Page 18 of Castor

I helped Gray stand up from the floor, and we left the study. He jogged away from me and dashed into the lounge area. Probably to cuddle up on his favorite cushion again.

Simon stood in the hallway, his clothes a bit disheveled, as if he’d dressed in a hurry. His sandy brown hair was messy, and there was a bite mark at the base of his neck.

“What are you doing out of bed?” Galen asked, wrapping Simon in his arms. “I told you to wait for me.”

Simon beamed up at his lover. “You can always drag me right back.”

“Don’t tempt me.”

Simon rose up on his tiptoes and nipped at Galen’s jaw.

Daman glared at them before walking in the other direction. He was such a miserable ass sometimes, but he couldn’t help it. Envy made him bitter. Sad.

“Who’s hungry?” Raiden asked, clapping his hands together once. “I’m craving spaghetti and meatballs.”

“I’m craving balls too,” Bellamy said and stuck his tongue in the corner of his lips, wiggling his eyebrows. “Big and juicy ones.”

“That’s how I like them.” Raiden nodded, completely oblivious to Bell’s meaning. “I found a sauce recipe that’s dynamite. You’re gonna love it.”

Bellamy glanced at me and shook his head. “He’s a moron.”

“Huh?” Raiden asked.

“Nothing,” Bellamy and I said at the same time.

“Oh. Okay.” He walked toward the kitchen.

“It’s a good thing he’s hot.” Bellamy watched him a moment, then looked at me. “Because he’s dumber than shit.” A ding sounded from his phone, and he pulled it from his pocket, a smile forming on his lips as he glanced at the screen.

“Booty call?”

“Maybe.” He winked before heading toward the front door. “Tell Raiden to save me some meatballs.”

Needing some space, I went upstairs to my room and stepped out onto my private balcony. The sun dipped below the mountains, lighting the late-summer sky in shades of deep orange and magenta. The evening was warm, but the season would soon change, welcoming crisp autumn air instead of the summer heat.

I thought of my father.

The memory took root inside my mind, taking me back to a time when I’d had no cares in the world. He sat beside me on the grass beside the lake, the sun setting his red hair aflame—the same shade as mine.

“Why does the sun leave us every day?” I asked.

“So he can rest,” Father answered.

“Why does he need to rest?”

Father ruffled my hair. “Because even a being as mighty as the sun needs to sleep. And while he slumbers, the moon takes his place, lighting the world in his absence.”

“Are they companions? The sun and the moon?”

“I suppose so.” He looked toward the lake. “They’re two halves of the same whole. Created to be together.”

“Like you and Mother?”

His expression softened. “Indeed.”

“What are you two muttering about out here?” Mother asked from behind us, a smile in her voice.

I stood from the grass and ran to her side. “Father told me about the sun and the moon. They watch over the world, so we’ll always have light.”