Chapter 128

Chapter 128: Chapter 128

"Yes-" Dulce started to agree.

"No." Kath’tan was a beat faster, mild irritation in his purple eyes.

"If you want to sleep in his cabin, you just have to ask." Ruoxi pointed out, placing a hand next to the banister by the Vampire’s waist.

Kath’tan scowled, his pride preventing the words from coming out. "Shameless."

"You can both visit my cabin whenever you like," Dulce quickly mediated. "Although, the bed is unsuitable..." He mused, looking like he was already thinking of a way to resolve that.

"I had no intentions of sleep," Ruoxi said with a slow smile.

Kath’tan’s irritation only spiked, "Put your face away, you’re drawing attention."

Dulce looked around, noticing the awed gazes on Ruoxi for the first time. "They can see you?" He whispered, right before he looked the Demon over and realized there was little to worry about, except maybe an influx of romantic propositions. "I suppose it’s fine," He eased off.

Ruoxi lost his smile at that, "No it’s not," He corrected, the attention he previously got fading to confusion as the guests on the deck went back to their conversations.

Jealousy was impossible for the Vampire, but that hadn’t been his original goal. He had simply spent most of the past few days in his cabin and he couldn’t be bothered to mask his presence. But Dulce’s generosity had been displeasing, stung that the Vampire wouldn’t even be faintly bothered by his attention being split.

They remained on the deck until noon approached, the sun’s strength uncomfortable. The Demons’ intentions for seeking out Dulce were out of concern, aware of how much he wanted a Hellhound.

Now the Vampire was sufficiently distracted but they still trailed him to his cabin. Dulce was more than happy to have them, the only one genuinely pleased by their presence.

Ruoxi glanced at the scowling Fiend who made sure to trail him every moment, the next day, and the consecutive days after.

On the final day of their journey, Dulce was the only one beaming, seeming not to notice the dark expressions of the Demons that constantly kept him company.

They were on the deck again, the port city of Hurwell rapidly approaching. They had gotten more storms but even that was tolerable because Ruoxi and Kath’tan were often in his cabin.

By mid-afternoon, they finally arrived at the west, right on the outskirts of Alderth.

Dulce had more control over his estates in Alderth, so arranging a carriage to meet them at the port was incredibly easy. They got off the ship amidst throngs of eager travelers, a cool breeze blowing even as the sun shone down.

He barely took a few steps down the pier before he ran into a figure that suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Asael?" He said in startled surprise, more shaken by the Demon’s appearance than the unlikely hug he was pulled into.

Asael looked over the Vampire at the matching dark looks he was given. He had woken up without the Vampire in his arms, it had been more destabilizing than it should have been.

"Have you been waiting long?" Dulce asked insistently, his voice coming muffled because he was still tightly held.

"Yes." Asael said, his tone gloomy.

His eyes were so pale they were almost silver, all the dimness and darkness all cleared up.

"How long?" Kath’tan cut in, placing a hand on Dulce to pull him out of the Shadow Demon’s hold.

"Seven hours," Asael said quietly. He let Dulce go but his gaze remained on the Vampire.

Dulce gravitated towards him, "I was worried all the time about how you would find your way back..."

Kath’tan clicked his teeth behind them, playing the Incubus’ role. "Did you return to have your summons undone?"

Ruoxi remained quiet in the face of all this, knowing when to give up. The change in the Shadow Demon wasn’t just from getting adequate rest, he knew that yet he watched them closely despite that.

It was ridiculous, Dulce treated them all equally the same, even his long-wanted Hellhound. Yet, there was a niggling worry, that one of the other Demons would get the love he had been denied.

It was a short walk to the carriage, the luggage placed in the trunk compartment by the ship hands.

"Slept and now can’t keep your hands to yourself?" Kath’tan grumbled when they filed into the large carriage.

Asael was seated next to Dulce, brazenly holding the Vampire’s hand. He easily ignored the words of the hypocritical Fiend, more interested in other important things. "When did you leave?"

"I didn’t know how much time had passed when I left," Dulce explained, unbothered by the physical touch. "Ruoxi told me a week."

Asael quietly made calculations, about how much blood was needed to keep the Vampire in a trance long enough for him to wake up to him in his arms.

As much as he kept by the rules of Shadow Assassins, it was redundant to keep denying what he couldn’t escape from. He had had the best sleep for the first time in hundreds of years, shattered when he woke up alone.

For a few hours, in a haze of sleep, he had wandered around his castle, finding nothing but black mists and treasure, the wraithlike Vampire long gone. It was in his acceptance that he found the note left behind for him, easily predicting where they would be on their journey

"Where’s Caedos?" He finally asked, hours into their journey.

"In the Hells," Dulce informed, concern plainly written on his pale features. "To save his kind."

The Vampire fell silent but it was evident he wanted to say more, and without saying the words out loud, it was easy to predict what they would be.

He was on the verge of asking that they go after him to keep an eye on him, but as unnecessary and intrusive as that would be, the Hellhound had his pride, and even though it was on Dulce’s mind, the Vampire would never ask that of them.