The only response he received to these words, however, was Cyprianus’s frown into the distance, his perfect lips pressed firmly together. Livius placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder in a comforting way, squeezing gently in the vain hope that his sibling would place more attention on him than the shadows of the night.

“Come sleep, brother. You’re overtired and paranoid. Come... have some wine. It will soothe your troubled mind.” Livius urged carefully holding the sack next to Cyprianus’s fingers and this time his brother nodded and took the offered sack.

Cyprianus kept his head held low as he approached the fire, wine sack in hand gingerly sipping at its rich contents. He looked simply abominable with anxiety to the concerned younger brother that Cyprianus had left standing on the spot he’d been haunting since the army’s arrival. Whatever had caused such distress in Cyprianus, it was now starting to have a similar effect on Livius.

Cyprianus had the same dream for the last two days after entering the temple. The dream contained blood, heat and beating hearts with a multitude of hands sliding over his firm chest. Kisses raining down on his body and a beautiful woman sliding over his skin with an equally handsome man in the shadows, watching... always watching. Those intense eyes, the Cimmerian smirk, obscure and omnipresent as always, they seemed to be. Tonight there was one single twist to the dream. The scrutinizing man rose from where he sat, pulling from the shadows and entering the light of the single candle flame that served as a dull illumination for the scene. Cyprianus could get a clear look at his face. This man had rich, black, long hair and fire behind his onyx eyes. That fire could surely burn any mere mortal alive.

In fear Cyprianus found himself flinching away from the man’s face, diverting his eyes to something that seemed less threatening, like the woman straddling him. The woman pulled from him and disappeared into the shadows, much to Cyprianus’s disappointment. Cyprianus’s breathing quickened and he pulled back against the head board curling up to hide his naked body from the dark stranger that had so easily taken the place of his flame-haired beauty. The man’s smirk grew more deadly at seeing the reaction he was given. He lifted his thin bony fingers up to his shallow cheeks so as to casually stroke at his own brow, his eyes now washed with the red and vivid with pleasure. It was the devil coming toward Cyprianus and fear made his heartbeat quickens, sending adrenaline pumping into his once relaxed limbs.

Cyprianus attempted to move off the bed when the snap of the Red-eyed demon’s bony fingers suddenly pulled all four of his limbs stretched out to the corners of the bed as if an invisible rope had simply wrapped around his limbs and yanked them apart, a sacrifice for the dark demon. His eyes widened in horror as he struggled against the invisible force until two cold fingers started making their way from the very tips of his toes upward across his knee. Shivers ran down his spine and he turned his head away from the hand traveling its way upward, a flush of embarrassment curving over him, refraining from seeing that had come closer. He couldn’t desire the demon’s touch. He couldn’t allow himself to feel excitement over it. Those fingers... so soft, so cold, moving across his inner thigh and he found himself gasping... wanting more. His body betrayed him and soon, lust took over his survival instincts.

Cyprianus didn’t have to look. He just knew the man was leaned over him now... close enough to kiss and he was half expecting it to happen but the dark figure said only five, slow, silkily purred words into his ear.

“I am coming for you.”