As Nathan and Griffin were cuddling and quietly chatting, Axel's voice interrupted them.
[We're being watched.]
Nathan stiffened slightly in Griffin's embrace. "By who?"
[That Felix person I think. It's coming from Dray's house, second story.]
Nathan instantly relaxed. Turning his head, he saw Dray standing a short distance away. "Dray? Why don't you go get cleaned up and invite Felix over for lunch?"
Dray smiled easily at him. "Sure. How much time do you need?"
Griffin answered before Nathan could. "Probably about an hour. Anything specific you want?"
"Nope. I'm not picky."
"What about Felix?"
"He's not picky either as far as I know. But he is allergic to strawberries," Dray added.
Griffin nodded in understanding. "Got it. We'll see you in an hour then."
"See you."
Nathan watched as Dray entered his house before turning back to Griffin. "Okay, time to let go. Otherwise I'll drag you into the bath with me," he said with a flirty smile.
Griffin smiled softly as he kissed Nathan's nose. "Any other time, I'd happily join you, but you're hungry."
With that, Griffin carefully set Nathan down, guiding him towards the house with a hand on the small of his back.
**********
A quiet knock on Felix's door startled him out of his drifting thoughts.
"Felix?" Dray's soft voice called out.
Suppressing a sigh of longing, Felix stood from the chair he'd dragged to the window and quietly made his way towards the door. On the other side of the door, Dray waited with a calm smile.
"Yes?" Felix asked as he opened the door, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the vampire in front of him.
"We were invited to join Griffin and Nathan for lunch. Would you like to join us or did you want to continue resting?"
Felix tried to contain his excitement. "I'll join you," he said quickly. "I just need a moment to get cleaned up and dressed." He was still wearing the lounge clothes he slept in and they were quite wrinkled.
Dray smiled wider at him. "Take your time. They're not expecting us for an hour."
Felix gave him a shy smile as Dray walked towards his own room to get cleaned up. Felix waited until Dray's door closed before closing his own.
**********
Across the street, Griffin was drawing Nathan a bath while Nathan was rummaging through the walk-in closet.
"Griffin?" Nathan called from the closet.
Griffin came out of the bathroom, drying his hands with a small towel. "Yes, love?"
Popping his head around the closet door, Nathan met Griffin curious gaze. "I was wondering, why would Felix need to come this way if he was going to Red Peak Mountain to look for Dray?"
Griffin propped himself on the edge of their bed. "Good question. Remember when we were talking about the different species?"
Nathan nodded.
"Merfolk can be out of water for only so long. If I'm recalling correctly, the more direct approach to Red Peak from the capital doesn't have enough lakes and rivers for them, but the path that takes them past Dark Moon has plenty."
Nathan slowly nodded as he considered that. "I guess that makes sense." He fully emerged from the closet, leaning against the door frame. "That doesn't explain why Draken asked him to check on this mountain though."
Griffin thought about it. "You're right. Hmm. Maybe Felix has an idea. We can ask at lunch."
[And what if he doesn't know?] Kael asked.
"Then he doesn't know," Nathan answered. "And we can only continue to speculate."