The room smelled like the half-breed it belonged to. Sweet and mellow, like the scent of a night ocean breeze. The first thing Marius noticed as he stood over his sleeping figure was the impressive length of his eyelashes. His eyelashes were so long and thick that they rested against his cheeks like a red curtain. As he stirred, his eyelashes fluttered like a seductress's fan.
He mumbled something in his sleep that involved him and a jellyfish.
Marirus's eyebrows shot high.
My, the Prince of Astria had a mouth.
Thinking about the half-breed's mouth was a mistake. His eyes dropped to his mouth. The lower lip was slightly fuller than the upper one, both tinted red. And then his traitorous mind dared to remind him of the kiss the half-breed had so cleverly orchestrated to distract him when he'd summoned him back from Astria. It had been...
Invigorating. Interesting. New.
The kiss held no affection, but it held such fire that the immortal merman was momentarily fazed. It was so disarming that it had taken him by surprise. He'd even felt... a fluttering.
No one dared to kiss the King of Nostraza with anything less than worship and reverence. The half-breed had held no love for him when he smashed his lips against Marius's.
Marius had to give it to him; the half-breed never failed to surprise him. By far, he was the most interesting toy he'd ever had the pleasure of wrapping his hands around.
He shivered again.
"Oh, you hopeless fool." He rolled his eyes.
He questioned what he was doing even as he did it. Marius slid one arm under the half-breed's waist and scooped him up into the cradle of his chest.
"Marius... go... yourself." He murmured intangibly in his arms, and Marius considered dropping him back on the bed and walking away.
With his other hand, he pulled the grey covers aside, fluffed the pillow, and then laid him down in his bed. Surprisingly, he didn't stir or rise. Normally, the half-breed's senses and spacial awareness were exceptional, but he seemed to be totally out of it this night. Well, he did make one hell of a mojito.
He'd noticed him sneaking some alcoholic beverage into his glass when he didn't think his mother was looking.
Kai's relationship with his mother... was endearing. It was certainly unlike his relationship with his own mother. For one, they'd only ever sat across each other at a dinner table six times in all his immortal life. His mother would claim that that was how the Queen Mother should operate when it concerned the King, even if he was her own son. Marius would say it was because she was a royal bitch.
He'd let him have this night, sleep in his own bed. Then, he'd take him back to his world and make him fix it.
He covered him up to his chin and then took a step back, meaning to slink out of the room. He'd spend the night out on the cliff until dawn. Something bumped his leg. He looked down to see a sword. Marius reached down to pick it up. And when he saw exactly what sword it was, his eyes rounded.
****
Because Erasmus wasn't a fast swimmer like Ryodan, he was being dragged across the sea by the hand. With the use of only one hand, it was difficult to command the Seeking Orb, but Erasmus was no measly mage. He was Erasmus the Fabled, Erasmus the Great, and he could work magic with his eyes bound and his hands tied behind his back. The Seeking Orb would take them to their prince; he was sure of it.
But Ryodan, ever the skeptic and infernal doubter, had the audacity to question him.
"Are you sure this is taking us to him? Because we do not have time to waste." Ryodan said as he whizzed through a hole in a coral reef.
The Seeking Orb had floated through the hole first.
Well, the thing could be a little... unpredictable.
"Just go with it." Erasmus said, annoyed. He'd like to see Ryodan whip up an ancient tracking spell that less than a hundred individuals across the world knew how to cast.
"Be grateful I'm carrying you."
"It's not my fault it's fast." Erasmus was already sour that he had no control over the speed of the damned thing; the last thing he needed was for Ryodan to point out how slow he was. It was already bad enough that he had to be in such close proximity to him. They were holding hands, for crying out loud!
"You better be right, shrimp."
"I told you not to call me that!"
Ryodan laughed in that mocking way of his that almost made Erasmus turn him into a pufferfish.
The Seeking Orb went through another hole in a reef. This one was much smaller -it could only fit one. And at the speed Ryodan was going-
"Oh, no." Erasmus said, eyes widening.
Ryodan pulled him close, practically hugging him to his chest. In the process, Erasmus's face was buried in the wide expanse of his chest. "Oooph!"
Even though he couldn't see anything, he felt the moment Ryodan, though significantly larger than him, slipped through the hole like a lithe sea lion.
Erasmus looked up the moment they were through just as Ryodan looked down.
Their eyes met.
And then Erasmus pushed himself out of the surprise embrace. He was now even more annoyed.
For the rest of the journey, they followed the Seeking Orb silently.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
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