Ari woke kissing Kaval's neck to his cheek and finally his lips. He lingered there for a little longer until Kaval smiled against his lips and gave him a light kiss back. Unlike Auovin or Cyrus, Kaval's kisses gave him more comfort than passion. Ari could only imagine what it would feel like to become more intimate with him. What would it feel like then?
It made Ari want more and more of Kaval's kisses but already Kaval was unwilling to further things due to Ari's achy body and lack of blood. That problem needed to be addressed. It was ruining more than a few things for him already.
Ari sat up and traced his thumb across Kaval's lips, beating down his desire. "Shall we leave today?"
"Leave to where?"
"Somewhere," Ari mumbled.
"To the humans?"
Ari nodded causing Kaval to sit up and look at him. "If that is what you want, but we leave no where until you have your fill of blood. You cannot deny it any longer."
"I do grow hungry. I am terribly hungry, but I want yours and no one else's."
"And this is why we are stuck here now."
"And what of you? Where will you get your blood, if not from me?"
Ari's robe was loose on him—too big for his body so some part of it was always dangling off. Kaval fixed it for him before he could show more of his skin and answered, "Maoz."
Maoz. That name sent a hint of resentment down Ari's body. He did not like him. That was for certain, but memories as to why failed to surface. It was no matter, though. Kaval needed blood, and he could not provide that to him. Somehow, that made Ari upset, but it was something Ari brought onto himself.
"Sai is still here."
Ari rose and blinked a couple times. "He is here?"
"Mhm." Kaval smiled. "As you were saying?"
"I mean, if it is him... I do not mind it so much... " Ari said with reddening cheeks.
"Mm."
"Greats are no friend to me. They look at me unkindly and expect for me to help them. It does not work that way. But since you are one and Sai is one, I am more likely to offer a kind hand even if it is to vicious dogs I am extending it to."
Kaval looked at Ari and said nothing. He motioned Ari to follow him and Ari was quick to follow his lead into the dark haunting hallways. He stayed close to Kaval feeling uncomfortable when he did not. Perhaps, he never truly liked it there. He only wallowed away there due to his promise and each moment and second and passing year made him hate it all the more. No more.
Ari made a promise to himself then. To never do anything he did not want to do unless it was for a greater cause such as Kaval. He would do anything for Kaval simply because Kaval would do anything for him. His love of Kaval was certain, concrete much like his love for Freir.
"This way. Ignore the demons on the ceiling." Ari furrowed his brows and did as was told. "They like the smell of fresh blood, especially from one such as you." Ari saw pairs of eyes glowing in the darkness like stars. Their claws scratching against the mountain walls created an uneasy feeling in the pits of his stomach. If Ari listened close enough, it sounded like snickers.
Ari focused on the sounds of Kaval's boots and the smell of lavender wafting from his hair. When more lit torches came into the distance Ari let out a sigh of relief. Darkness never really scared him before. The more time spent in these walls made Ari weary of it. Ari would be quick about getting blood from Sai. He could not dawdle here for much longer.
A room full of light laid before them. When they entered, Ari noticed the room was surrounded by Greats. They were adorned in white robes with hair combed back neatly into pony tails or various styles of buns much like the one's Kaval would do to his hair ever so often. Ari licked his lips and breathed. Nothing was going to stop him from doing as he pleased. He owed nothing to them but an explanation. He would not be cowed.
"Harun, so you have come," a beautiful woman with cascades of dark curls said. She strolled closer but Kaval made sure to keep her at an arms length. Ari tapped Kaval's arm and shook his head. There was no need for it. Let her come closer and try something if she dared.
"I am not him," Ari announced. He was proud to do away with that association with the name. "I only pretended to be for a man who said he was."
A clamor broke out filled with angry whispers and glares thrown his way. Others stayed silent while the very few stepped away from the edges of the great room and came closer.
"I was wrong for having fooled many of you, but I am not him. What answers you may be searching for cannot be found with me."
The woman narrowed her eyes and hissed. Some of the Greats who came out from the edges Ari realized were all women. The more he looked around the greater their numbers grew. A few men spotted the room ,but not nearly as much as the women. Ari looked to Kaval with furrowed brows, but Kaval said nothing.
"Meris is gone. You have come here along with blood demons and the Khaeo is running amok. We no longer want answers from you. We ask that you leave."
Ari blinked.
"Our numbers are few. Many of us are dead or fast asleep in these walls due to a war you or whomever had brought us into so long ago. We wish no harm to the humans, but the humans mean to harm us. What can we do but protect ourselves."
Ari sagged his shoulders and lessened his guard at words. He looked closely at the women surrounding the room seeing one pretty face after another. The only other demon Ari saw that was female was Koli.
"Kaval is a dear friend and great pillar to our kind, but if he wishes to go with you, what can I do but allow it."
No matter how much Ari tried to search for a memory of her, of them, he could not find one, but they were all very familiar. His body told him so.
"Lasana, I thank you." Kaval pressed one hand to his forehead before extending out to her as he bowed his head.
Her eyes watered and her hands clasped at her robes. "I did not gather everyone here for the words of a Daevas. No, Kaval, I did this for you. Since this will be the last time you will ever step inside these walls again."
Ari's eyes flicked to Kaval's but he stared at Lasana, unmoved.
"Lasana," a familiar voice boomed through the silence. He rushed to the center with labored breath. Sweat poured down his forehead drenching his robe and hair. "Do not do this. Kaval is—"
Lasana put up a hand, silencing him. "Maoz, this is his choice."
"Kaval," Ari murmured under his breath. He was terribly selfish for not realizing how his choice may have affected Kaval and his ties to this place. He felt unwanted here, but he did not think, for a moment, of Kaval's feelings. This is a place he called home, and where he belonged.
"But—"
"Sai has already left us once and chose to leave again. You can choose to leave as well."
Maoz shook his head no and backed away.
"There will be no more ties to the outside world until that monstrous thing is dealt with. It is the only way to insure he will not sneak back in here, and destroy us all as he intended."
"... Monstrous thing..." Ari's head grew heavy with all of this information.
"A Daevas, like you," Lasana growled causing Kaval to stand in front of him. "A man of many faces with enormous power. The man you called Harun."
She paused.
"To have three in one place again... surely both our world and the human's will be bathed in blood. I do not want that. So I must rid myself of the rotten limbs before it infects the whole body."
Lasana turned around, masking her tears. "Go!" Ari knew that face all too well. There were many times when he wanted to cry but could not. Rein hated it when he did, so Ari grew adept to masking it like her.
Kaval bowed to her once more before taking Ari by the arm and led him out the room. It was silent for some moments. Ari did not know what exact words to say to him. The woman's words crushed her own heart. Kaval must have meant a great deal to her, and those words were like poison to her. Ari could not help but wonder what relationship they had and if it could possibly ever be remedied.
"I did not think Lasana would make a fast decision on this, so we will have to get you blood elsewhere."
"Kaval," Ari murmured.
"We must exit quickly. Although Lasana let us leave, some Greats will not let us leave so easily. They know you are weak right now as well as me."
"Kaval, who is that woman to you?"
Kaval looked at Ari and lowered his gaze with a smile. "Do you feel guilty?"
"Terribly."
"Stop with those thoughts then. I chose this."
"She loves you dearly, I can tell. Her heart was breaking into pieces at the words she had to say to you. It was clear she did not like me because of your choice to go with me, so I must ask before we take another step further, is this truly what you want, Kaval?"
Kaval stopped walking and turned to Ari. "Lasana, is my dear older sister. We will talk more after we leave the mountain. Come now." He grabbed Ari's wrist and dragged him behind himself.
The mountain was a labyrinth in of itself. It was almost dizzying, but Ari put his trust in Kaval and did not doubt him for a moment. Before long, the chill of the outside air blew in Ari's face. It was dark and quiet outside. Snow fell from the sky adding more to the sheets of snow covering the ground and trees.
"The faster we get away from the mountain, the better. This way." Kaval took him down a narrow path down the mountain. Ari could not sense anyone approaching, but he could not trust in that right now given his situation. He wanted to make sure Kaval was safe and had enough blood. Most of his life he lived with very little. It was not the same for Kaval. Ari would make him take his if worse came to worse.
"Your sister is gorgeous," Ari said after what seemed like hours of silence.
"She is. More beautiful than our mother..."
"You remember your parents?"
Kaval nodded. "Greats do not abandon their young. We raise ours like humans."
Ari hugged himself tight as the cold air began seeping through his thin layer of clothing and into his bones. "What happened to your parents?" he asked in distraction from it.
"When... that man came bearing gifts and goodwill my parents, as well as the other Greats, accepted him and welcomed him into our ranks. He looked just like him, your father, I mean. Everyone knew in their hearts he was dead, but... the man was convincing."
"I see... "
"It was not long before all our parents were slaughtered in some way or fashion. It took him hundreds of years, but he was patient and meticulous. When our parents grew suspicious of him, it was too late. I held a grudge against him for so long until he brought you here, and I became yours.
Ari looked at him then.
"I fell in love with you, and things became clearer."
"Clearer?"
"My purpose, what I must do. I felt that I had to protect you."
Ari's cheeks warmed at the thought.
"You are a Great, I thought. Just like your mother who was like us. But after serving you after some time, I grew wary that you were something else. Something not quite a Great or a blood demon."
Ari lowered his eyes and set them on the blanket of snow they were shuffling through. He did not want to admit to it. Ari even ignored it when Lasana called him that as well. However, Ari felt it in his bones. He knew it was true.
"Oliya is one too. So is... that man."
"My purpose became clearer too. I must protect you as well," Ari said gazing into his eyes.
Kaval only smiled and shook his head. "I think you have a much greater purpose than that, Ari. Much greater. I do not mind being a small part of it, though."
"I know," Ari said under his breath. He knew since the moment he met Auovin. But Ari was still unsure of what it was. It mattered not to him right now. He would take things one day at a time as he figured things out for himself.
Ari was certain of one thing, though. He would find the man he called Harun and place where he fell in this chaos. As soon as he found him, Ari was sure everything would fall in place. Those eyes from the dark place still haunted him. He did not feel them when he was in the mountain, but outside of it they bored into his soul leaving him bare and exposed.
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[A/N]
Ari and Kaval just got kicked out and they still weren't able to fully rest up before they departed. It puts them in a sticky situation. This chapter helped to paint a clearer picture of Kaval as well as the ties he has to the mountain. It also added more detail about this "Harun" person. It's a whole mess of a story I plan to effortlessly weave through this story! And as you guys might have already guessed, Daevas is ending soon! But fear not! There will be a book two!
Thank you guys for reading and leaving your thoughts. I thank you all for sticking with me through this entire book. Although it is not finished yet, it's at the tail end, and I'm just a lil emotional about it. ❤️😭