked, nuzzling Aven’s ear. Aven nodded.
“I think so,” he answered, feeling the tightness in his throat. “I’ll be all right.”
“Liar,” Aria said gently. “You’re hurting. You’re trying to hide it. Don’t hide it, Aven. Let us share it.”
“But I’m supposed to take care of you,” Aven protested.
“Tell you what, then,” Owyn said. “How about we all take care of each other?” He smiled and kissed Aven’s lips gently, then moved to get off Aven’s lap. Aven tightened one arm around Owyn, pulled Aria closer with the other. He closed his eyes, holding them both as tightly as he dared.
“I’m terrified,” Aven whispered. “How do we fight him? How can we stop him?”
“We’ll find a way,” Aria said. “We’ll fight him. And we’ll find them.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve never been on land before. I don’t know what I can eat, I don’t know how to dress, or how to act.” He opened his eyes. “I feel like I’m sinking. I can’t breathe, and I’m drowning. It’s...”
“You’re panicking,” Owyn said gently. “I understand. I know. I’ve been there. I know. You’re not alone, Aven. Ven? That’s what Aria called you. Ven, you’re not alone. We’ve got you. I’m not going to let you drown.” He rested his hands on Aven’s shoulders. “Look, I didn’t start off taking care of you very well, but I’ll do better now. I’ll take care of you, and you’ll take care of me, and we’ll both take care of Aria and whoever else joins us along the way. I’ll teach you both what I know about living. And you both teach me what you know about caring. Deal?” He huffed softly. “I didn’t let them break me when I was a kid. I didn’t let them break me when I was older. I’m not going to let them break me now. And I’m not going to let them break you.”
There was a hint of steel in Owyn’s words that Aven found more than a little comforting. He nodded, closed his eyes again, focusing on the weight and warm against his body — Owyn on his legs and chest, Aria against his left side. He had them. He’d be all right. And he’d learn.
“I don’t know about you two, but I don’t want to turn into a wrinkly old man,” Owyn said lightly. “Let’s go scrub up. Then we can come back and soak if we want.”
They splashed out of the pool, and Owyn led them both into another room, where there were more benches around raised vessels of water. There were large dippers, and jars of what Owyn told them was soap sand. He poured some into his hand and started to scrub it, and Aven was surprised to see that it foamed slightly.
“Sand doesn’t do that on the island,” he said, repeating what Owyn had done.
“That’s because it’s soap,” Owyn answered. “Which you don’t have, I guess?”
“Not like this.” Aven poured a dipper of cooler water over his skin, watching as the foam washed away. “What is it made out of?”
“Soap?” Owyn looked thoughtful as he scrubbed his chest. “I... I have no idea. Mem might know.”
“You need fat of some kind, and lye, and perfume if you want a scent,” Aria answered. “It’s a long process, and tedious. I do not know how they made it look like sand, though. This is not like the soap we make.”
“Want me to wash your back?” Owyn offered. Aria shook her head.
“Soap is not good for my wings. It will strip the oils from my feathers, and make it harder to fly. I’ll go back to the pool and clean them.” She looked at Aven, looked thoughtful, then smiled. “You could wash Aven’s back,” she suggested. “He has lovely shoulders.”
“I was noticing that,” Owyn said.
“What?” Aven looked at the both of them. “What about my shoulders?”
“They go on for days,” Owyn answered. Aria laughed and left, going back out to the pool. Owyn grinned and continued, “Probably because you swim a lot, but you’ve got muscles on muscles across your back and your shoulders. And you’ve got a reach — well, you don’t even have to stretch to hold both of us.”
“And you like that?” Aven asked.
“Ven, I could just look at you all day,” Owyn answered. “I told you, you’re pretty.” He moved behind Aven, and Aven felt the rough soap sand scraping against his skin. Having someone else scrubbing his back was new, and he was surprised at how good it felt. He tipped his head forward, sighing in pleasure as Owyn’s strong hands massaged soap into his shoulders and upper back, then his lower back. They strayed lower, over his arse, and Aven shivered. Owyn froze.
“I should stop,” he said. “I said we were going to wait.”
Aven turned to face Owyn. “No, you should definitely not stop.”
“Not... you want me to keep going?” Owyn sounded breathless. “What about Aria?”
Aven smiled, resting his hands on Owyn’s waist. “She left us in here for a reason.”
Owyn’s eyes widened. “Oh?” he breathed. “Oh. In that case....” He smiled. “I live to please my Firstborn. But I’m going to please you first.”
******
AVEN WASN’T SURE HOW long they stayed in the bathing room, how long Owyn played with him. When they finally stumbled out, they were both laughing, leaning on each other for support and stumbling on legs that felt to Aven as if his bones had turned to sand. Aria was sitting on the bench in the hot pool, and smiled as they splashed into the water.
“Oh, good. You did take the hint,” she said, moving to join them and putting her arms around both of them. “You both look ever so much better.”
“I do feel better,” Owyn admitted. “But... I thought you were a virgin? How did you know that was going to help anything?”
She giggled. “I didn’t. But I thought that since Earthborn healers use sex as part of their healing practices, that it might help you both.” She hugged them. “Now, come and sit and tell me!”