Chapter 216

Chapter 216: Chapter 216

Dulce woke up in Ruoxi’s arms; his vision had whited out long before his body caught up with the overwhelming pleasure and he fainted. Even now, long after they had cleaned up, his entire body still buzzed gently.

Ruoxi was wrapped around him, fast asleep, bearing marks of the night they spent together.

Dulce stared wide-eyed at the red bite mark on Ruoxi’s shoulder right in front of his eyes, he couldn’t remember doing that. His vision was limited, cradled against Ruoxi’s chest as he was, but it was hard to miss the bruises that dotted the Demon’s golden-hued skin.

Morning had come. After drinking from Ruoxi and being tormented by the Demon relentlessly, it was no surprise that he had been in a trance for most of the night.

He stared dazedly at the roof of the canopied bed, contentment written all over his face. Early morning snow drifted outside but he was warm, the sweet scent of lotus heavy in the air.

Ruoxi’s arms tightening around him caught his attention, and when he glanced to the side, he met the Demon’s drowsy stare, his dark pink eyes heavy-lidded.

Dulce smiled and then made to sit up, "I should leave for my room," He said airily, "It’ll be breakfast soon. Maybe we should go on a brief walk when the weather clears up..."

Ruoxi’s disbelief dissolved into exasperation, the Vampire tormented him by simply smiling at him with those placid blue eyes that didn’t hold even the faintest ripple of emotion.

"Can you walk by yourself?" He asked with a lazy smile, letting Dulce out of his arms.

Dulce got off the bed steadily, wearing another of Ruoxi’s robes. "I can. You can sleep in longer..."

Ruoxi rolled away so that his back was to Dulce, upset. Driven to the brink of madness and back, and the Vampire viewed him no differently still.

Unaware of his thoughts, Dulce turned to leave. He no longer had to expend any effort to keep the marks on his skin from fading too soon, dark red bruises layered over the much lighter ones.

The hallway was empty, the cottage quiet in the subtle morning light. And when he got to his room, he found a figure curled up on the bed.

Dulce had been about to take a bath and get ready for the day, but he was sidetracked by Caedos. The Hellhound was laying on his bed, and he seemed to have been there for a while.

"Caedos," He called as he walked towards him, "Did you spend the night here?"

The Hellhound sat up, taking the Vampire’s wrist to pull him onto the bed before replying. "Yes. I missed you."

Dulce fell into the warm confines of the Demon’s arms, his mating mark heating up in proximity to Caedos. There was nothing he could say to that, he had to accompany Asael and then Kath’tan before he could indulge the Hellhound.

But nothing was expected of him, and even if there was, stringing up a sentence became nearly impossible when Caedos bit down gently on his mating bite.

His body, already hypersensitive, reacted immediately, a soft breathy sound spilling past his lips, his arousal filling out. But he wasn’t so quick to forget breakfast, making his way to the bath on unsteady legs after prying Caedos off him and sending the Hellhound off to get ready for the new day.

By the time breakfast was over, a dim sun had broken through the clouds. It was the perfect weather for Dulce’s plans, enthusiastically rounding up the Demons to go on a peaceful walk through the meadow with him.

Ruoxi sulked the entire meal, but Dulce didn’t notice, trampling on the Demon’s already bruised heart.

Dulce was covered up completely, the thick scarf around his neck hiding the ravishing spots of color that littered his pale skin. He no longer worried as much about the Demons, letting them wear whatever they saw fit.

"Winter is such a pleasant time," Dulce murmured, all smiles.

Once, winter was his most loathed season, it was dark, lonely, and cold, the days and nights blurring into each other.

There was a patch of snowdrops in the meadow, white and pristine, the hanging flowers blended into the snow around, their petals cold to the touch.

Dulce crouched to pick one, his pale hair swaying in the gentle but freezing wind that blew through the meadow. He lifted the flower to his face to get a proper look at it, his eyes widening when a drop of water plopped on the delicate white petal.

He looked up, dark clouds were gathering fast, sparse drops of cold rain starting to fall. "...Maybe not all pleasant." He tagged on, their walk through the meadows brought to a sudden end.

Two hands reached for Dulce at the same time, Asael sweeping a cool stare at Caedos who had the same idea that he did.

"Let’s return to the cottage," Dulce decided, leaving in a blur of white hair and dark clothes after making his announcement.

His departure decided the silent turbulence that had been building up, four figures flashing away just after he did, icy rain hitting the ground where they had just left.

Dulce took off his scarf when he got to the leisure room, his hair windblown. It had been too long since he had run, having his pick of Demons to take him wherever he wanted to go.

The Demons had returned moments before he did, no matter how fast Vampires were, they were no match for the ability to instantly change locations.

He shook out the scarf with a quiet laugh, hanging it over a chair before going over to the fireplace to warm up, more out of habit than discomfort.

"Maybe I’m destined to never fall in love with winter," He murmured more to himself as he lowered to the thick rug in front of the crackling fireplace.

Cherry-scented warmth filled the room even as the rain grew heavier outside, hail knocking against the closed windows and beating down on the roof.

The rain fell for the better part of the day, so they weren’t able to go on their walk again, dinner time a tense affair.

The agreement for Dulce to alternate between accompanying each Demon to sleep had scarcely been implemented, and it was already rife with disgruntlement.

Kath’tan could only watch more marks appear on Dulce’s skin, marks that weren’t left by him. It was made all the more intolerable because he still didn’t trust himself to leave any behind.

Ruoxi was dissatisfied and Caedos was greedy, Asael the only one composed at the dinner table. The Shadow Demon was unflappable, it made Ruoxi’s teeth ache.

After the meal was over, Asael offered Dulce a hand, wasting no time to claim the promise of the Vampire’s company.

Ruoxi pushed out his chair noisily, mischief brewing in his dark pink eyes amidst dissatisfaction. "Shadow Demons don’t sleep, so you shouldn’t mind company."

Asael’s expression didn’t change, but as he reached out to pick up a bread knife, his eyes were pitch-dark.

"Asael!" Dulce gasped in surprise, standing next to the Demon, he got a close view of him slicing open his wrist.

"Come with me to Noctyrn," He invited flatly, offering his bloody hand, silver staining the polished floor.

Worried about his bleeding wrist, Dulce took his hand and brought it up to his lips, sealing the cut close.

"That’s underhanded," Ruoxi was the first to complain, "We didn’t steal Dulce away."

Asael already had a portal forming in his uninjured hand, "But I can only sleep in Noctyrn." He countered calmly, his eyes blacker than they were when he had been running on fumes.

With a mildly bewildered expression, Dulce let himself be taken into the portal, the outcome of the situation completely unexpected.

The sprawling castle was the same, black mist swirling. It drowned out the lit wall sconces, giving the castle an atmosphere of perpetual night.

Dulce barely took the foyer of the castle in before his lips were claimed, his back slightly arched from how tightly he was held.

"You need to drink more," Asael broke off to say, pressing a kiss to the corner of the Vampire’s lips.

Dulce walked when the Shadow Demon took his wrist and led him up the stairs, "We’re not staying long, are we?" He asked, reminded of the last time he had been brought here.

Asael’s smile was hidden by the poisonous mist, "Eager to sleep?"

Dulce still had his pride as a Vampire, straightening his shoulders instinctively. "Vampires don’t sleep."

The silent hallways were just as dark, even with Dulce’s improved sight, he could hardly see, the black mist an impenetrable barrier.

Asael’s tilted smile stretched a little wider, agreeing. "That’s right. Vampires don’t sleep."

The apparent threat in the Demon’s words went right over Dulce’s head, more worried about other things, like who would keep Kath’tan company in his absence.

"You can sleep as much as you like," He encouraged the Shadow Demon as he was led into his bedroom. "I’ll just have to leave after you fall asleep."