by Downs Jana
“Je t’aime aussi, mon petit,” he replied with a soft smile in his voice.
Salvatore watched the exchange in silence. In a hard voice, he finally spoke as the two lost themselves in each other’s touch once again, completely forgetting the gaze of the Dragon Prince. Dageus promised himself that he’d reply. In just another minute. Just one more minute.
“That’s enough, Dageus,” Salvatore said sternly as they fell into a passionate kiss. They ignored his command and gripped onto one another in a passion-born embrace.
Salvatore sighed. “You asked for this, Dageus.” He heard the Prince mutter before he felt the beginnings of real power race towards him. The Prince stretched his long-unused powers toward his Ravyn and tightened the metaphysical rope that bound them together until it was a painful reminder to the warrior who it was bound to it. Dageus cried out in pain and fell hard to the floor. Alex was too shocked to even bother to catch him. Salvatore raised a brow as Dageus crawled toward him on his knees, small sounds of pain emitting from his throat in regular intervals. Dageus knew that it was the first and only time he’d ever had to remind one of his Ravyns of their duties. For extra measure, Salvatore struck out once again to punish him, and Dageus convulsed on the floor, his eyes rolling back in his head as his body shook and twisted as currents of electrical energy flowed from Salvatore into him.
* * * *
“Stop it!” Alex demanded in a panic, observing the convulsions of his dearest.
His own power rose to meet Salvatore’s. The power of the two clashed in the air above Dageus’s head. Salvatore growled, and the rest of the Ravyns ran to him, flat out from across the darkened stage. They surrounded the two warring beings, and power was a thing so palpable that it thickened the air with a humid quality. Dageus continued his thrashing on the floor. Frowning, both men forced their power a notch higher. Dageus cried out and gripped his head as the power pinged off his mind like hammers on the inside of his skull.
“Boys. Assistance. He’s attempting to claim your brother.”
Inhuman snarls were being issued from the Ravyns. They all reached for Dageus at Salvatore’s words, running their hands over his bare chest in soothing gestures and making guttural noises that may have been a language. He reached unsure hands toward them, and one of them allowed his brother to grip his forearms as Dageus allowed them to pull him into their combined embrace. Alex hissed, flashing his fangs, and sank his power deeper into Dageus. Dageus cried out.
“You’re hurting him!” The Ravyn with the surfer-blond hair screamed in Alex’s direction as blood began to drip from Dageus’s nose. The dark-haired one whispered something in that rhythmic guttural language, and the one who’d yelled at him quieted. Alex felt them gathering their powers to thrust him forcibly from Dageus’s consciousness.
“Wait,” Dageus muttered. “Stop. Stop, my brothers. He hasn’t hurt me. My Prince,” he pleaded. “Make them stop.”
Salvatore made a noise of displeasure low in his throat. He sounded downright dangerous. “Strike him, my Ravyns.” He commanded. Dageus cried out in panic this time, ripped himself from his brothers’ arms, and threw himself in front of Alex.
“No!” The power they had been directing struck him full force and knocked him flat on his back. The Ravyns echoed his gasp, and they shared his pain, writhing in agony. Salvatore waved his hand and dispelled the power. Dageus reached a hand toward Alex.
“Enough,” Salvatore said. The situation had really gotten out of hand. The vampire nodded his agreement. It was enough. “I acknowledge your power, Master of Haven. However, my Dageus is not your Kalel. Only those who belong to Demontia are able to become true Ravyns, and your lover would’ve originated on this plane. It is impossible.”
Alex snorted at his simplified explanation. “It should also be impossible for a Vampire to enthrall a demonic servant, yet I have. Not to mention that to Thrall someone you have to exchange blood with them multiple times over a two week period, and I’ve only had one blood exchange with your Ravyn, yet I call him, and he’s mine.”
Salvatore opened his mouth to argue but was interrupted by Dageus.
“Stop!” Dageus begged, panting from the floor. “Jesus. Can we stop arguing who owns more of me and address the problem at hand?”
They looked at him dumbly.
“I’m on the fucking floor, and I can’t feel the lower half of my body,” he offered. His brothers swarmed him worriedly. It was then Alex decided to change tactics.
“Your Ravyn is very talented, my lord Prince,” Alex offered once they had gotten Dageus to his feet. “I’ve never had someone react so passionately as my partner. You are very lucky to have him.”
“You truly think so? I hadn’t been aware of it previously. Not much dancing to be had in Demontia.” The Prince’s abrupt enthusiasm made the vampire suspicious, but it was a welcome change from the hostility of the moment before.
Alex smiled gently, trying for diplomacy when his instincts clamored for him to claim his Bride, diplomacy be damned. “Indeed,” he replied. “I apologize for mistaking your Ravyn for Kalel. The way he dances reminded me of my former love. At any rate, would you be willing to allow him to train with me while you are here? I think it would be very favorable to both of us. You and your Ravyns can have the VIP box for the rest of the season or for as long as you’re here and—Dageus, is it—will be trained by me and used in my productions. He has quite excited my sensibilities and inspired my muse.”
Salvatore nodded, accepting his apology as well as agreeing quickly to his suggestions “My lord, perhaps we should consider this matter a while before you make those sorts of decisions, considering we just stopped fighting with the vampire?” Tony, as usual the voice of temperance, spoke quietly and unassumingly.
Salvatore sighed. “You’re very right, of course, my Ravyn.” He turned his attention back toward the Master vampire. “If you give me a way in which to reach you, I can let you know our decision by tomorrow evening.”
Alex bowed graciously. “Of course.”
* * * *
Salvatore thanked Alex for the show as well as complimented the excellence of his work once again before they took their leave. Dageus hung back for two reasons, firstly because he was none too eager to get drilled on his activities by his brothers and secondly because he was none too eager to leave Alex’s side, even for a minute. It was bizarre how he felt about the vampire. Touching him was like taking a cool drink of water on a hot summer day, both refreshing and satisfying to the senses. The blazing exit sign showed Dageus the way back to his brothers, and he stared at it, unaware that Alex was watching the torn expression on his face. The vampire reached a hand for him and turned him into him.
It felt like the most natural thing in the world for Dageus to rest his hands lightly on Alex’s firm chest as he wrapped his strong arms around Dageus’s back in a comfortable embrace. His breath hitched at the adoration he saw in Alex’s eyes.
“When will I see you again?” Dageus whispered, his voice betraying the craving he had for the vampire’s touch.
Alex traced a thumb over Dageus’s rose-shaped lips. “Soon, mon coeur. Soon.” Their lips met in one last sizzling kiss before Alex gently sent him out the door.
Chapter Thirteen
“Want to talk about it?” Allasandro asked once they were all piled inside the tight confines of the Escalade.
Dageus swallowed and shook his head in denial. The silence that followed Allasandro’s one question was deafening. Dageus sighed. All he could think of was the way Alex had held him, the way the Master had kissed him, most of all the way the Master had loved him. The feelings that were bubbling inside him were threatening to overwhelm his sensibilities. It was wrong. It had been building inside him for a long while now, this desire for the companionship of another man, and now he was having trouble remembering why exactly it was so wrong to want another man’s arms. He thought about it for a while, tossing the idea in his mind for what seemed like eternity.
The ride to the house was the longest in his life, the normal easy camaraderie between the Ravyns thrown off by the shock of the evening. Salvatore kept throwing worried looks at him the entire ride, and Tony kept opening and closing his mouth like he wanted to say something but thought better of it. Dageus knew he’d compromised the brotherhood with his secrets, but he had no idea how to even approach fixing it. Confession was a must, but beyond that, what was he supposed to do?
They pulled up to the house and filed out as they had a million times before. Their training enabled them to forget for an instant the elephant in the room.
“Dageus, I would like to see you in my study immediately after guard shift, before drills,” Salvatore commanded as Tony and Druas took protective stances on either side of him until he was safely inside the front door. They all did a quick mental scan of their surroundings, looking for Salvatore’s would-be killers. A digital readout of the area also accompanied their perusal from the security panel just inside the door.
“Yes, my Prince,” Dageus said formally.
Now that the Ravyns were out of the open air and inside the relative safety of the house, their focus zeroed in on Dageus. Allasandro, Druas, Tony, and Germany all looked at him like he’d sprung a second head as they slunk away from him as the day guards began to file in the doors. They still didn’t understand why Dageus had been practically copulating with another man earlier. Since Dageus hadn’t offered an explanation, they were still weirded out, if that look was any indication. Dageus sighed heavily. Salvatore must have caught the awkward energy that was flowing between them because he put a hand on Dageus’s shoulder to stop him from leaving.
“I think it’s best if we have that conversation now, Dageus,” Salvatore whispered. “Join me in my study?”
Standing at attention was, for the first time, extremely uncomfortable. Dageus felt Salvatore’s eyes boring into him from behind the immense expanse of hard-oak desk even though he kept his eyes firmly glued to the floor.
“My Ravyn. Speak thine own truth,” the demon Prince said formally. Dageus felt the rush of words leave him as he spoke the truth as he knew it. Even the embarrassing dreams that had plagued him were bared before the Prince. Salvatore didn’t interrupt his tirade of explanation and only added his affirmative nod at odd points.
“So you see, my Prince,” Dageus concluded. “My reaction was a purely psychological reaction to a subconscious stimulant.” The incredulous look on Salvatore’s face said that he really wasn’t buying his explanation. The Prince cleared his throat.
“So you’re gay?” he asked as delicately. “And your reaction to the, uh, Master of the city was due to the ‘deep psychological need to develop a relationship with a male fantasy you’ve had for over a year’?” Dageus nodded, beaming at his own brilliance. Salvatore looked dumbfounded. “Okay. Well. Right then. Carry on. Tony is waiting in the practice arena.”
Dageus stared at him. After all of his worry and build-up over his confession, Salvatore had dismissed him like it was nothing.
“That’s it?” he asked incredulously. Salvatore, seemingly shocked that he was still there, nodded at his stupidity.
“Yeah. That’s it. Just wanted to make sure he hadn’t fucked with your head. Now that you admit the attraction, I see no reason to continue this line of questioning,” the Prince finished, embarrassed. Dageus straightened and bowed low.
“Very well, my Prince,” he said, letting himself out the door. Salvatore looked up as the door swung shut.
* * * *
A gay Ravyn. Now that was something you didn’t hear about every day. He pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. This was going to turn the household upside down. It wasn’t as if Salvatore was afraid that the Ravyns would cast their brother aside because of his preference. No, he feared the exact opposite reaction. He feared they would get curious. He shuddered at the thought. Good lord, New Haven’s homosexual population was in for a hell of a time if they got curious. He sighed. Good lord.
Chapter Fourteen
Dageus walked into the training arena, and everyone froze mid-motion. His brothers were all in fighting stances doing Kata, a sort of mock battle against invisible opponents designed to keep their minds and bodies attuned to certain attacks. The fact that they had stopped mid Kata showed how badly they were shaken. Kata was instinctual movement to them.
“Hey, guys,” Dageus greeted awkwardly. They stared at him, unmoving. Dageus cleared his throat. “Oh, yeah. Well, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all about the whole gay thing.” He trailed off, expecting some sort of question or outcry. Something. Anything. A minute and a half ticked by. “Oh come on, you guys. It’s not that big of a deal.” Dageus whined, filling up the silence with his explanations.
Without warning, they all snapped to identical positions, and their eyes flamed with an eerie red glow. Dageus took a hasty step back, feeling vulnerable. Druas was the one who stepped forward to confront him.
“My brother, Dageus, you have misled your brothers. You have violated the most sacred of our laws. You have lied to us.” He stared at them as they said in unison, “You broke our loyalty.” He hissed, and his heart broke. The sacred laws were their bond. It was the wonder of their relationship.
“I offer my body to my brothers in penance for the break in our laws. Forgive me,” he said, agony in his voice. To cause his brothers pain was to cause his own self pain. They nodded in unison and said the formal words without ceremony. It would seem harsh to the human world to offer up a pound of flesh for so minor of an offense, but the brothers knew the strength of their bond could be reinforced with only one type of commitment. Pain was a state of being that one entered to show courage for mistakes.
“We accept the offer of your flesh.”
One by one, out of the air, they snatched the magicks of their incarnations and lashed out at him.
Germany was the first to step forward. His magicks lay in light and darkness. He could typically blind his enemy while he stripped his flesh with lightning-hot strips of light that he produced. Dageus shivered in knowledge.
“Do you accept my punishment of flesh for your transgression?” his quiet brother asked, holding that crackling power in his hand.
Dageus swallowed. “I accept your punishment, Germany.”
Fast as the words were out of his mouth, he felt the blow land. He staggered under the force of the blow. He looked down to see a line across his chest laid open and angry red. He knew his brothers felt the blow as well and bit his bottom lip. Druas stepped forward next, and his magicks of water and air swirled around him in a graceful circle.
“My brother, do you accept my punishment of flesh for your transgression?”
“I accept your punishment, Druas,” he whispered. The wind knocked him to his back, and the cold soak of water traveling at high speeds left him shaking. Again he pushed himself to his feet. Tony met his eyes, and his power crackled.
“Do you accept my punishment for your transgression?” His voice was steady, but his eyes were sad. His strength gave Dageus the will to nod.
“I accept your punishment, Anthony.” The earth shook beneath Dageus’s feet, and he staggered. On either side of him, the earth split and rose until he was surrounded. The Ravyn closed his eyes and waited. Without warning, the walls of earth collapsed, ripping a scream from Dageus’s throat.
It took a good twenty minutes before Dageus was able to push his body into a semblance of a standing position after dragging himself out of the pit his brother had created. He groaned at the effort a
nd looked up in dread to gaze into the eyes of his favorite brother.
“Dageus.” Allasandro stepped to the front of the line, and tears shimmered in his eyes, as well as steely resolve. “My brother, do you accept my punishment for your transgression?” Dageus swallowed hard, and his voice, made gravelly by his pain, cracked as he spoke.
“I accept your punishment, Ally-cat.” Flames licked up his legs, and he started to scream.
Chapter Fifteen
Dageus fell to the floor, panting, his body bloodied and bruised now, his soul aching. It was his penance. This one moment of loneliness because he had kept things from his brothers. He should’ve told them his desires. He should’ve told them everything. They surrounded him again, and he winced, sure of more pain to come.
“Oh, brother,” Tony murmured, dropping to his knees.
“Why didn’t you trust us?” Druas asked, hurt in his voice, dropping beside Tony. The other two followed suit.
“I thought it would go away,” Dageus murmured. “I’m sorry, brothers. So sorry.”
He sobbed miserably. They reached for him as one and ran hands across his torn flesh, healing him. He fell against Allasandro’s shoulder and wept. They petted him and calmed him like you would a child.
“Easy,” Allasandro said, stroking his hair.
“Easy. The first fuck-up in brotherhood law is always the worst. It’s all right. We forgive you. Easy, Dageus,” Germany crooned, gently pressing a kiss to his forehead.
They lay together like a pile of puppies for a long while, each absorbing the comfort from the closeness of the others.