by K R Leikvoll
"Danielle was my attempt to find the light. She helped me feel normal again. It was my useless endeavor at gaining my humanity back. It took me many years after her death to realize that all I can do is be myself until my bitter end. Not having to fight my demonic nature for once is freeing," he said softly. "Our blood bond is unlike even my Sacramental bond. Now that we have... consummated, it's more intense than anything I have felt. I have no words to describe it, Val."
His words made me feel uneasy. I definitely had feelings for him, but was it at the same level he was describing? The tone of his voice indicated that the intensity of those feelings almost burned him. That had to be what Alvir was talking about. It was almost intimidating to see the change in him.
Kirin actually ate his food with me. I guess noble blood came in handy with table manners because he was neater than anyone I had seen on Praetis, even women. Hell, even myself. I didn't push conversation after that. I didn't want to ruin the dinner which was no doubt meant to be romantic. I always did manage to fuck things up, didn't I? He seemed to move past it enough to enjoy his food.
"I have this for you," he said after a while, handing me a red leather-bound book. It took me a moment to notice that it was the book from Light's Peak. "I will warn you though: it's disappointing."
I opened the cover to read the words: To the Nephilim. The next page was disappointing like he warned. All it said was:
“Naazvaba is the key to stopping the Void.
Good luck, Nephilim.
-Eve Ash”
Instead of focusing on how useless the message was, I traced the letters of her name. Not even our handwriting was similar. Was there anything at all I had in common with her?
Kirin noticed that I was tense and took the book from me. He moved our empty plates to the side and refilled his wine.
"Are you staying here tonight?" I asked.
"No, I have something else planned," he replied with a smirk. He finished his second glass of wine in another gulp before pulling me to my feet. "There's a special place I thought you might like to visit."
I left the comfort of our solitude in the geode with him. We followed the spiral road of the city to a circular wooden door between a food store and a tailor. Inside, it was some sort of shop that felt incredibly hot and damp. An Evyan couple stood behind a counter talking quietly about something until they saw us.
"You must be our evening guest. I did not think it was going to be the foreign king and the Divinus, or I would have had my wife bring in our good robes," the male said, shooting a scornful look at his wife. She ignored him and stared over my shoulder.
I was startled by Mortos' presence behind us.
"And your friend is?" the male added.
"Just here to make sure we do not have any visitors," Mortos said to the man's wife with a wink. I heard him lock the shop's door behind us.
"Very well," the man replied, irritated. "This way."
Kirin and I followed the Evyan man down a narrow makeshift hallway made of wood. Tucked around a corner was a paper screen door where the sound of bubbling was thundering inside. When the man opened the screen in front of us, we were greeted with a natural hot spring embedded in the stone. The water was black and filled the room with steam. The Evyan left us alone, closing the door behind him.
Once we were alone, Kirin immediately pulled me into his arms and kissed me. I could feel his hand behind my back untying my dress with no hesitation. The rose-like dress fell from my shoulders to the ground. His silver eyes roamed over my body for a moment before he gently pushed me toward the water.
I didn't have to be told twice. I submerged myself and it was by far the best sensation I had experienced since I got there. It was like the world's best hot tub. It probably was the best one on Praetis, honestly. I waded until it was to my neck, enjoying every bit of it. All of the months of stress and sleeping on the ground seemed to melt away. The knots in my muscles were incredibly grateful for the soothing hot water.
It was even better when Kirin joined me and used a floral smelling oil to massage my back. I was on some sweet, faraway cloud nine. I forgot about the Evyan city around us, about Alvir, about the prophecy, about Naazvaba, about Vince. His arms wrapped their way around me as he kissed my neck and ear.
"May I?" he whispered. I guess I owed him for yesterday. I wouldn't say no even if I didn't. His lips picked a spot on my neck above the water. He grabbed me as close as he could before his teeth pierced my skin. It didn't hurt like I thought it might. Instead, it awoke a powerful desire in me. After a long few swallows, he felt the same way. Kirin spun me around so our lips could meet. The taste of my own blood wasn't enough to distract me from his gaze. His wine-colored eyes told me what he wanted. He pushed me up against the edge and pressed himself inside me.
Our lovemaking (that was the only word that could use to describe the passionate bathing session) lasted until we were both exhausted. We took turns washing each other between periods of more kissing and embraces. By the time we got out, my body felt fatigued. He was kind enough to help me put my dress back on after he spent time running his hands along my bare skin with more oils.
Mortos was chatting up the Evyan wife when we came back out. He glanced at Kirin, noticed his eyes and gave me a knowing stare. He tipped his new, frilly Evyan hat to the woman. "I will be making my way to the bar... maybe you could join me later?" he asked her with a wink. Mortos didn't wait for a response, he just pulled the door open and waited on us expectantly.
Kirin put a small bag of coins on the counter. "For your discretion," he said to her before following us out.
"I will see you tomorrow my liege," Mortos said. "Divinus..." He started off down the long spiral.
Kirin took my hand in his and we began walking back toward the geode.
"Are you going to sleep with me tonight?" I asked hoping it wasn't goodbye.
"Where else could I rest but in your embrace?" he responded. I couldn't hide how much it made me flush.
As we reached the crystal bridge, he draped his arm around me—probably to anger Evyans—but he stopped suddenly as I unintentionally walked away from his grasp.
"Kirin?" a childlike voice called out from behind us.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
A tall woman, strangely Naadean instead of Evyan, was standing behind us with outstretched arms. I instantly recognized she was a demon by her large, red eyes. She had long, wavy blonde hair. It barely covered her giant breasts spilling out of her navy dress.
Kirin's body went rigid beside me. He shot me a very panicked expression before turning to her. To my utter irritation, the girl hugged him like she hadn't seen him in a thousand years. Kirin didn't respond to her touch; he just stood there waiting for her to let go.
"How did you get into the city?" he asked her viciously, but so quietly I could hardly hear him.
"You don't seem happy to see me," she replied in her childlike voice, mismatching her womanly appearance. "But if you must know, I brought an intercepted message for the Evyans. They were quite content to take it in exchange for my entrance."
Kirin glanced back at me, unsure what to do.
It didn't take rocket science to know who she was. My only educated guess was Guinevere. She noticed that I was behind him and pushed him out of her way. She was at least a head taller than me, so she had to crouch until we were eye level. We met each other with some sort of staring competition. No way was I backing down to that bitch. Guinevere looked like some kind of creepy porcelain doll from a horror movie. She turned back to Kirin.
"I wasn't aware Vincent’s daughter had returned. Have you been hiding her from him during your absence, my dearest?" Guinevere asked him.
Oh my god. My heart dropped instantly. I covered my horrified expression with my hand.
"You are preposterous. What are you going on about?" he asked her, agitated.
Her gaze met mine again and a cruel smile appeared on her lips revealing all of her fangs.
Kirin
turned to me with a single questioning look on his face. I didn't have enough time to poker face. I dropped my hand, but I knew I was completely fucked. "You... did you know about this?" he asked me with horror and disbelief.
"Kirin, I—" I started to say, but he cut me off.
"You did know? This whole time I trusted you, and you've been keeping this from me?" he asked furiously. Before I could respond, he grabbed my shoulders and peered into my eyes. "So, it is true. I can't believe you. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me," he said, disgusted as my soul revealed my secret.
Kirin started to walk away, but I latched onto his arm.
"I never lied to you! I was scared," I protested, desperately trying to make him understand. I mean, if I was Hitler's daughter, and I was dating someone whose family was killed by the Nazis, I wouldn't tell them that! I didn't want him to hate me. I wasn't like Vince. I wasn't.
"Are you sure about that?" his voice whispered on cue.
Kirin ripped his arm from me. "I can't even look at you," he said coldly before storming off toward the higher part of the geode. Guinevere curtsied to me in a sarcastic fashion before running after him. I watched her wrap herself around his body and shoot me a victory smile as they grew further from me.
I felt sick. My heart literally hurt inside my chest, aching so bad I didn't want to stand. It was like a knife embedded deep inside me. Was that what a broken heart felt like? I was pretty sure it was. I couldn't help breaking into tears right there in public. I was so stupid. Alvir was right; it was only a matter of time, and I had been too chicken shit to tell him! Now that he had noticed, would he only see Vince when he looked at me?
"Who knows? It could arouse him more," Vince whispered with a chuckle.
Go away! Why was he around me all day? He had never been that present my entire life; why the hell did he feel the need to hang around and make things worse?
I wiped my tears away, smearing my makeup everywhere, but I couldn't find it in me to care. I didn't want to go back to my bedroom alone. I didn't want to chase after Kirin either. Let him stay with that stupid whore Guinevere! See if I care!
But I did care. Enough to cry myself out as I wandered around the city. It was late, and most people weren't out and about, but those that I did pass shot me concerned stares. It’s not like I was going to bare my soul to a random Evyan or sprite fairy person.
Somehow, I made it all the way down to Alvir's house. He was the only one my subconscious thought might be able to understand at least a little bit.
I raised my hand to knock on his door, but before I could, I heard someone call my name. Ronen was rushing over from the bar. Seeing someone connected to Kirin made me feel worse. I wanted to puke.
"What's wrong, Divinus?" Ronen asked incredibly concerned. He put a gentle hand on my shoulder and used the other to wipe away my tears. I couldn't even begin to tell him why I was upset. His kindness only made me cry more. Ronen softly pulled me from the street into the cover of the bar.
It was super packed. Maybe it was everyone's Friday. There was an even number of Evyan and small colorful people. They were all obviously not the upper class, and it made me more comfortable despite my current state.
Ronen guided us to the furthest inner corner. Mortos and Arturio were sitting at a table tucked almost out of sight. My were-brother was hunched over the wood crying into his drink. It was still so weird seeing such human emotion in him, though that's probably a racist thought.
"What is wrong with the princess?" Mortos asked, gesturing to me. He was already more than tipsy. I wiped away my tears. Ronen put a hard hand on my shoulder and made me sit down before moving over to the bar. Mortos was staring from behind his mug waiting for my response. "Everything sounded like it was going marvelous. What did he do this time?"
"She's here," I replied numbly.
Mortos almost choked. "How did she get in?"
Arturio's wolf ears perked up. "They let an enemy into the Hidden City? That doesn't sound admissible of the council," he said in his growly voice.
I took a few deep breaths before I could speak again. "She said she had an intercepted message," I told them when I was able to breathe.
Ronen set a goblet of wine down in front of me. I know it was bad to self-medicate, but I knew I wasn't going to die of alcohol poisoning or liver failure, so why would I care? I latched onto the glass like it was water and I was in the desert.
"Arturio is right," Ronen said, sitting down beside me. "They would not let someone like her into the city, even for a message. Besides, there's only one ally that could be trying to contact them that actually knows where they are. How Guinevere found this city is quite intriguing."
"Maybe she caught the courier and used her witch powers on him," Mortos said with a bothered look in his eyes. His accent seemed to get thicker with booze. The waiter, or whatever the hell you would call them, brought him a refill on his drinking stein.
"Still worth an investigation. There is no reason why the Evyans would let a demon from Duskwraith into their sacred refuge," Arturio stated seriously.
Ronen nodded in agreement.
My wine glass was disappointingly empty, but only for a moment. The short man filling drinks with bright blue hair filled it up as soon as he noticed.
Mortos saw the wife from the bathhouse across the bar and whistled at her.
Meanwhile, Arturio took a linen scrap and wrapped it around a piece of ice. He reached across the table and pressed it against my neck. It actually stung for a moment before it felt soothing. When I paid attention to the spot, it was definitely tender and bruised.
"I do not agree with what you let him do to you. He has clearly hurt you not just physically tonight," Arturio said quietly.
I could see that Ronen agreed with him, but based on his lack of response, his loyalty was on Kirin's side since he was his king.
"You don't think he'd... sleep with her, do you?" I asked Mortos, Ronen and Arturio collectively. Mortos' expression suggested he would, so he tried to hide it behind his glass. Arturio seemed to agree with Mortos silently. His gaze was full of empathy, unlike rage when we first met.
Ronen cleared his throat. "I don't think he would, Divinus. The King's hatred for Guinevere is widely known. He'd kill her before he would bed her again," he said confidently.
Yeah, it had to do with his relationship with her, not messing up mine, of course. It was just typical of my life! I finally meet a decent guy that doesn't think I'm crazy, and I fuck it up. And to think I could have brought him home to meet my parents. It was a really silly thought. No way that beanstalk could get around on Earth without becoming internet famous.
The wife from the bathhouse joined our table, and it was as awkward as you'd imagine. She sat on Mortos’ lap while he got yet another refill.
I powered through my second glass of wine before I felt it. The warmth in my chest wasn't enough to get through the aching sensation that wouldn't leave even though I had stopped crying.
"So where were you for all these years?" Arturio asked while I got another refill.
"Far away from here," I replied. When I finally set my glass down, I noticed that the bar had become sort of quiet. The people around us had heard his question and were content to listen to our conversation.
"Like Naadea?" he asked. Ronen knew I was from Earth, and I'm pretty sure Mortos did too, but they also seemed to be interested.
"No, another planet actually. Not really sure how far away it is from here. Also not sure where Kirin parked the spaceship," I replied. With my drunken mental state, thinking about Earth made me homesick. Throwing Kirin into it only made my heart ache worse. A few tears fell from my eyes again.
"Hey! No more of that! I propose a drinking game," Mortos said, raising his mug.
Arturio looked mildly reluctant, but he was the first to nod in agreement.
Ronen glanced around at everyone watching. "Damn it... fine," he groaned, motioning for the bartender. “But you better not get too drunk and
wind up in jail like last time, captain.”
"I don't think a drinking game is the best idea," I protested, wiping my face. No way was I going to be able to keep up. Their alcohol was too potent for me.
"Nonsense. You are going to be the winner whether you like it or not," Mortos replied, entirely serious.
The barkeep brought over four new steins and a fresh black bottle.
"This is Femoran lava wine. The last that we've got, but the Divinus honors us with her presence," he said pouring our drinks. The bottle filled each glass to the brim and the dark orange liquid was steaming and fizzling like actual lava. When I picked up the mug, it wasn't hot like I expected from its appearance.
"Alright, here is the game: 'I've Never.' Someone says something they have never done, and if you have done it, you take a drink," Mortos said. Yeah, yeah, I had definitely heard of that game. I was pretty sure I'd never touch my glass based on whatever their questions might be.
"I'll go first," Ronen said. "I've never robbed anyone."
Hmm... maybe in kindergarten I had taken some crayons, but I think they meant full-on burglary. Mortos chuckled and took a drink. Arturio rolled his eyes and took a drink also. Both of them grimaced slightly and let out a few coughs.
"You next, Divinus," Ronen said.
"I never visited the places I wanted to visit," I said, thinking of something relevant. I would have loved to visit Scandinavia. Maybe if I made it back to Earth. It was a good choice, though; every person but me drank.
"The princess is falling behind... let's see. I have never slept with a king," Mortos said with a smirk.
I kicked him under the table. That was super private business and regarding the person I was trying to avoid thinking about. Mortos, Ronen and Arturio didn't drink and waited for my reaction.