Ancient Wings : Book 1 - Aegis

61 - Vines And Marks Of Forever

Khaius looked at him, confused.

"When my Khaius comes back, the one who can actually talk to me without the room dropping fifty degrees, then you can see me naked. Until then, out!"

Khaius's eyes flashed as his hands dropped from his clothes. Then he was slamming the door behind him.

He sighed, not knowing if he had just pushed him away more or not. He stripped down, grunting and groaning as he pulled off his leather armor.

When he was finally naked, he pulled back, the frosted curtain and slowly slipped into the water in the deep tub. He hissed as the herbs stung his bruises and cuts. But when he was finally up to his neck, the stinging eased.

He let out a deep breath and laid his head back.

Not ten minutes later, someone knocked on the door.

"I'm in the tub. If you need to use the lavatory, go use my apartment," he called with his eyes still closed.

The door opened.

He quickly sat up and covered himself. "I'm in here!"

"I'm aware," Khaius announced dryly. "The curtain isn't transparent, you still have the privacy you wanted."

He looked and realized he was right. He relaxed again.

"An odd kind of privacy," he pointed out.

Khaius's footsteps moved across the tile. He moved the curtain a little to place a mug of hot chocolate on the edge of the tub then let it drop back.

Surprised, it took him a few heartbeats to say anything.

"Thank you." He picked up the mug and took a sip.

It was sweet, rich and chocolatey. Everything he was looking for.

"We need to talk," Khaius said, his voice neutral.

He took a big drink. "Obviously."

Silence.

"You went after the Succubus on your own," Khaius said carefully.

He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "Yes."

"Why?" Khaius asked, his voice strained. He was clearly trying not to yell.

He took another sip. "All of you are so worried about taking me out hunting that most of you don't seem to remember that I've been doing this for years. Alone," he said quietly, trying to be honest with him.

"I've taken out Rakashas before on my own, and just about every type of demon you can name, yet you keep pushing me out of the fight like I'm a twelve-year-old."

He swallowed hard. "It bothers me, frustrates me and yes, one of the reasons I went out on my own today was because I was tired of being told to stay back."

There were several heartbeats of silence.

"Then why did you come home bruised head to toe?" Khaius asked.

He took another sip. "Because when you get two powerful energy users in a one-on-one fight, we kind of... null each other out sometimes. There's no point in trying to be clever, at least not with some demons. It becomes more about how many walls and floors you can slam the other one through."

"How many walls and floors did you go through?" Khaius asked quietly.

"I would prefer not to comment," he said dryly.

Khaius chuckled. Cidney smiled to himself. It was a good laugh. He pulled the curtain back enough so he could see him.

Khaius was leaning against the wall at the other end of the shower, his arms crossed over his chest with his gaze on the tiled floor. His suit jacket was gone but his sleeves were rolled back to his elbows.