“Welcome to Helderlus,” Luc said, already heading for a row of street vendors.

​Nos had never seen so many incubi and succubi walking around in his life. However, there was a smattering of other un-winged beings, as well. None of the locals hid away their horns, wings, or tails, which made him wonder once again why his dad had chosen to hide them for so long.

Nos tried not to stare too hard at his dad's incubus features, as he was unfamiliar with his natural form. Luc's tail was so long that the older man curled it in spirals around the lower half of his right leg as he walked. The more Nos looked around, the more he realized that Cal's tail and horns were unusually short. One incubus walked around with his tail wrapped around his chest and waist so many times that it looked like he was wearing a coiled corset.

Two little girls accidentally trampled over an aged succubus's tail while running around, and the yelp the woman gave sounded so painful that Nos started to realize why they didn't just allow their tails to drag on the ground.

As Luc and Nos walked towards the food trucks, some of the passersby gave them both leering glances as they walked by.

While they came in all kinds of sizes and colors, the incubi and succubi were equally stunning, with truly impressive athletic figures. Nos's vampire peers were beautiful, but there weren't many vampires as voluptuous as the incubi, his mother being a rare exception. An incubus with grey-hued skin stopped right in front of them.

"What are your body counts?" the stranger purred in greeting.

"Apologies. We both have closed fated matches," Luc replied without missing a beat.

Nos didn't even bother calling him out on the lie. He was a visitor now, and he didn't want to involve himself in any miscommunication mishaps between their cultures.

"Such a shame," the stranger replied before walking around them, a sultry swing in his step.

"Let's get some food before anything else," Luc insisted, drawing Nos's attention back to the vendors. "Somtum should be safe enough for you. And it's been far too long since I've had this version of ceviche." When Luc was handed his bowl, he squeezed an entire lemon onto it.

Nos dug into the papaya salad, which packed a serious punch. He’d never been so glad for a tangy lime dressing in his life. Honestly, he’d worried he wouldn’t be able to keep anything down with how queasy he felt, but the food hit the spot.

When his system settled down, Nos started looking around again. They were definitely in a suburban area. Different paths that led out of the park blended into the sidewalks, leading to tiny houses in front of tree-lined, mid-sized dwellings, which were in turn in front of larger homes with even larger trees.

If Nos had to guess, he'd say that from overhead, each section would look like the almond shape of an eye. Those "almond"- shaped structures surrounded the park. And Nos thought the old rich vampires had figured their community out. Their infrastructure was nothing compared to the way the incubi had incorporated nature into their design.

"The small houses are for adolescents who are still hunting for their matches," Luc explained as they walked through one of the sections. "Mid-sized houses are for those getting to know their matches intimately, and the larger houses are for couples that want to raise children, whether biological or adopted."

"Why would you turn all of this down?" Nos asked.

"The system only works if you're willing to do the work," Luc admitted. "You must play well in the sandbox with others, finish your schooling, and settle down with your fated match. I cut too many classes, partied a little too hard, and when I came across my match… let's just say I wasn't the best option."

"I see," Nos responded, though he genuinely found it all very hard to believe. His elegant and proper dad? Partying too hard? He couldn't even bring himself to envision that. "So you're saying you don't have a house on this plane?"

"If I had to, I could apply for one," Luc replied. "I doubt they'd turn me away as I am now. But that's not why we're here."

Luc led him to a building that looked like a fusion of a museum and city hall. The number of stairs leading towards the entrance alone had him feeling winded. Luc kept walking as if it was nothing, making Nos realize he needed to adjust to Helderlus’ air.

Once inside the building, they signed in at the reception desk while Luc asked for an audience with the current liege.

They were brought to a waiting room with surprisingly comfortable cushions. Across the way, they saw an incubus and a succubus celebrating after getting their marriage license. To their right, people were applying for various permits or jobs. On their left, a succubus with curled, yellow horns approached them.

The scent of her perfume rolled closer to them as she drew nearer. Although Nos was unable to identify the aroma, it reminded him of honeysuckle.

"Our liege will see you now," she said, leading them down a corridor towards an office with an intricate golden plate hanging above it, bearing the initials GOAI.

"The GOAI?" Nos mumbled.

"Yes," the succubus receptionist stated. "We consider him The Greatest of All Incubi."

"Him?" Luc questioned with a frown.

Instead of answering, the receptionist opened the double doors and urged them inside. As soon as Luc took one step inside the office, he hissed, and his hand shot down to rub his outer leg.

"My liege Zuma, Lucario Kendrick Landyn and Nostriano Antonio Neroli are here to see you."

Luc, hunched over, placed his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath. The man behind the black marble desk stood to his full height and strode over to them. The incubus leader was tall and massive, with deep, bronze skin and auburn hair. One of his eyes was red, while the other was golden. Nos had never seen such large horns before. They were dark gold in hue and broad at the base, twisting behind him like the horns of a Markhor goat.

"You're free to go, Wisteria," Zuma instructed, and the scent of her perfume finally clicked in Nos's mind; it was her namesake. "And please close the doors."

"Right away, my liege!"

Nos held his hand out for a handshake, but the "GOAI" leaned down to help Luc right himself instead. The two older men stared at one another so intensely that Nos worried they'd break out into a fight, but they were merely holding hands.

Then, another surprising word came out of his dad's mouth.

"Fuck!" Luc gasped.

Zuma quickly tugged Luc into a hug, which the grey-eyed incubus barely managed to return. Nos suddenly remembered that the usual greeting between known incubi was a hug rather than a handshake. The incubus liege then pulled away and motioned towards Luc's face.

"You and I need to talk. My name is Zumaitah Ghalen Nugraha. Call me Zuma. My number's 300." Zuma stated in a calm and authoritative tone, looking Luc right in the eye. "What do you prefer to be called, and what is your body count?"

"Luc by close friends," Luc replied. "Dad by my adoptive son, Nos." He added, motioning towards the dhampir. "You may call me anything you wish. My body count is 560."

Out of the corner of his eye, Nos saw Zuma nod in pleased acceptance. However, he gawked at his dad, his mouth open in pure shock. When had Luc found the time to bed so many people?

No, no.

He had to clear that massive number from his head forever. Nos shuddered just as Zuma's attention shifted to him. He found himself flinching when a large finger was then pointed at him. But the liege's voice was as measured as ever.

"Are you the dhampir?"

"I don't know," Nos responded nervously. "Which dhampir are you looking for?"

"Caliber's dhampir?"

"Yes, absolutely," Nos immediately replied while nodding his head. "I am Caliber's dhampir. Without a doubt."

"And you allowed your match, one of my citizens, to be injured?"

"He had no control over that-" Luc tried to intercede, but Zuma held his hand up for him to stop.

"Do you bear their markings on your person?" Zuma questioned Luc. Though the liege's voice was steady, a word or two had a touch of inflection, and Nos noticed Luc avoiding his gaze. "No, you bear mine. This young dhampir might not have been the one physically maiming Caliber, but that doesn't excuse him for allowing such a thing to happen in the first place."

"You're misguided if you feel that Nos should bear all the responsibility," Luc huffed.

"How can you say that when you know uniting would have granted Caliber extra protection?" Zuma argued. "No vampire would have been able to so much as separate them if they'd merely come together as they should have."

"Why do I feel like your anger with me is being misplaced?" Luc questioned. "Yes, I left you behind. I wasn't ready. But you were in the care of a well-respected family. Nos had neither of his parents. He had no one!"

"This isn't about us, it's about Caliber's safety," Zuma's voice lowered an octave. "He's my nephew, and I'm also responsible for him. I never said all the blame was on your--- make that our---son. We'll discuss us after we settle them."

Cal was Zuma's nephew? Other than the curly texture of their hair, they looked nothing alike! Wait! Luc bore Zuma’s mark? That meant—oh, shit! Zuma was Luc’s fated match.

Nos felt as queasy as he did when they were initially transported to Helderlus. Seeing Zuma and Luc argue, despite the low decibels, brought forth memories of his biological parents fighting. A familiar fear rose to the surface. He didn't want to become either of his parents because he didn't want to live in a daily environment of anger and arguments.

Nos's marking had not re-emerged until shortly after being in the same region as his fated match, so it surprised him to feel an outer rumbling of concern and urgency presently radiating from the area above his hip. Cal. Cal sensed him and was worried about him. Nos's relief conflicted with coils of guilt.

Zuma was right. Had Nos paid closer attention to their bond and their markings when Orion kidnapped him, he'd have realized he'd been sensing Cal's distress sooner. Had they coupled earlier, Orion would have found it difficult to kidnap Cal without Nos immediately sensing it.

However, heeding his marking just then, Nos couldn't help but feel a little giddy. If what the marking relayed was true, Cal not only knew that he was there, he wanted him there. Nos was ready to take on any number of challenges to remain by the cambion's side.

"My mistake was avoiding Orion and trying to keep Caliber away from him instead of facing Orion myself," Nos spoke up as he glanced up at the massive incubus. "I also should have been more aware of our bond and Cal's feelings. We would have been one if I hadn't allowed a misunderstanding to form between us. It was my cowardice that led to this. What do I need to do to be allowed to see Cal again?"

Zuma looked Nos over for a moment. Nos didn't flinch that time. He met his gaze head-on.

With a sharp nod, Zuma turned on his heel. "Come with me," he instructed. As one of my few cambion citizens, I am more invested in Caliber's happiness than others," he admitted as he led the two of them through a back door and down a new corridor.

"There aren't many cambions?" Nos dared to ask.

"No. And young Caliber's mate was not in this plane. I, too, despaired when I learned that my match wasn't on this plane," He admitted with a side glance at Luc. Nos's dad glanced at the ground. "The only difference was that my marking had already appeared when I was ten."

Luc lifted his head at that. "You saw it back then?"

This was the first Nos heard of a marking manifesting at such a young age. Dhampirs and vampires only manifested their markings in early adulthood, which is why they were encouraged to seek out their matches immediately. The age of consent for incubi was also early adulthood, so Nos understood why Luc kept away.  

"Yes. No one believed me when I said I saw and felt it. I don't need to look to know the marking on my thigh is back," Zuma patted his clothed thigh as he locked gazes with Luc. "Even now, it urges me to set everything else aside until we are one."

Nos's dad once again avoided Zuma's gaze. The tension between them filled Nos with concern. His dad had told him he'd chosen not to accept his fated match in the past. However, he never really explained why. Had it been because Zuma was too young?

Zuma continued to walk down the hall until they reached a closed door.

"This is where we've kept the perpetrator," Zuma said as he opened the door to reveal Orion seated behind a desk, reluctantly drinking something from a tumbler that was trembling in his grip. He was flanked by two succubi on either side of the desk, each with the physique of a female wrestler.

Orion nearly dropped the tumbler when he saw them all walk in. His icy eyes shifted from Zuma's face to Luc's before landing on Nos's. "Here to seek revenge?"