WRECK

Revelin's POV:

"Did you have to bring that thing with you? Didn't it cause enough trouble for everyone?" I grumbled as my petite, blond partner searched high and low for a wedding gift at the market square.

Cyrus let out a long sigh. "He promised to behave, " he said as his gaze raked from one displayed item to the next. "If he doesn't, he'll face my wrath."

I looked on in disgust as his pale hand began to pet the top of the miniature serpent's head, and Vianis began to rub and butt up against his soft fingers in a show of affection. Did I experience a tendril of jealousy towards the little beast? Yes.

Was it justified? Absolutely.

Five years ago, the water serpent had trashed the shit out of my mansion. We barely managed to encase the eel in a jar of Vim. I witnessed as, day after day, Cy would stare at the jar until the manipulative eel managed to tug on his heartstrings by acting pitifully. After many arguments, I grudgingly allowed my lover to release him. To my dismay, Vianis remained in a miniature form and took to Cyrus's side like a horrendous pet ever since.

I'd have preferred Cy adopting a Chihuahua instead.

"I owe my newfound freedom, life, and respect to Master Cyrus," Vianis hissed in my direction. "He bested me at my peak of power but chose not to kill me. Until the day that I can return such a debt, I vow to be by his side and protect him."

I couldn't help the snort that escaped me. "How do you expect to protect him if you can barely protect yourself?"

"I should ask you the same question!" the serpent countered.

"Alright, you two, knock it off," Cy admonished. "We're here to attend a wedding, not crash it."

"Don't you mean two weddings?"

"Does it matter? A double wedding then." He retorted.

"Prince 'brat' will be Prince Saul's best man," I mused aloud. "Then, the brat will marry Prince Damien, and I'll be Prince Damien's best man…"

"And I'm Prince Duncan's best man," Cyrus finished. "It's not as complicated as it sounds."

"Why is everyone in such a rush to get hitched anyway?" I questioned. "They only needed one pair for the peace to be upheld between the two kingdoms."

"Revelin," Cy sighed. "Just because you and I have just about the biggest commitment issues in the universe doesn't mean that others are just as afraid to take the plunge…"

"So, you admit it's a frightening plunge!" I teased with a grin, which drew the smallest of smiles on my partner's face.

"Something like that," Cyrus conceded.

When he turned back around, the smile fell right off my face. I joked around while in his presence and tried to always say the words the blond wanted to hear when it came to the subject. But the more time we spent together, the more I realized I craved a stronger union between us. Neither of us strayed or felt weary in each other's presence, and my days of seeking entertainment with no strings attached were long behind me.

However, Cyrus didn't feel the same, and if I tried to push him into anything he wasn't ready for, I'd risk losing him completely. That very fear was what kept me pretending that marriage was a waste of time. I was such a fool.

"All set!" Cyrus announced as he held up two gift bags in triumph.

I instinctively reached out to help carry one of them just as Cy handed it over before making our way back to the castle entrance. As we passed through the hall, we caught sight of two- no, three familiar faces. Alexandra's hair had grown down to her shoulders, but Verity's hair remained short and pixie-like. Next to Verity sat the same Arctic dragon that had aided our efforts to take back my mansion years ago.

My blond partner took one look at the dragon before he cocked a brow in my direction. "Now, what was that you were saying about my bringing Vianis along…?"

Verity squinted her brown eyes at the small water serpent draped over his shoulders. "I still prefer dragons."

"At this point, so might I," I muttered.

"Hey, I heard that!" Cyrus huffed. "Leave Vianis alone, everyone deserves a second chance…or perhaps a third, in his case." He added, appearing slightly deflated.

"Can I hold him?" Alexandra asked, holding out her hands. Cy passed the miniature beast over to her. "Aww, how could someone with such soft scales be so bad?"

"How he left my mansion after a power rampage is more than an indicator," I refuted, my arms motioning toward the little eel. "Am I the only one who is not okay with willingly keeping a gaslighting serpent around?" When no one responded, I felt outraged and unappreciated. Deciding to separate myself from the situation, I stomped away from the group. "Forget this."

"I…better go help calm him down. Think you can keep an eye on Vianis for me for a little while?" Those were the last words I heard Cyrus say before I rounded the corner and quickened my steps. For years, I had adjusted my stride to match my lover's smaller steps, so it felt a bit vindictive to outpace him.

As soon as I turned down the second hallway, I cooled off enough to reason again. Vianis had indeed caused us all heaps of trouble and heartache by default when he led us to believe that Itharos had become corrupted. However, the serpent had also caused the chain of events that led Cyrus to finally trust me. As much as I hated to admit it, I owed the eel an indirect debt.

I continued my stride, lost in such thoughts when a voice caught my attention. In the distance, I saw a dark red scarf wrapped around red-orange hair floating behind the person that my entire body identified as an immediate threat: Kazren.

His eyes were the color of gold wheat, and he wore a layered shirt with several objects dangling from it, along with tight black pants tucked into long brown boots. If I had any doubt that it was Kazren before, the pirate gear ensured it. Having spotted me, Kazren began to run towards me. Why was he even here? Fuck. Where did Cyrus go, and why wasn't he ever around when I needed to use him as an alternate focal point?

I must have still been well into my adrenaline rush because I felt and saw everything in slow motion. By the time I turned my head back towards the pirate, I felt a tongue that most definitely was not Cyrus's brush briefly against my own. Out of the corner of my eye, Cyrus's furious hazel gaze narrowed in on Kazren, and I could have sworn I heard a growl before my spike of adrenaline finally died down.

"I thought that my days of finding you in compromising positions with other people were over long ago, Wanderer Revelin Eferize." Cyrus hissed a mere moment before his fist collided with the side of Kazren's cheek.

My eyes widened as I saw Kazren nurse the side of his face, and I couldn't help but feel grateful that I wasn't the one Cyrus decided to punch.