Touch of Flame

Ephraim flew through the pouring rain, his dragon wings battling the fierce winds as he carried Ares securely in his claws. Droplets of water pelted his scaled hide, the cold seeping into his very core, which was odd considering he didn’t usually feel the cold in his dragon form. As they neared the sea, a flicker of movement made him glance down.

Had Ares woken up?

Ephraim descended and then shifted back into his human form, landing gently on the rocky shore with Ares cradled in his arms. He looked at the man. His eyes were still closed. Perhaps he had imagined it.

He placed Ares on the rocks, allowing some of the water from the waves to touch his body. Ares remained still. Perhaps he had been mistaken, he thought, when suddenly Ares’s eyes flew open.

Ephraim was startled. The man’s eyes opened wide without blinking, despite the rain pouring down. Then his gaze shifted and slowly focused on Ephraim.

“Ares?”

A sensation of unease ran through Ephraim as he sensed the danger in Ares’s newfound state. Something in his gaze was cold, then slowly glowed with an unnatural, predatory gleam.

Before Ephraim could react, Ares moved with a speed and strength that caught him completely off guard. The man lunged forward, pushing him down onto the stones and sinking his newly formed fangs into Ephraim’s neck. His first instinct was to fight back, but something stopped him.

The man wanted to do him no harm. He couldn’t. He was only driven by his primal instinct to survive. Ephraim had seen it in his eyes before Ares attacked him.

Having a man’s mouth on his neck and his fangs in his flesh wasn’t a pleasant experience. A part of him still wanted to push the man away, but this couldn’t be the worst that could happen. Besides, he was beginning to feel something strange as Ares continued to drink from him. A slight euphoria that made him forget that he was being preyed upon. A false sense of security that made him surrender and willing to give more than he should.

Ephraim snapped himself back to reality. He knew this was the Marozak’s way of paralyzing their prey so they could feed. Ares didn’t stop and only seemed to suck harder as the rain poured over them. He wasn’t a full dragon, so he couldn’t replenish so fast, and if Ares didn’t stop, he would have to stop him at some point, but eventually, Ares pulled away.

He looked down at Ephraim, lips stained with his blood, eyes gleaming with a breathtaking teal blue, and still looking a bit untamed.

“We could find you more food if you need it,” Ephraim said.

Slowly, the man’s intense gaze eased on him, and his eyes returned to normal, looking a bit confused. He crawled back from Ephraim, who then sat upright. Ares placed his hand on his mouth, as if shocked, and then slowly wiped the blood away before looking at him. “I apologize.”

“It’s alright,” Ephraim assured. “You clearly needed… sustenance. Perhaps you went too long without feeding too.”

“I didn’t,” Ares said, looking confused.

“Well, you are ill now, so it makes sense that you need to feed more often.”

He nodded slowly with a frown.

“And you have been injured,” Ephraim added, thinking probably the blood he took he had used to heal those wounds instead of helping aid his heart.

“Ah… there was an attack,” Ares explained.

Ephraim stood up. “Let’s get you back home.”

Ephraim shifted back into his dragon form, allowing Ares to climb onto his back. With a powerful swing of his wings, they took off, leaving the cold, rocky shoreline behind them. As they approached Ephraim’s home, Ares couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of the grand mansion.

The sprawling estate loomed before them, a testament to Ephraim’s wealth. Ares couldn’t help but feel the darkness of it. The building was composed of dark stone, adorned with towering spires and raised windows that made it almost look like a mix of a castle and a cathedral.

Once they arrived, Ephraim landed gracefully in the courtyard, allowing Ares to dismount. As they entered the mansion, Ares immediately noticed the dark atmosphere inside. There was as little lighting as possible, making shadows dance on the wall.

“It is very quiet in here,” Ares commented as they walked down the hall.

“I am sure you have noticed I like the darkness, but also the quiet.”

“And I am sure you have noticed I like blood.”

Ephraim chuckled. “Is that meant to frighten me?”

Ares only smiled. Looking around, he could tell that, except for the darkness, they shared similar tastes in aesthetics. It was clear that Ephraim had a discerning eye for detail and an appreciation for the finer things in life. Even the artwork that adorned the walls was both breathtaking and thought-provoking, a mix of classical and modern pieces that seemed to tell a story of their own.

“I sent a letter mimicking your style to your home, telling them you would be staying here so they wouldn’t have to worry,” Ephraim told him. “I hope Nazneen was able to get a hold of it somehow.”

Ares knew he had been gone for two days now and needed to get back home quickly. But first, he had to find out what he came here for.

“As for your cure, I have been trying to find ways through magic. I could brief you on what I found, but I don’t think you will like it,” Ephraim said.

Ares was desperate at this point, so he agreed to listen to what Ephraim had in store.

Ephraim took Ares to the largest library he had ever seen. Even Richard owned no such library. Then he led him through the spirals of tall shelves until they arrived in front of one that was, in fact, a door.

Ephraim pushed it open and allowed him into the dark room. With a snap of his fingers, candles burned everywhere to illuminate the small library inside the large one.

On one of the tables, there was a large pile of books. Ephraim went to the pile, grabbing one of the books.

“Did you read all of those?” Ares asked.

Ephraim nodded. “Yes.”

“To find a cure?” For him?

“Yes.”

Ares blinked, surprised. Why would Ephraim go so far?

“Please sit,” Ephraim motioned toward the small sofa in the corner. Ares went to sit down, and Ephraim began to go through the few cases he had found.

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Ares shook his head. He wasn’t going to do any of those things.

“When did these symptoms start?” Ephraim asked.

Ares contemplated but then decided to tell him the truth.

“It has been up and down with the symptoms. Seven years ago, I started experimenting with dragon blood. At first, I felt better, faster, and stronger. Then slowly, I became ill. The symptoms were worst at night. I thought I would die eventually, but I outlived the ones that did the experiment with me. Sometimes I could go long periods without any problems, and sometimes the symptoms would return. It was often pain in the chest and heavy breathing. I thought it was the dragon blood since we found out that our organs would fail us as a consequence of not taking the blood well. I didn’t know it was this all along. For a while, I went a long time without symptoms and thought I had gotten better, but that doesn’t seem to be the case,” he rambled.

“Hmm… it can’t be the dragon blood if you are a breedmate,” Ephraim said thoughtfully. “Six years is a long time. Had you known…” He stopped, but Ares already knew what he was about to say. Had he known, he could have saved his own life.

“Well, either way, you have to feed more often so that your body has what it needs to keep fighting for as long as it can,” Ephraim told him, “And speaking of experiment with blood, there is a man…” he paused at the sound of a door opening. Then a soft female voice spoke.

“Ephraim?”

Ares frowned, the voice familiar to his ears.

“Oh, that is Darcy. My breedmate. I shall introduce you,” Ephraim smiled, putting the book aside.

Ares rose from his seat and followed Ephraim out into the large library. They navigated through the shelves again, and as they arrived at the center, Ares’s steps slowed in sync with his heartbeat at what he saw in front of him.

The woman resembling Ravina smiled when she saw Ephraim and went to stand beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. Ares halted.

Darcy?

This woman was Corinna!