Author: Alessandra Hazard
Category: LGBT
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Eridan frowned, bewildered. “My conduct isn’t much worse than that of most apprentices.”
Castien heaved a sigh, a wrinkle forming between his brows. “That is almost certainly Tethru’s work. The problem is, other Masters see you only when you misbehave, Eridan, so they form a rather biased opinion. Master Amara advised me to stop coddling you and take you with me to more meetings.”
“You don’t coddle me,” Eridan said with a snort.
“From a certain point of view, it might seem like that,” Castien said, taking a seat in the armchair by the fireplace, his thoughtful gaze fixed on the flames.
He looked worried. Tired.
It was a strange thought. Eridan had always thought of his Master as someone so powerful he seemed indestructible; it was easy to believe that when Castien was both physically and telepathically powerful.
But at that moment, he seemed just like any person.
Eridan watched him in silence. Castien’s broad shoulders seemed so tense beneath his black robe. Something was bothering his Master; Eridan could feel it despite Castien’s shields.
Quietly, he walked toward Castien and sank down to the plush carpet at his feet. “My thaal is starting to get loose, Master,” he murmured, pressing his cheek against Castien’s knee. “Fix it?”
Castien simply looked at him for a long moment before giving a clipped nod and gesturing for Eridan to turn around.
Eridan did, leaning back against the armchair and closing his eyes as he felt his Master’s strong hands carefully work on removing the thaal from his hair before starting to re-braid it.
This activity was one of his favorite things in the world. It always soothed Eridan, grounded him, and made their bond fill with comfort and quiet pleasure. He didn’t know what effect this had on Castien, if any, but at least he didn’t seem to mind it.
Except after last night, his mind was still extremely attuned to his Master’s, and their bond became hypersensitive, making Eridan desperate for a deeper connection, crave it. He reached out into the bond—
“No, Eridan,” Castien said sternly.
“Just one more time, Master,” he said, painfully aware he was practically whining. It was embarrassing, but he wanted this so much. “You said it wasn’t a merge, so it doesn’t count, right? We don’t have to go deep if you don’t want to.”
Castien finished braiding the thaal into his hair and let the gemstone settle against Eridan’s neck. “I said no,” he said coldly. “Go to your room and meditate.”
Shooting him a half-pissed, half-baffled look, Eridan strode out of the room. He marched into his bedroom and slammed the door shut. The thud of the door rattled the windows but failed to give him any satisfaction, his entire being still crawling with need.
He fell into his bed with a groan of frustration. “I hate you,” he growled into his mattress before flipping onto his back and shoving his pants down. He was already hard and aching. He stroked himself hard and fast, trying to sate one need with the other kind, biting his lips and trying not to make any noise.
He didn’t think of anything. He definitely wasn’t thinking of Castien. His Master was a cruel, manipulative asshole who refused to give Eridan what he needed. Eridan hated him, and his stupid blue eyes, and his broad shoulders and muscular chest—
He moaned, feeling himself getting slicker, both his cock and his hole. He shoved two fingers into his hole and groaned. He almost hoped his Master would enter the room and find him like this, finger-fucking himself and trying to sate the hunger inside him. Castien would probably just give him an unimpressed look and raise a haughty eyebrow. You are pathetic, his Master would say, watching Eridan impassively. I thought I trained you better than that, but like all throwbacks, you are nothing but a wet cock slut.
Eridan’s eyes rolled back and he came, squeezing around his fingers and shuddering through choked-off sobs as his cock spurted ropes of come.
When the aftershocks of pleasure died away, he stared at the ceiling, his face hot. Had he just really masturbated, imagining his Master criticizing and humiliating him?
What was wrong with him?
Chapter Eight: The Servant and the Apprentice
The next few months passed in a blur. Hronthar was buzzing with the news of Prince-Consort Mehmer’s death. Although only people close to the Chapter knew the truth, there were all sorts of rumors afloat.
Castien remained frustratingly hard to read, sometimes almost affectionate with him and sometimes cold and harsh. Eridan alternated between being pissed off at him and feeling things no apprentice should feel for his Master.
He had also developed embarrassing, irrational animosity toward Javier, something he had tried to hide but apparently failed to, because one day Javier confronted him about it.
“Look, what is your problem?” Javier said, frowning at him from his seat on the couch.
Eridan crossed his arms over his chest. “No problem,” he bit out with a smile that probably was as fake as his cheerful voice. “Master just isn’t home.”
“He told me to wait for him,” Javier said, watching him curiously.
“You have been waiting for an hour. Don’t you have anything better to do with your time than wait for your employer to fuck you?”
Javier cocked his head to the side, his shoulders relaxing. “Ah. I see now.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Javier gave a shrug. “You are not the first apprentice who has gotten a little possessive and insecure over their Master. It happens.”
Eridan scowled. “I’m not possessive. And why would I be insecure? I know my place. I am my Master’s first and only apprentice. You’re hardly the first servant he has ever had.”
The look Javier gave him was pitying.
Eridan flushed, deeply uncomfortable. Don’t say that, he pleaded mentally. If they didn’t talk about it, it wasn’t real.
“You’re lucky I like you, Eridan,” Javier said after a moment. “You should be more careful. Others wouldn’t be as understanding.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Eridan said.
Javier shook his head with a sad smile. “Have I told you about Kyran?”
“No,” Eridan said, confused and relieved by the change of subject.
“He got transferred to the servicing department just a few months before you started your apprenticeship under your Master,” Javier said. “He was an apprentice before.”
“What?”
“The scandal was hushed up, so I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of it.” Javier winced. “Kyran was discovered in an intimate situation with his Master. The fallout wasn’t pretty. Although Kyran said it was consensual, Master Blaine was demoted to Master Acolyte and forbidden from any contact with him.”
Eridan wrinkled his forehead. He had obviously known that any fraternization between a Master and their apprentice was very frowned upon, but he hadn’t realized the consequences would be that bad. “That seems a little harsh if it was consensual. Just because of their age difference? Why is it such a big deal when Calluvians can live up to two hundred years?”
“The age difference in itself isn’t the problem,” Javier said. “Master Blaine practically raised Kyran, so he basically groomed a child. That’s the disgusting part, no matter what Kyran says.”
“All right, that’s a little icky,” Eridan said, making a face. He glared at Javier when he realized why he was telling him this story. “But what does that have to do with anything? My Master sure as hell didn’t raise me. I properly met him only when I was eighteen.”
“I know,” Javier said with a placating gesture. “But Master Idhron’s case is rather unique. He’s the youngest Master in history, and even if he weren’t, most Masters don’t claim an apprentice that soon after graduating. Most Masters are a lot older than their apprentices. The age difference between Kyran and Master Blaine is actually much smaller than it could have been—I think there were some medical reasons that allowed Master
Blaine to take on an apprentice when he was still a Master Acolyte. Most Masters are fifty or sixty years older than their apprentices, and most Masters usually do raise their apprentices. The power imbalance alone makes any intimate relationship rather unhealthy—”
Eridan laughed. “I’m sorry, but that’s rich, coming from…”
Javier flushed. “What, a servant? I might be selling my body, but my mind is my own. I don’t belong to any Master the way an apprentice does. I don’t have to give anything but my body, and if my employer wants to do something I’m uncomfortable with, I can tell them to fuck off. An apprentice has no power over the Master; that’s why any fraternization between them is forbidden.”
Eridan scoffed. “Please. Don’t be naive. You’re speaking as someone who has no idea how the Chapter operates. I’ll have you know that most Masters in the Chapter couldn’t care less about arbitrary rules. Grandmaster Tethru would be the first to attest to that. Want to bet Master Blaine just pissed off some member of the Chapter and they used his relationship with Kyran as an excuse to demote him?”
Javier frowned. “I don’t believe you.”
Eridan sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I wish I had as much faith in the Chapter as you do, but trust me, they don’t give a fuck about the right thing. And by the way, you’re wrong about apprentices not having any power over their Masters.”
Javier shot him a skeptical look.
“I’ll prove it to you,” Eridan said with a grin. “You’ll see.”
“And how are you going to do it?” Javier said, still exuding skepticism.
“Watch.” Eridan plopped down on the couch next to Javier and looked expectantly at the door. “Master’s coming home.”
They didn’t have to wait long.
Castien looked tense as he entered the house. He came to an abrupt halt upon seeing them. His gaze flickered between them before settling on Eridan. “I told you not to wait up for me, Eridan.”
Eridan nearly scowled. Yes, because apparently you wanted to use Javier’s services.
Suppressing his annoyance, he gave his Master a smile. “I wanted to meditate with you.”
Castien stared at him. “Meditate? You?”
Eridan nodded solemnly, giving him his best innocent look.
Castien narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “And you have to meditate right now, I suppose.”
Eridan nodded, dropping his gaze for a moment. “I have felt strange all day. Off. My mind feels fuzzy, my thoughts weirdly disorganized.”
Castien walked over. Taking Eridan’s chin, he made Eridan look him in the eye. “Have you seen a mind healer?”
Eridan scoffed. “Why do I need one when I have you?”
Castien said nothing for a long moment.
“You should not be so careless,” he said at last, his thumb pressing against Eridan’s telepathic point. “You know those are the symptoms of a foreign intrusion into your mind.”
Eridan leaned into the touch, his telepathic core pulsing with yearning. “Master,” he whispered, licking his lips.
Castien stared at him.
“Leave,” he said curtly.
Eridan blinked up at him, unsure. “Master?”
“Leave,” Castien repeated, glancing aside—at Javier.
Right. Eridan had forgotten about him, forgotten about the point he had been trying to make.
Javier shot him a strange look as he bowed to Castien and left.
As soon as they were alone, Castien removed his hand and regarded him coldly. “What was that?”
“What was what?” Eridan said, feigning innocence.
A muscle twitched in Castien’s jaw. “You know as well as I do that you lied to me. There is nothing wrong with your mind, Eridan.”
Eridan shot him a sullen look. “Maybe there is. How would you know if you don’t check?”
“I do not need to get inside you to know that your mind was not tampered with.”
Eridan looked at him in confusion. “What?”
Castien pursed his lips. “You thought I would allow such a potential security breach? Your mind is a virtual fortress, Eridan. No one can get inside it without your explicit encouragement. It is protected by dozens of mind traps.”
Eridan frowned. “That can’t be true. I have joint meditations with Master Tker and he has never encountered them.”
For some reason, Castien seemed irritated by the subject. “Your meditations with him are shallow. I warned him not to go too deep, and just teach you patience and tranquility. He knows better than to touch your mind in any meaningful way.”
Eridan considered it, not sure how he felt about his mind being full of traps. On one hand, he appreciated it: mind traps were incredibly difficult to set up and were considered the best form of mental protection out there. On the other hand, he would have liked to actually be asked for his opinion beforehand.
“You should have told me,” he said.
Castien looked unfazed. “I do not have to tell you anything. You are my apprentice. You know too much. Protecting your mind is a necessity, not an option. They do no harm to you, so why would you object to an additional layer of protection?”
Well. When put that way, his Master was right.
“Still,” Eridan grumbled.
“You are just unhappy your lie was discovered,” Castien said. His eyes were cold. “I do not appreciate being lied to and manipulated, Eridan.”
“Then why did you play along?” Eridan said, confused.
“I saw little point in discussing our private affairs in front of a servant.”
Eridan couldn’t help but smile, feeling viciously pleased. Our private affairs. That was proof that he was far more important to his Master than a servant. Javier could suck his Master’s cock, but it changed nothing. Castien was Eridan’s, in all the ways that mattered.
He still absolutely hated the thought of Javier touching his Master and having even a fraction of his attention. It should be only his, Eridan’s, always.
“So, enlighten me on what it was about,” Castien said.
Eridan dropped his gaze before lifting it again.
“I want you to fire him,” he said.
Castien stared at him. His face became blank, the bond between them going completely quiet as Castien brought his shields up.
Silence fell, thick and suffocating.
Eridan felt himself blush, his skin prickling the longer the silence stretched.
“You do not want me to fire him,” Castien said at last, looking him in the eye. “Trust me, that would be a terrible idea.”
Eridan swallowed. “Why?” he murmured, his heart pounding in his ears. Were they really finally talking about the unsaid thing that had existed between them for ages? Or was he imagining it? “Don’t tell me you are scared of breaking the rules, Master. I won’t believe you. You make those rules.”
Castien’s fingers brushed against Eridan’s thaal. “Some rules are there for good reason.”
Eridan grabbed his Master’s hand and squeezed it with his own, the touch sending pleasant shivers through his body. “Bullshit,” he said hoarsely, holding Castien’s gaze. “You don’t need him. I can give you anything he does, and more.”
Castien’s throat moved. “You do not know what you are talking about, Eridan.” His voice was cold and uncompromising. “This conversation is over.”
Eridan said, “No.”
He felt the very air between them become charged with his Master’s anger.
Eridan moved Castien’s hand up his neck, to his mouth. He rubbed his lips against his Master’s palm before slipping his thumb into his mouth. He sucked, looking Castien in the eye, challenging. The inside of his mouth felt so sensitive, and Eridan nearly moaned from how good it felt. He felt blood rush to his crotch, arousal pooling between his legs, hot and heavy. He sucked harder on his Master’s thumb, relishing the sensation, the taste of his Master’s skin, the feel of a part of his Master’s body inside him.
“Cease
this immediately,” Castien bit out, his gaze fixed on Eridan’s mouth, the blue of his eyes so dark his eyes seemed black.
“Why?” Eridan said through their bond, sucking on Castien’s thumb. “Why did you suddenly acquire a conscience, Master?”
“It’s not about conscience, you insolent brat,” Castien said, pulling his finger out of Eridan’s mouth with an obscene pop. He pressed the wet thumb against Eridan’s bottom lip, his gaze a mix of fascinated and disgusted. “If it were a matter of conscience, or lack thereof, I would have stuffed you with my cock years ago.”
Eridan shivered, squeezing his thighs together. There was something obscene about his Master, the high and mighty Master Idhron, who rarely ever used contractions, saying such a vulgar word as “cock.”
“Then what is the problem?” Eridan said breathlessly, flicking his tongue out to lick Castien’s thumb.
“The problem is, that would be extremely idiotic in the long run.” Despite his harsh words, Castien’s gaze remained fixed on Eridan’s mouth. “Now stop this ridiculousness. This is the last we speak of this.”
Eridan glowered at him. “How is having sex with me ‘extremely idiotic,’ but fucking Javier isn’t?”
A muscle twitched in Castien’s jaw. “Do not test my patience, Eridan. Watch your tone and language.”
Eridan gave him a faux-innocent look, fuming on the inside. “Why, Master, I’m simply confused. I’m better looking, more powerful, and more compatible with you than him.”
“And humbler,” Castien said dryly.
“Pffft. Humility is overrated.” Eridan looked him in the eye. “You already love fucking my brain, don’t you deny it. What’s stopping you from fucking me with your cock?”
Castien’s nostrils flared. “You will watch your mouth. I do not know where you have picked up such vulgar language, but—”
“Why, from your precious fuck-toy, Master—”
Castien yanked him to his feet, his eyes dark. “I’ve had enough of your cheek, Eridan.”
Breathing hard, Eridan leaned into Castien’s personal space. “And what are you going to do with me?” he said with a sneer, knowing that his insolence would make his Master angry. He wanted it. He wanted Castien to be angry. Anger was good. Anger was better than cold distance. “What are you going to do? Spank me?” He smiled, their ragged breaths mixing. “Why won’t you just shut me up with your cock? You know you want to, Master. You’ve wanted it for years, admit it.” He cocked his head to the side and smiled. “Javier looks a little like me. Is that why he stuck around? I bet you imagine me in his place every time you stick your cock into him.”