"We are here," Cyrus announced.
Ari bumped into Auovin's back unaware that he had stopped. His legs throbbed and his eyes were constantly opening and closing. The smell of Auovin caused him to become alert and aware of his surroundings. He was far too slow to react when Auovin's hand came and took his hand in bringing him close to him.
Honeyed eyes peered into his, unleashing a flood of emotions evoked by his touch. Ignoring him for so long had only intensified the desire now welling up inside. The temptation was nearly unbearable, and he found himself succumbing to them.
Auovin smiled down at him, lacing his fingers through Ari's and pressing a gentle kiss to the back of his hand. Ari gazed up at him with wide eyes, captivated by the unexpected gesture.
Ari searched for Freir behind him, but Auovin turned his head back, making Ari's throat tighten. Auovin leaned in, as if to kiss him, but stopped just a breath away from Ari's lips.
"Oh, what is this?" Auovin teased. "You appear as though you want to devour me." He pressed his lips to Ari's cheek and observed him. "Just as much as I want to devour you."
Ari pulled back, a hint of discomfort in his expression, while Auovin chuckled and drew him close again.
"I am teasing, teasing. Do not be like that, Ari."
Auovin spoke his name, and Ari had to suppress the urge to kiss him again. Instead, he squeezed Auovin's hand and lowered his gaze. He made a silent resolve to meet Freir's expectations to some extent. Auovin lifted his head, kissing Ari's chin with lips and tongue.
"I will come to know you soon. All of you. As you will know me," Auovin declared, locking eyes with Ari and causing his lips to part. The beauty of Auovin's face was captivating, and Ari found his thoughts consumed by such desires. Was it the effect of the blood he had taken? The back of Ari's throat itched, and an urgent need to kiss Auovin overwhelmed him. Ari tugged on Auovin's arm, yearning for the closeness, but stopped abruptly as he noticed Freir and Rein approaching.
Ari gazed up and away from Auovin, spotting a decrepit-looking castle in view. It stood as the sole structure amidst the dense forestry, accompanied by the distant hum of a nearby river. Confusion furrowed his brows as he turned back to Auovin, seeking answers. Auovin responded with a kiss on his cheek.
"Shall we talk in there?"
"Auovin––"
"I will answer your questions then and only then."
Ari glanced at Freir and Rein, who were moving ahead, before returning his gaze to Auovin. A sense of foreboding gripped him as he felt the presence of demons inside the castle. The chilling sensation suggested they were not xems or wyhils but blood demons like Cyrus and Auovin.
Ari pleaded, "Promise me nothing bad will happen to them while we are here."
"Ari, I cannot promise you a thing like that."
"Promise me, or I will not go in."
"You are quite light. I can easily pick you up." Auovin teased, trailing a thumb across Ari's cheek. "All right, I will keep them close. Do not ask more from me than that."
Before Ari could say anything, he swallowed down his words at the look Auovin gave him. It made his heart race because it was one he was unfamiliar with, and he did not know what it meant. Auovin turned away from him and started towards the decrepit castle, causing the crows to caw and take to the sky at his approach.
Ari walked over to Freir, noticing Rein distancing himself. The tension lingered from their recent clash. In time, Ari was sure they would come together again. He decided it was best not to become more involved in their personal lives than he already was.
"This is the lion's den of blood demons," Freir mumbled.
"It will be okay," Ari said.
"Ari, do you know what you are doing right now?"
"Finding answers."
"Time is not on our side. You know this, so why?" Freir frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose, and said, "We have no option but to now. He will not just let you go."
Freir spat on the ground and glared at the castle before them. "Do not trust a word that he says, Ari."
"I know."
Ari's gaze shifted to Rein, witnessing him deliberately turning his head away from Inge as the latter continued to speak with excitement. A sense of responsibility weighed on Ari's mind – he felt compelled to intervene somehow. Their strained relationship was a result of his actions, and the growing distance between them was a cause for concern. Ari believed they needed unity, not further division, and he could not help but feel like the wedge driving them apart.
"Do not worry about it. He will come back to me," Freir mumbled under his breath.
Inge seized Rein's wrist, shaking it with a smile, and exchanged unheard words. Rein succumbed to Inge's persuasion, following him and the others inside. Ari, perplexed by Rein's sudden compliance, turned his attention back to Freir, seeking an explanation. However, Freir's expression remained inscrutable.
"What makes you so sure of that?" Ari asked.
"Because he loves me," Freir asserted, but the lack of conviction in his tone hinted at his own uncertainties. The words seemed more like an attempt to reassure himself, causing a discomfort in Ari's stomach. He had to do something.
As they entered, Ari instinctively pressed close to Freir, navigating through the unfamiliar faces that greeted them by the door. Amid the greetings, a woman's voice emerged, addressing Cyrus in a familiar yet unexpected manner.
"Cyrus, you look gorgeous, as always!" she exclaimed, planting a kiss on his cheek. "But you are pale. Had he taken that much from you?"
"I will be fine," Cyrus responded nonchalantly.
"Come, let me kiss your lips."
"I'd rather not," he retorted, pushing her away with one hand as she persisted.
"Why are you like this to me?" she whined, catching Ari off guard with the unexpected reaction.
The woman, small and thin, possessed long, black blades of hair and golden skin akin to Auovin's, though darker. Her round almond eyes glistened as she spoke, and her full lips curved into a warm smile.
Cyrus bluntly replied, "Because I do not like you," maintaining a distance by holding her at arm's length. It became evident that Cyrus had a general dislike for people, as Auovin had mentioned.
Shifting his focus, Ari observed Auovin engaged in conversation with an unfamiliar, towering man. The man's eyes, as dark as the night sky, and a formidable physique surpassed even Cyrus's imposing presence. Ari was momentarily captivated as the man ran a hand through his black hair, their eyes meeting briefly before the man averted his gaze, seemingly disinterested. Ari felt a sense of relief at the diversion of attention.
"And the other two?" the man inquired, his gaze directed at Auovin.
"His... friends," Auovin replied.
"Auovin––"
"Everything is quite new to him. I must keep some familiarity around him."
"You know the rules."
"Yes, I know the rules because I practically invented them," Auovin snapped.
"I want no quarrel with you."
"Then let him have this."
The man's blue eyes locked onto Ari's.
"You really are willing to risk your neck for him. Fine, let him have his humans." The man pushed a finger to Auovin's chest. "But you will be held accountable for them."
Cyrus turned around and pushed between them just before things could take a turn for the worst.
"Do not touch him," Cyrus warned.
"Stein will be here soon enough. His lovely flower should not be acting this way," the man said, amused.
Ari was already regretting his decision to have come, observing the tense interactions. He pressed even closer to Freir, wishing he had chosen differently. This place was not where he belonged.
"Ari, my arm," Freir hissed. "Squeeze it anymore and it will turn blue."
"I do not want to be here, Freir."
"You are afraid," Freir said close to his ear. "But, as I said before, I will not let anything happen to you."
"I chose wrong."
"No, Ari, you chose right."
Freir tensed as Inge brought Rein around to him. He gave him a once-over, but Rein's eyes would not meet his.
"Look, Egil, you have scared the little thing," Inge said, causing Ari's grip to tighten back on Freir's arm.
"This man likes to test my patience. Sometimes I just want to splatter him against the cold cobblestone," Egil snorted.
"And Stein would have you follow him soon after," Cyrus growled.
"Why are humans here in the first place?" the woman asked, causing Inge to put his hand up and pointed to Ari.
"The little thing of course, Koli," Inge said.
Auovin interjected, his tone edged with frustration, "As if you never had humans here before." He glared, emphasizing his point.
"For food! Not as playmates or friends or whatever the youngling has in mind," she retorted sharply, her eyes glistening with a hint of challenge.
"Enough, the humans are staying, and neither of you will touch them," Auovin declared, his eyes narrowing with emphasis. Egil, the man with dark blue eyes, shifted uncomfortably, his smirk faltering.
"But Auovin––"
"We are only staying for the night. We are rather unwelcomed here, and I wish not to overstay our welcome," Auovin said.
Egil sniffed dismissively and walked away, his footsteps echoing through the corridor. The floorboards squeaked under the pressure of many footsteps, and the stairs creaked as doors slammed shut, leaving only the shaky breaths of both Freir and Rein lingering in the tense air.
"Well, shall we?" Inge's voice cut through the silence as he looked from Rein to Freir. Freir took Rein's wrist, exchanging a glance with Inge, and followed him up the stairs, leaving Ari behind with two agitated blood demons.
"Auovin—" Cyrus began to approach him, but Auovin raised a hand, cutting him off. "Stein will be here shortly. You need rest and blood. Do not come to my room tonight." Cyrus' eyes shifted from Auovin's to Ari's in a matter of seconds.
"You cannot take my blood, but you can take his. You know this, Cyrus," Auovin stated.
"Still... I... "
"It will be for a night, pet. No more than that."
"So you will tell him then?"
"I have no choice but to..." Auovin's gaze shifted away from Cyrus as he walked away, and he took Ari's hand in his. Ari sensed that something was amiss.
"Are you afraid? I did not mean to have you introduced to the likes of them so soon," Auovin remarked.
"I do not belong here," Ari confessed.
"There are good and bad blood demons, just like there are with humans, Ari," Auovin assured him.
"I want to leave."
"Because of Egil?" Auovin inquired, searching Ari's eyes for the truth.
Ari wanted to learn so much more about himself and where he had come from, but he did not think it was worth it if they were all like that. There was not a kind one among them. They were all malicious just as Freir had said. He was not like them and he never wanted to become like them. As if noticing the growing panic in his eyes, Auovin kissed his cheek.
"I will not let anything happen to you, Ari. Never."
Ari stared into Auovin's eyes, his resolve beginning to waver. The single truest reason for being here was Auovin, and nothing else, despite any other claims he might make. Freir and Rein had recognized it, and now Ari wondered why it took him this long to notice.
"Freir and Rein..."
"Them too," Auovin affirmed.
"You said you could not promise me this."
Auovin sighed, cupping Ari's cheek. "So I cannot, but I will try, Ari." He gazed down at him, as if contemplating a kiss. Unlike other times, he stepped away, running a hand through his hair.
Ari had to set aside his personal feelings and focus on getting Freir and Rein out of the mess he had inadvertently involved them in.
"I am tired..." Ari mumbled.
"Come with me. I will show you to your room."
Ari followed Auovin up the winding staircase, each step seemingly precarious. However, the staircase held firm and resolute. They reached the fourth flight of stairs, and Auovin led him down a corridor filled with dust and paintings falling off their hinges. After passing four doors, he stopped and opened the fifth one.
Ari looked at Auovin again. The back of his throat was itching, and that same feeling from before started to crawl back up to the surface. He tried his best to nestle it down, but it kept clawing its way up. His eyes went from Auovin's eyes down to his lush lips and inviting neck. Auovin only stared back, licking his lips, and started off in another direction, causing Ari to take his wrist in his hand.
Ari did not know what he was doing. His heart was pounding through his ears, and his body would no longer listen to his mind. As soon as Auovin turned back around, Ari was pressed against the wall with hot, soft lips covering his own.
___________________________
[A/N]
Ahhh Ari and Auovin really does have some serious physical chemistry, huh? Ari really is trying to see past his... ermm... urges, but he's failing miserably. And what's up with this Stein guy, huh? :D
Tell me your thoughts down below!