Daevas -I- ✔️

Chapter 11.2: Shadows and Whispers

"Cyrus is attractive, is he not?" Ari pushed his leg with his hand. "He is, is he not?" 

"He is," Ra finally admitted. "And Cyrus and Sai together is not a bad... thought to have. They suit one another... "

"And you as well?"

Ra's face flushed red as he vehemently shook his head no. 

"Love can only be between two people. You are dumb if you think otherwise."

Ari furrowed his brows. That could not be true... 

"And his heart is with that black-haired demon no matter how pretty or levelheaded Sai is." Ra barely lifted his head before he muttered, "You all are attractive, so much so it is hard for many to resist the temptation that is you all." 

 Ari smiled at this. He ducked his head down to get a better view of Ra's face. In the candlelight, his freckles looked like little specks on his face. Ari could not help but think of it as anything but cute. Ra fumbled with his hands and set aside the book further away from himself. As soon as he tried to rise, Ari brought him back down with a simple tug on his sleeve. 

"Stay a moment."

"There is not much time to spare."

"For what reason?"

"The greats, the wa--"

"What does it matter?"

"Ari--"

"The greats... the war... none of that matters to me in this moment."

This time Ra kneaded his brows and looked at Ari with a mix of worry and apprehension. 

"Right now," Ari went on to say, "I want to kiss you." 

"What?"

"To see how you will taste... and what you will taste when you kiss me."

Ra could only stare, dumbfounded.

"Can I?"

The rain battered against the windows, distracting Ra. Ari brought his attention right back to him by fiddling with his fingers and pulling him closer until they were a few breaths apart.  Ari could see the hesitation as plain as the stars in the sky. He looked just about how he felt when Auovin tried to kiss him for the first time. Ari smiled at the thought and left a peck at his lips and lingered there, waiting for Ra to respond.

When Ra did nothing, Ari took it upon himself to take his thumb down Ra's chin and kiss him fully. Much like before, he could taste nothing and the sensation he felt with people of his kind was gone from him. Just what was it about them that brought on those kinds of tastes and smells that were absent in humans? Still, Ari liked the softness of his lips and warmth of his mouth and would not mind kissing him again. 

Ra licked his bottom lip before tucking it inside his mouth. He was growing terribly shy, Ari noticed which was unlike him. 

"You are like this because of Sai's blood. You do not kiss others if there is no meaning behind it, especially if you unaware of how the other feels."

"I am in control of my own body," Ari said while eying his own fingers. 

"He is right about him. Your mannerisms... and habits... are like this because of him."

Ari looked up at Ra at his words.

"Who?"

"And you cannot go anywhere until everything is gone from your body. Sai cares enough about you to make sure you are well."