“My treasure.”
Darius jolted, white knuckle grip loosening where it held Kallum’s sleeve. His silk shirt was nearly as cold as his pale flesh. Heart pounding painfully, Darius writhed around, trying to break the Ringleader’s hold. “Release me,” he snapped.
In an instant, Kallum let him go.
Legs weak, he slumped to the ground. His head snapped up to see Kallum hovering around, examining him closely. There was something dark burning in the depths of his eyes, calling forth all the bloodlust and fear Darius often associated with his kind.
“Where did you come from?” he breathed.
Kallum crouched down slowly and it was then that Darius got a better look at his state. The white of his clothing was stained and battered. There were clear traces of dirt and torn fabric which could’ve only been caused by running around wildly.
But had he been searching for Darius? Or Delirium’s pet?
“The city, of course,” Kallum responded, smile strained. It was a strange sight. All of it. The panic. The feigned confidence.
When had Darius started paying such close attention to him? “That’s not an answer,” he sighed.
A pitiful cry stole his attention.
Alert, Darius got up and pushed past Kallum. Only a few feet away, the man from the other night had Lan face down in the dirt. The silver rosary glinted in the moonlight as it burned into the nape of Lan’s neck.
Smoke filtered up, black and poisonous.
“What are you doing?” Darius shouted, reaching out. However, he found himself held back by steely arms. Whipping around, he glowered at Kallum. “Isn’t he one of yours? Why are you letting this happen?”
The surprise that rushed over Kallum’s frayed features empowered him. Adrenaline roared at an all-time high inside of Darius, and it only got worse the longer he listened to the dreadful sobbing of an innocent man.
“Stop hurting him!”
Just like the other times—every time—the order was obeyed immediately.
Kallum murmured, “Halt.”
The torture stopped.
With a sigh of relief, Darius broke free of Kallum’s loosened hold and staggered over to Lan’s side. His captor moved away reluctantly, sizzling rosary swinging above them. Darius immediately examined the wound, lips trembling angrily at the blistering flesh.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he hissed at the two wavering men as he gathered Lan into his arms. Golden eyes were glazed over, skin flushed and tense.
“Control your Little Prince,” the stranger muttered, voice clipped.
“It seems the situation is more complicated than expected, Yua,” Kallum replied evenly, black eyes narrowed critically. He surveyed the pair, evidently trying to work out whatever had happened between them.
Darius thought his heart might explode as frantic thoughts raced through his mind.
“What’s complicated?” Yua crossed his arms, still clutching the rosary as if preparing for an order to resume.
“He isn’t a fool,” he stated, gaze focusing on Darius thoughtfully, “and he’s mostly unharmed. Execution of it on sight now seems rash.”
Something profoundly foul crossed Yua’s face, but he neither said nor did anything. Darius refused to take his eyes off him though, wondering just how long until the situation escalated again. It felt like the thinnest of ice beneath them.
Kallum nodded carefully. “We will hold a proper trial. If the beast is proven innocent, it will live on. Fair?” His eyes flitted to Yua who gave the smallest of nods.
Darius opened his mouth to demand an explanation but was stopped by Lan shifting in his arms. The young man was swaying, but awareness had returned to his eyes. Worry and confusion clouded his features, yet a very fierce fire blazed in every line of muscle.
Darius still didn’t comprehend what was happening, but it was becoming clear that this was much more than a simple misunderstanding.
From thin air, Kallum produced a muzzle and shackles. Any other time, Darius would’ve been astounded by the magic trick, but now it merely filled him with dread.
“Take the beast,” he murmured, handing over the hardware to Yua.
With pleasure, he hauled Lan up, strapping the heavy metal around his face and shackling his throat, wrists, and ankles. Lan didn’t resist in the slightest.
Darius wanted to stop them, but it felt like his voice wouldn’t reach this time. Golden eyes didn’t even meet his. He watched as Yua threw him unceremoniously over a shoulder and started down the dirt path.
They were nearly out of sight by the time Darius felt chilly hands ghost across his cheek. Eyes widening, he jerked up, seeing Kallum studying him from barely a breath away.
“Darius?” he whispered his name with such unequivocal devotion that Darius immediately flushed all over.
Leaning away from the touch, he glared at the ground. “Why did you call him that?”
Kallum tilted his head, catching Darius’s eye once more. Gently, he tipped his chin up, their noses brushing. “It seems I’ve somehow become the villain,” he mused, rubbing a slow, cold thumb against the side of Darius’s neck. “Am I behaving poorly for your tastes?”
“His name is Lan.” He ground out, refusing to be distracted. “He’s a good person.”
“My treasure,” Kallum’s lips brushed the corner of his lips, traveling slowly up the curve of his jaw before stopping at his ear, “Lan is my dearest pet. That will become clear soon.”
Darius’s breath hitched at the icy tongue caressing the shell of his ear. An arm curled around his waist, carefully lifting him up. Effortlessly, Kallum embraced him, carrying him down the path.
“You said trial.” Darius squirmed slightly but couldn’t ignore the way his scent relaxed every tense muscle. It was nearly a drug at this proximity. Their bodies pressed close together, Darius’s shoulder bumping steadily against Kallum’s chest.
“I did.”
“What did you mean?” Darius responded tersely.
“You’ll see soon enough.”
“But—”
Kallum’s fingers curled in his hair, tugging him up until their lips were touching. He spoke softly, almost sweetly. “Enough.”
It didn’t sound like a command. Not really. More than anything, it was filled with exhaustion. “I’ve told you once,” he murmured, “I’ve watched you for a very long time. Perhaps I haven’t been clear about what that means.”
Darius trembled as each word was pressed to his lips, sometimes fleeting and other times with meaning. It made his blood simmer as his thoughts flew away.
“Can you imagine,” Kallum began, the skin around his eyes and mouth tightening, “how it must feel to believe someone important to you had been harmed by one of your own?”
Darius stared back at him for a long moment, cataloging how dark his eyes had become. Only a night had passed since he fed on him. Didn’t the effects of blood last longer? Couldn’t he have eaten to replenish himself?
Racing against time. Worst case scenario. Dead and gone.
Turning his face away, he tugged his sweater aside. “Eat.”
Kallum chuckled, leaning down and pressing a frigid kiss to his throat. “The offer is enough,” he sighed, pulling away rather reluctantly.
Darius made to protest, but when he caught the firm refusal in Kallum’s gaze, he quieted. Wrapping his arms around the Ringleader’s neck, he pulled him closer, burying his heated face against cold skin.
“Sorry,” he mouthed, “and thank you.”
They reached a large clearing some twenty minutes later. A sleek black car was parked by the line of trees, just barely visible in the moonlight. It appeared that Lan was much faster than either of them realized if they had gotten so close to the city already.
Darius slipped free and began to walk on his own. Slightly farther ahead was Yua who opened the trunk of the car and proceeded to shoved Lan inside.
Immediately, Darius felt his hackles raise. “Fuck no.” He strode over, glowering up at the impassive man. “He’s not riding in there.”
“Brother.”
Yua snapped up, mouth curling with disgust. “It’s too bad, Ringleader. We’re short an appropriate cage owing to your explicit orders to kill on sight. This is the only method of transport we have.”
“He’s not an animal,” Darius spat, fists clenching as he looked down to where Lan laid on his side, back facing them.
“You know nothing,” Yua replied with barely restrained anger. “We’re already endangering ourselves and everyone else by entertaining your ignorance.”
Kallum’s voice rose up, a phone pressed to his ear. “Bring the van. We’ve decided to keep it,” he ordered, eyes sliding slowly back and forth between Darius and Yua. “Make preparations for a trial.” And then he hung up, tucking the phone away.
The Ringleader ran long fingers through his tousled hair. Sighing quietly, he waved toward the trunk. “Take it out. We’ll wait for the others to arrive with a proper vehicle.”
Fury blazed across Yua’s face. In a flash, he was standing before Kallum, muscles coiled tight.
Darius ignored them, hurriedly helping Lan into a sitting position. Gold eyes landed on him for only a brief second before gliding over to where his owner was now engaged in a cold war. Loyalty poured off of him just like a dog.
“What will you do?” Kallum asked, looking unperturbed.
Yua’s expression twisted. “You are not untouchable,” he hissed, lips thin. “Protecting that thing any longer will only bring you grief. Bear that in mind.”
Unspoken words flew between them. Darius couldn’t keep up with what they did say. Trying to understand their silent conversation was impossible. When he glanced at Lan, it seemed he fully understood the implications of everything.
“I trust you can wait here with my pet?” Kallum finally spoke. He peered up at Yua, yet somehow it felt like the latter was the one being looked down upon. “I’ll be taking the car.”
Yua was silent.
Smiling faintly, Kallum knocked his knuckles against the other man’s chest. It was such an innocent, almost friendly, gesture. That is, until Darius saw Yua gasp and recoil. His dark silhouette curled in, visibly shaking even from a distance.
Kallum’s low voice was thick as molasses and smooth as velvet. “Don’t harm the beast. Transport it alive and without fail to the trial.”
It was an order. Although Darius didn’t know what happened, even he understood the weight of those words. He had no idea why they felt heavy, but they were.
Yua collapsed to his knees, wheezing and gripping his chest.
Without another word, Kallum approached them. Cold distrust remained embedded in his eyes when he locked on Lan, but the killing intent was gone. He waved a hand and Lan obediently hopped out of the trunk, landing in a crouch on the ground.
Kallum knelt down, ruffling his hair absently. “You’ve won the affection of my treasure,” he remarked curiously, nails scraping Lan’s scalp gently, “perhaps I should learn from you.”
Lan vehemently shook his head, round eyes pleading guiltily. It looked like a worshipper who had been praised by their lord. The thrill of kindness competed with feelings of worthlessness.
Darius frowned at the exchange, swatting Kallum’s hand away from Lan. “If we’re going, let’s go.”
He disliked it all. The condescension. The confusing behavior. The aching need for validation.
“Of course.” Kallum stood graciously, wrapping an arm around Darius’s waist and guiding him to the passenger side door. He opened it and smiled.
Darius didn’t return it, awkwardly shuffling into the seat. The door shut and a moment later Kallum was getting into the driver’s seat, starting the car and peeling away.
The clearing disappeared behind them and within minutes they were back on a paved road heading toward city lights. Darius took an unsteady breath, leaning back on the leather cushions. His attention wandered from one thing to another, never lingering very long.
As much as he tried to put it out of mind, the events of the past day were slowly bearing down on him. When he tried to make sense of one thing, another thing raised questions and so on it went.
“You must be hungry.”
Darius blinked, focusing on the other man. “I…am.” The admission felt clunky. He peered down at his stomach and swallowed, throat parched. “A snack would be nice.”
“What do you like?”
“You don’t know?”
Kallum actually laughed, though it was still reserved. The past twenty-four hours must have worn him ragged as well. “I didn’t think to remember those things. Would you like me to?” he teased faintly.
“No,” Darius responded instinctively. “Is there ice cream around here?”
“Are you worried about going into a nicer shop?”
Darius gave him an unimpressed look. “We can’t go inside anywhere looking like this.” He felt grimy and drained of any social niceties at the moment. If someone asked him to sit like a civilized person in a restaurant, he would probably run off.
The city lights grew brighter by the second, accompanied by thickening traffic. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around what had happened in such a short period. Why did it all feel so much like fate? The mystery of Delirium unraveled with each passing day and the more he learned, the less it felt like a coincidence that he was here.
But how was that possible?
Shaking his head, he reached for the radio. He planned to tune into his favorite channel, but then paused. There were several presets already, none of which he recognized. Although he hadn’t been in London very long, he had become accustomed to at least a few of the popular radio channels. They were played on campus rather frequently.
Curiously, he tapped on the first preset.
A rich, deep voice came through the speakers. It was slow. A ballad. Darius leaned back in his seat. “You like this?” he asked softly.
Kallum nodded. “They’re timeless. No matter how music changes, it seems that we can all indulge in nostalgia through a ballad.”
“Do you have a lot of memories worth remembering?” Darius mumbled, resting his head against the cool glass window. He closed his eyes, focusing on the timbre of the soothing singer.
“Do you?”
He knew the deflection was coming. It didn’t bother him much though, surprisingly. Laughing flatly, he replied, “I don’t think so. My only friend told me that I’d never been more alive than now. After meeting,” he trailed off, shrugging. “You didn’t answer me.”
“There are some,” Kallum acquiesced, continuing to drive steadily down the dark road, “My kind has a selective memory.”
“Sounds Human.”
“We aren’t so different, after all.” He chuckled.
Ballad after ballad played, slowly blending into one another.
Darius drifted off, dreaming of old memories and experiences that could’ve very well never happened. Sleep dragged him so deeply under that he lost full awareness of himself, getting carried along through the often chaotic path of dreams.
He didn’t even wake for the ice cream.
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