Furrowing his eyebrows, Pier glared at the man that was tiredly lying on the sand beside him.
"You're literally turning into a devil right now and you still want to have sex?" He asked; baffled by how horny Ciaran is.
"Why... cough! Why not? If we can, we should... cough! cough!" He was heaving his chest like an old man meeting his last-second with how much he coughed.
Sighing, Pier shook his head in disagreement as he analyzed his magic.
It was still low but after resting for quite some time, he had replenished a considerable amount for some convenient spells. He manifested his flame magic and surrounded the both of them.
Flame bubbles instantly covered the vampire king and Pier wherein the wet and cold feeling started to disappear. Their clothes dried and smoke rose from their bodies as the water evaporated.
"You're insatiable," Pier grumbled under his breath while looking at his lover.
"What... are those marks?" He hesitated to ask but did so anyway. Every time he saw the vampire king with the same appearance right now, Ciaran was either struggling or having a hard time.
He did not like it.
"I... cough!" Ciaran coughed again and Pier took the initiative to raise the man's head and instead place it on his lap where it would be more comfortable than laying on the sand.
"Speak clearly, Fenrir," Pier spoke with a threatening voice as he demanded an answer.
Though he was serious about not letting Ciaran have his way always, it was the vampire king who gave him the condition and Pier saw the determination the latter held when he spoke about the wishes one would acquire in the duel.
Pier never thought Ciaran would go into such extreme measures of using whatever hidden magic power he had just so he could win against Pier and gain the favor of having a child.
"C-Chill out, my love! I... haah..." Ciaran breathed hard as the black veins in his entire body pulsed and a surge of pain encompassed him.
"Chill out, he says. What if I freeze your body so you would then chill?" Rolling his eyes, Pier lightly flicked Ciaran's forehead but soon started combing it with his fingers.
"I... I got this magic... back in the b-boundary..." Ciaran started to explain wherein Pier listened attentively.
"I was... cough! I entered the forbidden region-" He did not even get to finish his sentence when Pier's fingers gripped his hair and pulled at it quite strongly.
"That hurts!" The vampire king complained.
"Forbidden region? Fenrir, there's a reason why it is forbidden!" Pier glared at him but the man only sheepishly smiled in return.
"Yes. I'm sorry. However, I needed to enter because I... cough... I need to turn a dead creature into a shadow," he spoke and nuzzled his face on Pier's now dry clothes. The warm feeling of his lover's body near him was putting the man into tranquility.
"Creature?"
"A... candidate. A candidate was killed by the other candidates of darkness. I turned that dead candidate's soul into my shadow." Ciaran turned to look up and saw that Pier was looking at him intently.
Candidates and sovereigns. Pier had the general idea and it was quite simple. Those who are powerful enough to be the strongest amongst everyone else are considered to be candidates.
They need to eliminate the others for them to achieve the title of being the sovereign. Ciaran could not escape it either that's why they opted to act on it rather than wait. Because Ciaran became stronger, he was bound to become a candidate of darkness and the other candidates will definitely look for him if he doesn't go to them first.
And another reason for them to be prepared more is that the vampire king was probably the strongest candidate right at this point.
With Pier, Ciaran was an invincible force that no one could rival. The vampire king kept on getting stronger as his lover gave him plenty of souls such as a wyvern, hydra, and many more.
However, the strong will not persist against numbers. Not when those numbers are only a few steps lower than the strong.
If the other candidates decide to come at the vampire king all at once, his defeat would definitely be ensured. They are not candidates for no reason at all.
Time is running out for them and Pier knew that as well.
"And what is that dead candidate you speak of? How come I've never seen it yet?" He inquired. The anger laced in his voice earlier for Ciaran's recklessness now simmering down.
"A basilisk."
Pier instantly froze in his spot the moment he heard the creature.
A basilisk. The name was familiar and he had a vague idea of what it was.
"Goodness, Fenrir," Pier leaned his body back to release the anxiousness he had within him.
"A basilisk. Have you lost your mind?" He sounded quite frustrated which made the vampire king chuckle.
Had he lost his mind? He probably did.
Ciaran Fenrir was going into various lengths just so he could become stronger for Pier. Even if that meant turning creatures that could kill him in an instant as his shadow, he would not hesitate if it would make him powerful.
"I'm sorry," He apologized but his resolve was profound.
"Basilisks are strong, Guardian," Meflar spoke in Pier's head.
"And do you have it under your control now?" His voice was worried. Pier knew Ciaran often ventured into various places to collect the souls of creatures that would be beneficial for him but sometimes, he thinks Ciaran was being to reckless with his actions.
"For now, yes," the response did not make Pier happy at all.
"For now?"
"Yes... It wants me to avenge it from the other candidates, my love. In turn, I can use its magic," Ciaran's fingers held Pier's hand and he kissed the back of it.
"I finally had the courage to use a portion of it when we dueled and it was... unexpected..." He murmured while kissing every finger of the white-haired king's hands.
"Yeah. Totally unexpected. Look at you, looking like someone who turned their blood into poison," Pier spoke before touching Ciaran's forehead and healing magic flowed through his fingertips onto the man's head.
"Does it hurt so much?"
"It is bearable."
Pier closed his eyes and allowed the warmth of the flame bubbles surrounding them to give him the warmth he needed. In an unknown shore, an unknown place. He did not know where they were and here he was, being met with a secret his lover held.
"Why did you keep it a secret from me, Fenrir?" He asked with hurt laced in his voice. He was not hurt because Ciaran kept it a secret from him, he was hurting for the state the man was in.
Looking at Ciaran, the devilishly handsome vampire king was suffering so much with his eyes turned completely red and black veins all around his body.
Ciaran on the other hand stared directly in Pier's face and he saw the worried eyes his lover had.
"I... I was afraid if the basilisk meets you... It would try to attack you... or anyone. I have control over it but if it persists, I might slip for a second and either you or Raegan would be in trouble," He admitted.
Ciaran only wanted to unleash the basilisk or use his full magic when they are finally going against the other candidates. He couldn't risk having his son and Pier accidentally die when in face with it.
"Idiot. I'm going to meet it anyway when we fight the other candidates. I am going with you, remember?" Pier squinted his eyes at him and Ciaran avoided his gaze in an attempt to not respond.
"Silly fiancé doing stupid things that could kill him again," Pier whispered and sighed before going back in brushing Ciaran's hair with his fingers.
"What should I do with you, hmm? Should I lock you up somewhere you cannot leave?" Pier joked but Ciaran unintentionally blushed at the statement.
"You could," he curtly spoke and that made Pier roll his eyes. They both knew that Ciaran had the higher probability of doing that with Pier at times.
"Haah, you're hopeless."
"Hopelessly in love with you, yes"
"Gosh, shut up."
Laughing, Ciaran went back to gaze at his lover and saw that Pier was looking at the sky.
He looked enchanting. The way his eyes were sparkling as it viewed the starry sky in the distant horizon, the way his face relaxed as it took in the breathtaking view of the illuminated sky, they made his heart flutter.
Despite the pain he was feeling from using the power he got from the basilisk, Ciaran felt like he was floating on cloud nine while watching Pier gaze at the stars.
"Do you know where we are?" He asked Pier.
"No. I only told your shadows to bring us in the nearest shore. I am not sure where we are," Pier responded. Ciaran analyzed his body and he knew that teleporting would be out of the question for now since he was still recuperating from the damage.
"For the meantime, we can have sex here- hmpf!" He struggled when Pier covered his mouth.
"Stop talking about sex at all times, Fenrir," Pier gave him a threatening expression.
'But I want to do it always with you...' the vampire wanted to speak out but it would probably annoy Pier so he kept it within him.
He felt like the decades he had been alone had gone into waste when he could've spent it with Eliam all along.
He imaged how good it would be if everything was favorable for them right from the beginning. They could've been the best of friends in a young age with the two of them in the same world and same place.
It would've been cute if Ciaran was the troublesome prince of the kingdom that was always causing chaos wherever he went. Pier was then the graceful, elegant, and well-mannered son of a noble household that Ciaran was very much fond of.
His thoughts then drifted to the case when Pier lived in Taron before.
Wasn't it the same scenario as his daydreams?
Asher was quite the troublesome prince that everyone still adored and who was always wanting to explore the world. On the other hand, he had Pier by his side to always offer him a hand and pour him with unending devotion.
'Stupid bastard,' He cursed the red-haired prince in his head.
Asher had it all.
A good life, a prosperous kingdom, a secured future, and Pier.
'But he decided to ruin everything,' Ciaran hated the fact that Asher lived the best of his life sailing through the calmest of waters but then willfully turned his life into a voyage across a deadly storm.
'If only Eliam and I had been in the same world, in the same setting, at the same time...'
How good would it have been? It sounded like the romance novels humans always read. A fantasy world filled with slight angst and extreme fluff.
If only him and Eliam had the same thing happening with them, he would never do what Asher did.
A total failure when it comes to his personal life. Loved by the world, he remained complacent and confident that he became too brave in everything he did without thinking about the possible consequences.
"What are you thinking about?" Pier asked and Ciaran returned to reality.
"How stupid some people are," he spoke and went to grab the back of Pier's neck. He finally had the strength to do so as he was itching to kiss his lover since earlier.
"Are you thinking about how stupid you are sometimes?" Pier asked when their faces were inches apart from each other.
"... Yeah." Deciding that he did not want to ruin the mood by mentioning Asher, Ciaran slyly smiled and smashed their lips together.
"You're hurting, Fenrir," Pier spoke when they separated for a short moment.
Even though Ciaran was clearly eager and excited, the prominent black veins in the vampire's entire body was still alarming for him.
"Well... do the work for me then," he offered.
"We don't know where we are"
"I can unleash some of my shadows to stand on guard"
"Melfar said he can help us with the child you wanted."
That made the vampire king pause. The unexpected announcement made him halt in his words for a moment.
Truthfully, he had been wanting to have a child that resembled Pier for quite some time now. He wanted a big family.
Of course, having Raegan satisfied his dreams but it soon got bigger that having one child alone did not quench his needs to build a family with Pier.
'Second child...' He thought.
How much was he planning to have again?
'A lot.' He slyly smiled at his thoughts because he definitely wanted a bigger family. He wanted to experience the feeling of being a father that he never had and the happiness of a complete household which both Pier and him did not experience.
"Then let's get to work and give what the phoenix needed," his eyebrows rose up and down in a suggestive manner which garnered a face from Pier.
"You're unbelievable."
"Sure am. Now give me my second child."