Ari laid fast asleep until he heard Freir and Rein speaking loudly nearby.

"If we bring him back like this, he will only want to leave again. He has yet to see it all and I want him to see," Freir said.

"I think he has seen enough. He is frightened," Rein answered.

"For now. I want to instill the fear of the gods into that boy again, so he will not go on and do something like this again."

Ari opened his eyes not bothering to say a word. He knew he was wrong from the moment he pressed his lips onto Auovin's. It was against the belief of the Khaeo and he had ignored it, tempted by the pleasure and desire Auovin brought on. To him, it felt nothing but right. Ari could not quite explain it, but kissing him made his body feel warm. It made blood rush to his cheeks making him aware of every touch placed on his body, and he loved it. Ari tucked his face into the thick blanket wishing to sound out their voices with thoughts of his own, but it was futile.

"I am sure he has had his fill of blood demons. The big one... is he not the one Nolan had been searching for? The one they call Stein," Rein said.

"Ah, yes, that one."

"It is our chance."

"Ari is enough as is. We cannot handle two of them, especially not one as old as he."

"All we can do is kill him," Rein said.

"Kill him?" Freir murmured causing Ari to clutch the blanket surrounding him in his hands. "We should try to get rid of them all."

"Freir, they know of his markings. It does not matter how many we kill now. We cannot protect him like this forever."

"We sure as the five realms of hell can try."

Ari rose and looked at Rein watching his face distort into some unrecognizable thing.

"And we must address this," Rein said.

"This?"

Rein only stared at him causing Freir to look away.

"There is nothing to discuss," Freir said.

"He had done what he did because he thought of it as excusable and forgivable because of us."

"Rein..." Freir said lowly.

"So we must stop this."

"You are not saying this because of him and our influence over him. You are not, so stop it with this nonsense."

"I love you, Freir, I do. With the whole of my body and heart and mind and spirit, but not... not at the cost of losing the good graces of our gods. We are like this because we have sinned."

"Rein, not this again. We spoke of this once before. It is love, not lust."

"It does not matter."

Freir took a hand through Rein's hair pushing it back behind his ear which revealed all of his face to him.

"I matter, do I not?" Freir mumbled.

"... You do."

"Then hush and kiss me."

It was not long before Rein had his lips on Freir's as his arm wrapped around Freir's neck bringing him close.

Ari coughed ignoring their sudden separation and surprised expressions.

"Ari, you are awake," Freir managed to say as he wiped his mouth and coughed.

"I could not sleep," Ari admitted. He looked at the door and back to them. The tension in the air was thick causing Ari to scrunch up his nose before wiping it with the back of his hand. " I am going to get some... water."

As soon as he shut the door, Ari heard Freir being pushed down to the ground. He closed his eyes at the image and continued down the corridor slowly. Ari did not even know when he would be able to come back. However, Ari knew he should give them their... time together. It was the least he could do. He never meant to bring them into this.

Ari scratched at his throat as he felt an itch at the back of it. He tried his best, for days, to ignore it but it only kept growing by the hour. The floorboards creaked under his feet as he went down the stairs and into the kitchen. He looked around for a cup and found one off to the side. It looked worn but cleaner than most. It would do. As soon as he turned around towards the barrel of water, he felt eyes upon him causing Ari to turn quickly.

A pair of green eyes stared at him taking him aback, for a moment.

"Have you calmed yourself down now or are you going to ignore me as you ignore Auovin?"

Ari blinked a couple of times as Cyrus kept his arms crossed with eyes never leaving his for a second. It unnerved him. The way he stared him. He could never tell if it was a gaze of want or bloodlust.

"Well?" Cyrus asked taking Ari out of his thoughts.

"I have no reason to speak to him," Ari murmured. Auovin was toying with him. Acting as if he wanted him and then turn him away when he just began to work up the courage to ask for more. Auovin turned his head to Cyrus instead. As he looked up at Cyrus, Ari could not help the heat rising to his face. Like Auovin, he was gorgeous but there was something else entirely about him that made Ari's heart beat the way it did.

Cyrus came closer taking his chin in hand and bent down ever so slightly to gaze further into his eyes. It stole his breath away.

"And here I thought you quite liked him. You are a fickle thing."

Cyrus moved away from him, but Ari did not look away. He held his eyes causing Cyrus to raise an eyebrow.

"... I do... I mean I... I do not know what I feel anymore. It is confusing and overwhelming at times... with him."

"Because he is what he is as you are what you are."

"And that is?" Ari questioned.

"A blood demon who likes the taste of pain." Ari's eyebrows furrowed. "As you like the taste of passion. It is in the blood that you taste. Like flavors, it lingers in the blood... and that is what makes the blood and body of another so intoxicating." Cyrus eyed him again, unsmiling but still very pretty. "He does not mean to hurt you, but he will as you are now."

"And you...?"

"Me?"

"What is it... that you like?"

The corners of Cyrus' lips upturned into a smile. He bent down close to Ari causing him to back away a bit, but Cyrus only filled in the space between them.

"Power."

"Power?" Ari mumbled. "Then it is no wonder why you dislike me."

"You are a weak, human thing. There is no reason to like you other than this pretty face of yours." Cyrus looked at him as a cat would a piece of string.

It was then that Ari's heart began beating louder. It pounded out of his chest and caused the itching in the back of his throat to grow worse. Cyrus wrapped his hand around the same place Ari held the cup causing Ari to let go of it.

"No amount of water will ever quench the thirst in the back of your throat. Just as nothing will ever truly cover up your true nature, what you really are, no matter how much you try to run away from it and deny it. You are one of us."

The cup dropped onto the floor causing a clanging sound to echo through the room, but Ari never left his eyes. Not even for a moment.

"So go on and have your humans treat you as if you are their own... and go on and have Auovin coddle you. I will not."

Cyrus tried to move away, but Ari grabbed on to a piece of his shirt keeping him put. It was not long before Cyrus pressed his lips onto his. Cyrus placed a soft, warm hand against his cheek as he deepened the kiss. Ari could feel himself melting into him with the way he kissed him. Ari's eyes opened slightly as he heard footsteps coming in from the entrance of the kitchen. He was greeted with a pair of slitted, green ones causing his cheeks to flush.

"Well, why is this not surprising?" Ari heard Inge say. "You are worming your way in here quite well."

As Ari tried to move away, Cyrus covered his lips with his again causing his head to tilt back. Ari sighed into him loving the feel of his lips against his and the taste of his mouth.

"Cyrus is quite vain and haughty. He does not like for anyone to kiss him if it is not Auovin." Ari could hear his voice, but he was not paying him any mind. Cyrus took his mind away from it all. Truly, Ari was enraptured with him.

"As if Auovin is any good. How many necks has he kissed? As many years as I lived, I am sure," Inge said just as Cyrus ran a thumb across Ari's bottom lip. Soon he bent down and whispered something into his ear that made his blood run hot.

"You taste as good as you look... and I would like to taste more of you... if you are willing."

With the way Cyrus kissed him, Ari would not care if it was Cyrus' hands and not Auovin's that were touching him. His touches were much softer and made his entire body feel hot. Some lower parts of him tightened and stiffened as a result. It was a feeling that would not go away without being dipped into cold water. It was one of the many ways the Khaeo made sure young men and boys would not be tempted by such bodily desires. Why did something that was so wrong feel so right to him?

Ari looked at him again not knowing what to say. He left him speechless, as always.

"What a blond beauty you are," Inge said getting in between the two of them. "I wonder how Auovin would feel about this?"

Cyrus gave him a fleeting look before pushing him out of his way.

"Nuisance," Cyrus hissed causing Inge to smile. He walked out the door leaving behind the scent of honey and mint. Ari had not noticed it before. It was only after kissing him did he realize what kind of scent he had.

"You are welcome, Ari. See, I had just saved you from a tiger's jaw. Once it snaps shut, there is no way of ever getting out of it you see. He would swallow you whole."

"You did nothing but annoy him it seems... "

"Gobble you up in one bite, I am sure," Inge said ignoring him. "He is pretty, is he not?"

Ari nodded.

"Golden hair. Golden skin, and pretty green gems to match. But, Ari, all that glitters is not gold. He is as beautiful as he is a beast. Do not be fooled by that face."

"And you? Should I be wary of you as well?"

"Me," he exclaimed. "No, I am as harmless as a fly."

"You say I am worming into whatever you call this, but you are the one getting between a love that has no place for you."

"And you are one to talk. Look at you. Cyrus is his. Always has been and always will be."

"Rein is Freir's. It will forever be this way," Ari replied.

"You have a mouth on you for such a little thing."

"I do not want you coming between them again. If you do, I promise you, I will make you pay heavily for it."

"And now you think you can threaten me because Stein had a slip of judgment?" Inge stalked around Ari, but Ari steeled himself ready for anything. "Listen, little kitten, this is not the world of the humans you are in right now." Inge pressed against his ear but Ari moved away from him causing Inge to smile. "I know what ways and what points in your body to touch to paralyze you. I know what blood to use to poison, and what places to cut to watch you bleed out."

Inge circled him again and stopped in front of him. Ari narrowed his eyes nestling down the fear growing inside him.

"Do not threaten me again, kitten."

"I admit, I do not know anything about any of those things you spoke of except one. I know all the places and more to cut to watch you bleed. I have no problem killing demons. I will not have a problem killing you either. Do not come near him again."

Ari watched as his eyes went from brown to a dark, muddy maroon. Soon a devilish smirk plastered on his face causing Ari to grab the hilt of his dagger hidden in the back of his pants.

"It is high time someone here taught you some manners. That pretty face of yours saved you from quite a bit of it, but I would gladly like to be the one to give you some."