Lacuna - N.R. Walker Page 0,56
had a man in his room before, and it felt oddly exhilarating to do so now. He pushed the door open and stood aside. “After you.”
Crow gave a nod and stepped inside and Tancho followed him close behind. His belly was in knots and the door clicking shut behind him made him jump. His private quarters was a large set of rooms, not too unlike those at the Aequi Kentron; a meeting area for guests with long seats, chairs, and a table—which had a tray of fruit and breads on it—then a door to his bed chambers with his own private baths. Windows overlooked the ocean.
Tancho had missed his home, but above all, he missed his own private space. He watched Crow as he took in the large room, the furniture, the view. And although he craved some solitude and peace, he didn’t mind that Crow was with him.
“You know,” Crow mused out loud, “I’d hate for you to think more on this than what it is, but your home, your castle, is truly beautiful.”
That made Tancho smile. “Thank you.”
“The villages, the countryside on the journey here, I’ve never seen anything like it.” Crow gestured to the room. “The architecture, the furniture, the food, it’s all so different.”
“What did you expect?”
“I don’t know.” Crow frowned. “I hadn’t expected anything. I’d never given much thought to what the Westlands looked like or how the people lived, to be honest.”
Tancho conceded a nod, because he hadn’t really studied any culture other than his own either. “And how does the Northlands differ?”
“We live in the mountains, under a blanket of white and grey, mostly. Our homes are built for our climate, to withstand the cold and the weight of snow. As your homes are built here for the breeze and the water.”
“Perhaps one day I will see the Northlands,” Tancho murmured.
Crow grinned at him as though the idea of that made him incredibly happy. “Then I would suggest the warmer months, or you’ll require an upgrade in wardrobe.”
Tancho smiled at that and looked down at Crow’s heavy boots and the thickset fabrics of his pants and shirt, compared to Tancho’s thinner linens and silks. “Are you overheated in your winter clothes?”
“A little,” he admitted. “It’s not so bad.”
“Perhaps some of Kohaku’s clothes would fit you. If you wish for a change.”
Crow sniffed his armpit and gave him a crooked grin. “Are you trying to tell me something?”
Tancho chuckled. “Not at all.” He would never admit that he liked the smell of him. “Though I do have a private bath in my room—” He gestured to the bedroom door. “—if you need. Please treat my home as your own.”
Something flashed in Crow’s eyes, but it was gone before Tancho could give it a name. His brows knitted together and he cleared his throat. “Did you say you wanted to . . . meditate?”
Tancho nodded. “Yes. It helps clear my mind. Would you like to do it with me?”
Crow blanched. “Uh . . . okay?” The corner of his lip pulled downward. “Though I don’t know how.”
“It’s rather simple. Come sit with me.”
The corner of Tancho’s large bedroom was a cleared space where sunlight and the sound of the ocean came through the windows. There was a mat on the floor, which Tancho sat on, and he patted the floor beside him.
After unbuckling his scabbard and sword and laying it on the floor, Crow sat, but again couldn’t quite master sitting cross-legged. It was awkward and adorable how he tried to hold his legs in, but after he over balanced for a third time, Tancho could only laugh instead. “Try lying down. On your back, hands by your sides.”
Crow did that. “Now what?”
“Close your eyes and inhale, hold it. Exhale. Are you comfortable?”
“I think so.”
Tancho was struck by how handsome Crow was, and how vulnerable he was lying on the floor, his bedroom floor, no less. With his eyes closed and a gentle smile at his lips. His dark hair falling toward the mat, his pink lips. They looked so soft and warm . . .
“What now?” Crow asked, thankfully keeping his eyes closed.
Right. Meditating . . .
“Breathe in deep,” Tancho said, hoping the meditation cleared his mind of those kind of thoughts. “Breathe out slow. Now, imagine there is a silver ball in your feet.”
“A silver ball?”
“Yes.”
“Why is it silver?”
“This will go a lot better if you don’t question me.”
Crow grumbled but didn’t press for any more questions. Tancho inhaled deeply and closed his