Chapter 228

Chapter 228: Chapter 228

In the burning sands of the Red Plains, two Demons fell out of blinding gold portals a short distance away from each other.

Kath’tan stared down at his hands in disbelief, more shaken that Dulce had undone his contract than anything else. Not even the risk of his death had prompted the Vampire to undo the contract, yet without even asking like he usually would have, he severed their connection.

He looked up at Asael to see the Shadow Demon already stepping into a portal, without even stopping to process what had happened.

It wasn’t surprising though, he had had this exact conversation with Asael. Despite the Shadow Demon’s reticence, he was surprisingly dogged, making a decision and sticking to it without hesitation.

Kath’tan had convinced himself that he was still by Dulce’s side because he couldn’t leave, essentially using the Vampire as an excuse for his own wants. Trust was a rare commodity, but he had trusted wholeheartedly that Dulce would never break the summoning contract without getting his approval.

He stared across the plains, he didn’t look to the south, turning to Ashford with a wistful look on his face. He could return home like he always planned to, his mother would be beyond happy to see him.

Even as he thought that, a portal was already growing in a hand. He had always been easily incited to anger by Dulce’s ditzy foolishness, yet even that hadn’t stopped him from being drawn in by the Vampire.

Now a Dulce with so much color was one he simply couldn’t fly away from, all the more better if the Vampire burned him.

-+-

In the cottage, Dulce had barely gotten halfway down the hallway when he was suddenly pinned against the wall.

Ruoxi’s expression was tight, his eyes dim as he trapped Dulce against the wall with his arms. "And here I thought that nothing could hurt worse than your dispassion." He said in a low, tortured voice, looking down at the Vampire.

Dulce avoided those intense eyes, sighing inwardly. How troublesome.

He placed a hand on the Demon’s chest, but it held none of the gentleness it once did. "All that was were antics with a mindless shell. Now move, or I’ll make you." He said coldly.

Ruoxi’s hands fell away from the wall, stumbling slightly. The hand resting against his chest hadn’t moved, but it felt like the Vampire’s slender fingers had dug his heart out and crushed it in a tight grip.

"Dulce," He whispered hoarsely, holding the Vampire’s thin wrist.

Dulce didn’t hesitate, throwing the Demon against the far wall with only a flick of his wrist. It was at this moment that Caedos and Asael stepped into the hallway, in time to see Ruoxi get thrown against the stone wall.

Dulce greeted their arrival with exasperation, leaving in a streak of gold light as his hair streamed out behind him.

Kath’tan showed up a moment later, Ruoxi easily picking himself up from the new doorway that had been opened into the Fiend’s room.

Kath’tan strode over with a black scowl. "Why are you fighting inside?" He demanded, staring at the mess made in his room with disapproval. "Where is Dulce?"

"Dulce did it." Caedos said quietly, the Hellhound’s gaze was fixed in the direction Dulce had gone in.

Kath’tan’s anger crumbled into a strange expression, unable to picture Dulce attacking anyone, much less them.

Asael was already on the move, "He’ll likely be in the cellar."

Ruoxi shook off the dust and chuckled, vanishing as soon as Asael spoke. The Vampire had broken off his bonds which were made by a Holy Demon, so he had greatly tempered his strength when he pushed him away, considering that he had come away completely unhurt.

The cellar was still dark, Dulce barely arriving before his unsavory past stepped out of thin air, crowding the cellar.

He ignored the Demons as long as they kept their distance from him. Soon, they would take the hint and return to the lives they had before him, and he would do the same.

Moreau shot to his feet when Dulce arrived, hastily backing up several feet. "L-Lord Montesserat-" He stumbled over his words, more shaken than he should be.

"Who stole my heart?" Dulce cut him off, absently placing a hand over his chest.

"The High Coven of the North," Moreau revealed without restraint, sweat beading his brow.

"From me?" He tilted his head, danger threading the simple words.

"I-I... I-I..." Moreau stuttered badly, unable to get the words out.

Dulce was patient, saying nothing while the injured Vampire nearly bit his tongue off in fright.

"I merely happened to stumble on your palace while on the search for you..."

"Spare me the flowery details. I’ve long been aware of the tabs you kept on me." Dulce interrupted him again, undoing the constricting buttons on his sleeves.

Moreau swallowed thickly, "I had no intentions to disturb you, unfortunately, I encountered a member of the High Coven in the Rahana desert."

"And so your first thought was to run off with my heart instead of rousing me?" Dulce asked calmly, picking out the flaws in Moreau’s admission.

The injured Vampire fell silent, the unspoken truth was that he had taken away Lord Montesserat’s heart after coincidentally finding a way into his locked room.

He had considered using the incredibly important item as a bargaining chip, but he didn’t get that far before it was taken out of his hands. Stolen away by the very group he hoped to bargain with, destroying his chances.

Moreau hadn’t expected that Lord Montesserat could still walk around without a heart, laying low so as not to incur the wrath of the High Coven. He had only wanted to free his coven from their indentured servitude to High Lord Valois. Lord Montesserat was indestructible, he would never know the fear of annihilation.

Dulce closed the distance in the blink of an eye, a palm over Moreau’s panicked face. "The High Coven will meet their end at my hands." He said matter-of-factly. "If your worthless coven possesses any intelligence, they might stay alive long enough to benefit from your philanthropy."

Moreau grasped his wrist with both hands, too terrified to formulate words. He gasped breathlessly, his eyes darting around in helpless panic.

Dulce didn’t look away as he crushed the Vampire’s face in a hand, a deep loathing on his face as he stared him down.

The sudden pressure mangled Moreau’s final scream, silencing him forever.

Dulce slipped his other hand into his pocket without letting go of the dying Vampire, dragging his bleeding body all the way out of the cellar. As soon as he stepped out, it grew exponentially brighter, Moreau’s headless body twitching as it started to blister from the light.

Dulce went right to a window and threw it open, throwing the burning body of the Vampire out into the garden even as it disintegrated rapidly into nothing. The sunlight also burned up the blood on him; he stared at his clean hand with a distant expression, turning away from the window.

"Have someone clean the cellar," He directed to the servant who had walked up at that moment.

It was the same servant who had informed him of Moreau’s arrival, she was surprisingly unfazed in the face of Dulce’s calm ruthlessness. "Yes, my lord." She bowed, going off to do as she was ordered without even doing a double take at the obvious change in her master.

Dulce stared past the servant as she immediately went off to clean the cellar, taking in the group of Demons who trailed after him persistently.

"Do we not get an explanation?" Asael asked measuredly, his eyes dark.

Dulce stood with his back to the window, the backwash of light making his hair glow. "I was without my heart and awareness for decades," He indulged them, "The Dulce you were entangled with does not exist-"

He barely got his words out before he was surrounded, his claims met with anger. Dulce rolled his eyes, low on patience. "What use is an explanation if none of you will accept it?" He muttered, looking over a shoulder out the window at the familiar yet unfamiliar meadow.

Caedos reached out to brush the pad of his fingers over the fiery mark on the Vampire’s neck. "How can that be when this still exists?" He asked quietly.

Dulce caught his hand immediately, but not fast enough. A muffled sound slipped past his lips, flushing a deep red as his knees went weak. He had to catch himself against the window pane, anger blazing in his usually unnaturally still eyes.

Most of the anger was directed at himself, he had just wanted some respite from the monsters in his head. He had just wanted a dreamless sleep for eternity, deprived of the peaceful stillness of death.

Why couldn’t his heart have been returned a year earlier?

"Touch it again, and I’ll cut it out." He scowled, placing a protective hand over the troublesome mark.