Vamp Guards ✔️

F I F T Y-S E V E N

Despite Kai's sweet persuasion, Iris didn't get more than ten minutes of sleep that night. His thoughts kept him awake, ranging from many different things, but they were consistent enough to keep his eyes open.

Blinking up in the dark he fixed his gaze on nothing else but the ceiling. He bit his lower lip until he started chewing on his fingernails. Iris went through several nervous ticks just like that.

Morning came slow. The ten minutes he got was before a maid came knocking on his door, waking him up. He sat through a short discussion with his dad and Zoe and slumped his way towards the dining room afterward. The usual soft golden light that spilled into the room from the narrow windows had grown dull and held less energy. Despite the glow, it was gloomy.

Iris's sigh drifted shortly through the large room. He held his head up by his chin in his palm while he read over papers his dad had given up. After just finished eating he decided he could use a break from the endless work he's been doing in the library and study elsewhere, where raw light was shining the ink for his tired eyes.

His mind was also tired and lagging behind enough that he didn't realize someone had entered the dining room. He was rereading the same sentence twice before he jumped when someone tapped his shoulder.

"I thought there were no elbows on the table?"

Iris glanced up and let out a heavy sigh. A small smile captured his lips and his eyes lit up.

"Hey, Kai."

"Prince." Kai did a little bow before taking a seat next to Iris. Before Iris could get another word in, his face was caressed by one of Kai's cold hands. He watched a frown etch onto his own lips. "You didn't sleep did you?"

Iris glanced away with his eyes. "I did." When Kai didn't remove his hand, Iris sighed. "For ten minutes."

"Iris–"

"It's not entirely my fault. I had a lot of things on my mind."

Kai just shook his head and lowered his hand. "Well, when you were battling your sleep I was digging for more information at that location. I think I have a good prediction where the dagger is."

"Really?" Excitement rode its way onto Iris's face for the first time today. His back straightened and he momentarily forgot all about the papers in front of him. "Where do you think?"

"Somewhere where you and I can go alone to find it. I requested the trip. We leave tomorrow."

Iris bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from bombarding Kai with questions. "Just us?" he asked. "Shouldn't Zoe come along?"

Kai's expression turned blank. "I still don't trust her," he said in honesty. "I'd feel better if we retrieve the dagger without them there. If it is real then maybe I'd reconsider trusting her."

Iris wanted to comment and say how that was some sort of progress but instead, he kept his mouth shut. His eyes skidded around the room before he quickly leaned forward and made their lips touch. Kai's taunt from the night before lingered in Iris's mind and all he's been wanting to do was kiss Kai; that's what the majority of his thoughts were clouded with. Kissing him. And, shamelessly, much more.

They split in time to watch two maids wander inside the room, small feather dusters in hand. They greeted one another and attended back to their work.

"Just you and me then," Iris concluded. Both their eyes trailed down each other and a smirking fire flared in their pupils when they met.

"You and I."

And Iris wanted to kiss him again.

***

Zoe was understanding when Iris and Kai told her about their plan. She listened and nodded and smiled.