"I'm sorry, Caspion. That must be difficult to accept. If I can be of service, tell me."
"Why?" The demon grew cagey. "You don't know me."
True. "I can't explain it, but I feel an affinity with you." Perhaps he would remain friends with Caspion, even after they'd partaken of each other. There's a first time for everything. "It is unusual." Being near this male made him feel at once stimulated and satisfied. Enlivened, yet soothed.
"Unusual? You're a favorite here. Everyone vies for your attention. I'd say you feel an affinity with many."
Mirceo slid him a grin. "So you've noticed me?"
Caspion scowled into his cup.
"My home, though a paradise, is full of rules, so I enjoy otherlanders' company. But none so much as yours." Not a lie.
"I doubt that," the demon said, revealing another intriguing facet to his personality: insecurity. This mighty blond Adonis was vulnerable. It made Mirceo want to champion him, to clutch him close.
Protectiveness? How unlike me. He only ever felt protective of Kosmina, his cherished younger sister. The rest of the beings in the worlds could all go to hell as far as he was concerned.
"Why should I believe anything you say?" Caspion asked.
"Why shouldn't you? Also, do recall that a natural-born vampire like myself is incapable of lying." Mirceo studied the demon's breathtaking face. "Do you not feel a like affinity with me?"
_______
Weirdly, Cas did. Or maybe he was enjoying the effects of the smoothest--yet strongest--brew he'd ever consumed. After all, why would he feel a connection with a sophisticated vampire prince? "Not a sexual affinity, though."
Mirceo ran his fingers along the rim of his chalice, his black claws trimmed shorter than Cas's own. "So you've never been with a male."
He shook his head. "Not my cup of tea."
"It wasn't mine either, until I had a sip." Mirceo took a drink, then licked a drop of blood mead from his lip.
The sight held Cas rapt before he blinked back to attention. How to respond to that comment? I see. Very good. Thanks for sharing.
"So what shall we do about your hunt?" the vampire asked, mercifully moving to another subject.
"There's nothing I can do. I must follow my order." Raum, one of Bettina's guardians and the acting ruler of Abaddon, had vowed to send a cadre of his finest warriors to take over. "I find myself . . . adrift."
"Is this female you sought to avenge more than a friend?"
"Though she's beautiful and talented--she's a goldsmith without equal--I'll never view her as more than a sister." Cas had taken her to the mortal realm to explore, teaching her what baseball was and how to drive a car.
But lately, his visits with her had grown increasingly awkward. She was ashamed of how she'd reacted to her gruesome injuries, wishing she'd been more demonic. Stronger. Yet the delicate halfling had never looked or acted as if she had demon blood. "I've known her for more than a decade, ever since I was fifteen."
"You're twenty-five? Five years younger than me. Are you fully immortal?"
"Just transitioned." Little other than decapitation could kill Cas now.
"Regrettably, I'm right behind you. My heart has been slowing for years, soon to stop beating." With his transition, a male vampire would go into a kind of walking stasis--heartbeat, respiration, and sexual ability dormant--only to be awakened by his vampire Bride. "Listen." Mirceo held up a hand to pause the conversation for several moments, then pointed at his chest. "My heart was motionless for that entire time. I figure I have another couple of months before I can no longer fuck--until I find my mate," he added darkly. "The prospect of a walking-dead existence is unfortunate enough, but to depend on a stranger to revive me? And then she'll expect me to be faithful to her." He shuddered. "So my upside is one partner. Forever."
"Gods, I feel for you about the celibacy, friend." These days, sex seemed to be the only thing keeping Cas sane. The problem was money. Cas didn't get free admission at every establishment.
The life of a player was an impoverished one. Not to mention the sums he spent to fund apprenticeships for pups in Abaddon.
"You don't sympathize about the monogamy? I consider it an intolerable hardship."
"Once I find my female, I'll be loyal to my dying breath." Though Cas was young, he already longed for her and the younglings she'd give him.
"At least you can keep fucking until then. No end in sight for your cockstands."
Cas countered, "At least you know what it's like to spill seed." A male demon could orgasm before he claimed his fated one, but he couldn't release semen until he lost his demon seal inside his mate's body. "Why are you so against monogamy?"
"My predatory nature makes me forever pursue new conquests. Would you track prey you'd already captured? Would a hunter stalk a boar he'd already felled?" Mirceo sighed. "Once my heart stops, it won't matter anyway. But until then, I intend to fuck like a madman, sampling every wicked delight available to a vampire with more gold than time and less wisdom than daring."
Must be nice.
"Join me, sweetheart. My treat. We'll journey the worlds, sharing wenches and drink. I'll take you to bacchanalia that will make tonight's affair appear tame. I'll introduce you to gods, and we'll wallow in meaningless hedonism."
After Cas's last two months, that sounded so bloody tempting. If the spoiled prince wanted to pay, maybe Cas should simply enjoy. But first he'd get one thing clear. . . . "If you think to seduce me, it won't happen. I will never desire another male."
Holding Cas's gaze, he said, "Around me, you won't ever do anything you don't wish." The vampire leaned in closer. "Isn't that the essence of hedonism? Partaking of all the things you want and none of the things you don't?"
Cas couldn't seem to look away. Up this close, he spied a ring of black encircling Mirceo's irises. Mesmerizing . . . "So why me? Any number of these beings would leap at the offer you just made."
The vampire's lips curved. "What you do with a partner's body can only be considered art. Young demon, consider me a patron of the arts. . . ."
THREE
"Our time grows nigh, Caspion," the prince told him in a grave tone.
He and Cas sat atop the tower of a suspension bridge in the mortal world. Hundreds of feet above the water, they gazed out at the shroud of fog. As usual, they each had a flask.
"But it's only been a few weeks." As promised, the vampire had opened Cas's eyes to a dazzling new world, taking him everywhere from erotic balls to sordid dungeons, while plying him with the finest delicacies and drink. "What's the rush?"
They'd packed three months of living into these three weeks, rarely sleeping, becoming inseparable. They matched appetites and predilections--for the most part, at least. Mirceo would bed a male as readily as a female. Had no preference.
Cas pointed out, "Your heart's still beating." Occasionally. "There are still pleasures to be had." Even nonsexual ones.
After nights spent fighting drunken brawls and plowing earthy courtesans, Cas and Mirceo talked into the day, telling each other secrets. . . .
Mirceo: "I'm a Dacian. I come from the hidden Realm of Blood and Mist." Supposedly an actual myth, Dacians were said to be stronger, faster, and more ruthless than other vampires. "I'm the head of the castle guard, but I've little responsibility because the black-stone fortress lies empty without a king."
Cas: "I was a street orphan with no idea who my parents were." Shame had prevented him from revealing his past as a lowly beggar, but he'd admitted, "Though I taught myself to read basic words from bounty postings, I've never even attempted a book."
After that, the vampire had begun reading to him each morning. Cas enjoyed those soothing lulls far more than the revelry. . . .
Now the prince sighed. "I miss my sister and my home. Plus there is the matter of crowning a new king."
The crazed one? Gods help them.
Mirceo peered at Cas. "Will you miss me when I go?" The vampire's gray eyes matched the fog ghosting over
the water. Like that mist, Mirceo had seeped under Cas's skin, into his very bones.
"You know I will." Cas was happier than he'd ever been. Despite their fundamental differences, their personalities had meshed in an effortless ebb and flow. "My instincts are telling me to keep you close."
Only one thing marred their time together. He wished Mirceo would quit using his seductive powers on him. All vampires possessed that supernatural allure, but Mirceo's was nearly irresistible. Their bond needed no such distraction.
Mirceo turned to take in the surreal scene. "I have a theory as to why we feel so connected."
So did Cas. He believed fate had given him the foundation for what would become a legendary friendship--in order to make up for all the things Cas had lacked: parents, a home, food. His earliest memory was of clutching his stomach against hunger pangs. "Tell me your theory."
"You know how much I adore my little sister?"
"Yes." The vampire often spoke of her. After their parents had been murdered by another royal, Mirceo had become Mina's entire world, and she his.
Facing him again, Mirceo said, "Caspion, I believe you might be . . . her mate."
Cas's breath left him. That would mean Mirceo was his brother-by-fate. Of course!
_______
Mirceo didn't think anyone could deserve his beloved sister--he'd raised her since she was a bashful, six-year-old imp--but Caspion came closest.
"A fated connection to your family?" Excitement lit the demon's expression. "Finally something to explain our connection."
"Where nothing else could?" Mirceo murmured. As a prince of Dacia, he'd never had a best friend. I'd hoped that I might have something to do with this bond.
"That came out wrong." Caspion took a drink from his flask. "I only meant that we have so many differences--our species, backgrounds, occupations, and . . . stations. We don't have much that ties us together."
But we finish each other's sentences. Our minds seem to be synced. We trust one another.
Did his affection for Caspion run deeper than the reverse? How? Mirceo was beloved by everyone, celebrated in his kingdom. And in his otherland social circle. And in pleasure palaces the Lore over. "In any case, Mina is of age now." Females grew into full immortality earlier than males--with no blooding drama to deal with. Mina had transitioned a few months ago, right around the time she'd turned twenty-one.
He pulled out a picture of her that he always kept in his pocket. Handing it to Caspion, he said, "May I present Princess Kosmina." In the likeness, fair Mina gave a shy smile.
"Stunning." The demon's pupils enlarged at the sight. "But I never saw myself with a royal. Someone so superior." Caspion cared more about class distinctions than anyone Mirceo had ever known--yet he never fawned or groveled.
"Being considered superior would amuse her. She's deathly shy and passive, can't meet a stranger's eyes."
"A passive female would suit me well."
Hard to believe that not even a month ago, Mirceo had planned to bed this demon and win a wager. The joke's on me. Caspion, his possible brother-by-fate, was officially off the menu.
Pity. Mirceo had begun to suspect he could truly seduce Caspion, dragging him over the finish line. Though the demon had shown no desire to join in when Mirceo bedded males, he'd never seemed particularly averse to it either. "Basically, she's as retiring as I am arrogant--except when she's sword fighting. Mina is a mistress at arms."
"She sounds incredible." Caspion gazed over at Mirceo with an unsure expression. "How would you feel about a no-name demon paired with your beloved sister?"
Rolling his eyes, Mirceo shoved him off the bridge.
Used to Mirceo's antics, the demon simply traced back into place. Attention on the likeness, Caspion said, "I do feel something for her. A sense." He flashed Mirceo his heartbreakingly boyish smile. "You help me with your sister, and we'll give you a score of nieces and nephews." The demon had told Mirceo he wanted dozens of children, reasoning: Though I have no line before me, I could forgive fate for that if I had a line to come after me. "When can I meet her?"
"There's the catch. It's too dangerous for her to leave Dacia." A plague in the otherlands had wiped out female vampires, even fully immortal ones. "And we allow no passing visitors inside our hidden realm. You'll be denied entry--unless you're willing to remain in our underworld forever."
"I'd be trapped down there?"
"Worse. You can leave, but if you did, you'd be hunted by my uncle Trehan." Mina and Mirceo were so young compared to their older cousins that they called Trehan, Viktor, and Stelian uncle. "You would leave only to die."
"I can't meet her for five minutes just outside of your realm?"
Mirceo took the portrait back. "Though she would love to venture forth, I will never permit it." He shuddered at the thought of losing her.
"Then what choice do I have?" Caspion said. "Something is at work here. My instincts tell me to go, and I trust them." He squared his shoulders. "I'm prepared to take this risk."
"I want you to think about your decision overnight."
Surprise flickered over the demon's face. "What's to think about? What male wouldn't rush headlong to meet his beautiful mate?"
"Hear me, friend"--Mirceo pinned Caspion's gaze with his own--"your choice will affect the rest of your eternal life."
FOUR
The Realm of Blood and Mist
The demon is officially back on the menu.
"I have a surprise for you," Mirceo said at the end of Caspion's first week in Dacia. They stood on the balcony of Mirceo's sprawling clifftop villa, one nearly as elevated as the empty royal castle.
As he and Caspion surveyed the sleepy realm and drank from crystal chalices, Mirceo savored the demon's rain-and-leather scent. Everything I can do not to bite him . . .
"A surprise?" Caspion asked absently, taking a drink. Since discovering he felt nothing more than brotherly affection for Mina, he'd been rocked with disappointment. He'd confessed to feeling protective of her--much as he did with Bettina.
But Mina's loss was her brother's gain. Mirceo had become convinced he could bed the demon. Over the last week, he could swear Caspion's regard for him had deepened. Little hints made Mirceo hope.
A glimmer of awareness in the demon's eyes. An overlong stare. A change in his scent.
Whenever Caspion grew lusty, his rain-and-leather thread skewed more toward leather; Mirceo had picked up on that--when the two of them had been alone together.
Yet he was running out of time--his heart continued to slow--which meant he could no longer play fair with the demon. Tonight it will happen. "Yes, a particularly toothsome surprise."
In a noncommittal tone, Caspion said, "Your surprises always are." He seemed even less interested in the debauchery they'd enjoyed.
Mirceo's interest had waned as well. He'd used to love watching Caspion in the throes with others, but lately he'd experienced only dissatisfaction. He asked the demon, "What's going on in that head of yours?" Mirceo's ever-growing lust was equaled only by his fascination with Caspion's mind.
What shadows lurked? What hidden desires lay untapped? He found himself hanging on this male's every word.
Unhappiness tinged Caspion's eyes. "This place is a marvel, and I'm one of the few outsiders who's seen it. Not bad for a no-name demon." When Caspion had first beheld Mirceo's lavish residence, he'd pulled at his collar, fearing he'd break something valuable.
So Mirceo had set about smashing priceless vases until Caspion had cast him a hint of that boyish grin. Later, the demon had stared in awe at Mirceo's book collection. Though Caspion had never been jealous of his wealth, a stark envy had burned in the demon's eyes when he'd asked, "You've read all of those?"
Mirceo had already been planning to teach him to read. "I have," he'd answered. "And I promise you, my brilliant friend, you will as well. . . ."
Now Mirceo canted his head. "You didn't eat much at dinner."
Caspion had been surprised by the extravagan
t delicacies available in the kingdom, until he'd seen the number of otherlanders who made permanent homes here. Plus, vampire young ate food of the earth. He shrugged. "After so many years of hunger, I never thought I could lack an appetite."
Mirceo couldn't imagine starving. As perilous as royal life could be in Dacia, he and Mina had wanted for nothing.
Caspion's discontent was weighing on him, much as his sister's would. A crazy idea crossed his mind. What if the demon is my mate? Same-sex pairings weren't unheard of.
Mirceo couldn't know until his heart went full-stop. If it then restarted . . . "Do you have any theories about our strong affinity now?"
Caspion leaned against the balcony railing. "There are tales that have been passed down through generations of legendary friendships. Balladeers sing songs about them. I believe you and I share such a friendship."
In a softer tone, Mirceo said, "Yes. I like that idea." It made more sense than his own far-fetched notion. What hope did a thirty-year-old vampire have of finding his mate? "But you're not happy here?"
Caspion hiked his broad shoulders. "I took a chance. Given the same information, I would take that risk again."
"That's not what I asked."
"My instincts drew me to this place." The demon trusted his instincts more than Mirceo managed to do with his own. "But I do regret not checking on Bettina first. Coming here was rash. I got so caught up, so tunnel-visioned toward a certain future, that I couldn't see the things that are most important to me."
Mirceo wanted to be the most important thing to him. Damn it, why does he not fawn over me as others always do?
Caspion continued, "She is still vulnerable, and now I can't protect her." Without the ability to turn to mist, the demon wouldn't get permission to exit the kingdom. "She's used to me going away on jobs for months at a time, but things had been in flux when I left."
"What do you mean?"
"There was talk of going back to olden demonic ways." At Mirceo's questioning look, Caspion explained, "Marrying her off to whichever suitor is strongest."
"Surely she wouldn't agree to such a barbaric plan."
Caspion said, "Her guardians can be persuasive."
"Then I can go and watch over her. I'll check on her regularly."
Frustration thinned the demon's lips. "That's not the same." Caspion was as loyal as a Lykae.