Chapter 231

Chapter 231: Chapter 231

"I could have sworn I already grew accustomed to that," Dulce muttered under his breath, pulling away only when he was certain that he wouldn’t los his balance.

He made his way across the room, to an armchair by the window, uncharacteristically far away from the fireplace. He lowered himself to sit, darkness blanketing the meadow outside the window in his peripheral vision.

"Shift." He directly coolly, his roving gaze focused on the letter his held.

Caedos filled up most of the room, furniture getting moved even though he didn’t move a muscle. He had to lower his large head so it didn’t knock against the ceiling, peering intently at Dulce.

The Vampire slowly lifted his gaze, staring right into one large eye. "Did you grow bigger?" He asked quietly, already thinking of a way to remedy it before he could stop himself.

Caedos’ ears lowered, wary of moving around so that he didn’t destroy the quaint cottage. "I don’t know." He spoke without moving his maw, his eyes holding distress.

Dulce blew out a breath, "Change back." He reluctantly said, taking in the uncomfortably squashed Hound.

He rose to his feet as the large infernal dog fell away, "I’ll read my letters on the bed." He found himself saying, unable to bring himself to make the Demon sleep on the floor again.

Dulce simply kicked off his slippers and got on the bed, not bothering to even take off his waistcoat. He sat at the head of the bed with his stack of letters, crossing his legs at the ankles as he focused on them.

He didn’t look up when the bed dipped, expecting the Hellhound to get into bed next to him, trying not to look too hard at how reading with an infernal dog at his feet ended up with him getting into a Demon’s bed.

The warm weight at his feet however brought his head up, in time for him to see Caedos’ hulking figure curled up at his feet. The Demon’s calm face was next to his socked feet, somehow fitting his eight feet tall frame at the foot of the bed.

The Demon’s flicking ears brushed the hem of his pants, his hazel eyes slipping close with an expression of contentment on his face.

Dulce was speechless for a long stretch of time, silver blue eyes wide open in disbelief as he watched the Hellhound effortlessly fall asleep in such a compromising position.

He forced himself to refocus on the letters he held, a Herculean task. By the time the first rays of sunlight broke through the soft blue of dawn, Caedos was sleeping right next to him.

Dulce hadn’t intended to leave partway through the night but he couldn’t even if he tried. Unable to focus on his letters after slow hours dragged by, he had exasperatedly brought the sleeping Demon to his side, only to have Caedos nuzzling against him in return.

Focusing on his letters became even more difficult then, the mating bite that his heartless shell had allowed constantly exuding warmth the entire night. It made him drowsy but he refused to sleep, deciding to do something about it first before going on to deal with the matter of the High Coven.

The easiest method would be to ask Caedos how to remove it, but he could already picture the Demon’s grief-stricken expression if he did. He couldn’t bring himself to do it and that gravely concerned him.

He planned to leave at the first light of dawn, yet he didn’t shrug off the Demon even as it got brighter. Opened letters were discarded to the side, his gaze distant as he reviewed his memories.

His heart had always been protected, he knew this well from the endless number of weapons that had run through him. There had been a large possibility that ripping his own heart out would kill him, yet he had still done so.

The longer time went on, the more meaningless it became. Sunrise after sunset, city to city, it was repetitive and utterly boring.

The memories of his heartless shell were disquieting; he had woken up confused in his own desert palace and then immediately wandered to the west.

Dulce pinched the bridge of his nose, an old pain misting his eyes. He hadn’t been in the west for so long, it seemed like the older he got, the more vivid his early memories became.

They haunted him, dogging his steps, his mother’s achingly familiar voice unbearable.

Even now, he couldn’t wait to flee the west, yet without his heart and memories, he had been drawn back to his birthplace without knowing why.

Dulce glanced to the side when he felt Caedos slightly move next to him, looking right into calm hazel eyes.

"What’s wrong?" The Demon asked somberly.

Dulce shook him off, slipping out of the bed. "Keep your nose to yourself." He said without intensity, putting on his slippers to take his leave.

"Where will you go?" Caedos asked, his expression shuttering.

Dulce didn’t reply, opening the door to the Demon’s room. He stepped out without a word, frowning as he stepped into the hallway. There was an unmistakable scent of lotus wafting down the passageway, one that filled him with trepidation.

He barely took a few steps in the direction of his room when Asael materialized out of thin air. The Shadow Demon still had the detached air he always did, his gray eyes glinting like steel.

"What?" He asked coldly, uninterested in getting saddled with more trouble before he could depart.

"The servants are on the brink of succumbing to the Incubus’ aphrodisiac." He relayed with indifference.

Dulce’s already cold expression darkened, "And what does this have to do with me?"

Asael looked around, "Your cottage, your servants, and the troublesome Demon you kept around." He pointed out the obvious, his tone dry.

Dulce fell quiet, doing his best to draw out his thinning patience.

Asael looked mildly amused, "I could get rid of the Incubus stinking up your cottage."

Dulce eyed him suspiciously, "How?"

The Demon was shirtless, his white hair bound back tightly. "Do you want him gone or not?"

The Vampire sighed, looking like he couldn’t believe his own stance on the matter. "Not if he’s going to wind up dead, no."

"My price is only a single gold coin," Asael was quick to add, curiosity and humor swirling in his gray eyes.

"Do I look like I’m lacking in wealth?" Dulce shot at him, irked the longer the conversation went on.

Asael chuckled, it was an unfamiliar sound, the Shadow Demon’s white fangs splitting his inky dark skin. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me." He said, scattering into black mist.

Dulce watched the mist dissipate, displeased. He rather preferred when he could see the Shadow Demon, unable to tell if Asael was trailing him or not.

With each step he took, the scent of lotus flowers only increased in strength, and by the time he arrived at his room, he felt strangely warm.

Dulce stomped to the bath, the cool water lowered his temperature but did nothing for his irate mood. He paced around his room wrapped up in nothing but a bathrobe, damp tendrils of gold hair clinging to his freshly washed face.

Ruoxi hadn’t eaten since they entered the mountain pass, it was already well over a fortnight since then. It was closer to two fortnights if anything, the Demon had been starving long before they arrived at Eynsworth.

There was a deep furrow between his brows as he paced around his room, his bound hair growing frizzy as it air dried. After what was certainly well over an hour of pacing, he still couldn’t come to a decision.

Dulce didn’t want to be eaten by an Incubus, but he also could bring himself to leave while things were so dire. Unwittingly reminded of the first time he had agreed to feed the Demon, Ruoxi had been prepared to starve to death, and he knew deep down that the Demon would do the same again this time.

He paused mid-step when a Demon stepped into his room, Kath’tan was shirtless and furious, his wild, dark red hair down around his broad shoulders.

"Can I toss out the Incubus?" He requested permission, meaning it.

Dulce walked over, he couldn’t keep hesitating to make a decision. "I’ll do it." He said monotonously.

Kath’tan was immediately in a good mood, closing the distance instinctively like he didn’t even realize he was doing it. "Are you..."

"If you come any closer, I’ll toss you out too." Dulce stiffened, eyeing the Fiend warily.

Kath’tan didn’t slow down, the threat seemed to only entice him more.

Dulce hastily made his departure before the Demon could fully close the distance. Kath’tan had gotten that mad glint in his eyes again, the kind that he got just before he had claimed his lips last time.

He pushed the scene out of his thoughts, brought quicker to Ruoxi’s side in a bid to escape Kath’tan.