Daevas -I- ✔️

Chapter 16: Harun

Ari woke to Kaval's sleeping face. It was dark save for a candle, but Ari could see his face quite well. When he removed some fallen hair from his face, he saw deep lacerations. They were not bleeding, but it was strange for their kind to not heal fast from small wounds like that. He must need blood. Why did he not bother to say anything to him? Ari placed a soft kiss near his lips and studied his face.

For the first time, Ari saw the light brown freckles spotting his nose and tiny bits of his cheeks. He had such long lashes and pretty pink lips. Ari's smile dropped when he noticed dark bruised spots around Kaval's neck. There were bite marks littered there as well. Ari narrowed his eyes and bit down on his bottom lip.

"You protected me for so long now... it is now my turn to protect you."

Kaval chuckled with sleep still in his voice. "Is that so?"

"What is this on your neck? Who gave it to you?"

"It does not matter," Kaval said, pulling Ari closer. "I am fine."

"You are paling."

"It is cold."

"Kaval, do not lie to me. You need my blood. I would have given it if only you asked."

Kaval continued to stare at him in silence causing Ari to become anxious. He did not look well and there was so much worry in his eyes. Ari could not ignore it. He sniffed and sniffed again closer to Kaval's neck. He smelled like Cyrus.

"You smell of Cyrus," Ari muttered.

"Blondie?" Kaval rubbed his nose and let his eyes wander across the room.

"Is he the one that bit you?"

Kaval sat up and moved closer to him. "If I tell you it was, what will you do?"

"I will speak to him."

"Really?" Kaval said with some disbelief. He took Ari's chin in his hand but said nothing else.

"He is not like that. Cyrus would not take someone else's blood without asking."

"Who said he did not ask?"

"Kaval," Ari hissed.

"So you are jealous now because Blondie became a little distracted by me? I am quite an appetizing treat."

Ari did not know what he thought at that moment. Cyrus was not wholly his. He never could be. It did not matter so much to him that Cyrus went and did that. Ari did take more than enough of his blood. It needed to be replaced, Ari reasoned.

"You do things like this to make me irate with you on purpose, why?" Ari shook his head. "No, do not answer that. Tell me about Harun. What was he to me? To you? To Auovin?"

"A close companion, friend, father... He was anything but a lover. To me, he was..." Kaval thumbed his lip and sighed. "To me, he was someone to be feared."

"And Auovin?"

"Auovin? Do you not think that is a question best asked to him and not me?"

"The way you speak to me and your actions-- they are hostile," Ari mumbled. Ari tried to ignore his words, but Kaval only ever spoke softly towards him. Now, Kaval's words were filled with nothing but spite and indignation. Before Kaval could speak, Ari asked another question.

"Why did you fear him if he was kind to me?"

"Kind? He left you here for over a thousand years with a promise he never meant to keep." Ari's eyes stung. "You filled in his role as a god to those ungrateful humans, hoping he would come back, but he never did. No, not until that wretched demon came."