The walk home began in a heavy, brooding silence.
Zaliyah was practically vibrating with fury, his eyes fixed on the ground as if he could set the gravel on fire with his gaze.
To Karas, who watched him from a step behind, the sight was almost painful in its perfection.
He thought to himself, "So cute, he still hasn't grown... getting angry whenever he's touched by a stranger."
Karas couldn't help but mutter it aloud "Cute."
Zaliyah whipped his head around, his expression darkening even further. "How are you able to laugh at my misery?"
"I have never took you or anything relating to you as a joke," Karas replied, his voice dropping into that deep, sincere register that usually acted as Zaliyah's anchor.
Zaliyah just gave an annoyed "hmp" and kept walking.
Karas closed the gap between them, a warm, soft smile playing on his lips.
Zaliyah instinctively stepped back, wary of the affection, but Karas was faster.
He reached out and caught Zaliyah's hand the one the "market lunatic" had bruised earlier.
"Ouch!" Zaliyah groaned, the phantom pain of Malachi's grip flaring up.
Karas didn't let go. He held the pale hand with the reverence of a priest holding a relic.
He leaned down and kissed the reddened skin gently. "Look, now the pain is gone."
The absurdity of it broke through Zaliyah's armor. A sudden "pfff hahaha" escaped him, and soon he was laughing uncontrollably, the sound echoing through the quiet path.
Karas watched him, satisfied that the "Cold Ghost" had finally melted, even if just for a second.
"Hahaha, Karas, what are you doing? We are no longer kids," Zaliyah managed to say through his chuckles.
"I know, but it worked right? Look, you're no longer furrowing your eyebrows."
Zaliyah's smile turned sharp again. "If I ever meet that lunatic, I will thrash him till he looks like burned potatoes. Pfffft, he already looks like burnt potatoes."
Karas's expression shifted, his moral compass flickering. "Zaliyah, you shouldn't do that."
"Do what?" Zaliyah asked, confused. He watched Karas, who seemed lost in a internal battle between wanting to discipline Zaliyah and wanting to spoil him.
Zaliyah waved his fan impatiently. "Do what?"
"Make fun of the colours of one's skin,"
Karas said finally. "Mom wouldn't be happy to hear that."
Zaliyah's eyes rolled so far back they nearly disappeared.
"So do I deserve to be oppressed and not even laugh at my oppressor? Karas look at my hand, why are you not siding with me?"
"I wouldn't be happy if you did that."
"This is all your fault," Zaliyah snapped, yanking his hand away. "You drag me from my quarters for a stroll, then I get unnecessarily touched by a lunatic then you tell me you're not happy."
As if the sky itself was offended by the argument, the clouds broke. It started pouring cats and dogs.
Karas didn't move. He stood in the deluge, his clothes soaking through instantly. "It's your favourite weather. Come let's look at it."
Before Zaliyah could protest, those familiar, heavy hands wrapped around his waist.
Karas didn't care that they were standing at the very gates of their home, where the servants or their parents could see.
He leaned into Zaliyah, lacing his fingers through Zaliyah's drenched ones. "Now I'm happy."
"Come lets go in," Zaliyah urged, his voice softened by the rain. "Have you forgotten? You're so vulnerable to the rain, you will catch a cold."
"It doesn't matter lets stay here like this."
"Seriously Karas, the old geezer would yell at me till my eardrums bleed if you caught a cold."
Karas let out a genuine laugh. "Old geezer? Don't you mean dad? Who teaches you these words?"
"Well I read the foreign books at the library and dad perfectly match the description for 'old geezer'."
Karas chuckled, though there was a hint of warning in his tone. "Don't go to bed with an unsettling heart, tomorrow we will go to the library. Some things can't be avoided such as today, so forget about it."
Zaliyah's face flushed. To hide it, he looked away. "There're some good spots I wanna show you."
"Hmm? Our little Zaliyah got adventurous while I was away," Karas teased.
"Cut it out already," Zaliyah grumbled.
They stood there for a long moment, two men drenched and basking in the pale moonlight, wrapped in each other's arms.
Zaliyah tried to blame the "old man" for his worry, but in truth, he didn't care about Lord Caius's opinion. He never had. Caius had looked at him with disgust since the day he was brought to the Ruohan residence. It was a void that could never be filled.
Zaliyah muttered, "If the old man were to see this, his heart would fall out." He chuckled darkly.
"Well, you have never cared," Karas replied".
" you know me so well..."
The laughter died instantly. At the end of the corridor, standing in the shadows of the doorway, was the "Old Geezer" himself.
Lord Caius looked like he wanted to tear the world apart, specifically the "demon" who was currently tainting his golden son.
Zaliyah saw the familiar look of disgust and, instead of shrinking, he leaned into Karas and grinned.
Karas unwrapped his hands, sensing the explosion. He pulled Zaliyah lightly toward the house.
"Rica, prepare a warm bath for Karas," Caius barked.
"Would young master Zaliyah be joining him?" the maid asked innocently.
"NO!" Caius yelled.
"YES!" Karas shouted at the same time.
Caius's face turned a violent shade of purple.
"Zaliyah and I are both drenched so a warm bath would do," Karas insisted, grabbing Zaliyah's hand once more.
"Do you know what they are saying about you?" Caius screamed, his voice cracking. "Do you have any idea what the people are saying?"
"No, I don't entertain gossips," Karas said cooly.
Zaliyah let out a short, sharp chuckle, which only fueled Caius's rage.
Riosuka appeared then, her presence a brief shield. "And what are they saying?"
"Oh, its great that you are here, so you can hear yourself," Caius spat. "The people are saying that your damn son is a homosexual! They are whispering he's more than the ripe age for marriage but why isn't he married? Always hanging around Zaliyah like a... like a..." He scoffed, the words too "filthy" for him to finish.
"Like a what?" Riosuka prompted, her voice like ice.
Zaliyah rolled his eyes, the drama exhausted him.
"Caius, since when have we stooped so low, believing loose rumors?" Riosuka stepped forward and grabbed Zaliyah, pulling him into the light.
"The same people who said Zaliyah is a demon... look at him. Caius, take a good look. Does this child look like a demon to you?"
"We are talking about your son being a homosexual, don't pull strangers into family affairs!" Caius roared.
Riru walked in then, her face teary and pale. "Dad, please stop, the servants are watching."
The sight of his daughter crying seemed to take the wind out of Caius for a second.
"Rica, please take her inside."
"No! You dare not touch me Rica," Riru cried out. The maid stood frozen, caught in the middle of the family's rot.
Riosuka cut through the noise. "Prepare the warm bath. Zaliyah and Karas are cold."
"Goodnight, have yourself a pleasant evening mother, father," Karas said, his voice as sharp as an angry fox. He gripped Zaliyah's hand. "Let's go."
As Karas moved forward, Zaliyah suddenly retracted, pulling his hand free. "It's okay mom don't be worried, the cold never bothered me anyways. Riru, why are you crying? Look at your eyes becoming red, why would you ruin such beautiful face ? Don't cry anymore." He wipes her tears while patting Riru's head with a ghost of a smile, then walked away.
When he reached his room, he slammed the door so hard the ornaments on the walls shivered.
Zaliyah stripped down to his undergarments, his pale skin shivering in the damp air.
"I always knew bad things happens on rainy day, but this was quite unexpected." He started brushing his wet white hair, but suddenly his face went ghost-white.
"Where is it? Where is it?"
He searched frantically. He tore the bedsheets apart, pulled drawers out until they flipped and crashed against the wall. The hairpin. The golden lotus Karas gave him that very morning was gone. He had always preserved Karas's gifts like they were life itself.
"Did that lunatic steal it?" he wondered, thinking of the man in the park. "Did I forget it? Would it still be there?" He knew Karas would be angry if he went out late, but... since when had he obeyed Karas?
He tied his hair into a quick, messy bun. He grabbed his crimson robe the color of a demon's heart and dashed out into the darkness.
The park was surreal. The crescent moon reflected off the lake, casting an alluring, dangerous glow. Zaliyah was on his hands and knees, searching the grass. "Dammit, where is it?"
"Hmm, a lady in red," a strange voice drifted through the trees.
"Come on, let's see her face," a second added.
"A lady? With such grey hair?" the third mocked.
Zaliyah rolled his eyes , Three perverts. Just what his night needed. He stood up slowly, a predatory grin on his face. "Do you still want to see my face?" He spoke pointing finger at his face .
The men froze. The "lady" was a man, but a man of such ethereal, terrifying beauty that they stayed in a daze. The first boy, barely fifteen, stared as if Zaliyah were a myth come to life.
The third man, Eros, snapped out of it first.
He glared with pure disgust. "Oh, it's Zaliyah. Where is your lackey? It's strange he's not by your side. But what's more strange is did he really let you leave the house dressed like this?"
Zaliyah ignored him, attempting to walk past.
But Eros grabbed his hand the same hand that had already been through hell today.
"Still not over Karas? Him beating you wasn't enough? It's been how many years now Eros? 13 years? Let it go," Zaliyah said, his voice dripping with venom.
The other two men gasped. Karas, the "Priced Jade," the role model of the town, had used violence?
"And why did you think he got violent?" Eros grinned, his face twisting. "Because of you, Zaliyah. You reek."
Zaliyah's eyes began to glow. He remembered the day Karas, at only ten years old, had beaten Eros into a bloody pulp for punching Zaliyah. Caius had hated Zaliyah even more after that, Zaliyah was the "stain" that made his perfect son a monster.
"Oh look, the demon is angry," Eros teased.
Zaliyah didn't use his fist. He used his fan to deliver a stinging slap across Eros's face.
"I just said you reek and it got you this angry?" Eros growled grabbing Zaliyahs hand.
"Let go, lunatic."
"Gentlemen, do you want to know the meaning of 'you reek'? Zaliyah, should I tell them?"
Zaliyah smirked. "You should pay me"
"For what ?" Eros asked ,confused
" For the entertainment. My life is clearly entertaining to you, isn't it logical you pay me for the entertainment?" Zaliyah answered.
Eros scoffed. "Tsk, you talk big for someone whose bodyguard isn't around."
"If you keep obsessing over me like this, Eros, I might think you are in love with me.
Eros turned bright red and let go. "You damn homosexual!"
"You need not worry Eros, even if I were homosexual, you are clearly not my type,"
Zaliyah smiled. He watched Eros and the two people scramble away, shouting insults into the night.
"You can come out now," Zaliyah snapped at the empty shadows.
"Hmm? I thought I covered myself with the invisible spell?" Malachi stepped out, looking genuinely impressed. "Is my magic failing? No, this has never happened in the human realm, unless ZA.LI.YAH isn't human."
"And you lunatic, are you human?"
Malachi's laugh was thunderous. "I would let you guess."
"I'd rather not."
Zaliyah's robe slipped slightly, exposing the pale skin of his chest.
Malachi's red eyes fixated on him. "...do you have a girl? I don't see a ring on your finger...Well that's interesting, have you ever thought of dating a demon?"
"Oh, you are a demon?"
"Impressive isn't it? But wait, why are you not shocked?"
"You don't look human," Zaliyah said flatly.
Malachi smirked. "Wait, don't tell me I'm too handsome to be human?"
Zaliyah rolled his eyes and walked away.
Malachi, refusing to be ignored, flew, actually flew to land in front of him. "Walking away so soon?"
"Move away."
"Or else what, you will slap me with your beloved fan?"
WHACK!.
Zaliyah hit him dead in the face.
Malachi didn't feel pain, but he wailed dramatically. "Ouch! Ouch! My poor handsome face! You know how many people treasure this face? Ouch"
Zaliyah kept walking. "Be quiet you lunatic, if you keep annoying me I will hit you on the other side till you look like burned potatoes."
"Don't I already look like burned potatoes? Do you wanna know what they call me?"
"Black dog," said Zaliyah.
"Guess why is that?"
"I definitely don't want to know."
"Well, you are about to know against your will, Malachi said, his voice turning dark and velvety. "I was called black dog because, no one was able to walk the next morning after doing it with me."
"Pervert," Zaliyah muttered.
Malachi laughed, but then he looked at Zaliyah curiously. "Uhh, why are you still here? Shouldn't you already be at your destination? You have been walking for ages."
"Why are you following me lunatic?"
"I'm keeping you company. Those three men thought you were a young mistress. I mean giving your attitude you might as well be called a young mistress, a spoiled mistress."
Zaliyah kept up his slow, tortoise-like pace.
"Why are you still following me? Picking up homeless people isn't my forte."
Malachi grinned. This "White Lotus" was the first thing to make him laugh since he'd left his throne. "Zaliyah, didn't you come here desperately searching for something?"
"Don't annoy me lunatic."
"Hmm." Malachi opened his hand. The golden lotus hairpin lay there, shimmering.
Zaliyah lunged for it. "Give that back you lunatic!"
He grabbed Malachi's hand, searching for the pin, but Malachi made it vanish into thin air. Zaliyah grew desperate, his hands roaming over Malachi, his boots, his trousers, his shirt. As his hands reached Malachi's breast pocket, he finally looked up.
Zaliyah had imagined Malachi as some haggard, tanned weirdo. But the man before him was... imposing. He was taller than Karas. His skin was on the darker side, his hair was black and wavy like dancing silk, and his red eyes seemed to see straight through Zaliyah's soul. He was dangerously, impossibly beautiful.
"Need a napkin to wipe off that drool?" Malachi mocked.
Zaliyah's eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"
"Come to the library pavilion with me tomorrow, then I will give you the hairpin."
The request was a slap in the face. Zaliyah delivered a real one in return, the fan cracking against Malachi's jaw.
The energy in the air shifted the playful demon was gone, replaced by something ancient and hungry.
Malachi stepped closer, his fingers skimming the red silk of Zaliyah's robe. He didn't look at Zaliyah's eyes he looked at his neck.
"Red is my favourite colour," he whispered.
Then, he turned on his heel and vanished into the night.