Magia: The Council (BxB)

Chapter 21- Tension

"Please stop touching me."

"Elijah please-" Javier pleaded, despite obliging to the previous request.

"I'm going to get my son." Eli gritted out making Javier flinch back at the venom in his voice and the fact that Eli referred to Aurum as his son.

"He's just as much my son too Elijah, I did it for him. There was no other way, I had no other choice in the matter." Javier said calmly, he needed Eli to see that he had no other option.

"Ofcourse there was another way! You could've fled with him or fought harder for him! You-you weren't supposed to just-" Eli could feel the tears streaming down his face and not even the warm embrace of his husband could calm his frayed nerves.

"I'm sorry, but it was the only way. I swear if I could've done anything else I would've." Javier confessed as he drew small circles onto the crying man's back.

"I want to see him."

"Eli-"

"Please. I just... I need to, please." Javier stared into Eli's desperate eyes and sighed before nodding reluctantly.

He stood, pulling Eli with him before wrapping his arm around him to provide whatever comfort he could in the moment.

The walk through the many corridors was silent and awkwardness soaked the air around them. Javier wished it was different but he had no other choice, he hoped Eli would come to see it from his view as well.

They arrived at a large silver door with glowing blue latic inscriptions running alongside it's edges and a large clear sphere in the center. Eli could make out some sort of protection barrier from the blue symbols on the door.

Javier lifted his hand before running it along the sphere and after a few moments it began to glow blue as well and the door began to creak open.

"He hasn't taken to it well. Just... don't get too close." Javier winced when his voice cracked slightly but Eli paid him no mind, quickly pushing past the door to see his boy laying flat on his stomach behind obsidian bars.

"Aurum." Eli whispered when he got close enough to touch the bars, he could see that it wasn't just the bars that were made from obsidian but the entire cell itself.

Aurum was facing away from them, dressed in a similar gown to Eli. His once smooth, flowing red hair looked tangled and greasy making Eli want nothing more than to take his into his arms and pamper him with whatever he wanted.

The dragon stiffened when it heard the foreign voice but didn't turn its head to face the owner.

"Aurum. I'm here now. It'll be okay, look at me please." 

Eli watched as the dragon slowly turned his head to meet his and was a bit startled to see blood red irises peering up at him. Eli could see the pain that filled his eyes faster than the tears that followed.

Aurum flung himself off the bed and stumbled onto the floor, he fell to his feet but quickly pushed back up rushing towards the bars that separated the two.

Eli felt somewhat happy that Aurum wasn't shutting him out but that feeling was quickly replaced with dread when the dragon snarled loudly and smashed his head into the obsidian bar making his blood splatter across his father's face.

Eli was stunned as he tried to process what had just happened. He could only watch as the now bloodied dragon struggled to grab at him with razor-sharp claws through the bars.

"He's been like this since they started." Eli felt Javier's arm come around him but the touch only made him feel disgusted. Disgusted with his husband and with himself, just what had they done to Aurum.

Eli finally regaining control over his body, shoved off Javier's arm before walking right into Aurum's range ignoring Javier's loud protests from behind him.

He winced when a claw sank into his forearm before pulling him smack against the bars. The other hand went up to the side of his throat where the dragon's claws sank down and were ready to lob off his head.

"Aurum, I'm so sorry." Eli tried to portray just how much seeing the boy like this made him despair but words could do his emotions no justice.

He gripped onto the hand holding his neck and sent a pulse of his magic through the dragon. The dragon stilled as it felt the familiar warmth radiate through its body and its claws slowly retracted.

"Pa? Dad?" Eli heard a loud gasp and cluttering and found Aurum staring up at him with golden eyes as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Aurum? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Pa you're alive?" Aurum had tears streaming down his face as he looked up at his father with an expression of pure joy before it soured as quick as it came.

Aurum glanced down at his bloodied hands and back at Eli who was sporting new wounds on his arm and neck.

"I-I did it again." Eli had no idea what Aurum was going on about and it was beginning to scare him, he needed to hold him, to calm him down.

"No no no no no no no NO!" Aurum started rubbing at his hands, trying to get the blood off him. His entire skin felt as if millions of insects were crawling around right beneath the surface trying to claw their way out and deeper into him simultaneously.

"Aurum calm down! Look at me, I'm right here, I'm here come closer please."

"N-no! I-I can't, I'll hurt you again and I can't, I-I can't do that again. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Aurum was shivering with shame as he scrubbed at his hands not realizing his claws had extracted and were tearing into his flesh.

Flashes of the battle came back to Eli, specifically closer to the end where he managed to calm Aurum down and his eyes widened when he finally realized what was going on.

"AURUM COME TO ME RIGHT NOW!" Aurum stopped and looked up to meet the angry black eyes of his father. Fear overtook his brain and forced him to go towards the bars that separated them. He didn't know that the anger from his father was directed towards himself and not the dragon.

Aurum yelped when Eli gripped him and pulled him as close as he could without hurting him which made their positions quite awkward with the way how Aurum towered over Eli.

"You have nothing to apologize for, I'm fine and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I failed you and couldn't protect you like I said I would. I'm so sorry." Eli felt Aurum's tears on him as the boy began to hiccup through his choked sobs before placing his hands through the bars and returning the embrace.

"I'm so sorry Pa, I'm so so so sorry."

"It's alright." Javier said as he placed his arm on Aurum's and the dragon flinched back as if burned. "Sorry."

"Can you lock me up with him, since he can't leave?" Eli didn't look at his husband as he made the request. Aurum's reaction to his touch was enough to bring back the negative feelings he had begun harboring for the man.

"I can't. I don't have that authority." Javier saw the subtle shift from Eli but he ignored it. He knew they would both need time, as much as he hated being ostracized, he understood where they were coming from. He was just as disgusted in himself as they were afterall.

"Well well, what is that we have here?"