A determined Draven sits next to me at another bar I discovered across the ship. I feel his gaze when I get a drink that never touches my lips. Alcohol and I have never been friends. Often going on missions to find vampires, I couldn't risk drinking. Even now, I think of all the possible scenarios that could arise should I become inebriated.

"Why are we at a bar if you aren't going to drink?" he asks, taking a swig of a red liquid that must be some form of blood. I'm fairly certain he ordered it on purpose to make me gag.

"Why don't you tell Cyan how you really feel about him?" I counter, grinning at the slight twitch in his fingers.

"Is it truly that obvious?" he asks, stumping me. I expected an immediate aversion that he could conjure easily enough, which leaves me sputtering long enough for him to elaborate, "Cyan and me. Are we that obvious?"

"Uh... well, yeah. Cyan much more than you, but the signs are there." My fingers tap against the glass. "Why are you suddenly talking to me about this?" I ask.

Draven chugs his drink and taps the bar to signal for another. "It's easier to talk to someone you don't give a damn about."

"Wow, for a butler you are pretty shit at coating things in sugar. Are you planning to tell me why there has never been an advancement in your relationship? Because from where I'm sitting, you both want that."

"Cyan's not that confident when it comes to relationships."

"Your distant attitude doesn't help. I can still barely believe you have basic functioning emotions even after witnessing the two of you."

Scowling, Draven takes another drink. Seems he is well aware of that, but doesn't quite succeed in stopping himself from upsetting the little firecracker. Can't say I blame him. Cyan's like an eternally burning match. His flame never quite sputters out. Should you risk getting close, he may burn you, but staying away doesn't feel possible either. For Draven, that fire is much more intense.

"It's complicated," Draven mutters, gazing distantly at his drink. He stands prior to further questioning. "I've been babysitting you long enough. Don't start trouble."

"You're actually leaving me alone?" I ask although he has already turned his back to me. Draven waves dismissively, then disappears out of the bar.

Well, that wasn't as deep of a conversation as I was expecting. But I also wasn't expecting Draven to say a damn thing at all. He must be having troubling thoughts of his own. Thoughts that make him question himself and what he wants to do, like I'm having right now.

My chest aches when the memory of Lore next to Phaeron flashes in my mind. I recall their hands intertwined atop the bar. For a brief moment, I see my hand there instead. I slam my drink back because... because who fucking cares who Lore sleeps with?! It's none of my business. I don't care if he and Phaeron had something or if they decided to rekindle that old flame. Not my business, just like it wasn't my business before. Besides, I can get someone too! I'm attractive--

"Seren."

Son of a bitch, I just got rid of Draven! Can't I have a moment of reprieve?

Forcing a smile, I spin in the seat to look back at Lore. He approaches the bar to take the seat Draven once possessed.

"Didn't I say that you aren't--"

"Draven left about twenty seconds ago. I'm surprised you didn't see him leave," I interject with an exhausted sigh. A bowl of mints rests nearby. I grab one from the pile to tug on the wrapper impatiently and as an excuse to look at it rather than him.

"And I'd like it if you left too because I need some time alone. Besides, don't you want to catch up with Lord Phaeron?" I ask.

"Lord Phaeron?" Lore repeats. I feel his gaze burning into my neck as I unwrap the mint. "My, oh my, I know everyone has an addiction, but I'm amazed that I happen to be yours."

"I beg your pardon?" I cough.

"Don't fret too much," Lore whispers against my lips. I don't even know how he got there so fast. I heave a long breath, incapable of thought, let alone movement when he says, "I can't quite get enough of you either, my sweet Seren."

The desert is a watery oasis compared to the barren wasteland of my mouth.

"No need to get so jealous though. Nothing happened between Lord Phaeron and me. We had business matters to discuss, that's all," he adds and does exactly what I imagined earlier. His hand moves across the bar to slip his fingers between mine. They're warm and slender, un-calloused and smooth. Makes me think of my own, how they're nothing like that. My palms are calloused and rough from years of training. They're littered with so many small scars that I don't remember where each is from. Lore's fingers pass over them mindlessly, making my skin break out with goosebumps.

"I don't care if anything happened," I mumble, finally removing my hand from his. "Your love life, sex life, whatever, is none of my concern."

"Oh?" Lore tilts his head forward as if to close the already minimal gap between us. I want him to.

"Then you wouldn't mind if I did take Phaeron up on his offer to share a bed with him this evening?" he adds.

I swallow hard. "No, I wouldn't."

There's a challenge in his eyes, one I fear I cannot win. Right now, Lore reminds me of the moment before a great storm. I sense the turbulence to come. I know the havoc it will bring. But I love the smell of rain and the flash of lightning within dark clouds.

"It's late. We should head back to our rooms," I somehow manage to speak. Then I pop the mint between my teeth and--Lore leans in. He catches the piece between his own teeth. Our lips barely brush as he steals the candy in one swift movement. He grasps my hand once more, rubbing his fingers against my shaking palm.

"Consider that the candy I've been owed," he says with a lick of his devilish lips. And that's when I lose the game. The one we've been dancing around for ages. The one I've been terrified of losing because nothing good can come from kissing Lore. But, apparently, I'm very tired of being good.

I kiss him. My hand twists into his braided hair that must now look a mess. Not that he seems to care because he leans into me, kissing hard as his hand grips my thigh. I press my tongue against his lips. The taste of mint passes into my mouth. By the Mothers, kissing Lore doesn't feel like any kiss I've had before. He's what you're told you can't have and it makes you want him all the more. He's everything I never thought I wanted and I can't get enough. He's so much more. A sense of dread, like I've swam too far out to sea and find myself hovering within darkness with nowhere to go. And a sense of excitement. Adrenaline courses through me, faster than all the times my life was at risk, and somehow even more exhilarating. Like my life is far more at risk with his lips against mine and I love it.

We break apart heaving long, unsteady breaths. I suck on the remainder of the mint sitting on the tip of my tongue. Then the sounds come flooding in. The chatter of others in the bar. Their footsteps across the room. Reality hits. My eyes open to find Lore watching me with swollen lips that almost make me kiss him again.

"Seren," he calls. And I run.

The chair stumbles from my abrupt exit. I hear Lore calling after me. Those in the halls hiss when I run past, ramming my shoulder into a few people and almost breaking a man's suitcase by stumbling over it. My ankle throbs from the impact, but I keep running with no clear destination.

Out of all the things Lore has done, making me like him has been the biggest betrayal. He's everything I hate wrapped in gaudy packaging to make him look like anything but trouble. But the more I tear apart the wrappings to see what's inside, the more I realize he's the most troubling thing imaginable. And that troubling thing now has me wrapped so tightly around his finger that I'm not so sure I can escape. I don't know if I want to.

I hate him. I hate him. I hate him for how he makes me think, how he makes me feel, how he tears me apart at the seams so easily. He smiles afterwards like it's no big deal. Like this is a fun game that will end with ease while I know it'll end in tragedy. More on my part than his. What am I meant to do around a man who is everything I hate while simultaneously everything I've ever wanted?

I don't know how long I walk the halls, checking around every corner to ensure Lore doesn't appear. Eventually, the halls go quiet. I wish my mind would do the same. My eyes feel heavy, but there's no way I'm sharing a room with Lore after...

I run my tongue over my bottom lip.

A few moments later, I find myself in front of Draven and Cyan's door. I knock and am not surprised by Cyan's scowl when he answers.

"What do you want in the middle of the fucking night?" he asks, then grunts when I push past him.

"I'm staying here tonight," I declare.

"What? No--" Cyan actually squeaks when I face him, my smile so big that it's painful.

"I said. I'm staying here tonight."

- - ┈┈∘┈˃̶༒˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -

Early update because I honestly just wanted to get to the kiss scene lol Fun fact: Seren and Lore still kissed before Aron and Quinton did. The kings of slow burn remain lol Anywho, we've finally got to the point where Seren's feelings took over and he kissed Lore. Will these two be able to deal with their feelings for each other? Do they have the time to even do so when they're almost to Vexsis? Will Cyan and Draven dare to argue against Seren about sleeping in their room?! Tune in next time to find out! XD