“Astaroth, what are your plans with that… thing you found at the club?”

Zaroth really was a pain in the ass. He had been from birth, but ever since the demon started to visit the human realm more, his brother was even more infuriating. They had always been like fire and ice, and even Zaroth’s looks reflected that. While Astaroth was tall, muscular and had fiery red hair, Zaroth was shorter and slimmer, with long white hair.

“Vampire, dear brother. Caleb is a vampire. And my plan is to keep on seeing him.”

Astaroth and Zaroth were at their family’s estate. Both brothers had their own homes since they were adults, but they always came to the home they grew up in when they needed to discuss something. Neutral grounds and all.

“Please remember you’re engaged to Lilith. Father will be furious when he discovers you plan to disobey him.”

“Father never asked me how I felt!” Astaroth bellowed, standing up from his chair in rage. Bright orange fire had replaced pieces of his usual red hair. He was mad.

Astaroth was the first born of the Bloodtornes, a powerful family that held reign over the Southern Plains. His father had him betrothed to the royal family’s princess, Lilith, when he had only been just eight years old. Of course it was all for politics. A bond through marriage meant more power and more land to reign over. But Astaroth had no interest in it at all.

Astaroth’s sudden outburst made Zaroth just as mad. “Feelings don’t matter in this realm, brother! Demons don’t care about you, they care about your power!”

“Oh that’s easy for you to say! You just married the first woman that would pay attention to you!”

Suddenly balls of red and blue fire started to fly through the room, hitting various pieces of furniture. The explosions were loud, almost as loud as the brothers’ yelling. At least the wood was fireproof in the underworld.

It took several minutes and several broken vases for the two demons to finally calm down again. Despite all their bickering and fighting, they never actually hated each other or held grudges for long. The two sat on the carpeted floor, trying to catch their breath. They looked around the room.

“I wonder if father would be more furious about us destroying the carpet than your plans to woo a cute vampire?” Zaroth chuckled.

Astaroth smirked. “You think he’s cute?”

A blush crept up on Zaroth’s cheeks. Astaroth had an inkling for a while that his younger brother was bisexual, he just didn’t want others to know. And even though the underworld didn’t mind as much as who you fucked with, they did concern themselves with being able to continue the family line. One more thing Astaroth had to deal with. Later.

“Well,” Zaroth started, “I guess as long as you’re happy.”

Astaroth hummed.

“I know I’ll have to deal with father and Lilith eventually, and I’ll figure it out somehow. So let me indulge for a little longer, okay?”

His brother nodded.

“I promise I won’t tell father. But you’ll have to deal with him yourself; I won’t do it for you.”

Astaroth nodded and pulled the other into a hug.

“You’re the best.”

“I know. At least one of us needs to use the brain cell we were given.”

The red-haired demon cocked his head.

“Did you just compare me to an orange cat?”

“You look like it.”

Zaroth was, in fact, right. Of course Astaroth didn’t say that out loud. But ever since their childhood, Zaroth had been the smart one, while Astaroth was the impulsive one. He always created chaos wherever he went, intentionally or not, and Zaroth had to help him more times than he could count.

But when dealing with their father… Astaroth could imagine why his brother wouldn’t help him. Father was not a man to be messed with. And that was why this was Astaroth’s most foolish plan yet.

Astaroth stared out of the stained glass window that looked out over one of the prettiest lakes in the Southern Plains. The demon’s home sat over a cliff, surrounded by woods, with a small village at the foot of the cliff. The demons there lived off of what the lake provided. And Astaroth had to make sure they could.

The face of the vampire returned to his mind. There definitely was something strange about him, he haffelt it in his heart that night at the club. Something deep inside him told him that this man was his soulmate.

He had learned of the soulmate thing from some werewolves, who he had met on a diplomatic mission in the human realm a few decades ago. One was supposed to feel a tug at their hearts when their soulmate was nearby, and Astaroth had always wondered what it would feel like. Now he knew.

The demon sighed. Apparently this soulmate thing wasn’t just limited to werewolves, it could happen to other species too, even between two different species. Caleb and Astaroth were proof of it.

How it had happened he didn’t know yet, but he did know it was rare. He hadn’t ever heard anyone talk about it. Were people in the underworld even aware of it? Maybe he should do some research. The library of Kintra must have something on the topic, right?