Page 15 of The Vampire King's Gift

As the last burst of cum left him, Julian hung there, weightless and limp, the water the only thing supporting him. He felt Daemon’s finger leave his body as the Vampire King leaned in and kissed the hollow of his throat tenderly.

You are so beautiful like this. My lovely merman, Daemon murmured as he continued to kiss and touch Julian’s form as if he was a treasure.

Are there mermen?

Maybe. Daemon grinned at him.

It was then that Julian scrambled up again.I’m so selfish! I’ve left you hanging! I–

He’d reached for Daemon’s impressive cock, but Daemon gently caught his wrist and shook his head.

This was for you. Besides, though you do not feel the water’s chill right now, you will. And there are other things I want you to see before we return to Ravenscroft’s Manor.

Julian reluctantly nodded. He wanted to give his Master pleasure as well. Daemon swooped in and kissed him on the mouth. A press of lips and slip of tongue before drawing back.

I am fine, my one. Look around you. What do you see? What do you feel?

Julian blinked, but then allowed his senses to spread outwards again.There’s so much life. I can feel the city over there. He pointed back in the direction they had come. The city seemed to glow with golden and red light. There were simply so many beating hearts there that it overwhelmed him. But the ocean did not have less, only that life was more spread out.And I can feel… the life and death struggle out there. Big fish eating small fish. Bigger fish eating big fish… I can feel the cycle here stronger than the city.

Yes.Daemon nodded.There is less distraction down here. It will help you to focus on one thing and block everything else you do not need to know out. Though if you are too narrow, you will miss danger coming your way.

Julian’s senses had him turning towards several schools of fish, their iridescent scales flashing in the moonlight that made it down beneath the waves. Not only were there eels, but there were other predators, too. Fish with powerful hinged jaws swam by them, wiggling powerful tails, ever looking for something to eat. He caught sight of a curl of a tentacle visible for just a moment below him and then it and a bright yellow fish were gone.

He turned to Daemon in amazement. The Vampire King was watching his face. There was nothing in the ocean that could hurt them like the land could. Except the sunlight.

We could always dive deeper than the sunlight could reach and be safe there, Daemon told him.I hear voices in the deep. Perhaps more and different beings to know.

They hung suspended in this strange silvery black place, a part of it and yet utterly separate. Julian’s hands slid around Daemon’s neck again, sheltering in his strength. The smile on his face was so broad that it almost hurt.

I thought I had seen things before I met you, Daemon, but now I realize that my experiences have not even scratched the surface of what’s out there! And that’s only here on Earth, but what about the Ever Dark? I can’t wait to go back there and see everything there is in those vast forests and cities!

Daemon smiled, leaning in and pressing their foreheads together.I will show you everything. It will all seem new to me as it is new to you. Sharing it with someone is so very different.

Did you and the other Immortals do things together?Julian wondered.You seem so free and easy with Balthazar. There doesn’t seem to be a formality of you being king and him being… Well, he’s a lord I guess. A loyal retainer?

Eyros was always my friend first. I could be honest with him. I often went to him for his advice. His ability to read minds was greater than mine in some ways, because of his understanding of people,Daemon explained.Eyros was fascinated with humanity so he immersed himself in all there was to know about them. He even pretended to be one of them for millennia at a time. He watched civilizations rise and fall, not from afar, but as part of them. I could never fully hide myself. Not even with the Mirryr ability. All felt in the end that I was not like them.

You are not like anyone else that’s for sure. That’s not a bad thing. But I imagine it’s been sort of lonely being so set apart, Julian realized.

It is the burden of being who and what I am.But then he was smiling again hugely.But it is a light burden, especially now that I have you. I will never be alone again.

No, you won’t. You’re stuck with me.Julian grinned back and felt something in his heart lighten.I realized something about myself recently. I’m doing that alot.

You are young. You will learn many things.

Don’t look so smug!Julian laughed. But then sobering, he said,It’s just really been brought home to my attention how cut off I’ve been and haven’t even known it. After I lost my parents, I didn’t want to care about anyone else enough to miss them if they went, too.

I wish I could give them back to you, Julian. It makes me angry that I was sleeping when they were taken from you. I remember their minds.Daemon’s expression grew distant as he remembered them and Julian caught glimpses of his parents through those memories.

He saw them climbing over the many broad marble steps of Nightvallen. He saw his mother standing in front of one of the many friezes, copying it into a journal, tapping her lower lip with her pencil as she pondered what it meant. There was an expression on her face telling Julian she was utterly engrossed. Her whole being was involved in trying to figure out what Nightvallen was, who had occupied it and what they were like.

Then he saw his father using his climbing equipment to get to one of the many stone balconies. He saw his father’s muscles strain as he lifted himself over the top of the stone balustrade. But he was stymied by the balcony doors being closed there, too, just like they had been in the lower level. But these had frosted glass panels that he peered through. Julian knew his father was considering whether he would risk damaging the glass. But though his father was stymied, there was no look of frustration on his handsome, weathered face. Instead, he looked electrified. Hewouldfind a way in. Hewouldunderstand everything about the inhabitants. Julian could feel that coming off of his father in waves.

They were so happy in Nightvallen, weren’t they?Julian’s mind voice was soft.

I remember noting their intelligence and joy as they discovered new things. Even though I was only barely aware of them, their minds were bright and their souls were adventurous, Daemon said.Come, let us look around this world before the chill becomes too much for you.

The two of them swam down into the kelp. Daemon would move some of the fronds so that Julian could see the teeming life all around them. Seaweed caressed their bare sides. Fish came up and stared at Julian’s face. He wondered what they thought he and Daemon were. Humans? Other fish? They were not afraid. Curiosity drew them nearer and nearer.

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