A Thousand Years of Hope - 17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

At the Inter Clan Court in Anit’s Taesi, Amu led Cale and Eren through intricate hallways filled with ministry officials and peacekeepers. Cale held his aura tight, aware of the members of the Five Sentinels lurking in the shadows. They watched him with wary intentions. Cale understood their concerns. He was not an easy guest to have in such an independent place.

Anit was cautious with his kind. He was sure the sentinels who watched him were from the most powerful of the Five Sentinel Houses. With a soft sigh, Cale stopped in the busy hallway. The scent of deception filled his nostrils in a delicious cloud. He closed his eyes and frowned.

Deception, greed, and malicious intent. The combined scent was so rich, that it fed him almost as much as Tani’s century-old pain did.

“Lord Cale,” Eren said, not daring to touch him.

“What is it?” Amu asked, having noticed his pause. Amu walked back to stand next to Cale, studying him with interest.

“Anit’s court is infected with an interesting calamity,” Cale said, opening his dark, dark eyes with a small smile. “The source is well hidden. I would need time to unravel the intricate web it has woven.”

“How damaging is it?” Amu asked, looking around the busy hallways.

Cale frowned, there were too many people, too many intentions, from city dwellers visiting the courts to complete legal processes to ministry officers going about their jobs. He truly needed time to unravel any hidden plot here.

“This is not an easy blight. Meaning—”

“The result of your search will lead to significant damage,” Eren said, concluding for Cale.

Cale smiled at her and nodded.

“We don’t have time for this right now,” Amu said. “The Inter Clan Court session is about to start. Perhaps we’ll glimpse what you sense among those who help govern the fox clan. Work on it from there.”

“Mm,” Cale said, following Amu when he started walking forward.

The stench of malice was high, filling the court halls, corrupting anything it touched.

Cale wondered how such a deep calamity had slipped his notice. Then he frowned. This was his first entry into the Inter Clan Court in centuries. He had spent most of his time accompanying Tani Ryuzo in the mortal realm and managing his domain. He visited Sunu sometimes, but never Anit because she was estranged from Sunu.

Otherwise, Cale would have visited her and discovered such a delicious development sooner. Fascinating!

*****

Kinon studied the wild vines growing in a wild riot in the Zona Forest. He took in the thickness of the vines crawling on massive tall trees, the vines as large as tree trunks. The leaves on the thick vines were a vibrant green, creating an intricate canopy.

Sunu’s good fortune had sustained the wild vines, given them life, and turned them fruitful. Large yellow passion fruits hang on the lower branches. Kinon dared not pick any for a taste. It would be folly to eat fruit from a branch once touched by malice.

A soft crunch of leaves alerted him to the presence of a second visitor.

“I will not harm you,” Kinon said. “Reveal yourself.”

Kinon waited for a heartbeat, and then a young beautiful woman with thick dark hair falling down her back emerged from behind a large tree. Her green eyes were enough to tell him she was from the fox clan.

“Why are you here?” Kinon asked.

“Lord Kinon,” she said. “I am Nela Bao from the Five Sentinels of the Fox Clan. My Lady has sent me to this forest to investigate why she faced a misfortune.”

“Oh,” Kinon smiled.

Anit and Sunu were truly of the same mind. Interesting.

“May I ask Lord Kinon why you are here?”

“Following similar instructions from my Lord,” Kinon answered.

There was no need to conceal the task.

“Then we are on the same quest, My Lord,” Nela said.

“Lord Sunu has blessed these vibrant vines,” Kinon said. “They grow unfettered. Their fruit is abundant but dangerous. It is indeed a great thing to receive from Lord Sunu.”

“Yes,” Nela agreed.

“But what turned them so wild they needed the blessing?” Kinon asked.

“My Lord,” Nela said. “My search started on the other side of the forest. I have found something you should see. Please come with me.”

Nela turned and disappeared behind the large tree where she had emerged.

Kinon gave the thriving vines one last glance, then he followed the young fox. He found Nela standing on top of a flat smooth boulder. The rock was large enough to support five, so Kinon joined her.

The ground beyond the smooth boulder seemed to split into the earth. Rough slopes dotted with rocks led down to a rocky ravine. Scarce vegetation dotted the slopes, but the bottom was filled with jagged rocks.

Nela stood staring at the bottom of the rocky ravine. Her gaze so intent, Kinon grew curious.

“What do you want me to see, child?” Kinon asked.

Nela pointed her finger to the bottom center of the rocky ravine.

“The black rock growing in the middle of the ravine,” she said. “I am sure it is pulsing.”

Kinon’s eyes turned gold as he assessed the large black rock in the middle of the ravine. The fox was right. The rock was unusual because it was no rock.

“That is a black crystal. Quite an unusual occurrence in a forest filled with healthy soil,” Kinon said, frowning as he watched several sharp crystals multiply on the surface of the large black crystal. “It pulses because it is growing. How did you find it?”

“I entered the Zona Forest from our Fox Clan lands. I followed the coordinates Lady Izuna gave me and found the rocky ravine first. There is a path leading along the edge of the slopes. Then, I noticed a powerful pull as I searched for the vines My Lady mentioned. I walked to this spot and noticed the rock.”

“What does the pull feel like?”

“Like a web that is reaching for my power,” Nela said, rubbing her right arm. “It gives me the same feeling Kara ot does when we are close to it or when it touches us. The web feels like it could drain everything I have inside me.”

Kinon frowned.

Perhaps Anit had encountered the same feeling then. The ravine might not have been as deep then, time-ravaged landscapes even in forests. She might have touched the black crystal in curiosity, and it would have weakened her enough to allow the branches on the other side to take control of her body.

Kinon’s frown deepened as he watched the black crystal. The crystals on the top were multiplying at a rapid pace. Kinon’s eyes widened as one of them grew into a long thick crystal racing straight for the young fox. Kinon gripped her left arm and dragged her back, out of the searching crystal’s reach.

He willed his firepower into a thick red barrier. The black crystal touched the barrier once and then returned to its mother.

Kinon turned to study the young fox behind him.

“Your fox blood triggers the black crystal,” Kinon said with a small smile. “It reacted to your presence here.”

“I agree,” Nela said, shaking her head. “If the crystal touched Lady Anit, it is no wonder she was at a disadvantage.”

“Looks like we have found the source,” Kinon said. “Now, we must manage the black crystal. You have done well, Nela Bao. The only ekho who can nullify such a strange occurrence is Lord Sunu. I will ask for his audience. His power may blind you if you’re not prepared. Shield your eyes when I call him.”

“Yes, Lord Kinon,” Nela said, closing her eyes, and making Kinon smile at the trust she gave him.

“Lord Sunu,” Kinon said, knowing the Immortal Lord would hear him and grant an audience.

Sunu did not disappoint him. Blinding white light flooded the ravine on Kinon’s left side. Kinon placed his right palm over the fox’s eyes until Sunu solidified next to him.

Sunu turned down the force of his power when he saw the trembling fox standing on Kinon’s right.

“What did you find?” Sunu asked when the fox stopped shaking.

“A black crystal that responds to fox blood grows in the middle of the ravine. It stinks of kara ot. The little fox says she found it because it calls to the power in her blood,” Kinon explained.

“Fox blood,” Sunu frowned and looked at the pulsing black crystal embedded in the ground. He took one whiff and sighed.

“Someone is breeding the destructive force of kara ot in a crystal for malicious intent. It seeks fox blood here because it has been trained to do so,” Sunu said. “Sahdrina’s suspicions have gained proof. How insidious. We need to discover more about the black crystal’s origin. Young lady, would you mind helping?”

“Not at all,” Nela said with confidence, impressing Kinon. “Lady Izuna sent me for this purpose.”

Sunu paused at the mention of his beloved. He gave Nela a profound look then turned away with a small smile that made Kinon grin.

“We are certainly of the same mind,” Sunu said with a pleased nod.

****

Tani and Dante stood under the shower as warm water cascaded down in a soothing force.

Tani sunk his fingers into Dante’s hair, watching the long strands soak in the water, brown shades turned dark.

Dante stood with his hands braced on the shower wall on each side of Tani.

The water turned Dante’s skin slick but the most fascinating part was the steam that formed around Dante. The steam turned to a delicious mist that grew the more water fell on Dante’s body.

Tani moved his hands to Dante’s shoulders. His lips curved into a smile when he felt the heat on Dante’s skin. He kneaded tense muscles on Dante’s shoulders and looked up to find Dante watching him.

“You’re burning up,” Tani said, as he smoothed his fingers over Dante’s arms, the taut muscles enticing and so very beautiful.

“It's because of you,” Dante said with a smile. “You keep teasing me, tracing my skin and body with your hands. You're heating my core.”

Tani returned his smile and moved his hands to Dante’s chest. His right palm pressed against Dante’s heart. He closed his eyes when he felt Dante’s steady heartbeat. The pace was slightly elevated, excited, probably the reason why Dante’s skin felt so hot.

Tani smiled wider and moved closer to Dante so that he could wrap his arms around Dante’s waist.

“You, stop holding back. I want everything you are willing to give,” Tani said, pressing his chest to Dante’s hot skin. He loved the feel of Dante’s heat on his skin.

Water continued to cascade around them.

Then, Dante cupped Tani’s face with his hands and pushed him back against the wall. He captured Tani’s lips in a passionate kiss. Tani tightened his arms around Dante and sank into the pleasure of Dante's kisses.

Their kiss turned wild and deep. Tani shifted his hands, bringing both hands up to sink into Dante’s hair. He held on to him, moaning with delight and arousal. Tani loved Dante’s kisses so much. They were so sweet, a blend of teasing and promise and possession. Dante kissed like the fire warlock he was, filled with passion, raging with delicious carnal delight.

Dante turned off the water in the shower. They stepped out of the shower, and Dante carried Tani to the bed and placed him on it, then joined in, his broad shoulders blotting out the light in the room as he came up over Tani.

Panting, Tani opened his legs and took Dante between them, gripping Dante’s hips with his thighs even as he pushed on Dante’s shoulders. Dante rolled onto his back and Tani sat astride him, feeling obsessive and needy he ran his palms down Dante's stomach, then took Dante’s penis in both hands and lowered himself onto it. The penetration was shocking, full and so hot. Fates, a deep hunger yawned inside him. A hunger he shoved deep inside every time he went without his beloved, but now he felt frenzied with want, unable to get enough of Dante’s length inside. He had waited so long, so long, he was filled with desperation to have, to feel Dante's heat in him.

Tani braced his hands on Dante’s chest and pressed his hips down, taking all of him. His breath shuddered between his lips. His body felt starved for Dante and now that hunger was released in an ungovernable flood. He rode Dante’s thick penis hard, moaning when Dante cupped his buttocks and squeezed. Tani rode him hard, Dante’s powerful hands shifted to grip his hips, grinding him down on him. Then Dante came hard inside him, his powerful body arching between Tani’s thighs, his seed filling him. The heat of it made Tani cry out in an intense climax.

They dozed for a while, with Tani lying on top of Dante, one of Dante’s hands sinking into Tani’s damp hair. Tani woke to find their bedroom filled with darkness, night had fallen beyond the cottage. The afternoon was gone. Dante slept on, his penis soft.

Tani waved his hand and the lamps in the corners turned on. He slithered down Dante’s body and conjured a warm washcloth from the bathroom. He cleaned Dante’s penis with care, wiping him down. Then he dropped the cloth on the floor and took Dante’s length into his mouth bathing Dante’s soft penis with the heat of his tongue. He smiled when he felt Dante wake, feeling him grow hard, so hard and hot, it was intoxicating. Tani kissed Dante’s hard length with delight and straddled him again. He mounted Dante’s length with a relieved sigh. The hours blurred.

Dante gave his body generously, letting Tani take as he wanted, letting him chase his climaxes as he wished. Tireless, consuming, and so delicious, Tani let out a relieved cry when he came again. Dante gritted his teeth and fought his climax, not letting himself reach pleasure, remaining hard until Tani felt sated.

Then, Tani gave in to the intoxicating enjoyment of Dante’s body. He stroked and caressed every inch of Dante's body, his hands shaking with delight at the feel of Dante’s heated skin. He kissed Dante’s beard, his eyes, his ears, and his beautiful wonderful mouth. Then when he grew exhausted of taking Dante’s length, needing a few minutes rest, he trailed kisses all over Dante’s body, smiling because Dante was doing his best to keep his erection, fighting to control his climax despite Tani’s maddening kisses and caresses. Tani swirled lazily licked up and down his cock. Then he patted his tongue along the underside of Dante's shaft before moving to the top and swallowing him down with ease.

Dante let out a low sound of pleasure. Tani's tongue slid around and over his cock with every stroke of his lips. He could feel the buildup in his balls growing. Tani was too good at what he was doing and he had been holding back too long. With a strained hoarse groan, Dante bolted upright, lifting Tani away and tumbling him onto his back. Dante mounted him, pushing his thighs wide.

“You have had your way with me to your heart’s content,” Dante whispered, sliding his hard length into Tani. “My turn now, beloved.”

Dante’s use of him was as thorough and consuming as Tani’s use of him. His thrusts hammered deep into him, over and over, until he came, his seed hot and molten inside Tani.

Tani shifted, resting his heels on the curve of Dante’s buttocks. His arms wrapped around Dante’s shoulders, holding him as he shuddered and convulsed in pleasure.

Dante pressed his length inside him, holding himself deep inside. His lips took Tani’s mouth, kissing him with passion. Tani’s hands slid over Dante’s back, caressing sweat-coated skin down to the small of Dante’s back. Dante broke their kiss with a moan as Tani cupped his palms over Dante’s buttocks.

Tani let out a soft panting breath when Dante flexed his buttocks under his touch and started a slow thrust into him, driving them into another session of passion.

Hours faded, and time stilled. Tani and Dante stayed locked in their passion. In a lucid moment, Dante felt something soft touch his shoulders, and he looked up to see fine gold dust on their bed.

“Baby, we have gold dust raining down on us,” Dante said with a grin, holding out his hand to catch the beautiful shimmer of gold falling around them.

“I-it is b-because of me,” Tani murmured, hiding his face in Dante’s chest. “I— mm—”

Tani shivered and pressed closer to Dante.

“It’s not gold dust,” Tani said.

“What is it?” Dante asked, watching the gold specks sink into his skin and disappear.

“Let’s call them good vibes,” Tani said, his tone shy as though he was expecting judgment. “It happens when I’m happy. I can’t help it.”

Dante grinned and wrapped his arms around Tani tighter.

“I hope I make you feel this happy often,” Dante murmured into his ear, making Tani chuckle with a hot blush coloring his cheeks. “I could use a good dose of good vibes every morning.”

Tani smacked his shoulder, and Dante rolled them both over so that they could get up and clean up the mess they had made.

After a long shower, they returned to the bed, changed the sheets, and slept wrapped in each other’s arms.

****

Their passion had not faded two nights later. Dante loved how obsessed Tani was with his body. He loved it because there was nothing as mind-blowing as watching Tani come apart in orgasm at his touch, his kisses, and the thrust of his hard penis into him. Tani’s body felt primed for his touch, so sensitive to his caresses that Dante could not get enough.

The third night came at the cabin in the apple orchard. Two dim lamps in the corners of the bedroom pushed back the shadows. The bed was neat again, the sheets fresh after Dante helped Tani change them an hour ago. They lay naked, skin to skin, limbs tangled, sharing caresses with lazy abandon. A white sheet tangled at their feet.

Dante rested his head on Tani’s chest, eyes closed as Tani finger-combed his hair. It felt like heaven having reached this point, having this moment with Tani. The relief racing through his veins felt earned, needed, as though he had waited a thousand years to feel Tani's comfort.

Dante's thoughts suddenly filled with the dream that woke him up minutes ago.

Dante dreamt of Dane, the janissary, dressed in a full janissary uniform, which included the mask covering his face. Dane ran through a forest, his pace fast enough to stop anyone following him.

Dante had been sure Dane was searching for the castle at the Elderwood Conservancy.

When Dane did find the old castle, a sense of loss filled him when he saw the burnt tower at the entrance. Broken wood and soot covered the walls at the front tower, obviously caused by a fierce fire.

Dane’s heart ached at the sight of the damage. The castle was empty when Dane made his way in, but what was even more disappointing was discovering the gutted bedroom Dane and Tani had used. Dane's disappointment stabbed Dante so deep in his heart that it felt like a knife twisting his flesh.

In the dream, Dane mourned that Tani was gone, and the women he protected were nowhere to be found to give him answers. The castle stood empty with no life, the old weavers who worked in the courtyard long gone, their looms broken to pieces.

Dane stood in the middle of the overgrown courtyard and looked at the dark sky, tears filling his eyes. Then a noise distracted his sorrow, pulling him out of his misery, and when he turned around to see the source-

Dante woke up with a gasp, his heart beating too fast at the experience. He had worried about not knowing what happened next.

Dante shifted on the bed, his hands caressing Tani’s bare stomach, smiling when he caught the hitch of Tani’s breath at the caress.

“Tani, will you tell me more about you?” Dante asked, needing to know.

He suddenly wanted to know more about where Tani spent his time after they broke apart. This cottage was one place, but after the pain simmered and Tani could function, where else did he go?

Did he ever consider returning to the Ekho Realm?

Dante extended his right hand out and in pure marvel, stared at the strange gold mist that clung to his skin. He had noticed the gold mist when they took a shower a second time and Tani was wiping a towel down his stomach.

“What do you want to know?” Tani asked, his voice soft, relaxed.

“What is this gold mist attached to my aura?” Dante asked. “I’ve never seen it before. My aura has always been a fiery mix depending on my current temper. Pale white when it simmers low and snapping blue when I’m with rage. I have never seen this gold mist.”

“You can see the gold mist?” Tani asked, his tone turning hopeful.

“Yes, it’s hard not to when it appeared after we had insanely great sex,” Dante said, amused. “I think you forget I’m a warlock, Tani.

“I—,” Tani started then stopped.

“Tani,” Dante said, noting the hesitation in Tani’s tone. “I have read about us. I have heard from Great Gram’s diaries about us. I saw the many portraits in your hidden study. The dreams have been excruciating of late, but they are all from my perspective. So, please, tell me more about you. Why do I now wear a golden mist and what do you suffer while wearing these cuffs? I want to know everything. I will listen.”

Tani let out a soft sigh, and then his fingers tightened in Dante’s hair for a moment, before he smoothed the strands in a gentle soothing caress.

“Okay,” Tani said. “First, time moves slower in our Ekho Realm. A month in the Ekho Realm is a whole year in the mortal realm. Time in the mortal realm moves faster. We mark our achievements with unforgettable events in the Ekho Realm.”

“So, you can say my life started as an unprecedented event, remarkable enough to mark a time for my relatives. Dante, I tell you this so you don’t shiver when I tell you my age,” Tani said with a small chuckle.

“I’m not afraid to know, baby,” Dante said, his tone soothing.

“Alright. My father is Sunu, Lord of the Immortal Clan,” Tani said. “My mother is Anit, Fox Goddess. These two powerful heads of clans created me some three thousand years ago in mortal years. They turned me into a hybrid and made me unique. When I was five hundred, a calamity befell my parents. My mother left my father’s citadel in the immortal clan’s lands and returned to the fox clan's lands. She was heartbroken by the choice.”

“Why did she return?” Dante asked. “Why did she take you away from your father?”

“Clan politics,” Tani said. “I don’t fully understand how it started. All I know is that my mother had to return to take control of the fox clan lands, and the Septum pushed for it to keep the realm in balance. Uncle Amu, whom you met in your kitchen, would tell you more. It involves my family unit breaking. I’ve never wanted to know.”

“Okay,” Dante said. “So, what happened when you moved to the fox clan lands?”

“Anit took me to her family home and decided to raise me as the next fox lord,” Tani said. “The only problem was that my eyes were my father’s eyes. I had yet to learn how to hide my features. So, Anit saw Sunu every time she looked at me and could not handle the heartache. One day, I ran into the log house after playing outside eager to share my adventures with her and she screamed me out of her study.”

“Anit’s raw power is earth-shattering, nature responds to her anger. I was young and had never seen her so angry. I did not expect her reaction,” Tani said. “Her anger scared me so much I cried myself to sleep for days wondering why she hated me.”

Dante closed his eyes at the pain coloring Tani’s voice. The shock of a parent’s anger and pain would have been difficult to understand for a child. The rejection alone would have scarred Tani.

“Uncle Amu decided our situation could only be fixed if we lived apart. He gained Anit’s permission and brought me to live here in the mortal realm,” Tani said with a smile in his voice.

“I was excited about the change. I was only five hundred, which is like being a teenager here in the mortal realm. I lived in the wild forests on Aretias Island before it separated from the mainland. I played as hard as I wanted, oblivious to Anit’s grief and Sunu’s power in the immortal clan. I grew up wild with the wolves and the foxes in the forests. It was a quiet solitary life until I saved you from the pack of wild wolves.”

“Why me?” Dante asked.

Tani’s fingers stilled in Dante’s hair.

“Your soul sang to mine,” Tani answered. “The more time we spent together, the more I received your care, attention, and love, the more I wanted to see you, feel you touch me, hold me. I fell in love with you. I wanted to take in your scent and taste you. You were my obsession. I loved you, Dante. Always have. I bound my soul to yours because it is what our kind do with those they love. We bond with each other.”

“If you bond with each other, how does your mother live apart from your father?” Dante asked.

“I don’t know,” Tani said, with a slight tremble. “I have stayed in this mortal realm for you because I could not leave you. How they manage to keep apart, I don’t know. I cannot pretend to know or understand their choices. I can only explain mine.”

Dante reached for Tani’s right wrist and touched the heavy cuffs on his wrist. He studied the cuffs for a moment then asked the question they had both been ignoring for days.

“What do you need from me to escape these cuffs?” Dante asked.

“I—,”

Tani stopped.

“Are you afraid I won’t give it to you?” Dante asked, shifting so that he could lift his head and meet Tani’s wary gaze. “Is that why you haven’t told me what you want from me?”

Tani closed his eyes to escape his questioning gaze.

“Tell me, my love,” Dante said, leaning in to kiss Tani’s lips. He didn’t stop until Tani kissed him back. Dante sighed when he ended the kiss and found tears filling Tani’s beautiful eyes. “How will I know if you don’t tell me?”

His heart squeezed tight when Tani’s tears slid into his hair.

Dante waited for the answer he desperately needed. Painful relief flooded him when Tani gave him a small nod.

Dante shifted higher on the bed, and got comfortable, facing Tani.

“An ekho’s love bond is complicated,” Tani said, swallowing hard as he met Dante’s gaze. “Love between two ekhos is considered sacred because we share parts of our souls. It’s not done easily. When it happens, the ekho community is involved because it takes courage to do it.”

“They call me a deviant because I chose to make such a bond with a human without telling anyone. Without preparation, or consent. I gave you half my soul. The gold mist you see in your aura is the proof.”

“So, your punishment,” Dante said, finally understanding the family grimoire’s warning. “If I loved you in the same way you love me, I would give you half my soul too, making us whole. It would release you from your sentence.”

“That is the theory,” Tani said with a slow nod, closing his eyes.

“What happens to you when we break apart?” Dante asked, freezing when Tani opened his eyes in a panic. Dante stared into amber eyes.

Tani studied him for a minute before he spoke.

“Each cycle, you have started sharing a part of you with me,” Tani said. “Like you have since we met in the olive grove in your family’s vineyard. You healed me and filled me up with a sliver of your soul. You kissed me here in this cabin and gave me another. And just now when we made love…”

Dante waited with bated breath at the revelation.

“You fill me with hope,” Tani said, shaking his head. “And when you turn away from me to choose Viola, you take them back. You take them from me and leave me empty again. It breaks me apart, Dante. Each time, it breaks me. I could barely get through the last cycle after you left me so empty. So, this cycle, I tried to stay away because I wanted to escape that pain. The pain of losing hope again. I figured if it was over anyway, then I might as well get used to it—”

“I’m sorry,” Dante said, pulling Tani into his arms. He buried his face into Tani’s shoulder, held him tight, and closed his eyes. “Tani, I’m sorry you had to live through that loss.”

“I’m not telling you my experiences to hear you apologize to me,” Tani said, shaking his head. “My love is selfish. It has tied your soul to mine for centuries. I am not…good. Simply selfish in love.”

Tani chuckled and reached up to caress Dante’s right cheek, pressing his right hand to Dante’s cheek.

“Let’s say I’ve loved every minute of indulging in my love for you. I don’t regret any minute spent with you, then and now, Dante. I love you. I have loved you for a long time. I always will love you.”

Dante stared at Tani, feeling the remnants of the ice around his heart melt away. His heart trembled, squeezing tight as he realized he would not be able to live without Tani. He suddenly understood Dane’s panic in the dream. The thought of entering Tani’s Elderwood and finding it empty scared him.

So, he spoke his promise too.

“I love you too,” Dante said making a solemn promise, knowing it was truth in his heart because he had not loved another all his life. Not even Viola who had tried her best to mine love out of him. “Do you believe me?”

Tani tried to move out of his embrace, but Dante held him tighter.

Dante pressed his forehead into Tani’s shoulder and kissed the soft skin on the curve of his neck and shoulder.

“Yüreğimde sonsuz bir ateş yaktın. Sen ihtiyacım olan her şeysin,” Dante murmured, honoring the intense desire inside him to connect with Tani, to protect him, to keep him for the rest of his life. You have ignited an eternal fire in my heart. You are everything I need.

Dante’s words rang in Tani’s head, a spell sparking to life. Fire exploded in his body, racing through Tani's veins using the conduits Dante once used to heal him. Tani wrapped his arms around Dante, lying skin to skin, Tani opened his eyes to find Dante watching him.

“What are you doing?” Tani asked, his voice shaky as power flooded him in a steady beat.

“What I feel I must,” Dante said with a wide smile then he kissed Tani with a desperation he could not define.

He would not be Dane who ran back in a panic after making a bad decision. Only to find his love gone. No, he would fight for Tani with everything he had.

Dante decided he would fight with everything fate had given him and that included what he had the power to give. He smiled as he felt the gold mist aura around him shift, wrapping tighter around him. A soft gasp escaped his lips when a soft ball of fire filled his heart, it burned hot, then left him and sank into Tani’s chest.

Tani tightened his arms around him in response.

Tani broke their kiss with a soft surprised cry. Worried, Dante looked at him and stared when he saw Tani’s amber eyes fill with the gold light he remembered from the olive grove. Tani’s fingers dug into his back and he smiled when Tani looked at him with shocked eyes.

*****