Page 35 of King of the Damned
He lets out a long exhale, before roughly tugging himself away from my grip, all of his earlier care and gentleness gone.
And then he leaves the room, but more importantly, he leaves me feeling lonely, confused, and heartbroken.
Quiet tears continue to spill from my eyes, shame and humiliation flowing freely. I wipe my face just as I notice Cassius slither onto the bed, slowly making his way towards me. I lie down and turn on my side so he and I can be nose to nose.
His eyes scream intelligence, and though I wish Kaius was here with me, Cassius is good company too.
“Thank you for stopping Dravon,” I say quietly through a sniffle. Cassius’ forked tongue flickers out, touching my nose. I blink rapidly in confusion and interest. I sit up slightly, and Cassius follows my action. “Can you understand me?”
His tongue flickers out again, and I settle back on my side.
“Will you stay with me?” I ask. Cassius then curls into a spiral at my stomach, and I take it as a yes. I stay silent for a few moments, and then look at him again, my lip quivering. “What did I do wrong?”
Cassius perks his head up at my question, pauses for a moment, and then moves his head slowly from one side to the other, as if to say‘nothing’. I don’t believe him, and so I bury my face into the pillow, which only makes me cry harder because it smells like the only person I want in the world right now–Kaius.
Cassius comes closer to me, winding himself around my wrist. A line of scales all the way down the center of him turns from pitch black to shimmering gold. When he lets my wrist go, I look to find that there’s a golden line circling it. A vow.
I compare it to the one on my other arm; the vow Kaius made to me. It’s still golden, too. I tuck my hands under my pillow and sigh. “I don’t know what promise you’ve made, but I trust you.”
I swear I see a smirk on the corner of his mouth, before he lowers his head and tightens himself in a coil again. I take one last peek at the golden lines on my arms, and drift to sleep.
My dreams are filled with visions of a white-eyed, dark-haired, white-winged man standing next to Kaius and me.
His gaze on us can only be described as unbearable longing.
Fifteen
Kaius
Dravon is still deathly still on the floor of Adelasia’s suite when I come for him. His eyes are open, wide with confusion and shock when I stand over him.
“Lord Kaius…” he whispers.
I hold up a finger in warning to hold his tongue. “You will tell me what happened, and you will tell me now.”
As he opens his mouth to respond, I see that fog cast over his eyes. It’s subtle, but once it’s noticed, it’s hard to ignore. I squat down to look closer, and it’s gone.
“I wasn’t in control,” he gasps, and in all the time I’ve known Dravon, which is the entirety of my immortal life, I’ve never known him to look…distraught. Worried. Scared.
It unsettles me to my core.
“Clearly,” I mutter. “I seem to recall telling you several times that Adelasia wasnotto be touched by your insatiable thirst. I’ve killed our kind for calling her a liar. What should be your punishment for defying me? Forharmingher?”
Dravon whimpers. “I’m already a dead man.”
“Don’t be dramatic, the venom will wear off in a few hours.”
“It’s not the venom, Kaius.”
I stiffen. Dravon has never, not once in one thousand and twenty-seven years, used my name. It’s always followed by a ‘Lord’ or replaced with‘sir’or some other formality. Never just my name.
His eyes fog over, return to normal, and then fog over again. He begins to twitch, as if trying to thrash around while under the influence of the paralysis. He growls and grits his teeth.
I grab him by the lapels of his coat and shake him. “Tell me.”
Dravon begins to panic, and when a fearless man begins to panic, so do I.
“Dravon!” I growl. “Tell me!”
